Wave pool gets 2,000‑pound ice dump at Hawaiian Falls to beat Texas heat

Hundreds of visitors at Hawaiian Falls in Roanoke found a new way to cool off Monday: an ice dump straight into the wave pool.

"It's hot, it's July in Texas," said Ron McKenzie, marketing director at Hawaiian Falls Roanoke.

"It's super hot. It's like 1,000 degrees, more than that," said nine-year-olds Ellie Lemoine and Raelynn March.

"If it's going to be hot, we want to be in the water, so the pool, the water park," said Kelli Sanders, who was at the park with her children.

With crowds packing the wave pool, the Hawaiian Falls team decided to take the chill factor up a notch.

"We're going to dump 2,000 lbs of ice into our wave pool today to cool it off even more," McKenzie said.

Employees hauled wheelbarrows of ice to the pool and, after a countdown, dumped it directly into the water.

The reaction was anything but chilly – guests cheered as the ice hit the surface.

But even at a water park, safety remains a priority in extreme heat. The CDC recommends finding shade, drinking plenty of fluids — especially water – and taking breaks in air conditioning when temperatures climb this high.

Even if your kids are splashing and having fun, remember: it's still dangerously hot outside.