One of Kerala’s signature destinations and an integral part Kochi’s life and pop culture today, Wonderla Kochi is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It is still the only large water theme park in Kerala and is still extremely popular. I visited the park first in 2003 during the final year of engineering college when it was still “Veega Land”, and keep going back most years that I can.
Having been around for two and a half decades now, Wonderla Kochi still draws hundreds of visitors from all over Kerala and Tamil Nadu every day. I keep seeing questions asking for advice about how things are done at Wonderla, and I think it would be worthwhile penning down some advice.
Here are some tips and tricks to get the best out of your visit to Wonderla Kochi.
Avoid Weekends and Holidays
This is going to sound obvious, but avoid going to Wonderla on weekends or public holidays. The place will be absolutely packed and you will only waste your life standing in queues for everything. Since you are going to make it a day out of it anyway, take a working day off and enjoy faster rides, fewer crowds and yes, cleaner water! Commit yourselves for a full day! The best day for a visit is Tuesday or Wednesday, followed by Thursday, Monday and Friday. The peak season is March to May, of course, followed by December and January and then August and September.
Wonderla Kochi opening timings: Ticket counters open at 0930 am. The park works from 1100 to 1900 on weekends and from 1100 to 1800 on weekdays. Water rides will be open only from 1200 to 1700 on all days.
Book Online for Better Rates and Savings
Always book your Wonderla tickets online through the official Wonderla ticketing website using credit or debit cards or netbanking or UPI. With this you can directly breeze to the entry turnstiles without having to go through the ticket counter or anything. Just show them the ticket on your phone and any age/ID proof if required. Ticket prices at Wonderla Kochi range from Rs.1040 to Rs.1550 depending on the day and season. However, there is a hack. Buy tickets online and you will never have to pay the entire amount!
There are always a number of offers and promotions going on on the Wonderla website. For instance, most months you will get straight 10% to 20% off if you book online. Then there are birthday and birth month offers where you get to enter free if it is your birthday or birth month, there are promotions for college and school students and many other seasonal offers. There was even an offer that gave you 15% off if you showed your inked (voted) finger! Please note that the offers keep changing and will be available on the website only. Go digital, folks! Contact the Wonderla team for group bookings.
Dress Code
Now this one is an often pondered pain point. What kind of dress can you wear to Wonderla? The answer is quite simple, actually. You should wear only Nylon or Polyester, mostly. You know, the stuff that football jerseys are made of. Clothes of any natural fiber (cotton, wool, etc.) are not allowed to any water rides. And the dress code also mandates that the clothes should be fitting (shorts, bermudas, etc.) and not long or loose garments. All this is taken extremely seriously and very strictly enforced.
Just head over to any sports shop to buy polyester/nylon clothes. Decathlon is a good option too. There are shops around the park selling nylon clothes, but these are not really recommended. You can purchase quality apparel from inside the Wonderla park itself.
Lockers Facility at Wonderla
You can rent lockers of three different sizes at Wonderla to keep your things in while you are at the park. Small – fits a handbag, medium – fits a couple of normal backpacks, large – fits a couple of cabin bags/trolleys, full length – is the size of a small toilet stall. The cost of the medium one is Rs.400, out of which Rs.100 is refundable. The keys to the small and medium lockers is a waterproof RFID wristband that can be used to open/lock the locker by touch. You can keep your stuff in your vehicles, but you cannot re-enter the park once you exit.
Digital India
The “locker key” band is a digital wallet too! It is called an EZWallet that you can “load” with cash at the issuing counter (using cash, cards or UPI) and use it for purchases at any shop within the park right from restaurants to tea stalls to gift shops. Just “tap” the wristband at a terminal and the invoice amount will be deducted from your the amount loaded in your wrist band wallet. There are no charges for using the wallet. This eliminates any need to carry around cash or cards or even your phone for UPI (scared of it getting wet). In fact, I never understood why people would want to carry phones around in water theme parks. They will get wet no matter how careful you are and the chlorinated water is not good for electronics. Yeah, I know, the Instagram picture is worth more than the moment, but come on people! Lose yourselves on at least this one day! Leave your phones in your car or locker!
Water First!
The biggest question, however, is about the order of the rides one needs to take to make the most out of a Wonderla Kochi day. Newbies tend to gravitate towards the blockbuster thriller land rides first, but veterans of the park know it as a rule that the best strategy to plan your day at Wonderla Kochi is to go for water first and land later. This is simply because land rides have higher capacity and move people faster. Water slides can accommodate only one person (or two) per ride at a time while land rides can accommodate 15-30 in one shot. This, coupled with the delays caused by the tubes having to be constantly transported back to the starting point causes a significant back up of people waiting for water slides by late afternoon. After around 2 pm, you will easily be wasting up to 30 minutes in queue per ride!
