October 4th, 2008 larry
Our quest to try every indoor water park in the area continues with the Mayan Adventure at the Holiday Inn in Elmhurst. Elmhurst was surprisingly not that far from the city (about 30 minutes) and the Holiday Inn makes their water park available to people not staying at the hotel for $30 a person.
The Mayan Adventure is simple, easy to navigate, and has most of what you need. There are two large water slides for adults and bigger kids, one you can ride with an intertube. There is a lazy river where you can ride tubes, float and bounce around the whole park. I walked next to my four year old around the lazy river about 5 times while he tried to stand, kneel, and float on a tube, only to flip into the water every few minutes. There is a small pool with basketball hoops where you can swim, jump, and take free throws. There is also a huge hot tub to relax in.
The Mayan personality really shows in the kids area of the water park. There is a zero depth area with three slides, water guns, a large coconut that spills over every 5-10 minutes, and plenty of water jets coming out of the ground and elsewhere. We spent most of our time in this area, where we needed to make sure each slide was working under full stress: so we went down each slide about 30 times. After each slide my kid would run (of course running is prohibited) around the entire kids area, under all the showers and sprayers, and back up to the slides.
Uniquely at the Mayan Adventure, the water is surrounded by a video and game arcade. They have some great video games (motorcycles, Galaga, etc.) as well as skee-ball, air hockey, basketball hoops. You can easily go into this area when you get out of the pool, play a couple of games and get wet again. The food is not bad but closes early (around 5:00 on Sunday). We actually had a great time at the ice cream vending machine where an electronic vacuum looking thing finds your choice, descends on it, and deposits it into the basket. We had three ice cream sandwiches just to see it work.
The Mayan Adventure is clean, fun, and seems to be a little less crowded than other venues. Even with three birthday parties there, we could easily navigate the park, ride on anything we wanted to with minimum wait, and also do a little swimming. It is too bad they don’t have medium sized water slides in between the large adult ones and the kiddie area, something in the middle. The lifeguards were great and allowed the kids to have fun without skimping on safety.
Review Mayan Adventure
Dad Says: I really liked the fact that the lifeguards weren’t always on the kids cases and let them play in the water park without constantly hearing a whistle, but I still felt safe. The Mayan Adventure does not have all of the bells and buzzers of some of the other water parks, , but it is also less crowded, easy to navigate, and the arcade games in close range is nice.
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June 22nd, 2008 larry
I travel for work every single week, typically going to more than two cities a week. It always reminds me how great Chicago is. You can see any show, get any kind of food, do anything. But one thing you can’t do, is go to a water park. For that, you need to venture out to the suburbs. For this week, we suggest a few great outdoor water parks sponsored by local park districts: Elk Grove Village’s Rainbow Falls, Buffalo Grove’s Spray N’ Play, Geneva’s Sunset Pool, and Vernon Hills Family Aquatic Center.
First of all, hats off to Elk Grove Park District. This city seems to have some of the newest, most complete facilities around. They have a brand new fitness center, the Pirate Cove mini-amusement park, and of course Rainbow Falls ($14 for non residents, $8 for residents, and free for 2 and under). Rainbow Falls is a huge water complex with everything you would want to do in water from really young kids to about 12 years old. There is a toddler pool with a small slide and water jets coming out of the floor. There is a regular sized pool that has water jets coming out of the floor and water cannons on the side of the pool that the kids can shoot each other (and you) with. The regular size pool is a 0 depth walk in so its easy to get smaller kids acclimated. There is a a river that goes around the complex that you can ride an innertube on, a huge bucket of water that is about 20 feet in the air that dumps water on eagerly awaiting kids every 15 minutes, and 4 water slides of varying speed and depth. Rainbow also has a slide that ends in a circular bowl (the Pelican Plunge) that drops you into a pool, There is something for everyone, but get there early as parking is not the best.
If you have an hour to spare in Elk Grove, you might want to stop by Pirates Cove. Pirates Cove is free for adults and $9 for kids on the weekends. There is a rock climbing exhibit (4 year olds and up), a playground, carousel, train ride where the kids propel the train themselves, paddle boats, and a slide where kids go down on mats.
Buffalo Grove’s (submitted by Bubbie&Pa) Spray ‘N Play is set up for younger kids to interact with each other (probably 5 and under). Bring with a pail as the kids there like to fill up their pails with water and dump it on someone else, especially their parents or grandparents. The key attraction at this venue is the sprayers, fountains, floor jets, and cannons. It is pretty much an all out, non-stop water fight with little or no rules. There is no shade in the play area so make sure to bring with plenty of sunscreen and maybe a shirt to put on the kids after a while. The venue does not have any food but does have a picnic area for food you bring yourself. If you get tired of water, this is a playground right next door. Spray N’ Play is extremely affordable at $3 per person, $1 for seniors and people with Buffalo Grove Park District passes get $1 off.
