Mzansi Happy Island Theme Park
Mzansi Happy Island Theme Park
Mzansi Happy Island Theme Park
2.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
2.5
29 reviews
Excellent
1
Very good
8
Average
4
Poor
3
Terrible
13
Hendrik Bekker
Dalton-on-Tees, UK9 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
Horrendous. Rubbish all over, Toilets are minging and food prices are through the roof. We were forced to throw our (already open) bottles of water away before entering (WTF) The lines to go onto the slides are ridiculously long, easily over an hour to go on any of the slides,And the water is dirty. Was almost like we were in the middle of Karachi, woman and little girls are stared at like pieces of meat whilst the pakistani men are forcing their woman to cover themselves-up. I should’ve read the reviews before we came Not so Happy Island. I started writing this at 15h00, my children are still in line and it’s now 15h45. Terrible Terrible Terrible. Chinese owned, rather support local owners. R199 if you pay online R250 if you buy your tickets at the desk.
Written 5 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Esther M
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • Family
The worst Waterpark I have ever been. The place is dull, the paintings from the slides are no more. Yoh! to be honest the place traumatized me, especially after paying the high entrance fee you expect the place to be in good standard. The place was overcrowded as well, let's talk about the restaurants, is the worst the prices are sky rocking and expect to stand on the que 1hr plus👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Written 5 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jodi G
1 contribution
Jan 2023 • Family
This place should be reported to Health and Safety. The water is disgustingly dirty, as well as all the facilities including toilets. Only two rides were working. Whilst the others weren’t other people were throwing water with buckets and there were no lifeguards to be seen. My son fell and hit his head because of people acting dangerously and no one there to manage it. It’s really a disappointment and you should avoid this place at all costs.
Written 6 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Webfront
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa2 contributions
Oct 2022
This is a BIG SCAM! All the images on the internet must have been taken 10 years ago. What you see online, IT IS NOT REAL! Nothing has been maintained. The buildings are falling apart, empty, destroyed with broken windows and some with no roofs! It is like experiencing a horror movie. Everything is dilapidated. The water is disgustingly dirty! The staff has their hands in the till AND drinking alcohol on the job. I don't even have words to explain the toilets. I seriously do not think the slides are even safe to use. BTW nothing works and nothing to do during load shedding, and you still pay full price. Hell Island is a better name for this place. Have a look at the real images...
Written 3 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aniello
Johannesburg, South Africa4 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
What a huge disappointment! This water park looks like it’s been abandoned for years and it just opened! Old Chinese left overs everywhere from the rides to tiles on the floor!! There’s no toilet paper holders in the bathrooms. There’s rubble, abandoned buildings, uncut grass, fake plastic roses stuck in the sand!! REALLY!! Has this place even been inspected for safety regulations? The safety is shocking. It’s daylight robbery to charge people with these facilities and the prices are going up, it’s laughable! The tiles on the river ride are all sticking out you can cut your self and you get stuck so many times. You wait in queues forever. The paint on all the pools are peeling. It’s very dirty! The staff isn’t trained properly. You don’t even get a invoice when you pay for tickets, even after requesting for one. You don’t get bands, they don’t even tear the ticket so they can reuse them. You have no proof of payment!! Wonder if they declare the cash they receive? The wave pool is so dangerous the floors are not coated properly you slip and scratch yourself on all the cracks. The signage is poorly translated with spelling errors! Even their t-shirts are all miss spelled - ‘HAPPYD ISLAND’ instead of ‘HAPPY ISLAND’, what a joke! I will not set foot again even if they paid me! This place is a joke. Doesn’t feel like a theme park - more like a scrap yard.
Written 10 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ThabangDIHAHA
Pretoria, South Africa3 contributions
Mar 2019 • Family
I am very disappointed at the level of services offered there. There were not enough life guards on site. The changing had so many showers and only 3 toilet cubicles which I found to be rubbish. The beach did not have enough sand on it. I could literally feel the hard ground beneath me. The que for payment was annoyingly slow and the ques for the rides were too long. The beach had a water pit where you rinse your feet when you enter or leave. It became so filthy during the course of the day it became unbearable to even put your feet in. The place was unfinished and still had a lot of work to be done. There weren't enough trash bins in close proximity. The variety of rides were the only positive thing about the water park. Last but not least the normal fee that is charged of R398 per adult is insane. They need to go reconsider their pricing or just leave it at R200 per adult
Written 6 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane k
Liverpool, UK64 contributions
Oct 2019
It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great.
