The Coral Reef Waterworld review
After our visit to the Look out discovery centre in Bracknell, we went to the Coral Reef Waterworld, which is just across the road from it. You can do the combo like us or either of these attraction separately and still have loads of fun. I was just saving myself the drive!
The Coral Reef Waterworld is an amazing leisure pool designed to be like a shipwreck on a tropical island, with a big pirate ship, 5 water slides, rapids plus sauna, spa and steam room. You HAVE to book tickets online or via their app. No tickets can be purchased on arrival.
On arrival, you are given a coloured plastic wristband that indicates the 90 minutes session you will be in. Once you are checked in, you go on to the changing village, which looked pretty decent with a large number of lockers. You need a £1 coin deposit for the lockers, which is returnable but my 1£ rolled out of it and we couldn’t lock ours. Luckily all our bits were intact when we came back. We went into the family changing room which had enough space for the two of us and it was quite clean. There were toilets within the changing village, though the toilet seat of the first one was really wet! I hope it was water but it was hard to tell, so we just went to the next one, which was quite clean.
A huge pirate ship is what you see first when you enter the swimming area and ofcourse Ay ran on to it. It has a small toddler slide but Ay was more interested in firing “water” from the cannons on to the swimmers below and laugh as they looked up to him (pretty evil but everyone took it with great laugh). A few boys were playing tag around the pirate ship.
The kids area had parts cordoned off with “new splash pad coming soon” board. The dam building stream, a snake squirting water, interactive panels for sensory activities, little drench buckets and two of the small baby pools were still accessible At the far end is a lovely waterfall which you could go under and was a lot of fun. My only criticism of the kids area is there are “rocks” in this region (which goes with the theme) but I kept on worrying if Ay might hit his head on it if he became overly enthusiastic. He didn’t but I wished they were not there!
This part of the swimming pool is shallow at entrance where very small children can easily walk. It gradually goes upto 1.1 meters depth as it joins the main pool on the other side, the deepest of which is 1.35 meters. Some kids in the children’s section were wearing armbands but I didn’t see anyone using a noodle or flotation device.
Part way through our session, a siren went off. I wasn’t sure what was going on but people were getting excited. Turns out this is the alarm for a volcanic eruption!! The eruption of water was very strong and positively dragged people off with it. Neither of us are strong swimmers, so we stayed away but enjoyed watching others have fun in the water currents.
You can also enjoy the fast flowing water of around the Disco Island Rapid Channel, or the slow-moving Lazy River, which meanders outdoors, allowing you to enjoy the sunshine throughout weekends and school holidays.
Lastly, you can also chill out in the spa pools, or head to the beach hut for food and drink while you swim.
The water slides
There are 5 slides in total; The Canon and Aqua Splash are water flumes while the Storm Chaser, Poseidon’s Peril and Maelstrom need rafts to go down on. You collect your rafts from the ground floor and then carry it upstairs with you on the stairs!
To ride alone you must be 1.2m. If you are 1-1.2 m, then you can go on a double raft with an adult on Aqua Splash, Storm Chaser and Maelstrom, which are the ones we tried. If you are less than 1m, you can only go on the Aqua Splash. The Canon and Poseidon’s Peril have a minimum age requirement of 8 as well as height restriction of 1.2m. Some of these rides have flashing lights and come with epilepsy warning.
The Cannon and Aqua Splash did not have long queues but by the end of our session, there was a good 20-30 minutes wait on the others.
- Aqua Splash: This is supposed to be the most gentle water slide of all. Ay had to sit in between my legs and to be honest, it was so slow in the beginning that I had to push myself down. Ay got really frustrated and released himself off me, so when we were un-entangled, the descent was a bit better. Along the ride, there are 15 touch pads that illuminate as you pass. The aim of the game is to hit these as you slide past, scoring points for each one that’s successfully triggered. The more you hit, the more you score. You also pass through a transparent tunnel where you can see people underneath you. Towards the end of the slide, it became slightly faster just before we landed in the splash pool. The water was much deeper than I expected and I panicked as we came out but thanks to Ay’s swimming lessons, he was unfazed and wanted to go again. The lifeguard was also looking intently at both of us, which made me feel quite safe
- Storm Chaser: You have to use a raft for this one. I have sat on rafts in the Butlins at Bognor Regis and compared to those, these rafts were a bit uncomfortable. My bum literally fell in the hole and I could not balance myself properly. However, the slide itself was actually quite fun. The Storm Chaser’s choppy waters rock riders from side to side as if you’re aboard a ship in rough waters. You can customise this slide and choose the music and lights you want to go down on. Children under 1m cannot ride this slide; kids between 1-1.2m must able to sit in the double raft comfortably and be able to hold the handles.
- Maelstrom: This one was our favourite of the three we were allowed on. As soon as you are off, you feel as if you are falling down, then as you go through tunnels, some of which are completely dark, or have arcs of lights etc depending on what theme you choose and it picks up speed. There are twists and turns and you are flung toward the second crazy cone, before being ejected through the water cascade and towards the finish. You also have water sprayed on your face. Children under 1m cannot ride this slide; kids between 1-1.2m must able to sit in the double raft comfortably and be able to hold the handles.
You can have a picture taken in some of the slides and near the ruins in the swimming pool, unfortunately, the photographer booth closed at 5PM, so we could’nt see them. They get deleted the same day, so if you miss the photographer booth, then basically, that’s it!
VERDICT: Who doesn’t love a water park!! This isn’t a cheap family trip out but it is so worth it. We had an amazing time, although we could only try three of the five slides due to height restrictions, Ay did not want to come out when our 90 minutes session was over. If you have a toddler, less than 1 m, then you will only be able to go on Aqua Splash. Better to go in the earlier sessions without the slides which are cheaper and will be less busy. Having said that, under 5s are free in the family swim sessions, so, if you have older kids, then it will probably work out better.
We combined this with a visit to the Look out discovery centre in Bracknell and had one of our most amazing days out ever.. a day very well spent, although you could do either of these attraction separately and still have loads of fun (I was just saving myself the drive)!
Website: Click HERE
🗺 Address: Coral Reef Bracknell’s Waterworld, Nine Mile Ride, Bracknell RG12 7JQ
⏰Public Swmming (No Slides) – Wednesdays to Fridays – 10:30am-3:30pm
Family Swimming with Waterslides – Wednesdays to Fridays (termtime) – 3:30pm – 8:45pm, Saturdays and Sundays 9am – 8pm, Holiday periods Monday – Friday 09:00-20:45
With the family session, you get a maximum of 90 minutes in the pools and on the slides.
🎟 Tickets are only bookable online. No tickets can be purchased on arrival.
Adult Flexi £15.80 – Junior Flexi (5-15 yrs) £11.20- Under 5yrs old: FREE to 1£.
Please see website for updated prices and opening hours HERE
🚘 The car park is £3 for up to 5 hours or £5 all day. Visitors of Coral Reef can get free parking for upto 5 hours by providing the vehicle registration details upon arrival at reception. No refunds offered to customers who pay and display.
🚻 Toilets and baby facilities
🍕Cafe on site, open certain times
🦽 Pushchair accessible