Sunset Pool in Geneva (submitted by Tim Perry) is fun for everybody in the family. No matter what ages your kids are, there is something to keep them entertained. In addition to being a heated outdoor pool, it offers zero-depth areas for the young kids to play in. The bubblers and sprinklers make it a playground in the water. There are several slides, including toddler slides, body slides, and tube slides. The slides are fantastic and really make this water park stand-out. The facility is clean, shaded by sunbrellas and offers a typical concession area. There are plenty of areas to picnic, 2 sand volleyball coursts and the pool is located next to another park with swings, slides, picnic tables, and basketball courts for more entertainment. 2 years and younger are free, up to 17 is $6 for residents and $10 for non-residents, adults pay $7, $12 for non residents, and seniors pay $6, $10 for non-residents. After 6:00, it is half price.
Vernon Hills Family Aquatic Center (submitted by Brian) also focuses on all ages. There is a zero depth pool attached to a deeper pool with two separate lanes set up for swimming. A second zero depth pool has spray gadgets to run under and a deeper end too (Maybe 4.5 feet deep). Then there is a back area with 3 water slides attached to a lazy river. Two of the slides allow water tubes provided by the pool (one person and two person slides available). A family pass is worth it for the summer as it is especially fun to go after work on the weekdays, though the weekends are not too crowded. The Family Aquatic Center is $8 for residents, $12 for non-residents, and kids 3 and under are free. After 5:00 on weekends and 6:30 on weekdays, the park is half price.
Click on the links within this blog to review any of the parks.
Larry and Donna with special thanks to our guest contributors, Tim, Brian, and Bubbie&Pa.
Mom Says: A couple times a summer I make the trip out to Rainbow Falls in Elk Grove Village. It is super-clean and great for young children to teenagers. They have a concession stand and picnic area so plan on spending the day.
Dad Says: The Park Districts around the area have done a great job putting together some really fun water parks. None of these will compare to the bigger, private parks in the area like CoCo Key or Key Lime Cove, but if you are looking for some wet fun at the last minute, these are great, cheaper alternatives.
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May 4th, 2008 larry
We have to admit it, we are suckers for a good water park. So this weekend we went to Key Lime Cove in Gurnee which is absolutely a good water park. Unlike Coco Key at Arlington Race Track, you have to stay at the hotel to be able to go this water park. This weekend the least expensive room was $219 per night and prices get lower during the week, sometimes to $179 per night (prices include water park access). They offer other packages that include arcade tokens with multiple night stays.
Key Lime Cove is more than a hotel or water park, it is truly an entire resort. We were extremely surprised how well done, how friendly, how clean, and how much fun this place is. Of course, the main attraction is the water park. Key Lime has all of the necessities of a first rate, first class water park including:
- 250 gallon tank of water in the shape of a pineapple that dumps itself out every 10 minutes or so.
- Small slides for really small kids, and medium slides for kids maybe 3-9. These medium slides twist and turn and dump you out in about 6 inches of water. They were fast enough to even get the parents excited and elicited the excited “Again, Again, Again” from our kid. This entire area is very shallow, so it is extremely safe for all ages.
- Five large water slides. There were two body slides that were mostly in the dark which is pretty exciting since you don’t know which way you are going to go the first couple of times. Then there were three tube slides that were extremely fast. One of the slides goes almost completely vertical and dumps you into a toilet bowl that keeps you circling until you fall into the pool. One of the nice things is that they will let you take smaller kids down the tube ride with an adult.
- A tubing river and wave pool that takes you around the water park.
- A hot tub to hang out in.
- A 3 foot pool with basketball hoops.
- A dedicated tot pool for the very young kids with two really small slides.
Unique to Key Lime Cove is the massive amount of water cannons, spray guns, dumping buckets, and other assorted water weapons. Our kid could not stop pulling ropes, dumping water, cranking water cannons, and twisting sprouts. And it is an all out war zone of water slinging. Older kids set themselves up on the higher levels and wait for people to pass underneath to dump and spray water. Adults are not immune. In fact, it seems that the older you are, the worse you get dumped on. The only unfortunate part of the park is that there is no place to just swim, especially for those under 48″.
But Key Lime does go farther than just the water park. The whole island theme is backed by several restaurants, a pretty robust arcade, a bakery, ice cream stores, stuffed animal making boutique, and an arts and crafts area. They have little activities throughout the day as well. There was a small parade at night, a Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tribute singer (she was really talented and the young girls were totally into it), and several arts and crafts activities during the day. Our kid participated in an airplane making activity which was great. There is a full service spa. The salon offers mother and daughter manicure/pedicures and tween pampering as well. In general, we found the staff energetic, fun, helpful, and patient from the lifeguards, to the arcade area, to the arts and crafts store. You always saw the staff playing ad-hoc games with kids outside the arts and crafts area.
