On this blog I talked about what we saw inside the Epic Central Park in Grand Prairie, our experience with the Light and Water show, fees and other important links.
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One lazy day, we decided to see the 9:30 pm water and light show at Grand Prairie for the first time. We left our hotel at 7:00 pm since the sunset is around 8:30 pm and we didn’t want to wait long. We thought that time was enough to walk around and grab dinner before the light show. Located at 2961 S State Hwy 161, Grand Prairie, TX 75052 – it is an easy find.
Our Walkthrough Experience
From the parking lot, we passed by the mini playground and got excited when we saw the 60-foot high fountain. We walked towards it and upon doing so – the view of the lake, wide green spaces (called GrandLawn) and a long trail that stretches far ahead emerged. We were stunned to see how enormous this park was! My husband loves running for his cardio workout while I enjoy trailing in nature and serene spaces, so a place like this is can be considered a ‘cherry on top’ of our cake. We wonder why there’s just a handful of people today, we kind of expected a crowd to be honest. We talked about how nice it would be to go back here for a morning run.
1. Epic Waters
We took our time walking past the bridge over the lake, then took pictures with the yellow ‘epic’ stand alone letters. When we reached a glass-walled building, we realized that it was actually EPIC WATERS, an 80,000 sq.ft. indoor water park! Geez! We can only peek from the entrance, but we saw a mob of adults and youngsters enjoying their time here, contrary to what we thought about just having a ‘handful of people’ today. I take that back, they were all here. The sound of the water is refreshing to hear and the place looks super fun. The ceilings are sky high and there were long and colorful slides popping up from way back. With regrets, I realized we came unprepared. Insert crying emoji.
2. The Epic
Next to Epic Waters is a 120,000 sq.ft. establishment called THE EPIC. Out of curiosity we went ahead and the front desk lady allowed us to look around the receiving area. I sensed Marvin's excitement when he saw people playing on what looks like a full double-sized basketball court. Due to entrance restrictions and our limited time (I know. We should’ve started strolling around earlier than what we did) we were not able to look further. We walked along the side of the building and behind the see-through walls was a long exhibit of gym equipment and a bunch of people actively exercising. I am convinced that this is not your regular recreational center.
3. The Summit
It is impossible not to notice the enchanting silver tree over the lake. Maybe it’s just me but I am drawn to it like a moth. Walking towards it we yet again saw another expansive fitness area through the translucent wall of another establishment called THE SUMMIT. We learned that it is actually a 60,000 sq.ft. facility for adults ages 50 and up. Auw, how precious it is that the the park has something for everybody. It is just about as grand as it gets!
4. Chicken N Pickle
We felt hungry after about 45 minutes of strolling because following the trail is sort of a long walk itself. The nearby restaurants were LOOP 9 BBQ and THE FINCH, but we head on to check out CHICKEN N PICKLE first before deciding where to eat. We walked to where the Circular LED neon lights and the Grand Prairie mural is. More photos and selfies! Here we found a spacious outdoor complex and multiple indoor courts as well. Families and friends are gathered around - some are chilling while some play PickleBall.
We invited ourselves to the main bar and ordered shareables: Smoked Wings with Mango Habanero Chutney Sauce, Chicken Quesadilla and Avocado Hummus. We didn’t feel like eating burgers tonight and preferred pica-pica. The staff is friendly and overall the food was well-presented and tasted very good - not greasy, not salty and taste fresh and light.
5. Illuvia
People started filling up the lawn to find their best view seats, even before we started eating at Chicken N Pickle. Toy sellers prepped up while the kids lined up to get their own glimmering sticks and light up toys. When we went back for the show, we chose to stand by one of the elevated corners adjacent to the stairs of a nearby building (will soon be Serious Eats Pizza). Although people were packed, there are still room for everybody. The show started at exactly 9:30 pm and lasted for approximately 15 minutes. The video projection was impressive - I've been thinking about how it's done the whole time. Haha! But we enjoyed it. The show was delightful for adults and kids alike. It was such a mesmerizing way to end the day and I’m glad we came.
Details, Pricing and Important Links
After being dumbfounded like that, of course I did a little digging to what is the real deal with Epic Central. After days of scrolling through the rabbit hole of links and official websites (yes there are many) here’s the bulleted summary of what every site stated. I also listed the most helpful links that I found. I collated all of them so you don’t have to:
Official Website: https://epicwatersgp.com/
Offers and Tickets: https://epicwaters.centeredgeonline.com/areas/areas
Official Website: https://jointheepic.com/
Membership Rates:
https://jointheepic.com/memberships/
https://jointheepic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pricing-Guide-JAN-2023.pdf
Attraction Details: https://epiccentral.com/illuvia/
Other Establishments to Explore
We will definitely see more establishments pop up in the Epic Central vicinity in the future. Restaurants that are opening soon are: Vidorra Cocina De Mexico and Serious Eats Pizza. Hilton Hotels are also being constructed at the time of writing. Restaurants that are open but we haven’t tried visiting are Loop 9 BBQ and The Finch. Nearby establishments are: Bolder Adventure Park (indoor family entertainment center), PlayGrand Adventure (a modern playground) and Central Bark (Dog park). Here is the development map of Epic Central Park to give you an overview how humongous it is!
Photo from www.visitgrandprairietx.com
Conclusion
This is one of the places that I will bring my friends to spend the day with (one day will not be enough though.) It’s a must-see, must-try, one-stop entertainment center for everybody. It stated that this park was the headliner among all of the parks in Grand Prairie and surely will be grander in the next years ahead.
Majority of what is in the park is entirely new, with the Illuvia Light Show that just started June of 2023. Since we only went for the light show (due to it making rounds in social media), imagine how surprised we were seeing all the infrastructures surrounding the fountain and learning all about them afterwards. I would say being clueless made us enjoy our first visit to the park more, but all the surrounding amenities deserve more promotion and to be introduced especially to nonresidents like me. Hence, this blog. I am not associated with Epic Central Park nor being paid for this review. We simply had a good time and sensed that Epic Central Park supports well-being and healthy lifestyle for the population they are serving. They have good food and created an environment that fosters a sense of community and quality time with friends and family ~ which to us, is a very beautiful thing.
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