Wow it is sure hot out here in Iowa. It felt like it was at least 90 degrees out! Thank goodness we had planned on going to The Lost Island Water Park in Waterloo, Iowa.
WHAT A BLAST!
3 & Under - FREE
4 & Up - $20
**** If you buy your tickets online from their website they are only $19
You may want to check with your cities/towns Recreation Department. The Cedar Rapids Recreation Department (where we live) offers discounted tickets for only $18 each. Not a huge discount, but worth it, especially with gas prices lately.
There is no cost to use the inner tubes
Lockers cost $0.50 each time you open and shut them (they have change machines)
Swim diapers are $2
The gift shop carries many items including sunblock, water shoes & flip flops, hats/visors, sun glasses, and more. The prices are NOT outrageous, comparable to Target/etc.
Parking is FREE.
They have bottle soda machines (I only saw Pepsi) for only $1.50 each, not bad!
Open daily from 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Park is open June until the end of August, pending weather.
You can not bring beach balls, floaties/etc. Clothes must have NO RIVETS (metal). You CAN'T bring in food or drinks.
They do have a little cafe, a mini-donut shop, and a slushy & alcohol stand. I am unsure of the prices as we did not use them. I did see a sign that 12 mini donuts cost about $2.50, and the smelled SO GOOD!
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Attractions:
Water slides
- Molokini Crater, it is new this year, it looks like a huge cereal bowl that you circle around and around and then finally go into a huge tunnel. Must be 48" and up.
- Calypso Cascade, this is our FAVORITE! Up to 5 people can ride this water ride, they provide the rafts at the top of the stairs. ANY ONE can go on this, including kids under 48" as long as they have an adult with them. It is a huge yellow slide/ride. You go under 2 waterfalls. Twisting and turning, swishing side to side, and then end up in a shallow pool. The raft does have a bottom in it so no worries about you falling through it.
- Tangerine Tempest, is an orange slide with an attached orange and white bowl. You go down the enclosed slide and then swirl around in the bowl. Must be 48" and up.
- Kiwi Koaster, green slide that has sharp turns as is supposed to be fast, we did not ride this one. Must be 48" and up.
- Lost Soul Falls. Do you have a weak stomach? Then PASS on this one. It is a HUGE almost straight down drop slide! My oldest went on this, and she is quite fearless, as she descended I could see the terror in her eyes and mouth wide open. The minute she got out, she sternly stated 'I am NOT going on that ever again'. Must be 48" and up.
- Polynesian Plunge - a BIG water slide, can ride up to 2 people. Must be 48" tall OR have an adult w/you.
- Emerald Rapids, up to 2 people. Fully enclosed, large slide. Must be 48" tall OR have an adult w/you.
- Tsunami Bay (most refer to it as the Wave Pool). Open to ALL. Grab a tube and go in a bit, the waves will start a rockin, and you will go a waving. LOTS of FUN! You don't HAVE to have a tube, as usually there aren't many available.
- Kailahi River (aka Lazy River), float on a tube/double tube down a winding river w/a few waterfalls. This is a slow ride and quite gentle, perfect for all!
- Blue Iguana Lagoon, This is somewhat hard to find, ask if you can't. Has water volleyball & basketball, a log walk/cat walk, and a child slide. PLEASE NOTE, that the water at the end of this slide is almost the height of a 5 year old. But all can ride it.
- Taihiti Tree House, this is fun for ALL ages! A perfect family area! Most likely designed for kids 12 and under, it has many mini slides, buckets that dump water, lots of sprayers, a tree house, and shallow water surrounding it. We sat in the water while the kids played. The kids spent ALOT of time here.
- Starfish Cove, designed for toddlers and under. Not too appeasing to the kids. a really mini slide, some sprayers.
The staff are EXTREMELY friendly, helpful, and trained in life saving techniques & first aid. There are MANY lifeguards/staff. They rotate every 30 minutes or so. But there is always someone at each location, at least 1 person. They are very accommodating, and don't seem to get annoyed by questions.
On the outside of the water park, you can also do Miniature Golf and Go Cart Racing. We did not.
Cost:
Golf - $3.50 to $8.75 depending on how many holes you do
Go Carts - $5.75
They have plenty of lounge chairs. And also some pavilions you can reserve.
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My Personal Tips:
- If you have sensitive feet wear water/aqua shoes, as the ground does get quite hot and slippery. Also some areas are uncomfortable for my feet. Flip flops/sandals would work I suppose, but the problem there is they will fall off when on the slides, unless you don't mind carrying them.
- SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN!!! I can't say it enough. My youngest daughter is 5, and she is fair-skinned & has blonde hair. I put sunscreen w/SPF 30 on her. We were there for 6 hours. I applied once when we got there and once after lunch, and she is NOT even pink. Her skin looks the same as we left.
Well, sadly I can't say the same for me. I used tanning oil w/SPF 4. I applied it a total of 3 times to myself. And I am not fair-skinned like my daughter, but believe me I am burnt! Just now starting to feel the 'burn'. So I suggest using sunblock, not tanning oil/lotion, and make sure it is at least a SPF 15.
- Take extra set of clothes, extra money, SUNGLASSES, and comfy shoes for the ride home. Your feet will hurt afterward, but it is SO WORTH IT!
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Website: TheLostIsland.com
Telephone: 319-233-8414
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