It's Sunday afternoon around 1:45 p.m. and it's three-digit HOT.

Stephanie Sundstrom of Gilbert sits outside the Golfland-Sunsplash water park entrance. Behind her, several families wait in line to get in. Already people are sweating on the hot concrete.

Tempted by the twisting water slides that are visible from U.S. 60, Sundstrom's children lured her out to the Mesa water park for a visit.

"I have four kids," Sundstrom says, "and we see it every time we drive by."

Inside the park, which opened for the season on Memorial Day weekend, all the attractions are crowded. In the Thunder Bay wave pool, there is no room to swim. People stand or float, keeping cool while they wait for the next surge of waves.

Nearby, David Bower of Gilbert sits in the shade with his blond daughter on his lap.

Bower is at the park with his three children. This trip is his family's first visit to Sunsplash this year.

"We have a pool at home," he says. "It's OK, but the kids like to do different things like the slides. Especially on a hot day like this." He grins. "I have an 8-year-old son," he says. "The bigger the slide, the faster the better."

The Bowers visit the water park a couple of times a year, usually in a group with other families.

That's just what season pass holders Sarah Schimel of Gilbert and Mary Coleman and Stacie Byle of Queen Creek have done.

Their group totals seven. Seated at a round table underneath an umbrella, they seem worn out from the sun and glad to be in the shade.

Coleman brings her family to the water park because it's something to do when it's hot. "There's no swimming pool at home," she says.

"We went to Big Surf (in Tempe) yesterday," Coleman says. "It's OK, but we like this park better. It's cleaner."

All the women agree. "Better for little kids."

Behind the women, Thunder Bay's waves switch on. Three cannons shoot ribbons of water overhead and people raise their arms to catch the sparkling drops.

Despite the heat, everybody seems to be having a good time.

The wet set: E.V. water parks

Sick of staying at home but afraid to leave your air conditioning? Why not spend a day at one of the East Valley's water parks?

Golfland-Sunsplash
155 W. Hampton Road, Mesa,

Cool off in a 450,000-gallon wave pool, then tube down an 800-foot-long river, or take a ride on an uphill water coaster. This park has several water slides, including five inner tube slides (three of which are enclosed for a thrill ride in the dark), three body flume slides, two speed slides and two soft slides that spill into an activity pool. Children 7 and younger can splash in a one-foot wader pool.

Don't want to get wet? Golfland- Sunsplash also offers miniature golf, laser tag, an arcade and a Lil' Indy Raceway but remember, Golfland prices aren't included in the water park admission, which is $1-$18.99.

The water park is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.


Big Surf
1500 N. McClintock Drive, Tempe,

Check out Big Surfs giant wave pool all 2 million gallons of it. During the week, the park offers boogie board sessions twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; rafts are available for rent during normal operating hours.

At the park's main tower, visitors who crave speed can plummet down five speed/body slides and two wild tube slides.

For the less daring, Big Surf also offers a couple of tamer tube slides, a pool where visitors can play water volleyball or basketball, a children's zone with eight "slipping and sliding" slides and a play area for toddlers with giant animals to climb on.

The water park is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $1-$18.99.

Contact writer Karyn Lewis at or .