My kids are absolute water logs. They adore the Hamilton County splash parks, swimming in pools, could barely be torn away from the beach on our recent family vacation, and will always turn to prunes at bath time. I have lived in Northern Kentucky my whole life, and for whatever reason, I had never made it to The Beach Waterpark in Mason, Ohio. After seeing how my kids are in their element when they are in water, we decided it was about time we made the scrimmage.
My sons’ eyes widened as we drove near the park. “*Those* are water slides?!” my eldest asked. “Well, those are the big kid slides,” I explained. This exchange was followed by a sigh of relief. Once we were in the park, we found Big Creek Beach, a perfect oasis for younger guests. My almost 5-year-old knew the drill and immediately tried out each of the three slides to see which was one “just right” for him. Meanwhile, my almost 3-year-old cautiously circled the grounds, taking in all of the themed woodland critters, planning his course of action. After a few minutes, my boys were racing down the double slide, again and again. I would say my dudes’ favorite aspect of Big Creek was the GIGANTIC (as in, filled with 600 gallons of water!) dump bucket that unleashed water when filled to its brim. We loved looking up to see if the barrel had started to tilt yet, and finding a good place for when the big event happened. Altogether we spent a couple of hours at this part of the park, and we could have stayed much longer.
Though it was rough to pry my boys from Big Creek Beach, Momma was getting a little toasty, and the lazy river beckoned. We coaxed the boys to do things our way by telling them they could pick the color of our inner-tubes. Thankfully that worked and all four of us set off. The boys loved the waterfalls and going under bridges (which they called bat caves), and the grown ups loved the sedentary, inherently lazy nature of the attraction. We ended up coming back to the lazy river before we left, because it mellowed us out.
I knew from vacation that my oldest son is a wave lover, so my husband took him to the Big Surf Wave Pool. I also knew from vacation that my youngest son isn’t the biggest fan of waves (or maybe he was just traumatized from me being stung by a jelly fish on vacay?), so I took him to Paradise Cove, a spa pool lined with rocks and palm trees. Both boys enjoyed their time swimming, and I was happy there was something to please everyone! AND I was especially happy that The Beach Waterpark allows you to bring your own flotations devices that are Coast Guard approved (this means puddle jumpers), to be worn in the wave pool and Paradise Cove. There are free vests available for youngsters at many locations in the park, which I definitely appreciate. However, I was delighted my kids were able to wear their puddle jumpers, which they are already comfortable with.
I imagine the park will open up with even more opportunity and excitement as my dudes grow. We are about three inches away from my oldest being able to brave those big slides, and maybe six inches with my youngest. And seeing how they grow like weeds, we might be able to go on those thrill slides next summer! Though I must say, I’m okay if my boys stay under 48″ for another summer, because there is a discounted rate for kiddos at that height, plus admission is free for ages 3 and younger! AND you can buy discounted tickets at participating Walgreens.
We had a blast spending the entire day at The Beach Waterpark. I don’t know what took us so long to get there, but we will definitely be going back. If your littles are water logs like mine, you should definitely hit up The Beach!
The Beach Waterpark
2590 Waterpark Dr., Mason