'Watersports' in the Daytona area means three different waters: the manufactured kind at Daytona Lagoon, the river kind at Tomoka, and the ocean kind at the inlet. This guide covers each with its best films.

Daytona Lagoon: First Visit Tips You Need to Know!

Whoa, Davie!

Whoa, Davie!'s first-visit film (2026) is the most complete Daytona Lagoon walkthrough available: a family of first-timers works through the waterpark slides, the lazy river looping the splash zone, the big wave pool and the food court, then the dry side — go-karts and miniature golf — before an elevator outro declaring it 'so much more than a water park.' Their verdict: get the season pass if you will come more than once, arrive before the lunch rush, and use the parking garage right next door.

Key takeaways
  • First-visit tips from a family that did the whole park
  • Waterpark plus Fun Park: go-karts, mini golf, arcade and more
  • Season pass pitched as the value play; parking garage adjacent

Daytona’s Water Park

AikenAdventures

AikenAdventures' family day at Daytona Lagoon (2023) is the honest version: hunting for the scarce free shade (cabanas cost extra and the under-walkway spots go fast), a toddler who mostly refuses the water, a lightning closure that empties the pools, and the save — the indoor arcade and an upstairs restaurant while the storm passes. Essential viewing for any family planning a summer visit: this is what a Florida afternoon thunderstorm does to a waterpark day, and how the Fun Park side rescues it.

Key takeaways
  • Free shade is scarce; cabanas are the paid fix
  • Lightning clears the waterpark — the arcade and Fun Park are the rain plan
  • Park typically open until 10 p.m. in season, as filmed

Tomoka State Park | Camping, Kayaking & Wildlife in Ormond Beach Florida

Florida and Beyond

Florida and Beyond spends a day at Tomoka State Park in 2021: the $5 entry as filmed, the Outpost's own-brewed beer, the giant Native American statue, the trail behind it to the water's edge, a turtle on the path, and the campsite hookups. The best day-visit film in this set — proof you do not need to camp to use this park.

Key takeaways
  • Day visit: entry was $5 as filmed in 2021
  • The Outpost brews its own beer, per the film
  • Statue trail runs about a mile to the water

The waterpark

Daytona Lagoon leads with the most complete walkthrough (slides, lazy river, wave pool — plus the dry side) and the honest family audit: scarce free shade, cabanas extra, and a lightning closure that empties the pools while the arcade saves the day. TUBERIDES' GoPro medley and a Castaway Tower POV put you on the slides the walkthroughs describe.

The river

Tomoka's two paddling films are the quiet counterweight: a day-visit film with the statue trail to the water's edge, and a wordless sit on the Tomoka River waterfront — a few spoken words over long looks at the hammock edge. Kayak fishing has its own guide treatment on this site; here the river is for drifting.

Kayaking the Tomoka River and Strickland Creek, FL

Exploring with Fran

A quiet sit on the Tomoka River waterfront inside the state park — a few spoken words over long looks at the water and the hammock edge.

What to Expect When Fishing at Ponce Inlet

Beyond Fishing Family

Beyond Fishing Family walks the Lighthouse Point Park jetty in Ponce Inlet to fish it: finger mullet for bait, a long-shank hook, and a good bluefish landed off the rocks. The film doubles as a park portrait — the calm inlet side against the rough ocean side, the swimmers to avoid when casting, and the family's honest summary that the jetty is worth the trip even when the cooler stays empty.

Key takeaways
  • Jetty fishing at the park: bluefish on finger mullet
  • Ocean side runs rough; the inlet side stays calm
  • Filmed in 2024

Taking it back to my younger days Fishing the SUNGLOW pier

JETTIE ROCKS FISHING and OUTDOORS

JETTIE ROCKS FISHING returns to Sunglow Pier, where he fished as a teenager, for a morning of whiting fishing off the shortened pier — the storm-damaged structure is visibly not as long as it used to be. He lands his target species, reminisces about all-day sessions with his grandfather catching whiting, pompano and drum, and makes the case for the pier as a memory-making spot. Filmed in 2021, before the worst of the hurricane damage.

Key takeaways
  • Whiting fishing from the pier, first fish on early
  • Filmed in 2021 — the pier was longer then than after the storms
  • The pier's blanket fishing setup explained as he rigs up

The ocean edge

The jetty fishing film (finger mullet, a bluefish landed, the calm-versus-rough inlet lesson) and the Sunglow rail sessions cover the saltwater fishing edge, while the Smyrna Dunes film watches surfers work the inlet break from the boardwalk. Slides, rivers, surf: pick your water.

Sources: the 9 videos on this page, filmed at the area's watersports spots.

Watch: Daytona Beach Watersports Guide, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Smyrna Dunes Park Review | New Smyrna Beach Boardwalk, Surf & Hidden Beaches

Sunkel Family

A family road-trip vlog whose middle act is a Smyrna Dunes Park visit: after a long line of cars at the entrance, the family walks the full boardwalk loop, watches surfers working the inlet break and takes in the dune scenery. The park segment sits inside a larger holiday family trip film, but the boardwalk coverage itself is a genuine, ground-level look at the park on a busy day.

Key takeaways
  • Expect an entry line on busy holiday-period days, as filmed
  • Full boardwalk loop walk with inlet surf views
  • Park segment is part of a longer family road-trip film

Awesome Waterpark in Florida: DAYTONA LAGOON! (GoPro POV Footage)

TUBERIDES

TUBERIDES' GoPro POV tour of Daytona Lagoon's slides (2017) — on-ride footage across the waterpark's towers, shot rider's-eye.

"Castaway Tower" Blue Waterslide at Daytona Lagoon Daytona Beach Florida

ThemeParkHD

An on-ride POV down the blue slide of Castaway Tower at Daytona Lagoon (ThemeParkHD, 2019).

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