It is obviously a bit of an investment being a hotel stay, but we would highly recommend Key Lime Cove. Key Lime will be a great place to go before the weather is good enough for outdoor water fun and maybe a nice alternative during the summer where you don’t have to constantly be lathering everyone up with sun screen. If you were planning on going to the Dells (which is really the Super Bowl of water parks), you would have to think twice before traveling 2 extra hours. We saw kids as old as teenagers having a great time, and, with the other activities, there are good breaks from the water activities. The food is just OK, but not inedible, and there are healthy choices. The chocolate chip cookie was $2.75 (they must be comparing their prices to Great America which is next door) and the pizza was good right out of the oven, but be wary if it has been sitting a while.
Review this blog or Key Lime Cove
Larry and Donna
Mom says: Key Lime Cove was great, it exceeded all expectations. So cheerful, fun, clean, bright, the staff was OUTSTANDING. There are plenty of activities to break up all the water park play. I especially liked the arts and craft area. One special feature is that your wristband for the water park is also your room key and charge card. For moms that means not having to keep track of any valuables while you’re out and about during your stay. You can start playing at the water park at 1pm the day you arrive and can play the whole next day as well. After checkout (11am) the resort will hold your bags, and lockers are available as well.
Dad says: We arrived at 1:00 the day of our hotel stay and my 3.5 year old pretty much played through until 7:30 at night. And we were the first ones on the slide at 9:00 a.m. the next day. An exhausting, fun couple of days and found that I was strangely addicted to the Deal or No Deal video game — you can win up to 200 tickets.
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January 24th, 2008 larry
Welcome to Week 1 of the Crazy Kids Blog where we answer the question, “What will I
do with my kids today.” We start the conversation by discussing the new indoor water
park attached to the Sheraton Chicago Northwest by Arlington Park Race Track, CoCo
Key Water Resort. This indoor water park is part of a chain of new parks in Illinois
(Arlington Heights and Rockford), Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Missouri, and
Nebraska. If you stay at the hotel the water park is free during your stay. For a day
pass without a hotel stay, which are limited because the hotel gets preference, the
park is $19.00 per person during the week and $39.00 on the weekend.
The water park has the key features: there is a zero-depth entry pool for the little
ones with two slides, fountains, and a basketball hoop. Next to the little pool is
the standard combination of maze, jungle gym, and medium size slides. In this
section, kids can walk up stairs through waterfalls, shoot water guns at each other,
spray hoses at each other, and dump buckets of water on people. There is a small
slide from the first story, another slide on the second story, and two slides on the
top level. Our kid is 3 and all of these slides were perfect for him. He must have
gone down the small slide about 20 times to warm up, and then spent most of the
afternoon on the top level slides. All slides end in a small basin of water about 12
inches deep. Smaller kids need to be careful on the slippery stairs as bigger kids
are running by.
At the top of this structure is the huge bucket of water. When you hear the bell
sounding, you need to run underneath it because it is about to tip and dump water on
all below. For 4 years and younger I would not let the kids take the full brunt of
the splash but keep them just outside of the splash zone. Don’t worry, they will
receive plenty of water from the big splash.
On the largest structure, there are two body slides and two inner-tube slides. These
are for adults and older kids. There is yet another pool with basketball hoops.
Ringing all of the structures is a lazy river that you can float an inner-tube
around.
There were two main disappointments for the park. First, there isn’t really a place
where your kid can paddle around and swim. The little pool is too small and the
basketball courts are crowded with bigger kids. Second, to go down the largest
slides, you need to be 4 feet tall. And they don’t waive the restriction if they go
down with parents. Whereas at the Wisconsin Dells the height restrictions are more
of a guideline than the rule (they probably should say 48” and taller, unless you
aren’t). This means that for smaller kids, they only have access to about two-thirds
of the park. This decreases the amount of time you can spend at the park
significantly (we spent about 2 hours). On the upside, it definitely decreased the
amount of times we walked up and down the large structure.
Definitely don’t confuse Coco Key with the Wisconsin Dells, but for the money and
saving at least 2 hours in driving time from the city, it is a great alternative. We
had a ton of fun and our kid definitely wants to go back. However, every time he
hears a bell now he ducks his head and covers his eyes because he thinks a big bucket
of water is going to come down on his head. After the water park we had lunch at the
Sheraton restaurant. We loved that each booth has a TV- brilliant - which is a nice
way to wind down after climbing stairs for a few hours (and the food was pretty good
too). Definitely give CoCo Key a try during the winter.
Review this blog or CoCo Key
Larry and Donna
Mom Says: Does not compare to the Kalahri in the Dells, but this place is fun and
convenient to the city. Great way to spend (part of) a day. Practical info: They have
lockers for rent and bags for wet clothes. No hairdryers, which can be hard for
little ones in this cold, cold weather.
Dad Says: It is really disappointing to not be able to take the younger kids down
the tube ride. If your kid is under 4 feet, you can avoid the mistake I made by
walking up the 150+ stairs to the top, only to be denied and have to make the long
walk back down with an upset kid because he couldn’t go on the rid.
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