Water Ball Entertainment

They are out of business!!!

We had purchased Groupon coupons prior to our trip to Oahu. This was a blast! I’m claustrophobic but I was able to do this. Even in the heat of the day, it was only hot getting from the entry to the water. I would recommend them putting down a rug to the pool or wetting down the hot cement because you’re barefoot inside. My daughter (22) and I had a blast. We didn’t last the entire ten minutes, mainly because we were laughing so hard. Employees seemed nice enough. If you think you’re too old for this, then you probably are… on to the Tiki bar next door for coconut drinks.

We had a 90 minute wait for the Cheesecake factory so we decided to keep the kids entertained by taking them to do the hamster balls. My kids had done it before and they loved it! I had a groupon for 6 rides but we only had 5 kids. They do not allow you to use some of the rides. You have to forfeit any extra that you do not use if you do not print your groupon. Not that big of a deal it was still cheaper than full price.
What did upset me was the fact that she told us that if the line got really long that we would have to wait for full paying customers to ride before us. What? I guess they don’t care if locals come back since they have a steady stream of tourists. So I thought we were in the clear after 3 of the kids were able to get in. Then they told us that they were going to have to let other people in front of the last 2 kids. (there were only 4 people in line behind my kids) My child was crying and upset because he didn’t understand why the big kids behind him got to ride before him.
So overall, My kids loved it. Would it be worth the full $ 10? Absolutely not. This was our second time there and our second time encountering rude customer service and therefore our last.

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Brought the groupon coupons for this thing and if it wasnt for that I dont think this would have been worth the full price. First off, it was kind of hard to find the place as we were wondering where and why it would be in the middle of the international marketplace. second, we thought the pool would be WAY bigger than the little pool of water they had and that EVERYONE in the marketplace would be watching haha. It was fun in the beginning then got a bit tiring towards the end. This thing definitely is not for the «older» crowd and mostly for the «youngans.» Another thing is that the plastic ball can be a bit gross if the person before you was a «sweat bucket» and they dont air it out after each use so hopefully the person before you doesnt smell either haha. Anyway its a very cool concept and I’m glad that I got to try it at least once.

A friend of mine invited to take my kids (ages 4 and 8) here one weekend because her daughter (age 12) enjoyed it when they had gone the previous weekend. We had to cancel because something came up, but when I saw a groupon for this place a few weeks later, I invited her daughter to come along with us. When we got there, we had to wait about 30 minutes because there were people in front of us, and they only had 3 balls at this place. When the kids before mine got out of the balls, i noticed that they were soaking in their sweat! So when our kids got in right after, the inside of the balls were foggy. My kids, although difficult to stand up in, had a blast! But when they came out, they too, were sweaty! Although fun for the kids, I have to rate this activity 2 stars from a mother’s point of view for cleanliness/​sanitary reasons, and ventilation. I won’t be bringing them back for a second go.

I now know how hamsters feel.
And it’s pretty darn fun.
Water Ball Entertainment is set up in the International Marketplace next to the food court. You climb into large inflated balls and attempt to roll around in an extra large kiddie pool. Don’t be fooled, rolling around in the pool is no easy feat. It’s actually quite a workout and by the end of our stint, I was hot, sticky and kind of tired. Apparently, us older folks just don’t have stamina like the kiddies. After 5 minutes some of my friends resorted to laying listlessly at the bottom of the ball. The kids who went before my friends and I looked like they had a blast. Unfortunately, going into the giant balls after other people is especially hot and isn’t really pleasant, dare I say, smelling. They should have more balls on hand to create a rotation cause they should definitely be aired out a little between runs. Other than that, it was fun trying to bounce into my friends and doing the hamster run across the pool.
I was having a bad morning and throwing myself against the ball and sloshing around in the water was also very stress relieving. I may not do this again for a while, but I’m sure glad I tried it!

