Growing up in Tyler Texas has been a wonderful experience. But as any native Texan knows, the only downside to living here is the crazy weather. As for the summers, I don’t know what I would do if air conditioning and iced tea hadn’t been invented. The absolute surest way to stay cool in the stifling Texas summers is to jump into the pool or go to a water park! A huge problem I always faced when summer rolled around was that my family didn’t own a swimming pool. Moreover, there were no public pools or water parks nearby. Every summer I would struggle to stay cool by swimming in my neighbors’ pool. After a while however, the neighbors beg you to go home… eventually they call the authorities but I digress. The point is this; Tyler Texas was in desperate need of a water park.

I was overjoyed when I learned that a water park would in-fact be opening in Canton. The only real problem was that Canton is about an hour away from Tyler. Still, most people prefer to drive a mere hour to get there, rather than driving a couple hours to get to Hurricane Harbor in Arlington.

After Splash Kingdom opened I visited with some of my friends. We were all very impressed by the cleanliness of the water park. There was always an employee emptying trash cans or sweeping sidewalks. As for the rides, I was mostly, but not completely pleased. The park has five big slides; three body slides and two tube slides. The tube slides are very fun; one is an open slide and another is enclosed. I didn’t really enjoy two of the body slides; “The Express” is a slide with an enormous drop and it is definitely not for the faint of heart! It’s far too terrifying for me. The other slide was the “Pink Panic.” Contrary to the Express, it was so slow that I think I actually got stuck in the middle of the slide, and I found myself pushing against the sides of the slide in order to propel myself further down the slope. The only body slide I really liked was the “Royal Flush,” which was really fun. If slides are not your favorite part of water parks, there is also a lazy river and a wave pool, which are great if you just want to relax. There is also a kiddy pool and playground, and a new area called “Paradise Island” that has some slides that are not as thrilling as the large slides.

Splash Kingdom is a great place to hang out in the summer, and it is a lot of fun. The prices are reasonable ($16-20), and for the summer of 2010, the park will be open May 29 through August 23. It is now one of my favorite places to go to cool off in the summer. For more information, see their website at www.splashkingdomwaterpark.com.