8 July 2025
Have you heard about the largest indoor water park in North America? DreamWorks Water Park, located within the American Dream Mall, promises a splashing good time filled with thrills, spills, and all your favorite DreamWorks characters. Boasting the world’s largest indoor wave pool, over 15 exhilarating slides—including one famously themed to Shrek—this park truly has a lot to brag about. Since its late 2020 opening, it has garnered impressive awards and statistics, easily competing as one of the best water parks globally.
You’ll find DreamWorks Water Park situated within the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, despite its common association with New York. There are various transportation options available to reach the mall. For more detailed information on how to get here, these transport choices, and the American Dream Mall itself, you can CLICK HERE!
As a large water park, DreamWorks Water Park offers a range of ticket options and varying opening times, depending on the time of year. They also provide numerous additional extras, such as skybox suites, private cabanas, and skip-the-line passes. For the most up-to-date pricing and hours, your best bet is to check their official website, as these do fluctuate. As a rough guide, peak days typically see opening hours from 10 AM to 9 PM, while weekdays and non-peak days may have later starts or earlier closes. Pricing for non-peak days starts at $69, peak days begin at $89, and super peak days are $99. Be sure to look out for promotional tickets, twilight tickets, and “buy now and save” deals to find the best value for your visit.
Our visit took place on a Saturday, and we made our way to the water park nice and early, arriving about 30 minutes ahead of opening time. Though there was no queue initially, once the doors opened, we were able to swiftly enter, have our tickets scanned, and head straight to the changing rooms. It’s worth noting that lockers incur a hefty charge; we paid around $30 for a large locker, which suited the three of us perfectly. Locker access is provided via a wristband, purchased conveniently from machines within the changing area.
Our first glimpse of the water park was truly incredible. The sheer scale of this indoor water park is immediately impressive. The front area features a massive collection of slides intertwined with multiple towers, offering a mix of body slides and tube rides. As you venture further in, you encounter the enormous wave pool, an impressive sight with iconic DreamWorks characters like Shrek, Alex, and Po suspended overhead. Even deeper into the park, you’ll find a selection of larger raft slides, a lazy river, and various attractions catering to families and younger children. We decided to head directly to the very back, where the large raft slides were located, anticipating they would develop the longest queues as the day progressed.
The first of the three major slides we tackled was Shrek’s Sinkhole Slammer. This is a truly thrilling slide, featuring intense drops before plunging you into a massive funnel. It was incredibly fun, and we rode it multiple times, despite the demanding climb up the stairs. Next, we experienced Swamp n’ Splash, another slide that leads into a funnel but delivers more twists, turns, and spins on your way out. Both of these slides can accommodate up to four guests but require a two-person minimum. The final major slide in this area, Dragon & Dronkey’s Flight, proved to be an unexpected highlight. This high-speed slide offers exhilarating zero-gravity moments and sudden drops, making it a fantastic culmination to this trio of massive slides.
Continuing with the impressive slide collection, one of the major highlights is DreamWorks Dream Runner. This is a true water coaster, where up to four guests board a moving conveyor belt that carries them up a lift, preparing them for high speeds, significant drops, and exhilarating airtime—all on a water slide! As the world’s longest hydromagnetic rocket coaster, it honestly stands out as one of the most thrilling water slides we’ve ever experienced. Next, you’ll find Thrillagascar & Jungle Jammer, which are free-fall slides holding the title of the world’s tallest trapdoor capsules.
Beyond the slides, there’s plenty to keep you busy. Naturally, you can enjoy the colossal waves in the gigantic wave pool, which also features additional entertainment throughout the day, such as a lively dance party with King Julien from Madagascar—super fun to watch!
We managed to complete so many slides with minimal to no wait at the start of the day, so we highly recommend arriving early to maximize your experience. As the day progresses, DreamWorks Water Park certainly becomes busier. However, we had no trouble finding seats for breaks or waiting long for any food or drinks we desired, which is a great testament to their operations, especially considering how busy this place can get on peak days.
Beyond the exhilarating rides, DreamWorks Water Park offers plenty of fantastic photo opportunities with some of your favorite characters – our selfie with King Julien being a highlight! For food and drinks, there are several distinct options. You’ll find a vibrant beach hut selling pizzas and other summery fare, alongside a burger shack offering classic fast-food choices like burgers, chicken, and fries. There’s also a bar if you fancy an adult beverage, and the Trolls Ice Sing Cream stand for refreshing drinks and sweet treats. None of these outlets had queues during our visit, though we anticipate waits might occur if you try to dine during peak times. Prices were as expected for a large-scale water park in America, with a main meal and drink typically costing around $20 per person.
We had an amazing visit, filled with countless fun moments and memories, from tackling the large raft slides at the start of our day to trying out all the other slides in between, chilling out in the wave pool, and capturing photos with the park’s vibrant theming. For future visitors, here are some helpful tips: there are numerous slide towers, each with different restrictions for body slides versus raft slides. It’s highly advisable to consult the information boards or a park map to understand which tower to ascend for your desired slide, as the climbs are substantial, and you wouldn’t want to hike up only to head back down without a ride. While it might seem a little confusing initially, everything makes perfect sense once you review the signs before making your ascent. Also, the raft slides at the back of the water park tend to develop queues very quickly due to their lower capacity and larger scale. The later in the day you visit, the longer the waits will be, potentially exceeding 60 minutes. The water coaster also attracts significant queues, making it another ride to prioritize early. Fortunately, the other main tower offers so many options that its queues are generally not as bad in comparison.
We’d love to extend a huge thank you to the American Dream Mall team for collaborating with us on our recent visit. They graciously provided complimentary entry for three of us in return for our content. We were able to film using our camera on a chest harness, which is permissible for all guests as long as the lifeguards approve. Similarly, you are welcome to take photos on your phones, provided you are considerate of other guests.
For a more in-depth and visual look inside DreamWorks Water Park, be sure to check out our TikTok video, and let us know if you’ve been or if you’re keen to visit for some record-breaking water fun!
@thrillnation Shrek is love. Shrek is slide. Who wants to ride this!? #shrek #waterslide #slide #waterpark #aquapark #dreamworks #americandream #newjersey #newyork @American Dream ♬ Fairytale (From "Shrek") - Geek Music
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