Every El Pasoan has a Wet N’ Wild memory. Maybe it was your first time on Amazon, that terrifying 50-foot drop that seemed like it went on forever. Maybe it was floating down the lazy river with a piña con chamoy sweating in the desert heat, trees blocking the sun just enough to make you forget it was 105 degrees outside. Maybe it was just the car ride to Anthony, knowing summer had officially started.
But here is something most El Pasoans don’t know: that waterpark they grew up in is one of the oldest in the entire country.
Wet N’ Wild Waterworld Is the 3rd Oldest Waterpark in the United States
That’s not hype. That’s history.
Wet n Wild Waterworld
Wet n Wild Waterworld
The first purpose-built waterpark in the United States was Wet N’ Wild in Orlando, Florida, which opened in 1977. It was founded by George Millay, a man the industry would later call the “father of waterparks.” Before that, Lake Dolores Waterpark in Southern California opened to the public in 1962, giving it the claim of America’s first.
And then, just two years after Orlando’s Wet N’ Wild opened its gates, a lawyer in El Paso decided to do something about a campground he owned in Anthony, Texas.
In 1979, El Paso businessman and attorney Berry H. Edwards purchased a KOA campground in Anthony. After his son suggested they get a waterslide for the campground’s pool, Edwards visited the now-closed Wild Wild Wet in Anaheim, California for research. He came back, broke ground, and put El Paso on the map of American waterpark history.
For more than 40 years, Wet N’ Wild Waterworld has been El Paso’s family-owned and operated waterpark and the 3rd oldest in the United States.
It Started With Two Slides and Cost $2.50
When it first opened, Wet N’ Wild wasn’t quite the 60-acre desert oasis it is today.
The park was originally named Wet N Wild Waterslides, featuring just two slides called “Blue Streak” and “Corkscrew.” A powerful diesel engine pumped the water. It cost $2.50 to ride for half an hour.
Two slides. A diesel pump. And a dad who listened to his kid.
In 1980, the park added more attractions, including the 12-foot deep Volcano Lake and a water zip line. After those additions, Edwards changed the name to Wet N Wild Waterworld.
From there, it never stopped growing.
60 Acres, 25+ Rides, and the Most El Paso Menu You’ve Ever Seen
Today, Wet N’ Wild Waterworld spans 60 acres featuring over 25 rides and attractions and a canopy of mature shade trees, located at 8804 S. Desert in Anthony, Texas, a small town between El Paso and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Wet n Wild Waterworld
Wet n Wild Waterworld
Among the 25 rides are thrillers like Amazon, the park’s longest slide, which begins from 50 feet above the ground, and the Alien Vortex, one of the fastest and most thrilling rides in the park.
And the food? It is peak borderland.
The Ribbit Café serves regional specialties including corn-in-a-cup, papas locas, piña con chamoy, and aguas frescas alongside the classic burgers and funnel cakes. You are not getting that at Six Flags.
Wet n Wild Waterworld
Wet n Wild Waterworld
Oh, and guests can bring their own food, beverages, and propane grills free of charge. Because of course you can. This is El Paso.
Still Family-Owned, Still Going Strong
What makes Wet N’ Wild even more remarkable is that it has stayed in the same family for nearly five decades.
As current president Chandra Edwards put it, her father “would be amazed at how large the waterpark oasis in the desert he started has become, and how many millions of people have made such happy memories here together.”
From a KOA campground and a kid’s idea, to one of the longest-running waterparks in American history, right here in the Borderland. That is an El Paso story if there ever was one.
Wet N’ Wild Waterworld 8804 S. Desert Blvd., Anthony, TX Visit wetnwildwaterworld.com Opens first weekend of May through Labor Day
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