A Review of Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Water Park in Gurnee, Illinois

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Hurricane Harbor water park in Gurnee, Illinois. Hurricane Harbor is part of the Six Flags Great America amusement park and opened adjacent to the park in 2005. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the mid-80's when we visited. And, predictably, both the amusement park and Hurricane Harbor were full.

The first thing I noticed was the size of the Hurricane Harbor water park and the mass of humanity contained within it. There were kids and adults walking and running in every direction. Let's just say that this initial impression was not favorable. So, I'll begin with the negatives that I took away from our Hurricane Harbor visit:

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Negative #1 - The Hunt for a Locker
The locker system at Hurricane Harbor is expensive and confusing. An extra large locker is $17. That seems excessive to me, but we paid the price and so did many, many others. I guess supply and demand allows Hurricane Harbor to charge this amount. We had to fight the crowds at the lockers just to find out that all of the extra large lockers were in use. Then, we were informed of a second bank of lockers nearby that apparently no one else knew about. So, even though we still had to pay the enormous fee, we were at least able to secure a locker.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Negative #2 - Long Lines and Confusion in the Changing Rooms
Since Hurricane Harbor was so crowded, it seemed that there was an endless line for the changing rooms. This was especially true for the women. Once in the changing room, there is no orderly way to determine if there are any open changing stalls, and if so, who is next in line to fill an empty stall.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Negative #3 - Shorter Hours than the Amusement Park
The hours at Hurricane Harbor are a minor annoyance. The water park (and the lockers) must be emptied by 7:00 PM, while Six Flags Great America remains open until 10:00 PM. The policy makes sense because having swimmers in the dark at Hurricane Harbor would be very dangerous. However, this means that if you want to return to the Six Flag Great America Park past 7:00 PM, you must either carry your swimming gear through the park or you must drop it off at your car in the parking lot.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Negative #4 - Chicago Weather
Of course this isn't a problem that Hurricane Harbor can control. But, it's worth pointing out that the weather in the Chicagoland area does not provide very many days to enjoy an outdoor water park. On the days that are nice enough to visit Hurricane Harbor, you will likely find crowds similar to what I've described.

Now, for the positives:

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Positive #1 - The Rides
The rides and attractions at Hurricane Harbor were great. There are a variety of slides, a lazy river, and a wave pool. I'll admit that I didn't ride each and every slide, but the ones that I did were very fun and the lines were reasonable given the amount of people in the park. Once we got on the first slide, my initial negative impression disappeared.

The wave pool at Hurricane Harbor was also a lot of fun. However, if you have little ones in the pool with you, be sure to keep a close eye on them. When crowded and when the wave pool is active, there are swimmers in moving in every direction.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Positive #2 - Good Service
Even though it was crowded, we found the Hurricane Harbor staff very helpful. They were willing to hold onto loose items during the rides, and seemed very friendly in general. A staff member also pointed out the second bank of lockers to us, which was extremely helpful given that the first bank of lockers was full.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Positive #3 - Park Layout
As I mentioned, Hurricane Harbor was very crowded on the day we visited. However, the layout and size of the park made it fairly easy to move around without bumping into someone every two feet. This is in contrast to Six Flags Great America, where it can be difficult to move around on a crowded day. In addition, Hurricane Harbor hit capacity (an announcement was made to indicate this), so I know that the water park was as crowded as it ever will be on that day.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Gurnee Positive #4 - Lifeguards Everywhere
As a former lifeguard, I am aware of some of the standards required as far as coverage of pool areas. With the large amount of pools and rides, Hurricane Harbor is surely required to keep a large number of lifeguards on staff. Nevertheless, it is still very reassuring to see so many lifeguards helping to keep order and safety. The wave pool in particular could pose problems if there is horseplay, but the lifeguards did a good job keeping tight control, while allowing the swimmers to enjoy themselves.

Overall, Hurricane Harbor was surprisingly enjoyable. Everyone knows there is nothing like being outside at a pool on a beautiful day. When you add exciting water slides, a wave pool and a great atmosphere, it increases your enjoyment exponentially.

I'd recommend trying to visit Hurricane Harbor on a weekday or on a day that is nice, but not overly hot. The crowds will be thinned out and lines will be shorter. However, even on a hot and crowded Saturday, we found Hurricane Harbor to be a lot of fun.

Sources:
Six Flags Great America Gurnee