Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe has been the go-to water park for the Greensboro area since it first opened in 1984, and after four decades of name changes, new slides, and new owners, it’s still packing families into its five pools and roughly 40 acres of attractions every summer.
This guide pulls together everything you need before you go: current-season hours and ticket guidance, how the park’s season pass tiers stack up, what parking actually costs, the bag and cooler rules at the gate, which slides are worth the wait, and how to get there — plus the park’s winding ownership history for anyone curious why it’s had so many names.
Quick Answer
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe is a roughly 40-acre water park at 3910 South Holden Road in Greensboro, NC, open seasonally from mid-May through mid-September, typically 10 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. depending on the day. Single-day tickets bought online in advance run cheaper than at the gate, parking is a separate per-vehicle fee, and the park sells several tiers of season passes for regular visitors. Because dates, hours, and prices shift throughout the year, confirm them on the official Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe website before you head out.
Hours & Operating Season
Emerald Pointe runs a seasonal calendar, generally opening in mid-May and closing in September, with the park sometimes taking scattered midweek closures near the very end of the season even while weekends stay open. Daily hours follow a predictable pattern rather than a fixed one: weekdays tend to close earlier (often around 5 p.m.), while weekends and peak summer weeks stay open later (often to 6 p.m. or beyond for special events), and hours in shoulder months like May and September run shorter than the July and August peak.
Weather is the other variable — the park closes rides or the whole facility for lightning and storms, and hours can change day-of. Because the calendar and daily hours are updated throughout the season, always check the day you’re planning to visit on the official park hours page rather than relying on a hardcoded schedule.
Tickets, Prices & Season Passes
Single-day admission is sold both online in advance and at the gate, and buying online ahead of time is consistently the cheaper route — the park’s own site frames its advance-purchase ticket as the best value, with a same-day “any day” ticket priced higher and gate pricing higher still. A late-day “twilight” ticket, sold only in the park for roughly the last couple of hours of operation, is the cheapest way to get a shorter visit in. Children age 2 and under get in free, and the park offers discounts for seniors and for military and first responders with valid ID at the gate.
For repeat visitors, Emerald Pointe sells tiered season passes rather than a single flat option. Lower tiers cover unlimited or near-unlimited admission for the season; higher tiers layer on perks like free parking (standard or VIP), discounts on food, drinks, and merchandise, cabana or lounger pricing breaks, and free “bring a friend” tickets you can use on select visits. Exactly which tiers exist and what each includes changes from season to season, so compare the current lineup on the official season pass page before deciding whether a pass beats buying single-day tickets for your group.
Parking at Emerald Pointe
Parking is billed separately from admission, charged per vehicle, with a standard lot and a pricier VIP option closer to the entrance. Buses and RVs have their own designated area. If you’re a season pass holder, check your tier before paying at the gate — mid-to-upper pass tiers typically bundle free standard or VIP parking as one of their headline perks, so you may not need to pay again on top of your pass.
What to Bring: Bag & Cooler Policy
Emerald Pointe doesn’t allow outside coolers, ice chests, glass containers, or alcohol inside the park, and it operates cashless, so plan to enter with a card or mobile payment rather than cash. Each guest may bring one bag through security screening at the gate, and the park allows a narrow food exception: one individually packaged snack and one bottled water per person, which can be carried in a small soft-sided cooler rather than a full family cooler.
If you’re bringing more than that, the park has a paid cooler-storage and locker area near the entrance where guests can stash a full cooler and picnic outside the gates, then grab items throughout the day. Same-day re-entry is allowed with a hand stamp, though parking fees aren’t refunded if you leave and come back.
Rides, Slides & Attractions
The lineup spans roughly 15 water slides plus five pools and multiple kids’ zones. For thrill-seekers, Bombs Away is the newest headliner — a launch-capsule slide where riders choose a vertical free fall or an enclosed looping drop — alongside Daredevil Drop, a tall body slide with one of the steepest free-fall drops in the region. Dragon’s Den (a giant open tube ride), Riptide Racer (a four-lane mat racing slide), Dr. Von Dark’s Tunnel of Terror (an enclosed dark tube slide), and The Edge (a half-pipe tube slide) round out the higher-intensity options.