It cost 250 rand to get in and that’s the price for anyone over 1.3 metres in height.
The changing area is clean but there’s literally no privacy as there is no where to get changed, no benches to sit and just 4 toilets. There are plenty of showers but who wants to stand in a small wet cubicle to get changed.
Considering it hadn’t been open long it looks tired already, garden areas unfinished, parts need painting etc.
The spa pool had no water in, the lazy river was also lacking water so we frequently stopped on the way round.
As I found with a lot of parks there are not enough inflatables leading to long queues of people waiting at the end of each ride. We actually stopped halfway through the behemoth ride as the tube wasn’t inflated enough and there wasn’t enough water to push us round.
A lot of the ground is covered in artificial grass which is so hot you need to wear some sort of footwear.
You can’t take any food or drinks in which I think is really poor.
You pay quite a bit to get in and for families to then pay for mediocre food is not acceptable, it’s 27 rand just for a small bottle of water!
It could be great but it needs to improve its basic services and finish all the outstanding work..
It cost 250 rand to get in and that’s the price for anyone over 1.3 metres in height.
The changing area is clean but there’s literally no privacy as there is no where to get changed, no benches to sit and just 4 toilets. There are plenty of showers but who wants to stand in a small wet cubicle to get changed.
Considering it hadn’t been open long it looks tired already, garden areas unfinished, parts need painting etc.
The spa pool had no water in, the lazy river was also lacking water so we frequently stopped on the way round.
As I found with a lot of parks there are not enough inflatables leading to long queues of people waiting at the end of each ride. We actually stopped halfway through the behemoth ride as the tube wasn’t inflated enough and there wasn’t enough water to push us round.
A lot of the ground is covered in artificial grass which is so hot you need to wear some sort of footwear.
You can’t take any food or drinks in which I think is really poor.
You pay quite a bit to get in and for families to then pay for mediocre food is not acceptable, it’s 27 rand just for a small bottle of water!
It could be great but it needs to improve its basic services and finish all the outstanding work..
Written 27 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
preggyn2018
Greater Johannesburg, South Africa62 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
A great Chinese experience
On 27/12/2019 we visited the Happy Island Water Park. I suppose we in SA don’t have such nearby so this is the only option. Not bad and not great either. Great day out with the family and we didn’t get to do all the slides and rides as there is a great variety. Some of which I didn’t even see in Disney World. Definitely recommended if you enjoy the adrenaline rush!
Wave pool was huge and waves are quite high and powerful, so be cautious.
Lots to do for the kids as well. So we paid a special rate of R199 for adults and kids under 1.3m paid R99. Food was not bad. Burger and chips was R50, fish and chips R75, chip and dip R40, buddy cold drinks R17, 1.5lt cold drinks R30.
On the negative side, management needs to change certain things. Improve on the marketing and overall appearance of the park. Almost all rides were short of water and possibly due to water restrictions. The lazy river tubes dragged on the floor most places due to low water and people were pushing the tubes along the way. Some rides only started at 11am. Please consider water shoes or socks as the fake grass was extremely hot and burning and the plastic tiles that allows water to flow through was actually cutting the feet. Poor design I suppose.
Overall I would recommend a visit even though it does not meet international standards. The Chinese investors should consider local management and advise to improve and keep people coming back!
I would go back if things improve!
On 27/12/2019 we visited the Happy Island Water Park. I suppose we in SA don’t have such nearby so this is the only option. Not bad and not great either. Great day out with the family and we didn’t get to do all the slides and rides as there is a great variety. Some of which I didn’t even see in Disney World. Definitely recommended if you enjoy the adrenaline rush!
Wave pool was huge and waves are quite high and powerful, so be cautious.
Lots to do for the kids as well. So we paid a special rate of R199 for adults and kids under 1.3m paid R99. Food was not bad. Burger and chips was R50, fish and chips R75, chip and dip R40, buddy cold drinks R17, 1.5lt cold drinks R30.
