This weekend we visited Splash Universe in Dundee, MI. We had purchased day passes through CBS Local in December and they were expiring this week. My daughter and I had previously visited in March 2010
Even though it was hot enough to be outside at a pool or water park (i.e. Rolling Hills), it was nice to be inside and not be worried about sunburns or really cold water this early in the season. It was also a great preparation for a summer of fun at Rolling Hills water park. After having been to Great Wolf Lodge this fall, the Splash Universe water park looked small, but there was plenty to do. The one thing that we felt the water park is missing is an area to swim.
We started easy with a couple of trips around the lazy river and then headed for the “big” waterslides – the tube slides. They have two tube slides, a yellow open tube slide and a green enclosed tube slide. You can go down either slide in a single tube or a double tube. Children need to be 36″ to ride in a double tube with an adult and 42″ to ride alone. My daughter was a bit hesitant, so she rode in a double tube with dad the first time on each slide. The double tubes were in short supply and high demand, so I convinced her to try riding the yellow slide by herself. It worked well having two adults since one of us would go down before her and help her out of the water (the lifeguards would also guide her tube towards the stairs). She loved riding the slide by herself and wanted to try the green slide by herself next…with the caveat that if she didn’t like it she would try it again next year when she was 7. I half expected her to chicken out and choose the yellow slide when we got to the top, but she came down with a HUGE smile on her face. She liked the green slide better by herself than she had in the double tube.
We worked hard last summer to get her over the fear of water in her face. Goggles played a big part in overcoming her fear. It definitely paid off because she had no fear of splashed water this week. She laughed going through the waterfall on the lazy river and loved the play structure with spraying water everywhere. At Rolling Hills last summer she refused to go on their structure because of the spraying water and hated the action channel on the lazy river.
We ended up spending about 5 hours at the water park (10-3). We had lunch, selecting a 16″ pizza to share among the three of us. At $10 for the pizza, the price seemed pretty reasonable. When we arrived, I noticed a table with a pitcher of water and cups. When we stopped for an afternoon ice cream, I asked for a pitcher of water and they gave it to me with no problem. Next time I’ll probably start with the pitcher of water when we arrive.
The three of us had a great time. We did the lazy river three or four times, and probably did each of the big slides at least 5 times. My daughter also convinced us to test all of the playground slides at least once, plus she did them many times on her own.
My only other complaint about Splash Universe is that their floor is very slick. The last time we were there my daughter slipped and smacked her head. One of my friends also warned me about it after their trip when their daughter slipped. On this trip, I saw at least three people slip, one of whom hit their head pretty hard. It seems that they have a major issue that needs to be resolved.
We will definitely be on the lookout for future deals on passes for Splash Universe.
