Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park Resort

I have 3 children and they are always seeking fun family times, or maybe I am seeking the family time and they are seeking the fun! No matter what we do as a family we enjoy ourselves and make the most out of our time, such as the weekend that just passed!  We visited Fort Rapids Ohio Indoor Waterpark and we had a blast!

FORT RAPIDS offers lodging as well as an INDOOR WATERPARK and you never have to leave the building, because you can eat, sleep and play there.  You can make your family get away easy, by unpacking ONE time and hanging out.  This is a great place to get together with groups and play hard! We literally ‘played’ 2 days long and we were beat from having so much fun! The rooms are clean, the service is great and the staff is really friendly!

If you have a family and are looking for fun things to do not too far from home but far enough to get away, a short weekend trip like this is just the ticket! If you are lucky enough to live within a few hours of this great waterpark, or perhaps will be passing through the area on your way to another destination, this is a great place for the kids to let off a little steam!

WHAT IS FORT RAPIDS INDOOR WATERPARK?

Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark is just that ——a waterpark that is indoors with a balmy temperature of 84 degrees.  You  have no care or concern for the cold weather outside, you just need to bring a zest for thrill riding, adventures and fun!  If your kids love activity, being busy, swimming, riding, playing basketball, the water, slides, inner tubes, mats and hanging out, Fort Rapids is a family must! There is even story time with cookies and milk at night and you will see kids roaming the hallways with their pj’s on for this event!

40 ft. tall interactive tower

There are slides to zip down that actually are OUTSIDE of the building and bring you back in, and there is a lazy river water ride and a 1,000 gallon tipping bucket!  If that does not keep them busy, then try out the massive 5,000 square foot Gold Rush Arcade because it brings out the kid in everyone, and the games in there are fun and surely a few you know!

Take a look here: I took this video while people were sliding so you could see how much fun it is!

We left our room, dressed and ready to conquer a waterpark, but I think the park conquered us the first night!

On the way to the resort inside from our room to park

We were up and down the stairs to the rides so many times, that our legs, and arms hurt! We hauled our inner tubes up the steps so many times that day that we could hardly move! It is so much fun, you just want to keep going on the slides. The rides are addictive.  We actually watched one mom, climb the stairs and ride the mat ride at least 25 times— and she had 2 kids with her, I bet she was so exhausted! LOL!!!

climb these to tubes

The slides start at the very top, and you ride in tubes that jettison out of the building(though you never know it) and end up in a pool at the bottom.  You can ride double or single, but rider beware, riding double is crazy!  We combo’d every possible family member one way or another and each ride was different, because sometimes we were left on the inner tube at the end and sometimes we fell off depending on who we teamed up with.  My youngest just cleared the line for riding the inner tubes so we would get to the bottom of the ride and he would shoot up in the air out of the seat and end up in the water, where as when my husband and I rode we would pick up mass amounts of speed and ride the walls half way up, it was so much fun!  The poor life guards in the water waiting for each person to clear the ride always got soaked when we rode down and toweled off! Too much fun!

When we were not riding the inner tubes, we rode the mats, and this was an incredible, intoxicating rush, so much so that my one son rode that more than the tubes.  You get on the mat, and go, and if you hold the mat more out of the water at the front part, you go faster, but if you keep the mat flat to the ride you go slower, however, I think SLOW does not exist on this ride!  I rode the purple one over and over and I can tell you that I flew.  You start out in pitch black, and you put your mat down, and you drop, and drop again,as you are dropping you are actually slightly lifted in the air and then you are done! It is amazing.  When you end the ride you are in ankle deep water facing the HOT TUB which is great if you are 18 and over!

My husband and I joined forces and took off to the HOT TUB and ‘hung out’ for 10 minutes at a time.  So warm, so clean, so refreshing.  I was completely relaxed.  We could see our kids playing on the large play water area with the 1,000 gallon bucket that dropped as it filled.  This was a huge attraction in the waterpark as when it was about to tip each time, many of the kids and adults alike, stopped what they were doing and headed over to get DUMPED on! We spent some time in the 40 ft tall tower of fun.  There is a body slide(pink) and yes you can ride it.  I would say sit up rather than lay down if you are an adult!  The water guns, the webbing, and the crawl through tunnel are all a great way to have fun.  If you just really want to get wet without effort hang there a while and you will get drenched while your kids tire themselves out!

KIDDIE POOL

While I thought the adult area was wonderful and all the other rides and fun areas for kids, the kiddie pool area was amazing with 2 water slides(gated off) shallow water, and little buckets that tipped over filled with water.  It was an active play area with kids having fun and screaming with delight! I was amazed at all the brave moms who ported their kids to the indoor water park, because its a lot of work to tote the little ones and all their supplies but the water park makes it easy.  There is a great changing facility(so clean) with many changing stalls, and bathrooms and it is part of the park, only a few steps away from the kiddie area.

