Swimming Pools and Water Parks--Overview for Summer 2016!

School's out and Summer's here so it is time to get into high gear enjoying all that Summer has to offer!  One way we beat the heat is to enjoy various swimming pools and water parks.

We've compiled quite a list of swimming pools and water parks and hope our information helps you to plan for your family!

Adventure Bay in Altoona—Adventureland’s water park.

Albia—Monroe County Aquatic Center:  The best bargain around!

Bloomfield Municipal Swimming Pool—not our favorite.

Centerville Municipal Pool—bring your inflatable rafts to this Olympic sized pool!

Fun City’s Huck’s Harbor in Burlington—indoor and outdoor water fun!

Grinnel Mutual Family Aquatic Center—has a lazy river!

Honey Creek’s Buccaneer Bay—indoor adventure.

Indianola Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center—great area for little kids!

The Riverview Club in Keosauqua—the view!

Mount Pleasant Family Aquatic Center—a gem, but hard to find.  Follow our directions.

Oskaloosa's Edmundson Park Swimming Pool--great example of renovation!

The Beach Ottumwa—wave pool! (Price increase $6.00 admission.)

Pella Aquatic Center with Adventure River—bring your own chairs!

Sigourney Swimming Pool—padded bottom in a park setting!

Washington Steele Family Aquatic Center—love the chairs and the park!

Swimming Pools and Water Parks Overview for Summer 2013!

Memorial Day Week-end is the unofficial start of summer and the official opening of many swimming pools and water parks.  Here are the links to various swimming pool and water park reviews so you can plan your fun in the sun:

Adventure Bay in Altoona—Adventureland’s water park.

Albia—Monroe County Aquatic Center:  The best bargain around!

Bloomfield Municipal Swimming Pool—not our favorite.

Centerville Municipal Pool—bring your inflatable rafts to this Olympic sized pool!

Fun City’s Huck’s Harbor in Burlington—indoor and outdoor water fun!

Grinnel Mutual Family Aquatic Center—has a lazy river!

Honey Creek’s Buccaneer Bay—indoor adventure.

Indianola Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center—great area for little kids!

The Riverview Club in Keosauqua—the view!

Mount Pleasant Family Aquatic Center—a gem, but hard to find.  Follow our directions.

Oskaloosa's Edmundson Park Swimming Pool--great example of renovation!

The Beach Ottumwa—wave pool!

Pella Aquatic Center with Adventure River—bring your own chairs!

Sigourney Swimming Pool—padded bottom in a park setting!

Washington Steele Family Aquatic Center—love the chairs and the park!

There you have it, our pool and water park reviews.  As we continue to make our rounds during the summer of 2013, updates will be added to the reviews.  And, we may be adding new pools to our list!

It was great fun visiting the various pools and water parks for our “research” yet the reason for the reviews is that this is the type of information I wanted prior to visiting and it wasn’t available. . . anywhere!  The idea for the pool reviews was born at our family’s kitchen table, just like many other ideas.  We hope the information helps you and your family to have fun! 

