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Kalahari Water Park Resort
The Kalahari Water Park boasts virtually every attraction found at a large indoor and outdoor water park resort. The Kalahari claims to have "America's largest indoor water park." It would be difficult to imagine a larger water park under one roof. The good news is, you won’t need to fly 18 hours to Africa to experience this Kalahari Safari!
If you are game for an African water park safari getaway, the Kalahari Water Park is a great year round vacation destination! Live game, massive African murals, thatched huts, tribal artifacts, and jungle plants give you the sense that you have walked into an African paradise. So sit back and enjoy as you are about to discover the Kalahari through our family’s weekend Safari getaway.
It’s a Jungle out there…
We ventured into the African themed Kalahari Water Park and immediately upon check-in, knew we were going to experience a real adventure. We were on a casual business trip, hosted at the convention center in the Kalahari. We arrived in the late afternoon on a Friday, and check-in didn’t take long at all. Maybe it was the impressive lobby filled with numerous African artifacts or the all the people walking around that took our attention off the wait, but it didn’t seem long.
Kalahari Rooms…with a view!
Upon checking into one of the 700 plus rooms, we received color-coded bracelets that are required for entrance into the water parks. Admission to the water parks is included with your stay at the Kalahari Water Park, so the bracelets didn’t cost us anything. Four of us stayed in the Hut Room, complete with a microwave, small refrigerator, iron, hair dryer, coffee maker, TV, and more pillows than we have at home! The room also featured a small walkout patio with seating…how nice. In addition to the Hut Room, the Kalahari Water Park offers 15 other rooms an suites. Here is a list of those 15:
SUITES:
ROOMS: *The Kalahari Water Park also has several Kondos for sale or rent, and they look fantastic from the outside. Check the website below for more information on the Kondos.
There are several eating opportunities within the Kalahari Water Park, and we utilized one of those restaurants right away. Before heading to the indoor water park, we ordered a large pizza from the Kahunaville Restaurant, a Las Vegas style restaurant located away from the water park area. It was brought to our room and was more than enough food for the four of us. After eating, it was time to head to the water park.
Indoor Water Park Adventure
Upon entering the water park, you separate (men/women) and enter the park through the largest dressing/locker rooms I’ve ever seen. We had no problem finding a chair in this 120,000 plus square foot water park and immediately proceeded to climb the Master Blaster, a 570 ft. uphill water roller coaster. This two-person raft ride allowed Steve and I to ride together, while Andy and Josh waited their turn behind us. This was definitely our favorite ride of all!
The Kalahari Resort Wisconsin Dells indoor water park is big, really big!. After riding the Master Blaster, the boys headed towards the Tanzanian Twister while Steve and I decided to just watch. You start down a slide that turns into a gigantic funnel. You go around and around a couple of times until you have reached the bottom where you are dumped into a pool. I didn‘t have the guts to do it, but the boys definitely did.
We continued onto the next ride, the Rippling Rhino. Much like the Master Blaster, this two-person rafter has plenty of quick turns. It‘s not quite as exciting as the Master Blaster, but that doesn‘t mean it wasn‘t a blast. It was then onto Victoria Falls, a ride that takes up to four riders that starts even higher, and lasts longer. We enjoyed this one as a family, and although it probably wasn‘t the boys’ favorite, it was perfect for Steve and I.
We took a break and relaxed on a tube down the Lazy River, where we could stop and start when and wherever we wanted. The boys didn’t want to relax just yet, and insisted on trying their luck at surfing the famous FlowRider . This is probably the most popular ride at the Kalahari Water Park. It looks very challenging and both of the boys had a lot of practice runs ending up with them falling onto their behinds! But they and many others sure had a lot of fun trying, and we had a lot of fun watching them try. After all this excitement, we all headed to the Wave Pool for a nice cool down. The waves aren’t over powerful and it was quite enjoyable. They also had several good size whirlpools in this area that looked inviting.
Also, in the indoor water park area, several concessions are available such as the Zulu Grille, Cracked Coconut, and the Mud Hut which serves kid and adult beverages inside the middle of the water park overlooking the fun. Overall, we were very impressed with the water park, especially the dedicated lifeguards on duty. It was also nice to see an extensive kids play area and a 0 depth pool for the very young.
After the wave pool, we decided to call it a night. We washed off in the locker room and headed back to our room. The boys wanted to walk around the resort and check out everything, and Steve and I wanted to find a place where we could get a cocktail. We asked a hotel employee what they suggested, and they told us to go to the
Additional Activities
Saturday morning, Steve had to attend a business meeting and I had to make a decision to sleep in, go to one of two of the exercise rooms, or weave a basket. I did all except sleep in! The boys decided to sleep in for a bit, but woke up in time to watch the Badgers play basketball. They went to the Ivory Coast, which is near the front lobby, to watch the game and grab some lunch. Both of them said that the angus burgers were delicious, and even better, the Badgers won their basketball game.
Steve made it back from his meetings just after lunch, and we took a walk around the resort. On the other hand, the boys were ready to go again. They got their swimming suits on and headed back to the indoor water park.
While on our walk, we passed the Oasis Day Spa and Salon and the Pottery Pizzazz!. Next time I plan to sculpt a piece of pottery…I wish we would’ve had more time. We then passed the Sweet Hut, which specializes in fudge, taffy and the like, and believe me when I say the fudge is good!
Shopping
Right next to the Sweet Hut, you will find a couple of little shops. The Zakanaka is a unique shop filled with beachwear, the Safari Clothing Company is all about African and safari type souvenirs and clothing, and the Kalahari Outpost is there if you happened to forget anything from your toothbrush to a birthday gift.
It wasn’t too cold out, so we decided to go outside and take a peak at the outdoor water park. Obviously, it was the middle of winter, and the park was closed, but we wanted to check it out nonetheless. We plan on going back in the summer months to try the Zambezi Outdoor Water Park at the Kalahari Water Park. We found out that the outdoor water park features 75,000 square feet of activities, including a "spin and flush" funnel ride, a lazy river, speed slides, half-pipe flume ride, tube slides, a huge whirlpool, a sandy beach, volleyball, water cannons, geysers, a kids activity pool and much more.
Play The Day
If you can’t stay at the resort, the Kalahari Water Park offers a daily admission into the water parks. Please call the number listed below or access their website for daily admissions updates. Also, birthday parties are welcomed and group rates honored, so keep that in mind.
Check In Hours
Check-in is at 4 pm or as rooms become available. We arrived around 4 pm and didn’t have any problems. However, you can arrive at noon and use the water park until your room is ready.
Check-out is at 11 am. However you can use the water park until 3 pm which is really nice.
Plan Your Next Meeting or Event
The Kalahari Water Park has over 125,000 square feet of space for meetings and events…and we got to see them first hand. The company Steve works for rented out a huge banquet hall and had dinner catered in and a live DJ as well. This was just one of many banquet halls in the facility. In all, the convention center, which hosts meetings, conventions, trade shows, weddings, and corporate retreats, features 42 total meeting rooms: 10 theatres, 16 suites, 18 break out rooms, four board rooms, and a nearly 21,000 sq. ft. ballroom. After a fun night of dinner, drinks, and dancing, we headed to bed. I can safely say that our entire family had a wonderful mini-vacation at the Kalahari Water Park, and we can’t wait to go back in the summer and try the outdoor water park.
Contact Information
For Kalahari Water Park reservations, call 1-877-525-2427
Directions
From I-90/94 take Exit 92 (Hwy 12). Go West on Hwy 12. Take the first right on Meadow Drive and the first right again on Kalahari Drive.
1305 Kalahari Drive, Wisconsin Dells, WI
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