If you read my post Sorry, not sorry, why we skipped Easter, then you know hubby and I are into breaking toxic cycles, so Easter traditions were canceled this year. We decided to have some family fun and take the kids to the water park instead. We’re always looking for fun and unique places to take our 4 pack, even if that means we have to go outside of Ohio to do it. The kids had been bugging us to take them to a hotel for the weekend (they’re so used to traveling now, and with my need to have a change of scenery from time to time, I love it).
Hubby found a water park in Pennsylvania which is only a 1.5-hour car ride from Cleveland. And it had a hotel right next door. It was perfect! But seeing as how this was kind of a last-minute trip and we would have to factor in boarding our Yorkie/Bichon, we opted to only go to the water park and save the hotel for another time. But it was definitely a great feature to have!
We wanted to keep everything a surprise, so we told the kids we were going to a hotel for the night. They were beyond excited, so I knew they would be over the moon once they saw where we were actually taking them. We purchased the day passes online the night before, and it was super easy. They had a lot of great packages that were very affordable for our family of 6 and even had one that included the hotel next door! We were ready to hit the road.
We hit the road early and decided to make an entire day out of it. With an onsite food court that served pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, and even ice cream, we could break when needed, refuel and get back to the fun. There were also restaurants such as Quaker Steak and Applebees just a few minutes away.
As we prepared to pull into the parking lot, the kids immediately saw the colorful tubes that protruded from the front of the building and asked what they were. Of course, we said, “Don’t know. Let’s go check it out before heading into the hotel.” We examined the long, winding parts of the slides, and within seconds, the kids were begging us to stay. After a few minutes of explaining why we couldn’t, we finally let them in on our little secret, and they were thrilled! The smiles and hugs were priceless.
Hubby checked us in and got our wristbands while I rented lockers. There were 2 different sized lockers (we chose 1 large one and just took our coats and other oversized items back to the car). Each locker rental came with a refundable deposit and was priced as follows:
- Small Locker – $8*
- Large Locker – $12*
- Key Deposit – $20*
*Updated prices as of 1/25/2021
With the locker key in hand, I trailed behind the kids who flew down the two flights of stairs that took us from the Mezzanine level to the Aquatic one. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, it was no wonder why they had been ranked one of the top 10 water park resorts in the country. They had already exceeded my expectations in a matter of minutes.
We were welcomed by the 84-degree weather, which was a drastic change from the 45 degrees that we fought through just to get in the door. Just a few feet away were:
seven water slides
a winding, lazy river
2 swimming pools
one with a kid-friendly mini obstacle course and multiple basketball hoops)
Several hot tubs
a 12-level interactive kids Tree House
an obstacle course
6,500 square foot Arcade with over 100 games
Wave Pool
which the website says is “the largest indoor wave pool in the eastern United States.”
*Photo courtesy of Flickr.com
Needless to say, the kids had a blast, and we ended up staying until they were too tired to move (which was about 6 hours).
Another successful quick Smith getaway in the books!
I was pretty upset that I didn’t bring my waterproof protective pouch for my phone because I didn’t get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to. Now that I think about it after my daughter lost her glasses on one of the slides, I’m happy I didn’t bring it. The lifeguards were great because they actually shut down the ride and went diving for her glasses (which they found!).
This is definitely on our list of places to revisit, and we think you’ll love it too. Check out Splash Lagoon in Erie, Pennsylvania, for a great family outing, birthday party, or private event. No matter where you live!
