I haven't been to Raging Waters since my teens. Seven Peaks bought them out and earlier this year offered the "Pass of All Passes" for $39 a person. It included a season pass to Raging Waters as well as many sporting events. I like to do a lot of different things with the kids so I bought the passes. We've gone to many sporting events, but had yet to visit the waterpark.
Today was Brodie's last day at his current job. He starts a new one on Tuesday. He basically went in to work, said his good-byes, and was home by noon. I had been wondering how I would manage the waterpark with all 3 kids, so I took advantage of this opportunity and we went as a family. It was a similar experience to the first time I took the kids to Classic Fun Center, such flashbacks of my teen years. What I remember the most was Tidal Beach. It was just as fun as I remembered it. During the waves I sat at the shallow end with Clara on my lap feeling the warm waves crash onto us. Brodie took the older kids on the tube into the bigger waves. The first round of waves he took each kid, one at a time, while the other hung back with Clara and I. The second time the waves came he took both kids, each straddling a side of the tube. I was nervous that they would fall off, panic, and drown. I forced myself not to watch them, reminding myself that my husband is very capable. After quite a while I happened to glance their direction just as they both fell off the tube and just as quickly Brodie caught both of them. He then grabbed the tube and started heading back my direction. Tessa had a surprised, excited face like "Mom, did you just see what I did?" while Spencer's expression was one water drop away from crying. During the times the waves were not going, we just swam and played in the water. Clara's too wiggly for Brodie and I prefer the low-key so we stuck together most of the day. She absolutely loved the water, more than either of my others did as babies. We had so much fun swimming, splashing, and bouncing in the water. Spencer kept practicing sticking his head all the way in the water, reminding me I need to sign them up for swimming lessons soon!
From my teen years, I also remember the fun waterslides, most of which were too big for the kids. There was one section with 3 slides the kids were big enough for, but there was a very big line and I had a feeling after waiting in the line my kids would chicken out anyhow so we skipped those. Brodie took each kid down the lazy river, one at a time, but they didn't really seem to care about that. I remember the fun of that being laying on the tube trying to get a suntan. It moves really slow. While Brodie had one kid on the river, I took the other kid and Clara on the waterpad in the middle of the river. Then all the kids played for quite a while. My kids seem scared of bodies of water or slides, but they love waterpads/splashpads. They had so much fun running through the different water fountains and the slip 'n slide. Clara also loved it. She kept trying to grab the water streams with her hands and would get a surprise when that caused the water to splash her face. Her sun hat ended up doing double duty--protecting her from the sun and from quite a bit of splashing water. Her hat was soaked, but her face didn't get as much of the water.
The other area we visited was the kiddie dinosaur area. There was a little pool with a water playground (like the one at Dimple Dell) that Spencer enjoyed playing on. There was also an area with a little 2 foot deep pool on either side and in the middle you went up the stairs to an even smaller pool, maybe 1 foot deep, with a rock tunnel the kids could go through. This pool was so shallow that it was extremely warm. Even Clara was able to walk around in it and Tessa could sit down in it. There were 4 slides (2 on either side) going into the lower pools. At first Brodie got Spencer to go down one, but he freaked out when the water went up his nose. Tessa then went down with Brodie and she loved it. This was the first and last place we went to for the day. When we went at the end I went down the slide with Tessa, as Spencer refused. Then right before we left I got Spencer to come down next to me while Tessa was on my lap (one of the slides was wide enough for everyone). Tessa loved it and Spencer cried when the water went up his nose again, despite his plugging it with his fingers.
It was a beautiful day. I loved feeling the sun burning on me while I was keeping cool in the water. I thought the water in the pools was a great temperature, although the spraying water seemed a bit cold. The restrooms could use a little extra TLC (in the 3 hours I was there I had to take Tessa 3 times and Spencer once). And I think their rental fees are a bit excessive when taking into consideration they charge $25 to get in. Parking is $5, a single tube rental is $5--double is $9--triple is $13, a lounge chair is $3, a locker is $6. If they want to charge those prices, Seven Peaks should really get working on updating the park. It seriously looks as if nothing has been done since I used to go there 15 years ago. But since we already had the pass of all passes and stuck with a single tube, no chair or locker, it was worth it. But I'm not sure I'll be able to go with the 3 kids by myself later on. They do have lifejackets you can rent for free and if we stuck to the splashpad and the dinosaur pool area we'd be okay. It's the tidal pool and the frequent bathroom trips with all 3 kids that worries me. Maybe I'd feel more comfortable if I get around to getting some swimming lessons for the older kids in first.
Oh, and I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures. If I make it out again this summer I'll be sure to take some pictures.
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