We are now rounding into our 3rd week of school for my kids, but before they started I was able to take them on a funfilled get away not to far from home. We packed up our things for an overnight stay at Key Lime Cove not far from our home in Gurnee Illinois!
“Key Lime Cove is island-inspired family vacation destination less than an hour drive from Chicago and Milwaukee. As The Official Resort of Six Flags Great America, the year-round resort features 414 suites and staterooms and offers a complete family vacation without ever leaving the property. Created to be an American coastal experience just a short drive from home, the resort’s entertainment and amenities include a 65,000 square-foot, 84-degree tropical-themed indoor waterpark; an arts, crafts and activities center for kids; an 8,000 square-foot arcade; multiple restaurants including D.W. Anderson’s Eatery and Ice Cream Parlor and The Crazy Toucan Margarita Grille; Paradise Mist Spa; The Enchanted Lagoon Kids Spa; and 6,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space. An abundance of fun is found around every corner, including the uniquely themed interior, arts, crafts, interactive festivities, shops and street vendors.”
What that translates to is year round fun for you and your family!! We arrived at Key Lime Cove and though we were early I was able to check in, leave our things in the car and head to the water park. The staff was so friendly and happy to assist with any questions we had. They also offered to call my cell phone as soon as our room was ready to check in. We decided to grab a quick lunch and before we were finished that our room was ready and waiting for us.
When we walked into our room the kids and I were amazed with how spacious and beautiful it was!! We stayed in the Toucan Suite, which is a 2 bedroom , 2 bathroom suite, ( One with jacuzzi tub) with a separate living room and kitchen area!! We set our bags down and instantly went exploring through the room. Kenna instantly found the bedroom with the king sized bed laid down on it and claimed it as her own.
After we had fun discovering all the wonders that our room held the kids were anxious to get suited up and go check out the water park!!
The kids had hours of fun and didn’t want to return to the room to have dinner. Except for McKenna who wanted to go back to “Her” room after an hour. We decided that pizza would be the best and ordered 2 family meals ( 1 large pizza, chicken wings, and a 2 liter) they offered. The staff was soo helpful and offered to deliver the food to our room so we could get the kids situated. When the food arrived we not only had too much but were sad that we couldn’t eat more because of how good it was!!! Excited from the day they had it wasn’t hard to get the kiddos to sleep, which is good because we were up early in the morning for what I think was the coolest part of the trip.
We were up bright and early the next day for a behind the scenes tour of the water park, the ultimate look inside the inner workings of the resort!!
We met with Bob bright and early in the morning and he took us behind the scenes. I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I am with the inner workings of Key Lime cove. Did you know that the water park holds 420,120 gallons of water?? Here are some other fun facts..·
Lazy river is 560 feet long and winds throughout the waterpark
Tube slides are 45 feet high and 350 feet long
Hurricane’s Vortex is 45 feet high and 140 feet long
Pineapple splash bucket is 10 feet tall and holds 250 gallons of water
Maximum occupancy of the waterpark is 1,476 guests
KeyLime Cove waterpark opened in 2008 with state-of-the-art ozone sanitation technology. The tour reveals how ozone is 200 times stronger than chlorine but has no effect on skin or hair. If a person breathes ozone, it will be exhaled as oxygen. Ozone is a highly effective sanitizer, effective against Cryptosporidium and MRSA (antibiotic resistant staph), E. coli and Salmonella. Ozone benefits the environment by reducing the energy to heat water and lowers chemical consumption because it creates no harmful byproducts.
“I believe that the condition of a pump room is a direct reflection of how an operation is run,” said Williams. “Our waterpark technicians take air and water quality seriously. They are trained to know every pipe and how the water flows through all 176 valves and 46 gauges.” To date, there are few waterparks and municipal pools in the U.S. that are using ozone technology.
After we learned a little bit about how everything works and the extensive training that the technicians receive, Bob let Matt turn on the water slides for the day!! We also learned about the standards that they hold for their life guards, and how they are audited to make sure that they are up to standards. When they least expect it dolls that are the size of children and adults are placed into the water, the lifeguards are then timed as to how long it takes for them to save them. We were actually fortunate enough to witness one of their audits, and happy to report that the lifeguard spotted the child sized doll and was on the job before we even realized what was happening. With safety like that you have to feel comfortable relaxing a bit while letting your kids play!!
Hands down the kids favorite attractions in the water park were the lazy river ( My favorite) and the slide they liked to call “The Toliet”
We spent the rest of the day playing in the park and having an amazing time!! If you are in the area or are planning a trip to the Chicago land area it is the place to stay!!! The kids are already asking when we are going to visit again and with the park being indoors even with the winter coming we can still have a fantastic time!!!
***I was given a one night stay, waterpark passes, and behind the scenes tour for this review, all food etc was paid for by myself and all opinions are 100% mine***
Thank you so much to the KeyLime Cove for having us we truly loved it!!!!
Twitter: mamasmoney
says:
We love that place!