I nearly drowned there when I was 8. Went to Disny World with my family and my aunt/uncle and older (like 15) cousins. Mom and Aunt went shopping, went to the water park with Dad/Uncle and cousins. My cousins wanted to go to the water slides (Whoop n'Holler Hollow) and I was one of those "ohhh me too" little kids so I followed them (Dad and Uncle were doing something else). Cousins had no idea that I couldn't swim (and I assumed this was similar to other water slides (shallow at landing).
My first cousin went. Assuming she would be at the bottom to help me out, I went. Great Ride, horrible landing. I hit the watter and sunk to the bottom. I kicked off and doggy paddled my way to the surface to get a breath only to be hit by my other cousin as she came off the slide.
Next thing I remember I was being hauled out.
I was VERY eager to get swimming lessons after that.
Brrr... Got chills reading your story, because I too have had a bad experience at a water park as a kid (I think I was... 11 or 12, I think). This one was a place called Serena Water Park here in Finland, and like many places, it too had a wave pool: you know, where at regular intervals they would create huge waves for the kiddies to enjoy.
I was a kiddie at the time, and I was climbing up on this underwater bench by the side of the wall, people pushing and laughing as the waves went by. There was nothing to grab a hold of, so I waited for the next wave to lift me so I could jump on the ledge.
The wave came, I pushed forward, someone pushed me from behind...
Next thing I knew, I was being dragged up from under the water by my dad, I'm coughing up chlorinated water, and half of one of my front teeth is missing. It did not hurt or anything; I just had a diagonal cut going from the gum to the opposite tip of the tooth.
We left immediately afterwards and got a dentist appointment at the same day.
The result? One of my teeth is now half plastic, and I can't watch that water park's commercials on the telly without remembering that.