On the negative side, management needs to change certain things. Improve on the marketing and overall appearance of the park. Almost all rides were short of water and possibly due to water restrictions. The lazy river tubes dragged on the floor most places due to low water and people were pushing the tubes along the way. Some rides only started at 11am. Please consider water shoes or socks as the fake grass was extremely hot and burning and the plastic tiles that allows water to flow through was actually cutting the feet. Poor design I suppose.
Overall I would recommend a visit even though it does not meet international standards. The Chinese investors should consider local management and advise to improve and keep people coming back!
I would go back if things improve!
Written 28 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Explorer439165
1 contribution
Apr 2019 • Family
Booked and paid for 5 tickets online on the 29th April for the 30th April. 2 adults 3 kids. Printed confirmations. Arrived at Happy Island to be told it's closed. I called the number on their website. The lady I spoke to said:
1.management was in a meeting
2. As of last week, no refunds will be issued
3. Someone from management will contact me to organise another day
4. When I asked how could I book if that day was closed, I was told the website had problems.
5. NO ONE has contacted me
6. I will be taking this further
1.management was in a meeting
2. As of last week, no refunds will be issued
3. Someone from management will contact me to organise another day
4. When I asked how could I book if that day was closed, I was told the website had problems.
5. NO ONE has contacted me
6. I will be taking this further
Written 1 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ABCDHo
Johannesburg, South Africa61 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
We heard lots of mixed reviews from friends, reviews and grapevine. We went on the 24 February 2019 and we had a great time. My girls are getting bigger and at the ages of 6, 8 and 10 the fee of R199 and for those young ones under the height of 1.3m it's (R99) I was concerned that she may not be able to go on some rides but that wasn't the case.
Let's all be honest, we didn't want to travel all the way to "Bophuthatswana" to the competitor and then park, ride, walk and carry and still pay all the exorbitant prices of our favourite, sugary, carbonated drink. Honestly, it is in true Chinese fake style and we had a good laugh at the decor, murals and somewhat "Crazy Store" feel about the park. We went there to have fun on the rides and the work all those muscles we had forgotten about.
There are warnings that the rides have weight and height limitations. Those over 1.9m or over 90kg may be restricted on the rides. This should not be a surprise if you read the signs!
The rides were all operational and it was great to see all the job creation opportunities that the park had organised, even if it's just a few days a week. It was also lovely to see the local brands and entrepreneurs line up their food trucks and the variety catered for everyone. The prices at the café were affordable, and I think cheaper than a forecourt store, so go for it.
We arrived at 08h30 and left at 18h00, we definitely got our money's worth! If accessibility was the goal, they hit the nail on the head.
Let's all be honest, we didn't want to travel all the way to "Bophuthatswana" to the competitor and then park, ride, walk and carry and still pay all the exorbitant prices of our favourite, sugary, carbonated drink. Honestly, it is in true Chinese fake style and we had a good laugh at the decor, murals and somewhat "Crazy Store" feel about the park. We went there to have fun on the rides and the work all those muscles we had forgotten about.
There are warnings that the rides have weight and height limitations. Those over 1.9m or over 90kg may be restricted on the rides. This should not be a surprise if you read the signs!
The rides were all operational and it was great to see all the job creation opportunities that the park had organised, even if it's just a few days a week. It was also lovely to see the local brands and entrepreneurs line up their food trucks and the variety catered for everyone. The prices at the café were affordable, and I think cheaper than a forecourt store, so go for it.
We arrived at 08h30 and left at 18h00, we definitely got our money's worth! If accessibility was the goal, they hit the nail on the head.
Written 26 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Whr do you buy tickets and how much do they cost coz people are saying it's 400 per person
Written 18 February 2019
can I bring my own gazebo and chairs to the resort?, and if I buy by tickets on Friday and it is raining on Saturday, can I move my tickets to another day? We will be a family of 7
Written 24 January 2019
Gazebo's and chairs are fine, however there are so many trees,the gazebo might be an unnecessary extra to carry. They don't allow passouts, so you could keep the gazebo in the car while you send some of your family in to find a spot, then make the call.
I'd recommend buying tickets at the door, that way you don't run the risk, I'm not sure how they manage tickets with rain. I heard you have to queue to collect your online tickets anyway, so it doesn't save you anytime purchasing prior.
Written 29 January 2019
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