Christmas time at Kalahari year three did not disappoint.
We’ve always been able to enjoy the resort during the week around Christmas time, however, this year we had to book the weekend before. I was a little nervous that it would be entirely too crowded and unenjoyable. Although it was more crowded than we’ve experienced in the past, it wasn’t overwhelming and I feel like there were lots more holiday activities to enjoy.
The boys were able to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, color in an igloo, search for Kalvin the elf daily, and participate in other fun Christmas activities.
If you’re on the fence about waterparks in general ( I’m genuinely not a fan) then I suggest you try Kalahari. Everything is in close proximity, the resort overall is clean, the staff is friendly, there’s so much for kids and adults to try. 10/10 we will continue to come back and enjoy the holidays at Kalahari in Round Rock, TX.
We’ve contemplated visiting the resort during the summer season but I truly enjoy the holiday magic 🎄🎅🏻
We celebrated Christmas and O’s birthday with a winter trip to the indoor waterpark Kalahari in Round Rock, TX. This was our second time there and it did not disappoint.
I personally am not a huge waterpark fan, but I really do enjoy Kalahari. I don’t know if it’s because it’s inside, or we go in the winter and avoids the crazy TX summer heat, but it really is a great experience.
We were fortunate enough to stay 3 nights this year and I think that was plenty of time. We enjoyed the waterpark right when it opened at 10am, then again after nap, around 3pm each day. The first 2 days weren’t very crowded (several districts were still in school) and the boys were able to play in the toddler/kid area for hours.
This year O was tall enough to enjoy the tandem tube slides with the bearded one. He went on quite a few and loved every minute of it. Baby L (Mr. Independent) was also able to enjoy the waterslides in the kiddie area and had so much fun climbing and sliding all by himself.
I was perfectly content watching the shenanigans and smiles all day. We also did several activities together like the wave pool, lazy river, and the occasional dip in the outdoor hot tub to warm up.
For those of you that haven’t been, Kalahari isn’t just a waterpark. It has restaurants, shops, and a huge arcade, all of which we enjoyed.
The convenience of onsite restaurants can’t be beat and we ate there several times. The pizza place was perfect for lunch and we enjoyed dinner at B-Lux, which had yummy burgers.
After traveling so much with a 3 (almost 4) year old and 20 month old, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way.
Tip & Trick
Get your owns snacks for the hotel, we have a big old snack box we pack and fresh fruit and veggies I chop before we go.
Buy portable bed rails, little O slept all by himself on the pullout bed and I knew he was safe with the bed rails
Buy robes for when you leave the waterpark and head back to your room. You have to walk through the arcade and lobby and it can be a bit chilly. The resort lets you rent towels but the boys loved their robes
Don’t stress the schedule and routine; we have a very strict “bath at 7 bed by 8” for both our boys, which is a Godsend during the school year but, we were very lax during vacation and we all survived!
Take a few pictures, then put the phone away and enjoy time with the babes. They are only little once .
We tried something new for Christmas vacation this year and decided to book a few nights at the indoor water park, Kalahari. The park is advertised as the largest indoor water park and it’s not too far away from us, about 2.5 hours. It’s located in Round Rock, TX which is just outside of Austin. On the day of departure we loaded up the car and the boys and headed off on our little adventure.
To be completely honest I didn’t have very high expectations, I am not a water park fan. Kalahari completely changed my mind, I absolutely loved it! More importantly, our boys loved it too!
We were a little nervous that there wouldn’t be many activities for the littles but half the park was designed just for them. My toddler went down so many slides, floated the lazy river, and enjoyed all the water table activities with his baby brother. We spent hours splashing around and playing in the water. I do have to say it was a tad bit chilly but we acclimated quickly. The water is kept at 84* but good ole Texas was having some pretty cold weather and we could tell while in the park. Anytime the boys seemed chilly we just hopped in the giant hot tub for a few minutes. Overall it wasn’t too bad.
The water park is the resorts biggest attraction but it also has an enormous arcade and adventure park with rides and activities such as rock climbing, bowling, escape rooms and several other things. We spent a good amount of time in the adventure park playing kid friendly games with our toddler. He’s never been to an arcade and absolutely loved all the games. He was even able to pick some pretty cool prizes with all the tickets we won.
Kalahari also has several resultants and shops which we took full advantage of. Before we left I followed the advice of my fellow travelers and we stopped at the store to pick up snacks and easy meals for the kids. Our room had a microwave and fridge so we were able to do simple breakfasts and lunches in the room. We did however grab pizza at the Italian restaurant, cocktails at the lounge, coffee and desserts at the cafe, and on our last night we had dinner at the resorts burger place. The food was pretty good, priced as you would expected for a resort. I’d definitely eat there again, it was super convenient and there were quite a few restaurants to choose from.
This place had any and everything you could possibly need to have a wonderful family vacation. Since it was the holiday season the resort was decked out in beautiful Christmas decor and made our trip that much more magical. I would definitely recommend Kalahari Resort to anyone looking for a family vacation. As a matter of fact, I’m already planning next years trip!
The Adventures of Messy Bun and The Bearded One 