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Water parks
GREAT WOLF LODGE, GRAND MOUND, WASH. One of a dozen Great Wolf Lodge resorts. Size: 60,000 square feet. Near: Joint Base Lewis- McChord, 30 minutes; Naval Station Everett, 2 hours; Naval Base Kitsap, 1.5 hours. SCHLITTERBAHN WATERPARK, GALVESTON ISLAND, TEXAS Schlitterbahn has been synonymous with water parks in Texas since opening the first of three parks in 1979, plus one more in Kansas. The indoor "Wasserfest" section of its Houston-area destination has more than a dozen attractions, including the Rohr! — a near-vertical plunge down a seven-story chute. Size: 70,000 square feet, Near: Naval Station Ingleside, 3 hours; Fort Hood, 4.5 hours; Joint Base San Antonio, 4.5 hours. WILDERNESS TERRITORY, WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS. One water park not enough? How about three? Wilderness Territory boasts the most water-saturated space in the U.S. with its trinity of aqua fun. Still not quenched? Wisconsin Dells claims the title of Water Park Capital of the World, with another 20 indoor water parks to pick from. Size: 240,000 square feet. Near: Fort McCoy, 1 hour; Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., 3 hours. WILDERNESS AT THE SMOKIES, SEVIERVILLE, TENN. The latest ride under this water park's giant dome with a see-through roof is dubbed Runaway Canyon — 450 feet of water curtains, gargantuan tunnels, explosive turns, 360-degree loops and a screamtastic six-story drop. Size: 60,000 square feet. Near: McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, 45 min.; Arnold Air Force Base, 3.5 hours; Fort Campbell, Ky., 4 hours. KALAHARI RESORT, SANDUSKY, OHIO This Africa-themed resort opened in 2005 with major expansions over the past two years. The Texlon transparent roof allows you to sunbathe in winter while enjoying the 12,000-square-foot wave pool. Size: 173,000 square feet — the largest in the U.S. under one roof. Near: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 3 hours. FALLSVIEW INDOOR WATERPARK RESORT, NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA Six-story slide towers, head-to-head mat racing and four tube runs, including the Canadian Plunge, which spins you around a giant bowl and down the drain. Size: 125,000 square feet. Near: Fort Drum, N.Y., 4 hours. MASSANUTTEN RESORT, MASSANUTTEN, VA. The Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg (about 2.5 hours to the southeast) offers a bigger water park, but if you want to combine aqua fun with snow play, this resort is co-located with a ski resort. Size: 42,000 square feet. Near: Washington, D.C.-area military installations, 2.5 hours; Naval Station Norfolk, 4 hours. COCO KEY WATER RESORT, DANVERS, MASS. One of 10 Key West-themed CoCo Key resorts throughout the East Coast and Midwest. Size: 65,000 square feet. Near: Hanscom Air Force Base, 30 minutes. TROPICAL ISLANDS RESORT, BERLIN This water park is so huge you could almost squeeze four aircraft carriers into it. It boasts real sand beaches, hot air balloon rides over the world's largest indoor rainforest — complete with its own microcosm of exotic wildlife — and, of course, plenty of slides. The biggest: A 90-foot water monster that will take your body to speeds in excess of 40 mph. Size: 710,000 square feet. Near: Army Garrison Grafenwoehr, 4 hours; Ramstein Air Base, 6 hours. VIVALDI PARK OCEAN WORLD, GANGWON PROVINCE, SOUTH KOREA West of Seoul in the heart of South Korea's ski country, the Egyptian-themed Vivaldi Park offers the best of both worlds — brisk downhill action and a super-soaking water park. Size: 142,000 square feet. Near: Seoul-area military installations, 1.5 hours.
Wet, blurry darkness.
Blinding flashes.
Sudden plummet.
Scream.
It had not taken long to climb the six stories to the top of the Howlin' Tornado.
As we made our way up the line, my 6-year-old son was putting on his bravest face as the cavernous 60,000-square-foot Great Wolf Lodge water park stretched out below.
High-speed body tubes curl around like massive multicolored leviathans amid wading-pool playlands, hot tubs and a giant wave pool.
Every few minutes, a giant 1,000-gallon bucket fills to its tipping point atop a four-story, 12-level treehouse dubbed Fort McKenzie, drenching everyone below in a regular deluge.
After weeks of cold Seattle rain, a few days in the water sounded like a perfect weekend. While it was wet, dark and windy outside, it was a bright and balmy 84 degrees inside.
I had been dubious.
Of course the kids would be wowed at first, but I wondered whether an indoor water park could pack enough punch for two full days.
But there's a reason these aqua-meccas have flooded the amusement park industry: They're the kind of all-weather fun that make a getaway easy for the whole family — and you don't have to sink a ton of money.
Just 10 years ago, there were only 48 indoor water parks in the U.S. Now the number is at more than 200 and rising, industry expert Jeff Coy says.
Many of the newest are part of a growing tide of full-service retreats, Coy says, combining the destination draw of a water park with the one-stop vacationing of a resort.
Great Wolf Lodge has opened a dozen water park resorts across the U.S., with more on the way. Family suites start at $200 a night and include water park passes for everyone.
With its rustic Northwoods motif, Great Wolf almost feels like a family camp.
Each morning, the staff offers educational tours on wild animals. Throughout the day, an arcade and supervised kids' activities allow parents to go play by themselves.
Every night there's pajama story time in front of the hearth in the lodge's great room that looks out into the water park.
My kids weren't the only ones enjoying a game called MagiQuest, which had them racing through the resort solving interactive riddles with magic wands.
Of course, the water park is the main draw.
This Great Wolf doesn't have the newest rides — like the five-story "Triple Twist" at the lodges in Kansas City, Kan., and Mason, Ohio; or the six-story "Double Barrel Drop," which both feature high-speed slides connected to a series of large funnels.
But the Howlin' Tornado was still plenty of fun.
Finally facing the dark hole that is the top of the Tornado, my son and I slid into our four-man raft.
Like the surfer turtle in "Finding Nemo," the young tube traffic controller wading in the water was both reassuring and disconcerting as he moved us into place.
"Good evening — we're going to have a great ride today," he said, ticking off the safety rules as screams echoed up from the group before us.
A light show of blue, green, magenta and a very liquid lavender bounced up through the mist as we began our descent.
When the narrow tube suddenly became a giant tube, there was an undeniable sense of shrinking as our raft glided 30 feet up the sides of the round cavern.
I instinctively reached for my son to keep him from falling and nearly tumbled out of the tube myself, but he wasn't going anywhere, and neither was I — except down the narrowing funnel on our waterlogged raft, and after a few more twists and turns, spurting out into the light at the bottom.
My son relaxed his white-knuckle grip on the raft's handles with a wide smile on his face.
"Mini-Man, takin' on the twister tube!" I said as we slid out of our raft into the water.
"You've got serious thrill issues, dude. How'd you like it?"
"It was scary and awesome," he said, pausing only to add, "in a cool way!"
