Since I don't live in Benton County, I'd not really paid much attention to the buzz about Rogers getting a "water park." I thought, "Meh. A city pool. Big whoop." After getting to actually see it and use it, let me say this: Y'all. This ain't no city pool. The Rogers Aquatics Center will officially open to the public tomorrow. We are so happy that we got to see it first. Let me give you a little pictorial tour.
This is what we called the "Big Daddy" Slides, although those aren't their true names, of course. I'm sad to say that we didn't get to try them out because we spent our whole day in the kiddie area, which is to be expected.
Being outnumbered by our three small children made for an interesting dynamic at the water park. There are so many attractions for the adults (48" and up), but it's impossible for us to split up and leave a 1:3 parent to kid ratio. So, we hung out at the kids' area and in the lazy river the whole time. No complaining here. In fact, my kids were thrilled! Except Girl Twin, who never went into the water over her knees. I think maybe because it was the first truly warm day we'd had, and the water was freezing! Or maybe, it was because she was afraid of the giant bucket of water that would periodically dump in the kids' area at Otter Holler.
A few days after this, I was talking to Big Sis and Girl Twin about the water park. I asked Girl Twin why she didn't want to get in the water and she answered, "the bucket." Big Sis calmly replied, "It's just water. Not like it's hot sauce or something." What??
You can find out more info about the Aquatics Center on the link above. Here are some of the highlights and a few of my observations/opinions:
--Don't let the admission price scare you; it's worth every penny. This place is new, clean and has so much to offer the whole family. They have a discounted admission from 4-8pm, which is what we'll probably do. Four hours is plenty for little ones, and will get us out of the hottest part of the day.
--There is a full service concession stand with very fair pricing. We had hot dogs and pizza while we were there. You can also find burgers, popcorn, ice cream and other snacks.
--The dressing rooms are very nice with showers and changing areas.
--There are pavilions available to rent for birthday parties and company outings.
--Children must be age 12 or older to be left alone without parents. But, the cool thing is, they have fantastic security systems to protect all the kids. Many, many cameras to watch anything that is suspicious and even the parking lot area.
So, if you live around here, please go check this place out. You won't be sorry. What a great attraction we have right here so close to home! I have a feeling my kiddos will be asking to go many times this summer.