Monday, December 3, 2012

And Then We Went to Kalahari in the Dells and Had the Time of Our Lives.

In case you were away from social media all weekend (or mine, at least), my family spent Friday evening through Sunday afternoon at Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells... and I have a feeling I'm going to be listening to my kids talk about it for the next six months or so.

To be fair, it was pretty amazing, so I can understand their excitement and wanting to rehash every minute of every day of every aspect of the resort. The Indoor Waterpark, the Indoor Theme Park, the arcade, the food... the only thing that could have made it much better would have been to stay even longer!

Kalahari

After checking in on Friday and getting settled in our wonderfully comfortable room, we all got some rest (with a two-bedroom suite that included a queen sofa sleeper, everyone had their own space!) and were ready to get our vacation underway Saturday morning.

And what better way to start the day than by seeing the adorable Lisa and Amy (and their families) over a delicious breakfast? While I've been to a buffet before, the spread at Great Karoo included just about every morning meal item I could think of — and more.

Pastries, fruit, yogurt, granola, oatmeal, buttermilk and blueberry pancakes as well as french toast (with a table filled with TONS of toppings for them!), cereal, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage...

buffet breakfast

After we were sufficiently stuffed and I had enjoyed a few cups of coffee, it was waterpark time!

As I mentioned in my previous Kalahari post, this is Wisconsin's largest indoor waterpark, a stat that is easily evident from setting foot in the door. There are multiple play structures for younger kids (including the new Tiko's Watering Hole for the tiny tot crowd), tons of extremely exciting slides for the big kids, and plenty of relaxing areas such as a lazy river, wave pool and whirlpool spas when you need a break.

I especially appreciated that Kalahari has stands of life vests around the park so that it is quick and easy to add a tiny bit of peace of mind when you have non-swimmers or those that are not yet strong swimmers around so much water. Heck, until my kids are swimming like Michael Phelps, I'll probably still want them to wear life vests!

We had such a good time trying out nearly all of the rides (none of us were brave enough for the super loop slides!) and really did have a great time on all of them. Big Sister E ended up declaring the Master Blaster as her favorite, while Little Sister B liked the "light" of the Rippling Rhino (translation: the top is open the entire time, versus those slides that get dark in the enclosed tubes).

indoor water park

We also had a great time watching a highly-skilled surfer demonstrate the FlowRider — and I don't know if I could have been more impressed as he zoomed back and forth, spun around, flipped over and more!

Even better, after he finished showing his incredible tricks, he took turns with a handful of blogger children to give them special rides of their own. I was extra proud of Big Sister E for not only hopping right out there and joining in, but she kept a grin on her face for nearly the whole time (I'm pretty sure I was more nervous than she was)!

Kalahari FlowRider
Kalahari FlowRider ride

After taking a break to enjoy lunches from Zulu Grille, my husband and the kids took a little rest while I hung out at the Kalahari Twitter party (for those that are Twitter enthusiasts, you'll understand why I thought it was pretty cool that #Kalahari was trending on Twitter not only during the party, but for the entire rest of the day)!

By the time that was over, we were all geared up and ready to go hit the Indoor Theme Park!

indoor theme park

Even though I had sufficiently read about all of the features in the Indoor Theme Park and had looked over all of the photos on the Kalahari Resorts website, I still wasn't prepared for just how much was inside these doors.

We rode the six-story Ferris wheel, tested out our balance on the ropes course, played mini golf, rode the go-karts, played a ton of arcade-style games (and proceeded to take forever to decide on what to redeem our tickets for) and more. We spent a few hours in the Theme Park on Saturday and then much of the afternoon on Sunday and still never even tried rock climbing, laser tag and bowling!

Kalahari indoor theme park

I'm not sure we could have had more fun at Kalahari as a whole! Our room was spacious and comfortable (I didn't even wake up stiff or sore from the mattress, as I often do in hotels), the food was delicious, the staff were all extremely friendly and accommodating, and there was just SO much to do and experience that we were kept busy and entertained the entire time.

We will definitely be keeping Kalahari Resorts in mind the next time we need a break from the winter cold... as well as for some incredible summer fun. The girls were already eying all of the Outdoor Waterpark features out the windows, so I know we're all eager to go back and add yet another area to laugh, play and make memories that will last a lifetime!

Kalahari

Find out much more about this amazing resort at KalahariResorts.com and by connecting with them on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to bring your family to Kalahari for a great vacation of your own, be sure to enter my giveaway to win a free 1-night stay and Indoor Theme Park passes going on now!

Also, Kalahari has generously put together a money-saving deal that includes a room, waterpark passes AND theme park passes for the family during the month of January at a great discount. Go make your reservation today!

A big thank you to Kalahari Resorts for hosting my family as a part of the Kalahari Kamp Out and letting us take part in this incredible weekend! The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.

8 comments:

Sippy Cup Mom said...

Sounds like an awesome time! I'd love to visit this for a mini vacation sometime!

LeeAnn said...

WOW! What an awesome resort for families! It looks like there is plenty there to keep the kids entertained. And an indoor water park? Very cool! (Although I guess you kind of need to be indoors in Wisconsin. LOL) I'm so glad you guys had a great vacation!

Thrifty and Chic Mom said...

So fun we have one not far from us and I have always wanted to go but never knew anyone who had, you convinced me we need to make the trip!

Liz Mays said...

Are you even kidding me with this? It looks like the best time ever!

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Wow! That is amazing. Can't believe that is all indoors. The Great Wolf Inn (or something like that) is the biggest indoor water park we have ever went to and it is nooo where near that nice.

And kuddos to you for being brave enough to allow your big little one get on that board and her for doing it! I love how brave kids can be!

Amy V said...

we live about 1 1/2 hrs away from the Dells and we always make it up there at least 2x a year. we've been to Kalahari and had a blast too!!

WeeMason Man's Mom said...

I'm so glad that she tried the surfing lessons! I would have LOVED that as a kid but now it looks too scary! LOL

Mason absolutely loved that Elmo car, he wanted to ride in that more than anything else in the entire indoor theme park.

Glad you guys had such a good time!

Denise Taylor-Dennis said...

This looks like a fun place, I could see why your kids were so excited.