Splash in the Boro, with all its attractions from the wave pool and FlowRider to tot slides and lily pads, will open to the public this Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21, for preview weekend. Then, after five weekdays during which it is booked for private rentals, it will reopen Saturday, May 27, operating seven days a week through July 30.
“We’re hoping for good weather and a good soft opening this weekend,” said Kimberly Sharpe, events and communications coordinator for Bulloch County Recreation and Parks.
This Saturday, the county-owned waterpark at 1388 Highway 24 East, Statesboro, will open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., with disc jockey Benji Lewis of Jammin J Productions scheduled to provide music along the Lazy River until 1 p.m. This Sunday, Splash will be open 12 noon-6 p.m. For the hours of the full season, see further below.
2022 resurgence
Able to entertain a maximum of 3,500 guests at a time, the waterpark would have to see more than 1,700 of them daily on average to tie last year’s total of over 142,000 guest visits in 87 days.
It is already employing nearly 400 seasonal workers age 16 and up – mostly college and high school students – in various roles and schedules to make that possible. They include more than 100 lifeguards, with 90 tested and one last class of 28 now training, said Alex Estrada, Aquatics Division manager for the Recreation and Parks Department.
Launched in 2004 and later expanded, Splash received more than 168,000 visits in 2010, according to Statesboro Herald archived stories. So last year’s count was not the absolute record. But it was a post-pandemic resurgence. After the complete closure of 2020 was followed by a season limited to half capacity for social distancing in 2021, the park required cash operating subsidies, and no new water features have been added.
In fact, the newest major attraction is the 19,500-square-foot wave pool, which debuted in 2017. But the Aquatics Division continues to do some freshening up, with paint and parasols, each season. For this summer, there is also an emphasis on faster food service and prompt attention to customers, said Estrada, who has been employed with the Recreation & Parks Department for seven years and was promoted to aquatics manager in mid-2021.
“We just took a lot of time to step back and clean the place up and put new umbrellas up, add vibrant colors, and a lot more staff for customer service,” he said. “Our concessions are going to see a really ridiculous change in speed of how we get things out, with online ordering… everything should flow a whole lot faster to get to the fun quicker.”
‘Fast food’ ordering
Online ordering, using recently installed “fast food restaurant-style” software, is brand-new to Splash in the Boro concessions, according Sharpe.
“You’ll be able to order from your phone,” she said. “There will be signage throughout the park that gives you instructions on how to order … so you don’t have to wait in line to get concessions.”
One new concessions-related amenity, a temporary snow cone kiosk added last year, has been made more permanent, she said.
Fees unchanged
But online admission ticket purchasing for Splash was already well established. Admission prices, online at and the gate, remain the same as last season.
Splash is free for children 2 years old and younger – accompanied by paying adults, of course – and other rates are based on height, rather than age, since height is said to determine which waterpark features a guest can safely enjoy. For people who are not Bulloch County residents and are under 48 inches tall, regular tickets at the gate are $17 each. For non-Bulloch-residents over 48 inches tall, the gate price is $22. But for ticket purchases online – where height would be difficult to confirm – all regular-price tickets are $19.99.
Admission is discounted for Bulloch County residents, Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College and Ogeechee Technical College students and current and retired military with appropriate ID. The discount gate prices are $15 for those under 48 inches and $20 for over 48 inches. For seniors age 60 and over, the price is $10. A season pass costs $85.
See www.splashintheboro.com for other special pricing.
For the full season, which begins May 27, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, Splash’s operating hours will be Saturdays 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sundays 12 noon-6 p.m.; Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 10-6; Thursdays 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Fridays 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
After July 30, the schedule will revert to weekend-only hours (the same as preview weekend) until the park closes for the season on Labor Day, Sept. 4.
Luetta Moore Park
Meanwhile, the pool, pool house and splash pads at Luetta Moore Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will be reopening for the summer on the same days as Splash.
Long-established, city-owned Luetta Moore Park became Bulloch Recreation and Parks’ second aquatics facility in summer 2021. The water features were added in an extensive park renovation that year funded by the city of Statesboro and the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners with commitments of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
The Luetta Moore pool area admission price is $3 a day, or a season pass is available for $25.
“We’re going to start selling food and beverages to help the little kids not be so hungry over there, but it will run the same schedule as Splash, as far as the days,” said Estrada. “And staff will be offering more swim lessons over at Luetta Moore.”
Luetta Moore Park’s pool hours for Saturday, May 20, are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; for Sunday, May 20, the hours will be 12 noon-5:30 p.m. Closed next Monday-Friday, the pool will reopen Saturday, May 27, and then be open 12 noon-5:30 p.m. Sundays and 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday until July 30. See https://bullochrec.com/aquatics-2 for information about swimming lessons and the season beyond July 30.