Cali2010: Waterworld

October 7, 2010

Okay, back to some trip photos… Not ones to laze around on our vacation <ahem>, we got up bright and early the day after travel day and headed out…to a waterpark! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, it was a weekend so our friends could play, and, well… WE LOVE WATERPARKS! A half-hour drive to Concord, CA brought us to “Northern California’s largest collection of heart-pounding water slides and attractions”, also known as Waterworld. With over 30 slides to choose from (including one with a 6-story funnel drop, known as “The Tornado”), a wave pool and lazy river, and not one but TWO kiddie areas, we couldn’t go wrong. And we didn’t.

The entrance to Waterworld on a not-so-busy Saturday.

Of course, enjoying ANY attraction with a curious toddler is… um… challenging? So, I am afraid that I, myself, only got to sample a few of the rides and I snapped far fewer photos than if I were visiting the park without my wee one. From what I could tell, however, this park ranked right up there with the best. Way more variety and much larger slides than the indoor World Waterpark at WEM, though nice and compact so you didn’t have to walk great distances to get anywhere. Still a great atmosphere, though not quite as “kitschy” as Typhoon Lagoon at Disney World. And while it had cool rides like “The Tornado” like Wet’n’Wild Water World on the Gold Coast of Australia, it wasn’t quite as intensely over-the-top.

Things I didn’t really like? Well, “security” inspected our bags upon entry and wouldn’t let me bring in any food…until I explained that our baby didn’t eat anything they had to offer because of his reflux, at which point they let me bring in a few snacks for him. I understand that they want to make money and all, but they didn’t offer anything healthy to eat – just your average junky park food. C’mon, people – throw me an apple! Unlike most parks we’ve been to, you had to rent tubes for the lazy river (which we didn’t), and the bathrooms were all the way back at the entrance (rather than near the kiddie areas, like any sane designer would think of). But overall, a small price to pay for a really fun park – and I seriously loved the “multi-people rafting” slides a whole lot, as I could enjoy the waterpark with my eldest screaming along with me having a blast right by my side.

Our first view of the waterpark. The lazy river in the foreground and a slide that carries the tube up for you in the background. Sweet!

The view on the way over to one of the kiddie areas – lookin’ good.

Immediately after applying sunscreen, the baby bee-lined to the water. (In fact, he was squirmy the whole time we were applying.)

And the older kids checked out the (lifejackets provided) wavepool.

We thought we’d fuel up a bit before the mega-sliding began.

Though, the baby was very insistent on heading back to the water.

a10.brave sliders

The brave watersliders heading off to meet their doom adventures.

And me and the baby doing some snacking before splashing. (Plus – a new rashie to replace the one I had forgotten in the hotel room.)

As the day progressed, we alternated between hanging out with the baby, sliding/swimming with our eldest, eating, and resting. One of my favourite parts of the day was when my son schlepped me off to show me all of the cool slides he’d been on. Well, we only got to try a few of them – I never did make it to The Tornado – but that’s okay, I got the idea. It was fun and exhilarating and a great chance for us to spend time together, as the baby takes up so much of it these days.