Quite small for America's LARGEST

The Water Park of America, not actually affiliated with the Mall of America, is located in Minneapolis/Bloomington, MN.


It contains:


An assortment of body slides
Two tube slides
A family raft ride
A flow-rider
A lazy river
A wave pool
A tree house


Some of the things, obviously, I'm a little too big for. I obviously couldn't ride the raft ride since I was here on my own, and I was a bit too nervous for the flow rider.


To be honest, this really wasn't much of a water park. The tube slides were short and not terribly exciting. The body slides had the sun beating on them and were bumpy. Besides the flow-rider and the raft ride, which really, is designed for a limited audience, there wasn't anything special about this water park.


The lazy river was nice, as it went around the park taking you to the different parts of the park, including the wave pool. Water also could dump on you on the river. I, on principle, like wave pools as well. Lines were short as well.


If you're staying at the Radisson near the Mall of America, the water park comes with the room (I think.)


Overall, maybe a good waterpark if you're traveling to Minneapolis (which is a very nice city) with kids, but I wouldn't go too out of your way to see it. If you're on your own, I'd probably skip this one.


Transportation: Fly into the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport (MSP). If you need transportation, take the #55 Hiawatha Line (train) to the Mall of America, and then walk, it's not too bad and is very pedestrian-friendly.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Splashin' at the Lagoon

I just arrived at home from the airport, and am now writing my thoughts on Splash Lagoon in Erie, PA

Overall, I liked this waterpark. I went during an off-season point, so I didn't experience any problems with crowds. The rides are as follows:

Hurricane Hole - a body slide throwing you into a bowl, thrusting you forward at 40 mph and then dumps you into six feet of water. A little too intense for my taste, but some may enjoy it.

Cyclone - this was my personal favorite. It is a tube slide where you are thrown into a bowl and shot through, and has a speedy exit as well.

Shark Attack - a high speed, enclosed body slide with some blue flashes.

Python Plunge - a dark tunnel (tube slide) with some light holes in it, pretty fast.

Big Kahuna - A more calmer tube slide.

Black Hole - like the Shark Attack, but calmer, but that certainly doesn't mean calm.

Maui Wowie - a standard open body slide.

It also features a number of pools and a lazy river to relax in. I did notice, however, I kept getting stuck on the lazy river because the current (which the instructions tell you that you must follow :p) kept pushing me in circles. It also features a playground where a bucket of water dumps onto every once in a while.

I have also noticed that the Hurricane Hole, Cyclone, and Big Kahuna all start from the same area. There are signs telling you where to go for the slides, but I still think it could be organized better. The stairs weren't wide enough to handle three rides, and I think the stairs could have been split with chains or something.

The food was good if a bit on the pricey side.

That being said, I still think it was a very good waterpark.

Transportation: Fly into ERI (Erie, PA). It is on Peach Street. Take the M3 bus if you need a bus.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.