The first thing that had us saying ""wow"" at Ft. Rapids was the amazing number of special packages available! We chose the overnight staycation package, which for our family of four was perfect - a night stay in the kids bunkhouse room (you'd have to see it - the kids had bunkbeds in their own little ""log cabin"" section - complete with their own TV!!!), two days worth of swim passes, $20 in arcade cash and a bag of mining dirt!
We were thrilled that our room, which we were told we couldn't check in to until 4:00pm was ready at noon when we arrived! After dropping our stuff in the room, we went straight down to the water park, which is conveniently placed right off the side of the first floor. The water park was amazing! It had a younger kids' pool (Kiddie Korral)which my four year old loved! Then there was the lazy river, the activity pool and some of the coolest slides ever! I still remember when I was going head first down the racer - which plummets down a large slide right at the end! Exhilarating!! Of course, not to be missed is the centerpiece of the whole park - the Rascal Roundup. This is a huge playhouse that allows kids to shoot or dump water, ride slides and climb to their hearts delight! The bucket at the top drops over 1000 gallons of water at a time - and it's hilarious to see the kids running to get under it!
The arcade was alot of fun as well - it had a very nice assortment of games. The mining area where the kids can sluice for gems and fossils is located right next to it. Everything is so conveniently placed!
In case the water park isn't enough, there's also activities held throughout the day. There's bingo, board games, and old time photography - just to name a few. The restaurant - the Branding Iron Grille- was also a delight. I got the half chicken and my husband had steak - both were wonderfully prepared, and were very reasonably priced. The staff was always very courteous and helpful. We had one hiccup when we ordered a pizza late at night, but it was resolved to our satisfaction - and it was delicious to boot!
We all had an absolute blast on our trip. We were able to get in on short notice, and we have alot of great memories. As well as fossils and gemstones... lol!!!
more