Holiday Inn Water Parks
My daughter was turning eight, and it was in the middle of February. Outside it was snowing again, and I was trying to figure out what to do with 10 little girls who hated the winter, and a Mom who for health reasons couldn’t be in the cold. Down the street a Holiday Inn opened what they called a Holidome. This is a Mini water park. I rented rooms, and told them we were having a birthday party for 10 little girls. They told us that two rooms would probably suffice. I enlisted the help of a few other parents, and we sent out invitations telling them to bring bathing suits, and plan on spending the day, and a night. A Holidome is usually 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of pools, whirlpools, sprays, geysers, and sometimes a slide. This one had no slide, but the girls loved the pool. In addition to the pool, there was a mini golf, ping pong, and video games. Along side the pool was vending machines. We however, had cake and snacks enough for a whole night. Holiday Inn revolutionized year round water recreation. It was zero outside that February and we were inside having a ball swimming. After swimming, they even offered board games and videos for the girls. Keeping ten 8 year olds occupied for an entire night was a challenge, but we accomplished it with minimal fuss. They were extremely accommodating for my daughters party, it was one I would never forget.
It is now 17 years later, and Holiday Inn has once again outdone itself. They actually have water parks where many people in the middle of winter can escape with their families. Water parks are 14,000 to 60,000 feet of water recreation. They have sprays, geysers, water falls, winding rivers to float down, slides and tipping buckets. All of this is easily accessible from the hotel. They have a bar and grill that will serve you food and drink as you watch your little ones. Going down the slide is just plain fun. My kids even now love to hear me squeal as I slide down the huge slide and splash noisily into the pool. You can get an inner tube, and float down the river, and the water is warm as bathwater. We love water parks, and go to them whenever we get claustrophobic from to much winter weather.
The locations are in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Each one is unique, and offer different amenities. All of them however, look like a great place to take a little family respite from winter’s cabin fever. The convenience is wonderful too. You can stay all day at the pool, and in a few steps you are back in your room to take and shower and relax. It’s all contained in one building, and you are never far from restaurants, and gift shops. The beds are very comfortable, and they often have coffee makers and hair dryers in them. All in all if you are looking for a break year round, consider Holiday Inns Water Parks.