Kalahari Resort Tour

Kalahari Resort Tour

February 5, 2006

Our first water park tour takes us to the other side of the world to Africa.  The Kalahari is a desert region in southern Africa that receives seasonal rains.  However, the climate of the Kalahari also appears in Sandusky, Ohio, at The Kalahari Resort.

The Kalahari Resort is located on Highway 250 in between Route 2 and Interstate 80.  According to Mapquest, Kalahari is a 15-minute drive to Cedar Point.  However, The Point Online will be posting a way to avoid Highway 250 soon, which will greatly reduce this time.  Kalahari features the largest indoor water park in Ohio, as it is 80,000 square feet.  It has 596 guest rooms and suites.  This gives Kalahari Resort a square footage per room ratio of 134.  This means that for every one room in Kalahari, there is 134 square feet in the indoor water park.

There is a lot more to Kalahari than the hotel and water park though.  The Kalahari Resort includes restaurants, lounges, concessions, arcade, mini golf, playground, and tons of activities.  The two restaurants in Kalahari are Kahunaville and Great Karoo, both are right off the main lobby.  Kahunaville has windows looking out over the water park, has a stage and a bar.  The bartenders do tricks with the drinks and it is fun for the kids to watch, and the servers will occasionally dance and invite the kids to help.  There are four concessions at Kalahari; Safari Snacks, Café Mirage, Candy Hut, and Java Manjaro.  Safari Snacks is located inside of the water park, so you can eat a meal without leaving.  The lounges consist of Ivory Coast, Monsoon Salon, and Cracked Coconut.  Both Monsoon Salon and Cracked Coconut are located inside the water park, and Monsoon Salon over looks the FlowRider, which offers some fun sights while you have a drink.

Kalahari has a lot more than just food and drinks though!  Kalahari offers tons of activities and fun things for the kids too.  The four major activities are Tree Top Play, Madagascar Mini Golf, Pottery Pizzazz, and the Big Game Room.  All are located on the same level, so you can enjoy them all at once.  Tree Top Play is a playground for kids to play in and it has a lot of the air power ball launching guns in it.  Kids can play with hundreds of soft colorful balls that can be used with many different interactive objects.  Pottery Pizzazz is a nice shop where kids and parents can select a piece of pottery and paint it themselves.  The Big Game Room and Madagascar Mini Golf are, well, a big game room and mini golf course.

The Great Kalahari Water Park is a pretty big water park.  The water park is a giant “L” shape, with the FlowRider, Zip Coaster, and slides in the bottom part of the “L”, while more of the kid’s areas are at the top.  Inside of the water park is a lot of stuff, therefore it is leveled higher up than other areas.  This allows pools, slides, and the lazy river to go either over or below something, without causing problems.  To get to the water park, one must go down a stairway from the Main Lobby to the lower level, go through the Big Game Room, pass through a long hallway, and you are in.

When you first enter, there are locker rooms on either side of you along with lockers.  There are tables and lawn chairs all around for you to settle at.  The first major thing you see upon entering is Wild Kingdom, a play structure that is common at many water parks now-a-days.  It consists of a play structure with nets, water guns, buckets, and many other water toys.  Sitting at the top is a giant bucket, dumping water down every couple of minutes.

The main kids area is called Crocodile Cove, which consists of three different pools: Kiddie Pool, Basketball Pool, and Lily Pad Pool.  All of which are right next to each other, allowing for kids to easily go from one location to another.  Also in this area is the Indoor/Outdoor Hot Tub.  You get in the water inside of this hot tub, but then you can easily swim outside.  It is especially fun for the kids to go outside when it is snowing or cold, as it is quite a sensation.

Over on the other side of the water park are more adventurous water activities.  The infamous Zip Coaster calls itself home here.  The Zip Coaster is the only one of its type at an indoor water park.  It reaches speeds of up to 20mph over 500 feet of slide for over 30 seconds.  The Zip Coaster can send either one or two passengers in a tube over the course of the ride.  The ride uses fast moving conveyor belts to propel the tube.  These conveyor belts are used three times throughout the ride, giving the riders airtime as they ascend over hills.  It also sprays water and uses lighting effects to enhance the ride in the tunnels.  The Zip Coaster uses similar technology to a roller coaster, as the control panels used to operate the rides are very similar.

If you are not up to the Zip Coaster, then you can go on Wild Wildebeest or Swahili Swirl, two different tube slides offering excitement for riders.  The Zimbabwe Zipper is a speed slide sending riders down reaching speeds up to 40mph.  If you are looking for something to do with the whole family, then Victoria Falls is for you.  This slide can fit up to four people in a tube sending them down into a black slide.  Victoria Falls is an especially fun slide offering airtime and excitement for everyone who rides.

If you need some time to relax, then you might want to try the Lazy River.  Just watch out, there are some portions of this river that are not so lazy.  The best part about the Lazy River is that is goes around nearly half of the waterpark, which offers a unique view to the water park.  Along with many waterfalls and geysers, the Lazy River provides a fun time for the family to spend together.

The Indoor Hot Tub might be needed after the Lazy River, as a long period of time in any body of water can chill the body off.  The Indoor Hot Tub sits in a corner of the water park and offers hot water falls to massage backs.  It is especially nice for kids who are still too young to go in the Indoor/Outdoor Hot Tub.

Finally, the attraction that everyone talks about at Kalahari is the FlowRider.  The FlowRider is a giant wave that lets you boogie board or surf.  Surfing is only after 7p.m.  Kids and adults alike have tons of fun on the FlowRider.  Even though some may only last a few seconds on the wave, everyone comes off with a happy face.  When you do fall, there is foam and soft padding to comfort your fall so you will not get injured.  It is an incredible experience for everyone to participate in and to watch.