Daytona Lagoon Review: Daytona Beach's Favorite Water Park

Daytona Lagoon, located off of US A-1A in Daytona Beach, is the perfect getaway for the whole family. This exciting attraction offers a water park, go-karts, a miniature golf course, as well as the arcade. Don't forget the 25ft rock wall, lazer tag, and "Ball-o-city", a huge tunnel city filled with balls. When you add Gilligan's Sports Bar and Grill, with the plasma TV"s and pool tables, you've got the ultimate in family experiences.

Gilligan's has an extensive menu that ranges from chicken wings and black Angus burgers right down to the Smucker's Crustless PB&J served with fries or chips. They have subs, salads, lots of appetizers, and you can't forget the pizza. Did I mention the fully stocked bar? The atmosphere is friendly and very inviting. I liked the fact that the adults could still see into the arcade to keep an eye on the kids.

The arcade is full of every game imaginable, like Dance,Dance Revolution, Air Hockey, Fast & Furious. The list goes on and on. Tokens are needed to play, of course. They can be purchased for 25 cents each or in quantity of 100 for $20, 40 for $10, and 20 for $5. I have to admit, this got to be a little expensive. My kids got lost in the excitement and went through $50 in tokens in about 2 hours. The neat thing is the tickets each machine kicks out, after the child is done playing. They can save up their tickets and cash them in at the end of the visit. Some of the prizes weren't cheap, either. I saw a boom box and a lamp that looked to be pretty nice. The counter help that cashed in the tickets must have been trained in child management. They were very polite to all the children there. Each child was treated with the utmost respect, even when I would have been totally exasperated. These guys kept their cool and just laughed and joked with the kids like it was nothing. I was really impressed.

The go-karts was a little bit different. No funny business going on there. The people running the track have a stricked rule of no horse play. They won't tolerate any actions that could endanger the guests. This is how it should be. Those go-karts move pretty fast. The track is multi-level and there are certain blind spots. Checkers are stationed through-out the track to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to. In case of car malfunction or driver inexperience, they are right there to fix the issue. A single rider is $7, while a double is $9. The single rider must be 54" tall, and the double rider passenger can be 36".

For $7, you can also enjoy an 18 hole game of miniature golf. The course boasts sand traps and water traps. It is a lot of fun.

Daytona Lagoon offers to host birthday parties, as well. I do not recommend this without a lot of planning. There are several packages to choose from. Each one starts a birthday room, your hostess, themed paper products, invitations, and a birthday t-shirt with markers that your guests can autograph. 2 large cheese pizzas, two pitchers of soda, the balloon bouquet and ice cream cake finish off the package. Next come the add-on's. You can customize your party package as you see fit. Each package is set up for 10 people. Some can include the whole park for one, two or three hours. Each additional person is $20.

I personally feel that going to Daytona Lagoon should be a day for the family to go an relax. Having a party there can be very expensive. Children want to do everything. This can be hard on some of the parents due to the cost. I found that many of the children being dropped off for a birthday party did not know they had to pay for anything. Tokens are provided in the birthday packages for the birthday child, only. Many little ones were very disappointed when they could not play in the arcade or do some of the other activities.

All in all, I have to admit, Daytona Lagoon is one of the best attractions Daytona Beach has to offer. A little on the pricey side, but the variety of activities and the excellent service were well worth it. If you plan on coming to Daytona Beach, give Daytona Lagoon a try.