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The Busy Season!
Happy New Year! It’s been a busy holiday season for us here at Kerney-cation, but to start the New Year off right, we wanted to check out the latest changes at the Sandusky Kalahari Waterpark. One thing to keep in mind, Kalahari’s busy season is in the winter, and not the summer! With Cedar Point closed, Kalahari is one of the biggest attractions in the Sandusky area.
With the kids out of school on a Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. day, the waterpark was busy! I recommend checking into the waterpark/hotel as early as possible. Hotel guests can use the waterpark starting at 10 AM, so get there early. We arrived at 2 PM (two hours before room check in) and were greeted with extremely long lines for check in.
For check-in, the Sandusky Kalahari offers two options, the front desk and a self serve kiosk. When we arrived, both lines were in equal length. Unfortunately, 2 of the 5 available kiosks were out of service, which led to a longer wait for the self-serve check in.
We opted to wait in the self-serve check-in line. The wait was about 45 minutes, but once we got to the kiosk, it was pretty easy to use. They had staff available in case anyone needed assistance with the kiosks as well, so if you’re not tech -savy, don’t be afraid to give it a try! In order to use the self-serve kiosk, you will need your photo ID (Drivers License) and Credit or Debit card you used to book your reservation. I also had my confirmation number handy, and used it to find my reservation during the check in process.
The self serve kiosk dispenses your wristbands as part of the check in process, including an option for the wristband’s you can preload with funds. The wristbands also serve as the room key at Kalahari. The kiosk did not provide our room number directly, but advised that we would receive a text message once it was ready. Not one minute later, we received the text with our room number stating is was ready (an hour before our actual check in time). Kalahari has always been great about having rooms ready before the 4 PM check-in time and we love it!
The wristbands that we received from the self serve check in kiosk didn’t work to unlock our room door unfortunately. We were able to find a staff member nearby without needing to head all the way down to the front desk to get into our room. Once in the room, we texted the front desk, and they sent us a new set of working wristbands right away.
I am not sure if they did not work to open the door because they came from the self serve Kiosk, or just plain bad luck. The wristbands were a different style compared to what we got from the front desk, so I am wonder if its a new style they are working on.
One pro tip, there is a self serve kiosk in the Sands lobby. So if you end up experiencing a long line in the front lobby and have your ID and credit/debit card you used to book your reservation, drive back to the sands lobby for one of the self serve kiosks with no line!
Overall, the check in process was pretty rough when it gets close to 4 PM and we almost left due to fear of the crowds, but we were glad we stuck it out. It would be really great if Kalahari offered a mobile check in option at least for the room, so we could take the kids somewhere. Mobile check in would reduce lines and guest stress for an easier check in process. The trick would be getting the wristbands, so I am not sure how to make that better, other than more self serve check in kiosks or kiosks on each floor.
Wave Pool Cabana
For the first time, Kerney-cation decided to book a cabana on our check out day. Since we were only staying one night, we thought it would be nice to get the cabana on a week day instead of the weekend. The weekend price was pretty expensive, so it made the decision to book the cabana on our check out day (weekday), much easier.
There were multiple cabana styles offered, but we chose the the Cabana at the wave pool for two reasons. We liked the proximity of these cabanas to the wave pool and the kids area in the back of the waterpark. Besides the lazy-river, these two attractions our are kid’s favorites!
When you rent a cabana, be sure to check in at the water park entrance front desk. We did not do this, and had to exit the waterpark, wait in line (twice), in order to “check in” for our reserved cabana. I had to wait in line twice because I did not bring my ID and credit card used to book the cabana when I waited in line the first time, so be sure to bring these with you before entering the water park and checking in. They also will give you the TV remote once checked in.
It would be easier if we could check in with our server or inside the waterpark. Having to leave the waterpark to check in (twice) really put a damper on the experience.
After we worked through the check in process, we were greeted by our server. It was extremely convenient to order food and drinks when staying in the cabana because they offer it via text message. This allowed our group look at and review the options available and just send a bulk text message. Our server responded promptly and our food and drinks arrived quickly!
For the menu items, we ordered a couple of their specialty drinks, smoothies for the kids, pizza, and a chicken caesar wrap.
I made the mistake of ordering two of the 29″ pizzas! We had a total 7 guests in our cabana, three of which were toddlers. These pizzas are massive!
I think one pizza would have done the trick, but we just took the second pizza home for leftovers. Our group thought the pizza was really good! Krystal didn’t care much for it, but the rest of our guests enjoyed it!
The chicken caesar wrap surprised us. We weren’t expecting it to be so good! For waterpark dining, the wrap tasted amazing. It was moderately priced, and well made. It came with fries, which were just ok.
After eating, we were really able to enjoy the waterpark on our check out day. Normally, we have to rent a locker and find an open table to place our non-valuables at. On check out days in the past, we really only use the water park for a couple hours and then head home. Adding the cabana really allowed us to extend our visit and gave us somewhere to “hang out” and keep our stuff.
The cabana had a safe for valuables, so it was nice to know our valuables were safe while we enjoying the waterpark. Having somewhere to hang out and relax was extremely nice! Our daughter even managed to take a nap. I don’t think we could ever go back to not reserving a cabana during our stay at Kalahari. It really elevates the experience and the service you get with a dedicated server really makes the experience memorable.
2023 Updates
Since our last visit, we noticed a couple of changes in the waterpark (full video coming soon). The first thing we noticed, was that DiVR (dive Virtual Reality) experience is back! Kalahari repurposed the original DiVR location into a full pool cabana rental ($399/weekday). The cabana has a max guest limit of 15 and gives guests their own private pool for enjoyment. This would be great for a large group or birthday party.
With the original location reserved, we saw people utilizing the DiVR modules in the secondary basketball pool. DiVR is only available during select windows, and once the window closed, we noticed they opened the second basketball pool for basketball since the first one down by Coral cove was getting pretty full.
The last update we noticed was the premium indoor seating near the bar. This offers a patio like experience for guests, with close access to bar for drinks and refreshments. When we visited back in May of 2022, they just had standard patio tables chairs. Now, it’s the same nice cushioned patio furniture. They also had patio string lights, which really add to the experience!
