the pool is quite shallow, my 5 and 7 year olds had no problem. they wore arm floters. there are also life vests you can get at the top of the slide in different kids sizes and my kids wore them around the pool after they went down the slide. it is a great slide for kids cuz you can wait at the bottom of the slide and catch the kids, no one cared. unlike the BC at disney where my kids could not use the big slide cuz you cannot wear anything to go down it and the lifeguards will not!!!! let you catch the kids. i told the life guard and anyone that would listen to me at the BC that i liked the HRH pool better. anyway the HRH was a great time