We were recently offered complimentary tickets to the Big Splash Adventure Indoor Water Park, and gave them to a friend to review the park from a family perspective. No other compensation was received and all opinions are those of the author.
French Lick, Indiana, best known as the hometown of “the Hick from French Lick”, Larry Bird, has recently been brought back to life from its near death in the late 20th century. While the French Lick resort and Casino and the historic landmark West Baden Springs hotel are probably the two most popular sites to see in this small town, there are a few things to do outside the hotels. Two championship golf courses (the Pete Dye golf course will be hosting the 2015 Senior PGA Championship) are truly fantastic and Paoli Peaks is a small ski resort with fun tubing for all ages. However, this review will focus on Big Splash Adventure, a 40,000 sq/ft waterpark and hotel.
Looking back, while I am glad we went and enjoyed the experience, we probably should have passed on the free tickets, as a water park is not the best idea for a family like ours. You see, our family consists of my wife and I, a 2 ½ year old little girl and a 14 month old baby boy, definitely a little young to enjoy all there was to offer. Also, we chose to go at what I would guess would be the busiest time of year, Christmas break.
I have not been to a water park like this before, and I guess it was maybe because it was ridiculously crowded, but it did not seem as big as the pictures made it out to be. In addition, it was so crowded that we used our stroller as our chair/locker as every square inch of the place was already taken by the time we arrived. I was responsible for getting both kids in their swim suits and used the changing rooms 5-10 minutes each time, and they were very clean with plenty of space. We did not eat while at Big Splash Adventure Indoor Water Park but the menu at the Boatyard Restaurant and at the Galley Grill seemed more than adequate. Mostly bar-type food, but reasonably priced.
For the water park itself, there are 4 big water slides (2 for intertubes and 2 body slides) that are fairly daunting for a young family. I was only able to go down one of the body slides as there was 20 minute wait for each and I could not leave the wife with both kids without a tremendous amount of guilt. The slides are fully tunneled and therefore pitch black which is not my cup of tea. There is also a large funnel slide for tubes as well which seemed fun. Also for tubes is a “lazy river” which is probably 50 yards long. But when you have every square inch of the river in use, it is not so lazy.
Next was “Buccaneer Bay,” which is where we spent most of our time as it is kind of like a supersized splash pad. It was one of two areas in which my kids were allowed and contained two small water slides that I was able to ride with my daughter. The last spot was a small baby pool with a tiny slide and three baby swings that allowed toddlers to dangle their feet in the water. They were very nice but all in use all the time.
Overall, I was impressed with the cleanliness and the overall atmosphere of the waterpark. We will definitely venture back, but not for at least 5-7 more years when the kids can take full advantage of the park and more than likely in the summer when we’d be able to utilize the very nice looking putt-putt course and other outdoor activities the area has to offer.
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Source: InACents