Indoor Water Parks in Winter

Top Reasons Indoor Water Parks Make a Great Winter Family Vacation Idea

Aug 17, 2006 Kelby Carr

Indoor water parks have boomed in the past few years, with several opening throughout the U.S. and Canada. This is a great way to extend summer fun with a winter trip.

As the temperature rises, it can get depressing, especially for kids who can't play outside like they could over the summer. What's great about taking a winter vacation to an indoor water park is that it allows the family to get a brief escape back to summertime.

Here are some more top reasons why indoor water parks make a great winter family vacation:

• You get to pretend it's summer, even if it's just for a brief getaway. As Avalanche Bay in Boyne Falls, Michigan declares: "Always a sunny, 84 degrees inside of Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark! The perfect weather-proof vacation!"
• It is a vacation that the entire family can enjoy, whether it's a baby discovering water play in a sitting pool, older kids on wild water slides or parents relaxing by a wave pool.
• It's probably nearby. With the explosive growth of the indoor water park trend, odds are pretty good you live close to one (especially if you live in the north or the Midwest).
• It can be inexpensive. Some offer packages for the entire family to stay for $150 per night, although there are some that can get pricy. There are also some resorts that allow those not staying at the hotel to use the indoor water park for a fee, so you can choose cheaper accommodations nearby.
• The accommodations are family-friendly, often with large suite rooms meant to house parents and a few kids (unlike typical hotel rooms).

More Family Winter Vacation Ideas

• Top Indoor Water Park Hotels
• Ride the Polar Express to the North Pole
• Take a Family Hockey Road Trip
• Yellowstone Learning in Winter
• Oslo's Ski Jump and Museum
• Rollerskiing in Saddleback, Maine

The copyright of the article Indoor Water Parks in Winter in Family Travel is owned by Kelby Carr. Permission to republish Indoor Water Parks in Winter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Aug 18, 2006 1:26 PM

Alan Sorum :

We picked one up in Anchorage called H2Oasis. Very popular in the winter!

http://www.h2oasiswaterpark.com/

Aug 18, 2006 3:08 PM

Kelby Carr :

That's actually going to be on my next article, top indoor water parks. How did you like it?

Aug 18, 2006 4:02 PM

Jennifer W. Miner :

What a great article -- it's nice to see that people who live in colder climates can have a mini-vacation in the water, during the winter. The clostest we have here on SoCal is <a href="http://www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharborla/index.asp"& gt;Hurricane Harbor</a>, which is outside, and probably too much for young children. :)
Jen

Aug 18, 2006 6:25 PM

Alan Sorum :

The H2O park is popular with the kids. The company is good about giving out coupons to use as prizes for various organizations.

Aug 18, 2006 7:27 PM

Michelle Snow :

I think one of the best things about the indoor waterparks is that many exist near ski areas, so it makes a nice vacation compromise for families. Those who want to ski, can. Those who want a vacation requiring a bathing suit get that, too. :D

Aug 19, 2006 8:03 AM

Kelby Carr :

Good point. They are also really most prolific in the Midwest, and having just moved from there, I know that getting a chance to get AWAY from all the snow and pretend it's summer briefly can really boost your mood in the middle of January! Heehheh.

Sep 15, 2006 11:36 AM

Lori Doyle :

Wejustgotback.com has reviews of a couple of East Coast indoor w-parks. They sound like FUN! The articles make some good points about how old (or rather, how tall) kids need to be in order to get your money's worth out of a vacation like this.

Sep 16, 2006 4:55 AM

Kelby Carr :

I will definitely check that out! Typical age and height limits would be good information for me to include in my article anyway. I'm always concerned about that, since my children are small. Until they get older, there are lots of activities that sound like fun trips but really aren't age-appropriate.

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