Review: MSAC Wave Pool

Back in January this year at the request of the kids I took them along to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre School Holiday Activities. The main attraction for the kids was the wave pool. We had been a few years ago and had a great time, so I didn’t think much about taking the 5 kids on my own.

SplashOUT days run over the school holidays and on most weekends at MSAC. Although we had a great time, I wish that I had checked their website before I went and read this:

Please note that whilst the waves are running, all children under the age of 10 must be accompanied, in the water, by a parent or guardian over the age of 16. While the waves are not running, all children must be actively supervised by a parent or guardian.

MSAC take this point very seriously. One wave session was stopped early as there were too many children without supervising adults. Another session started late because again there weren’t enough adults in the water with children.

As 4 out of my 5 kids are under 10, this did place me in quite a predicament. With my best persuasion skills, I managed to work it so I was in the water with the toddler on my hip and one other child. There was then one older child sitting down on a seat having a snack with a younger child for the session and then we would swap. (Wave sessions are about 30 minutes apart.) Far from optimum, but the kids new that there wasn’t really anything else that I could do.

This situation was made easier by the fact that there was also a host of other activities on around the pool. The day we were there the kids could also:

  • Dive from a platform
  • Climb the monster inflatable
  • Line up for their turn on the water slide
  • Test their skills on the aqua climbing wall.

Again due to my kids age, with the exception of the water slide, I needed to be present at these activities. The younger ones (3 and 6) were quite happy to watch, but at times it was a struggle to keep the toddler from joining in!

The toddler pool, complete with beach entry (pictured above) is great and has lots of interactive water fun for the little ones. Our problem was that with only one adult and lots of bigger kids, the toddler didn’t get to play there too much.

The activities during the school holidays are excellent and perfect for school age kids. Next time we go, I will arrange to go with other families, so that the adults can take different age groups to activities suited to their ages.

MSAC Wave Pool – The Details

Opening Hours: SplashOut Activities are held every Saturday from (02 Jan – 25 Dec) from 11:00am to 4:00pm. For session times during school holidays check their website.

Location: MSAC is in Albert Park, less than 3km from Melbourne’s CBD. Access is either from Aughtie Drive or the Albert Road/ Cecil Street entrance.

Parking: We found a park easily behind the centre, but this parking is more expensive than that further away and across the road (I would recommend parking there).

Cost: Child Single Visit (3-15 years) $4.95, Family: 1 Adult, 2 Children $14.50, Family: 2 Adults, 2 Children $18.15, Additional Child $2.80

Age: Family. But if you intend to use the wave pool, the more children under 10 you have, the more adults you will need.