Spring Break has arrived and our family decided to spend a couple of days at the Kalahari waterpark in Sandusky, OH.
We had never been there before, but ultimately we were glad we made the trip.
This blog post is a quick account of our time spent at Kalahari.
Checking In Then Heading Off to Swim
We arrived at Kalahari a little after 12:00 PM on a Tuesday. It was planned that way since we knew we could begin swimming at noon the day of check-in.
Our balcony room cost $540 for the five of us for one night. (You can have up to six people in the room.) The price included waterpark passes for all from noon the day of check-in, to 3:00 PM on the day of check-out.
The room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived, but we were expecting that. We left our luggage in the truck, grabbed our swimsuit bag, attached our wristbands, and headed in to swim.
Lazy River and ‘The Chair’
Everyone knows the Lazy River. To be honest, it’s my ‘go to’ when at a waterpark. That probably makes me old, but oh well.
As soon as the kids dispersed from our table, Brian and I headed out in search of locating the Lazy River.
We found it quickly. (The place is big, but not that big.) At the entrance of the water, there were piles of tubes waiting to be picked up by newcomers.
Brian grabbed one of the bigger ones and proceeded to flop on into it. (There’s really no other way to describe it.) It didn’t appear comfortable at all, and he commented as much. I elected to just walk behind and push him since I wanted to have more of me in the water than just my bottom.
Halfway around our first lap, we saw an empty chair tube that appeared more like a little sofa than an innertube. Brian quickly switched out his tube and moved to the chair.
You wouldn’t think that the style of innertube would matter so much on the enjoyment of the activity. Well, it did.
Emphatically.
From that point on, Brian enjoyed himself immensely.
As we kept making our way around the water attraction, we noticed that there were only a few chair innertubes to be seen, and all were being used.
Every now and then, someone would comment as to how comfortable the chair looked, as opposed to the donut innertube.
Brian whispered to me, “I’m not giving up this chair.” I rolled my eyes. I had figured as much.
Now, the Lazy River loops around, with some twists and turns, along with small waterfalls spilling over the edges. After a lap or two, there’s really not much to see.
Do you think we were getting out anytime soon? Nope. Not with Brian worried about risking the chance to ever find a chair tube again.
We were in that Lazy River for two hours before we eventually left to use restrooms and find our children.
Needless to say, I know what present I’m getting Brian to enjoy at the lake in the summer.
Eating Poolside
Kids get hungry after constant swimming and climbing up and down miles of stairs.
Brian had purchased a package with the hotel that consisted of $200 in arcade money and $100 in food money for a total of $200. (It was a good deal for us because we knew that the kids were going to want to spend time in the arcade as part of their vacation time.)
In the indoor waterpark area, there are multiple spots to buy beverages and food. One of those food places was the Zulu Grill where they served burgers, fries, soft pretzels, etc…
When checking in to the water park, one wristband is a different color because it’s tied to a credit card. (I’m not sure that I mentioned that most food and entertainment places at Kalahari are ‘cashless.’) Brian had the credit card wristband on, so he headed up to the line at Zulu Grill with the kids to order food while I stayed back at our table.
It didn’t take long and they returned with chicken tender baskets, cheesy fries, a chicken sandwich for me, and some soft pretzels and drinks. The total for our poolside meal was $83.
It seemed a little expensive, but I didn’t think it was going to be cheap. We were all full in the end and the food was good. I especially enjoyed my chicken sandwich basket.
Hotel Happiness
While we had been floating around on our 183rd lap at the Lazy River, Brian had received a text that our room was ready.
After eating, Brian went and moved our bags from the truck to the hotel room while I stayed at the waterpark with the kids. He then returned and I headed off to the hotel room to work on my computer.
This was the moment I had been looking forward to the most – hotel time to work on blogging without any distractions or craziness.
It was amazing!
I should have taken pics of the room itself, but I forgot. It was a fairly standard hotel room, with 2 queen size beds and a small balcony off the room. There was also an electric fireplace in a corner, although I couldn’t get it to turn on.
The room was clean and kid-free for two entire hours. I was absolutely giddy with excitement.
After setting up my laptop on the desk, I grabbed a Diet Coke and some popcorn from our snack bag before sitting down and logging in.
The appeal of a hotel room, isn’t always about the seclusion I feel while in the room away from everyone else. It’s also about the lack of responsibilities around me.
While at home on my computer, if I’m not in my Writing Cabin, I am constantly reminded of tasks I should be doing rather than happily working on this blog.
If vacuuming needs done, it seems to be screaming at me for my attention. If there’s dust on the fireplace, I worry about dusting.
When at a hotel with my laptop, I can concentrate on what I’m doing and just enjoy the moment instead of experiencing the constant demands that come with the busy life of a parent.
I had fun with Brian at the Lazy River. I enjoyed spending time with the kids in the Wave Pool, but my two hours of solitude with my computer were by far my favorite in our day and a half at Kalahari.
Other Impressions
Here are some other impressions from Kalahari:
- There seemed to be an abundance of steps at the waterpark. My knees are bad and I could definitely feel the stress on them as I went up and down into the hot tub, up and down to the second floor, etc… (Wow. This sounds like a Progressive commercial and I’m turning into my parents.)
- The arcade was very impressive in size and in interesting machines/activities. The kids enjoyed themselves.
- There were a lot of great food options, however I was happy that we had a refrigerator in our hotel room. I had packed a cooler with some fruit and string cheese, along with a case of Diet Coke. I was glad to have it in the evening.
- The check-in process went quickly for the amount of people that were arriving at the same time we did.
- I liked that the wristbands were your entry for everything (i.e. waterpark and hotel room). I didn’t have to worry about misplacing my room key.
- The entire resort, from parking lot, to lobby, to waterpark, was clean. It just felt like a nice place to be.
All in all, I definitely think the vacation is one that we would do again. The only thing I would change is that I would try and go at a time of the year where it’s a little less busy.
Goals for Today:
- Clean the Kitchen
- Watch Yoast SEO Videos
- Read J.D. Robb