Where Do I Park? (Or How to Bypass Frustration on Your Way to the Park)
Angela Flournoy
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If there’s one thing that drives us to distraction it’s parking. The good news is parking at Schlitterbahn has always been free and remains free. But it still can be challenging.
Unlike most theme and water parks (including our other parks across the state), Schlitterbahn New Braunfels grew up in a neighborhood. Our park still lives in that same area today, twisting and turning along the banks of the Comal on one side and running alongside neighborhood streets on the other.
As you can imagine, this makes for less than ideal parking design. So we sat down with Darren Hill, General Manager for Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, and got the low down on parking at Schlitterbahn.
SB: If there was one thing you could tell people about parking, what would it be?
Hill: I always recommend to guests to head to Main, aka our West park. The lots look small on a map, but we have more than twice the number of spots on that side of our property than we have on the East. On peak days (ed note: weekends mid-June – Aug), our Eastside (where Blastenhoff, Surfenburg, and Tubenbach are) fills up by 10 am.
SB: Why do people try to park at East Park?
Hill: We have been trying to figure that out. We know some GPS systems send them there. Maybe they see the tower of the Sky Coaster and drift in that direction. But every sign we have tries to direct them to Main.
SB: Have you considered one of those people with the dancing signs?
Hill: Are you volunteering?
SB: Er… Um…No… Ahem. Any other tips?
Hill: On busy days, we open our fairgrounds for parking, but people drive right by. It’s the best deal, though. You can get your wristband right there, we’ll carry your cooler in our free trams, and we’ll bring you all the way back too. We want to get you into the park and in the water – with traffic backing up on the way to our lots, parking at the fairgrounds is by far the quickest way to go!
SB: So if the sign says parking for Schlitterbahn at the fairgrounds…
Hill: If the sign is up, then the wait to access the other lots is lengthy, and many are full. Let us make it easy for you and shuttle you to the front door and get into the park faster!