THE POOL WITH THE BASKETBALL AREA

This is great for every age.  As a family we had our own 5 PERSON team going on! We played, and I missed and I missed and I SCORED!  I honestly did not care how badly I did, I just cared that the kids were slamming, shooting, talking and having a great time getting splashed and playing in the water!   The pool is attached to this area so it is a short swim away and it is only 4 feet so you will have no problem with the learn-to-swimmers!  Another bonus for you is there are lifeguards EVERYWHERE!

FAMILIES

Families are welcome and there were lots of them there!  We sat at the base of the inner-tubing steps and watched all the families doing the same things 1) creating a meeting spot in case someone gets lost from their group, or comes down the slide ahead of the others, 2) plan on where they were headed, 3) planning out riding double or single(though this is moot because the top of the slides often has tubes you can trade out for double or single if you change your mind when you are at the top) 4) deciding where to go next, 5) figuring out if their kids could ride the ride and so much other chaos… we were happy to see that other families function the same way we do and we function like other families! Sometimes it is just great to see that the same thoughts pass through every mom and dad’s mind just like your own.

We watched groups of teen and tween girls and boys, toddlers, babies, under 10′s and everything in between enjoy the slides of every sort at the park(because of course not everyone could ride every slide due to height). The only true restriction we saw was the 42″ marker for kids riding all the slides with or without adults, but I can assure you that is all about safety and after watching our little one shoot out of his tube seat when riding with us, I am glad those restraints are there. Fun is fun, but it has to be managed and safe and all the safety precautions are there.

I will let you know that when you go to get mats, do not step on them, they are slippy and you will fall if you step on one mat to grab another, I know:) I laughed a bit when I grabbed one mat as it looked like a shark took a bite out of it, and my husband said, no, someone had bitten it! He was right because when we were sitting and relaxing we watched a few kids carrying the mats in their mouths! Little Sharks! CHOMP!

FOOD

If you are hungry, there are plenty of choices right INSIDE the park.  Pizza seemed to be a favorite of many tables all around us, and lots of it! There is beer too if you want to know WITH resealable lids in plastic bottles(all about the safety)

HANGING OUT

If you prefer not to climb stairs with an inner tube or mat in hand, you might just take that inner tube and sit in it and round the lazy river, we did.  We could only keep up with the kids for so long, after climbing the stairs over and over again, we needed a break, so we jumped in a double tube and rode the lazy river.  You can also just go to the HOT TUB or the pool.  Sometimes, our little ones would enjoy the play area and we would just stand and get wet, it was all about what the kids wanted to do and we followed their lead.  If you want to see more photos, check out my facebook photo album!

I also liked that my oldest and her brother got a little bit of controlled freedom as they were able to go on the tubes without us, rode together and hung together while not having to be right at our sides. Yes we had our check in points, but really no matter where you went, you ended up together again, because you can find each other in this manageable sized park!  Many families were providing the same freedoms to their children and all the kids had smiles!

LOCKERS – VALUABLES, ETC.

There are lockers, they are under $10 a day, and they work on cash or credit, if you so desire.  You simply pick a code enter it, and a locker is assigned. You can go in and out of the locker all day long, if that is the option you chose.

 OUR ROOM

steps to upstairs loft

our room

We stayed in a Bryce Canon Villa Suite.  It can hold up to 8 people.  It has 2 queen beds, a bed in the couch, a microwave, 2 bathrooms, a refrigerator, a bathing suit dryer, and a master suite in a loft that  has one of the bathrooms and a King size bed.  There are 2 television and plenty of towels, and a coffee maker.  The room was amazing and everyone was comfortable.  There are plenty of drawers for storing your stuff! Don’t over pack because you can dry your suit and towels right in your room!

We used our room as a ‘break’ away from the action.  No matter what our kids thought, they needed a down time and we took one.  We got a snack and brought it to the room, and allowed everyone to just rest a while.  This served us well as we then played on at night.  I can assure you a few things 1) your kids will sleep after a days’ activities in this park, 2) the kids will have huge appetites, pack snacks or visit the restaurant areas in the facility because hunger comes with hard playing!

You will be very happy as a family staying at the facility as it is very clean and the beds are comfy.  We loved the fact that our room had a dryer for our towels and suits, it made it so easy.  The kids just came into the room and placed their towels right into the dryer.  I wish the kids would do that at home!!!

There are great family priced packages and this would make a great family memory.  If you are looking for waterpark fun inside, Fort Rapids Waterpark is a must! We came home with children that slept all the way and were exhausted the entire next day as well! THANK YOU FOR wearing my kids out! I’d like to thank Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort, and all their staff for hosting us on this wonderful get away! What a great time! ~PFM

Want to learn more? Connect with Fort Rapids Waterpark on Facebook and Twitter.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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