Indoor water parks have become a booming business in the northern part of the country. There are over 35 in Wisconsin alone. Family-oriented resorts are actually being built around them to offer both parents and kids a fun indoor holiday in the cold winter months. Here are some of the largest that you may want to consider for your next family vacation.
Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort and Water Park
This indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin spans over 70,000 square feet and features a wave pool, a 5-person raft water slide ride, a four-storey play structure with water cannons, blasters and mini slides, and a variety of relaxing hot tubs to soak in.
Beyond the water park, your kids will also be entertained by a towering indoor play structure, an arcade, rock climbing wall, and laser tag. The adjacent Wilderness Resort also features a spa, a snow tubing hill in the winter, golf in the summer, a fitness center and four onsite restaurants. The water park is included in the price of the room, and there are monthly specials offering room rates as low as $99.
KeyLime Cove Resort and Indoor Water Park
KeyLime Cove’s 65,000 square foot water park in Gurnee, Illinois features giant water slides, a river tube ride, a play area with dumping bucket and steaming whirlpools. But additional fun includes the Tsunami wave pool, the Hurricane Vortex which is a swirling whirlpool ride, and a basketball pool.
The resort, including all the guest rooms, is made to feel like you are in the tropics. There is one restaurant onsite as well as several smaller eateries, plus an arcade and a full service spa. The resort is also close to Gurnee Mills premium outlet shopping center, and is less than an hour away from Chicago. The water park is free for guests of the resort. Room rates are upwards of $200 in peak season, but they also offer special promotions with rates that include free food vouchers and arcade tokens.
Avalanche Bay at Grand Mountain Lodge
This is one of the larger water parks, at 88,000 square feet. Avalanche Bay in Boyne, Michigan features a 800-gallon dumping bucket, a surfing simulator, the Vertigo Cannonbowl tube slide which sends riders spinning around into a giant bowl until flushed into the pool below, a toddler play area, a wet climbing wall, a 4-lane downhill mat racer slide, a river adventure ride, in addition to the sliding tubes, whirlpools and basketball pool.
Boyne is also a major ski town in the winter months as well as offering mountain biking, golf and hiking in the summer. The Grand Mountain Lodge, which is attached to Avalanche Bay, has a spa, a fitness center, an arcade and a variety of restaurants and pubs and guests can use the waterpark for free. In fact, the resort offers a winter special where you can get one night's lodging, ski lift tickets, water park admission and a buffet breakfast for a family of four for just $275.
Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park Resort
With a western theme, the Fort Rapids water park resort in Columbus, Ohio, offers 60,000 square feet of water fun. The water park has four exciting water slides, a dumping bucket, a thrilling bowl ride, water mat racing, mini rapids to float along, a play area for smaller kids, and a 30-person hot tub. The resort features four onsite restaurants, an arcade, and a fitness center. The water park is only included in the price of the room if you book the water park package. The water park does have to close a few days of the month for maintenance, so check the calendar on their website to ensure that it will be open the days you are there. Daily hours are also different depending on the day and the month, but usually it is open from 9 am to 10 pm on weekends. The city of Columbus also offers a variety of other family activities such as visiting the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium or the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), where your kids can engage in fun activities that teach them about science and space.
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Indoor water park hotels are a great winter vacation idea and all of these resorts offer unbelievable parks your family will love.
Gail Oliver - Gail is an author, writer and researcher. She has been quoted in magazines as diverse as Cosmopolitan and Maclean's. Gail writes on a ...
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