Definitely something the kids seem to enjoy – there were quite a few going in who seemed to be quite excited about the whole thing. For older folks like my friends and I (late 20s), it was more a thing to do just to try it.
I think it has some potential, but the particular one we went to left a few things to be desired.
The first thing is the murky water; it looked like it had been pumped in straight from the Ala Wai. We convinced ourselves it wasn’t much of a concern since we were going to be in a bubble. It’s worth having misgivings about – my bubble had a very slight leak or otherwise had some water in it from the changeovers, which also made the inside extremely slippery. It’s hard to get your ball to spin or roll when you can’t grip anything, but being in an extremely low friction situation was certainly an interesting experience. The water is also shallower than I had imagined it would be, and this only turned out to be a problem upon entry into the water. Make sure you don’t have a knee sticking out when they roll you in, the knee will find the bottom of the pool with a fair amount of force. Other than that, I could fall with abandon and never again felt the bottom, so it’s really just that first splash to look out for.
The second thing is the heat. You’re trapped in a bubble with no ventilation, so it gets stuffy in there almost instantaneously, and it only gets more stifling as you move around. By the end of the 10 minutes, I was getting light-​headed, so I’m pretty sure that 10 minute limit is in place to keep you from using up all the oxygen in the bubble and passing out.
The third thing is that you WILL be a spectacle. It’s pretty hilarious on both ends, though, so this isn’t a big issue unless you’re hoping for good pictures or are particularly shy. It’s outdoors, so just about anyone and everyone in the immediate area can see you. The balls aren’t super clear, and they get coated with condensation from the breathing person inside the ball, further obscuring the folks inside, so if you’re going to take pictures of your kids or friends inside the bubbles, do it when they first get in. It’s amusing to watch the folks in the balls as you plot your strategies for staying upright. (Your strategies will likely be for naught, but do try!)
The couple running the place seem like nice folks, but they also sort of let their kids have free reign running around. One kid was running around spraying Lysol around (I assume they use it to disinfect the balls at the end of the day, because they can’t do it in between people – you’d suffocate the next person going in), so don’t get sprayed. At $ 10 for 10 minutes, it seems over-​priced, but it’s probably worth it for a small group of young kids (max of 4 balls here). Not as much for the older crowd.

WALKING ON WATER. I want one of these at home so I can just zip the kids up and let them scream and run til they run out of energy.
Review written by my 6 yr old because I am still on hiatus:
«5 stars!!! Mom this is so cool! I loved it! It was like I was in a bubble on the water. The guy unzips the ball, lets you in, and then sticks a blow dryer in the slot to fill it up with air. You can jump and walk on water and not get wet at all! I couldn’t stand up unless I ran really hard! I got tired so I liked just lying down in the ball, floating in the water!»
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LOCATED in the International Marketplace (Waikiki), this is the kid version of a treadmill. It looks like tons of fun, and you will laugh so hard the first time you see your kid trying to stay upright.
PRICE…unless you have a Groupon, this will cost you $ 10.
The ball holds up to 300lbs and approximately 53 minutes of air, but none of the normally high-​energy boys wanted to stay in the «bubble» much longer than 10 minutes. It’s apparently harder than it looks, because my son slept for 3 hours after he did this hamster ball trick.
Here’s another one that the KIDS will find hilarious but definitely not for me.

I went with Karen P. and a few other friends, and like she said, we had groupons. My rating is spoken as a 21 year old girl. 3 stars because, well it was what it said. You run in a hamster ball. If you are a 10 year old boy, I’m sure your rating would be in the 4 – 5 stars. I saw young boys go over and over without stopping.
The guy was intimidating, but he was nice. You just step into the ball, he zips it, sticks some leaf blower in there, and cover your ears, it’s loud in there lol. Then you walk yourself up the ramp, and inevitably fall into the square little pool they’ve built there.
The ball itself was slightly yellowed, and a little damp and gravelly when I fell down (someone previously must’ve had sand on them). I got clausterphobic after realizing the only thing I could hear was myself laughing really hard as soon as I fell over the first time. Then I started to wonder when I’d run out of air.
The only way to stay upright or make any progress in attacking another ball is to RUN really FAST. Take BIG steps forward, like you’re trying to run up a wall. It doesn’t hurt at all to fall, in fact it’s hilarious. But I got tired after a few minutes and exhausted half way through.
When time’s up, the guy comes in and drags you out, sit on your butt for this part. You unzip and step out. Then how tired you REALLY are hits you. It was enough that I almost passed out. You don’t realize how much you’re exhausting yourself. My friend even got physically ill, and we’re not exactly super out of shape 21 year olds either.
TLDR: If you’re young and impossible to exhaust, this will be awesome. If your idea of sprinting 2 miles makes you ill, don’t even think about it. AND DON’T EAT BEFORE HAND. and be prepared with water! I even highly recommend you go for a run before to warm up!

It doesn’t look like much in the middle of the International Marketplace. A single ride is $ 10, but our group had Groupons on hand. I don’t think I would have paid full price, so if you can score a deal, it might be worth trying out just to say you went hamster ballin’.
Perhaps my friends (including Nicole M.!) & I are too old for this (mortified to say this at 21 years of age) — we thought it looked relatively easy watching the little kids do it! It felt claustrophobic, smelt a bit (one person gets out of the ball, you’re next to go in, barefoot & all), a bit gravelly/​sandy in there. Hamster balling was physically tolling for us, you get tired quickly & have to exert yourself if you truly want to go at it.
Also, I wouldn’t advise eating beforehand — not a good idea!