Monday, February 16, 2009

CoCo Key Water Resort: Or, how we wiped out the kids in 2.5 hours

Was CoCo Key worth the $93 I paid for 3 full-price tickets (kids under 2 are free and I saved $8 per ticket using the promo code PARENT)? No. Emphatically no.

There's nothing wrong with the place, which is located in a Sheraton Hotel just north of IKEA. It was packed and loud but not chaotic. The locker rooms and pool areas were very clean. There were plenty of fresh towels and attentive lifeguards, and there's plenty to do.

If you're big and brave enough that is. Z is not.

We arrived right before the park opened and spent another $5 to secure a locker. We were in the water just after 10, and we stayed wet until we left around 12:30. (By 12:35 both kids were sound asleep in the backseat.)

We spent most of the time in the tamer little kids area, which has lots of water sprays, dumping buckets, a mini basketball court and 3 easy water slides. A had a blast, but didn't like having water splashed on her face. Because of all the water works, it was tough to find a spot for her to motor unmolested by buckets of water on her head. Both Josh and I took the girls on an inner tube on the lazy river, which they loved. There were tons of wild and crazy water slides and a water play ground that we didn't even venture near--but it looked like the late elementary and middle school-aged kids were in hog heaven.

Basically, I need to get the kids to a pool way more often in the winter, but this water park was way more than we needed for more than I cared to spend. Perhaps we'll try a half-day pass to the even-closer Mayan Adventure next time. Carrie managed to take her family there for just $15 a head!