Schlitterbahn Waterparks celebrates 40th anniversary in Galveston with freebies

PHOTOS: A look back at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels

The water park's Galveston location is honoring the anniversary by offering free admission to the first 40 people in line at the main entrance Friday, June 21.

>>>See how the waterpark has changed in the 40 years since it first opened... less PHOTOS: A look back at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels

The water park's Galveston location is honoring the anniversary by offering free admission to the first 40 people in line at the main entrance Friday, June ... more Photo: Www.mikiefarias.com Photo: Www.mikiefarias.com Image 1 of / 143 Caption Close Schlitterbahn Waterparks celebrates 40th anniversary in Galveston with freebies 1 / 143 Back to Gallery

Schlitterbahn Waterparks is celebrating its 40th anniversary June 21, just in time for the official start of the summer.

The company opened the first waterpark in Texas and the second in the world with Schlitterbahn New Braunfels.

Various Schlitterbahn locations will celebrate the anniversary Friday with freebies and special events. The water park's Galveston location is honoring the anniversary by offer free admission to the first 40 people in line at the main entrance Friday, June 21.

RELATED: Schlitterbahn Galveston Island introduces Infinity Racers thrill ride

The Galveston park will also host a live broadcast from KILT Morning Bull at 7 a.m., a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. and will attempt to take the "World's Largest Waterpark Selfie" at 3:30 p.m. The first 2,500 visitors will be gifted a pair of free sunglasses.

The Galveston location recently marked the opening of its newest thrill ride, Infinity Racers. The space-themed multi-million-dollar ride is a tribute to NASA and the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing and features two head-first mat slides with multi-colored fiberglass to create unique lighting effects inside.

On June 13, Schlitterbahn announced the sale of its New Braunfels and Galveston parks to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message