For a slower pace, the centerpiece Thunder Bay Wave Pool remains one of the larger wave pools in the region, sending rolling swells guests ride out on rafts or by hand. The Lazee River loops around the park for a lazy float, and Shipwreck Cove and Leisure Lagoon offer calmer pool space to just cool off. Families with young kids get two dedicated areas, Happy Harbor and Splash Island, plus the smaller Soak Zone, all built around scaled-down slides and interactive water features rather than big drops.
Best Time to Visit
Weekday mornings, especially outside of July, tend to be the least crowded window — lines build fastest on summer weekends and around holidays. Arriving close to opening lets you knock out the marquee slides like Bombs Away and Daredevil Drop before the wait grows, since headline attractions are usually where lines back up first. If your schedule is flexible, visiting in the shoulder weeks of May, early June, or after early August (once local schools are back in session) trades a slightly shorter operating day for noticeably shorter lines.
Getting There
Emerald Pointe sits at 3910 South Holden Road in Greensboro, just south of downtown and easily reached from I-40/I-85 and US-421. The park has its own parking lots directly on site, with a separate free drop-off zone for buses, so most visitors can drive straight in rather than needing a shuttle.
A Brief History: From Aqua Gardens to Wet ‘n Wild
Few water parks have worn as many names as this one. It opened in 1984 (after a September 1983 preview) as Aqua Gardens, briefly operated as Water Country USA in the mid-1980s, and was rebranded Emerald Pointe in 1986 after a local ownership group took over. In 1999, Ogden Corporation acquired the property along with the Wet ‘n Wild brand, giving the park the combined Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe identity it still carries today.
Ownership kept shifting in the 2020s: the park later became part of Palace Entertainment’s portfolio, which Herschend Family Entertainment (the company behind Dollywood) acquired in March 2025. That ownership was short-lived — just a few months later, in July 2025, Herschend sold Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe along with two other parks to Lucky Strike Entertainment, which owns the park today.
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe visitor guide FAQs
What are the hours for Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe?
Hours vary by day and season, but the park typically runs from around 10 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., with shorter hours in May and September and later closes on peak summer weekends. Check the official park hours page for the exact schedule on the day you’re planning to visit.
How much are tickets to Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe?
Buying online in advance is cheaper than paying at the gate, and the park also sells a discounted same-day ticket and a lower-priced late-day “twilight” ticket. Children 2 and under are free, and seniors, military, and first responders get discounted gate pricing with ID. Current prices are posted on the official tickets page.
Is parking included with admission?
No, parking is a separate per-vehicle fee unless you hold a season pass tier that bundles free standard or VIP parking as a perk.
Can you bring a cooler into Emerald Pointe?
Full outside coolers, ice chests, glass containers, and alcohol aren’t allowed inside the park. Guests can bring one individually packaged snack and one bottled water per person in a small soft-sided cooler, and paid cooler storage is available near the entrance for anything larger.
What is the address of Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe?
The park is located at 3910 South Holden Road, Greensboro, NC, just south of downtown Greensboro.
Are Emerald Pointe season passes worth it?
It depends on how many single-day visits you’d otherwise pay for. Higher-tier passes add free parking, food and merchandise discounts, and free friend tickets, which can offset the higher upfront cost if you plan to visit several times in a season — compare the current tiers against single-day ticket pricing on the official site to run the math for your group.
What is the scariest or most intense ride at Emerald Pointe?
Daredevil Drop and Bombs Away are generally considered the park’s biggest thrill rides — Daredevil Drop is a steep near-vertical body slide, while Bombs Away is a launch-capsule slide with a choice of a vertical free fall or an enclosed looping drop.
What months is Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe open?
The park operates seasonally, typically from mid-May through mid-September, closed the rest of the year.
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