Also, by opting for water first you will be spending the scorching afternoon chilling in the water and you can start for the land rides by the time things cool down. Water rides are enjoyed while it is hot while land rides are enjoyed while it is cooler!
Food at Wonderla
There are quite a few restaurants in Wonderla and the food is quite good. However, remember that you are not there to eat. A belly full of food will turn out to be unpleasant in a theme park and hence don’t eat too much. A standard Biriyani should be enough for two people. You can pre-book meals along with your entry ticket but it is advised to better buy from the restaurant itself. You will not know how much you are going to eat. Have a good fill on your way back in the evening.
The best way to spend a day at Wonderla Kochi
Make sure you are at the park when it opens at 11. Get registered, changed and walk around the park trying to get to know the layout.
The most popular water ride without doubt is the Wonder Splash (though it is classified as a land ride). Make a dash for it the first thing after you enter the park. You might even get a chance for two rides! Try out a few “normal” land rides until the water slides open by 12. hit the big water slides as soon as they open because waiting times will go up to an hour sometimes during afternoon. Go for the “Rapid River”, “Banded Krait”, “Fusion Slide” and “Round Slide” rides in that order (they are all next to each other) and then the remaining ones.
Break for lunch by 1:30. Remember not to eat too much, the rides are best enjoyed on a semi-empty stomach.
The best options post-lunch without upsetting your stomach too much is to try the milder rides like the Fun Glides or the Snake Slides, or spend some time in a wave pool or the kids pools (only for families) and the rain disco. Hit the big wave pool at exactly 4 until around 430. Your water rides are done. Have some tea and snacks, dry yourselves up and hit the thriller “signature” land rides by 5 all the way until 7. Don’t forget to take in the 5D show and the live performance in between. Now that is a fulfilling day at Wonderla!
Don’t worry there are only about a thousand people who read my blog and maybe a couple of them would ever plan of visiting Wonderla Kochi. There is no chance of this writeup gathering enough critical mass to upend anything.
How to reach Wonderla Kochi by Public Transport
Wonderla “Kochi” is actually located in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat that is quite a ways away from the Ernakulam/Kochi metro region and hence there is no Metro service to Wonderla. Bus services by both KSRTC and private operators connect Ernakulam/Kochi to the park.
Buses to Wonderla from Ernakulam depart from the Ernakulam Kaloor bus stand. Kaloor is a small bus stand in the middle of the city, different from the big one (Vyttila Mobility Hub) located more towards the edge of the city. The Kaloor bus stand can be reached directly by Kochi Metro which is connected to both Ernakulam North and South railway stations and the Vyttila Mobility hub.
NOTE: An auto would be more convenient (and cheaper and faster) from the Ernakulam North station. Also, there are no direct buses from Vyttila to Wonderla. There used to be a direct weekend Volvo from Trivandrum to Wonderla but that is no longer running.
From Kaloor, board any bus going towards Muvattupuzha via Kakkanad, Pallikara, Kizhakkambalam and you can alight directly in front of the park. Any bus going to Wonderla will have it mentioned prominently on the front. There is a bus on an average every 15-20 minutes and the trip would take you around 30-40 minutes.
For return timings of buses from Wonderla to Ernakulam via Kakkanad (and Muvattupuzha and Perumbavoor) please refer the timetable below. The bus stop is right on the main road opposite to the entrance of the park. People towards Thrissur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kottayam etc. may take the Muvattupuzha buses too.
Some other things to note
- Outside food and water is generally not allowed in the park.
- Drinking water is available for free everywhere in the park.
- Photography and videography is allowed at Wonderla given you don’t disturb others.
- Children below 140 cm height are not allowed on most rides.
- People weighing more than 105 kg will have to go alone on twin rides.
- There is a smoking zone, prayer room, first aid station and nursing room in the park.
- If you exit the park you will not be allowed to re-enter.
- Most things mentioned here would be applicable to all Wonderla parks – Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar.
- I am not associated with Wonderla or Wonderla Holidays Ltd. in any manner. I received no payment in any kind for this post. All trademarks and photos belong to their respective owners.
If you have any questions about how things work at Wonderla and how to spend your day there, please feel free to use the comments section.
Have a happy outing and enjoy your day at Wonderla!