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Fun City--Huck's Harbor

Fun City--Huck's Harbor We decided on the last day of my summer vacation to take a trip to  Burlington and try out Huck's Harbor water park.  The water park  was crowded on the hot day in July as we all clamored for relief  in the water. Location:  3001 Winegard Drive, Burlington, Iowa, 52601;  866-792-9948.  Getting there was easy.  We took the Roosevelt  exit from highway 163/34 and went North one block.   The Pzazz Entertainment Complex which includes Fun City and  Huck's Harbor was visible on the right. Cost:   Summer Rates:  Monday-Thursday, $6 per person; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, $10 per person.  If you are staying at the hotel, water park adimission is included with your stay. There's no mention in any of the brochures we picked up or on the web-site about childen of a certain age being free. There are specials on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. The Tuesday special a $2 admission with a regular admission  9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Thursdays from 5:00 to 9:00 pm is $3 admission. We went on a Tuesday to take advantage of the special. The web-site read that that it was $2 admission after a regular price admission so I was thinking we pay one full price then everyone  else was $2.  Wrong!  The special is one full price and one $2 admission, then another full price, etc. There were six of us in two parties of 3, but I said we were a party of 4.  My charge: $17.50.  Huh?  Two regular price admissions would be $6 plus $6 or a total of $12, then add on two discounted admission $2 plus $2 or a total of $4 making the total $16.  Was the extra $1.50 tax?  The other adult paid for a party of two for a total of $8.50.  Again why the extra $.50?  Another tax?  There was so much going on that I didn't question it, so I'm still not sure why the additional admission fee. Lockers are available to rent for a $5 deposit--cash only. Tubes are free. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday, 9:00 am-10:00 pm.  Check web-site for any closures for private parties. Description:  Huck's Harbor is an indoor/outdoor water park.  The indoor portion, which is open year around, has a slide tower with a tunnel body slide and a tunnel tube slide.  Half of the catch pool is roped off for swimming.  A hot tub is nestled behind the slide tower. There's a kiddie play structure with dump bucket and water features. An umbrella water feature and small frog slide are nearby. The indoor water park includes a rock climbing wall seperate from the pool. Bathrooms are located behind the play structure and a snack shack is located near the indoor entrance.  There is also an entrance from the outdoor water park. The outdoor water park contains a lazy river, a large swimming pool with lanes and depth that vary from 4 to 5 feet and have hoops and nets for water sports.  There is a kiddie play area with slides and dump bucket, very similar to the indoor structure.  There are two slide towers.  One contains two racing slides.  The other has four slides--two that require tubes and two that are body slides.  Three of the slides empty into the same catch pool, while the red tube slide goes through a "toilet bowl" spin and empties into its own catch pool that then flows into the lazy river.  The lazy river flows around the slide tower and kiddie play area. Bathrooms/locker rooms and a shower are available at the outdoor water park near the entrance. Rules to Know:  General safety issues like walking, etc.  We did see some "floaty" devices for small children.  The rules for the lazy river have sit with your bottom in the hole of the tube as the number one rule, but after taking a lap on the river I noticed that this rule wasn't followed or enforced.  I asked a lifeguard if the sitting in the tube rule was enforced.  First, they were confused that there was a rule--I then pointed to the sign that is visible for guests, but I guess not visible to the lifeguards.  Then, once the lifeguard realized it was a rule said, "we don't care."  Got it!  There's a rule posted but not enforced, followed, or cared about.  Understood. Then there were some "unwritten" rules of tubes being carried over the bridge to be used on the slides.  A lifeguard was positioned either on the bridge or just after the bridge to make sure no tubes were being taken over the bridge for use on the slides REQUIRING tubes.  I didn't understand.  So, I asked.  I was told that is just how it is by two different staff members.  I was told that if you want to ride the slides requiring tubes that you get a tube from a person exiting the lazy river near the slides or I guess tubes would be stacked nearby.  Okay, I'm scratching my head trying to figure this out as there were NO spare tubes the day we were there. Our motto was once you found a tube you hung on to it for dear life-- tube scarcity!  So the way around this silly rule that I'm sure is for insurance purposes--something about the visibility of guests navigating the stairs both up and down with tubes in their hands--is to get in the lazy river with your tube and ride it around and get out near he slides and then ride the slides.  I can also tell you that both Adventure Bay, which is the water park at Adventureland--click here, and Pella Aquatic Center--click here--both require guests to traverse steps with tubes in hand. This is where the tubes are supposed to be. And, the lifeguard that argued about exchanging the tubes and enforced the silly "no tubes over the bridge" rule. We encountered the same "tube rule" driven lifeguard towards the end  of our stay saying that there were certain tubes that stayed in the lazy river, etc. when two people in our traveling party wanted to trade single tubes for a double tube as they exited the lazy river and were eading back into the lazy river.  Again, huh?  You must have a tube to ride the lazy river and this rule is enforced by a blow of a whistle, but no real consequence of getting out, etc. Alcoholic beverages are okay to be consumed anywhere in the water park, even going on the slides!  Cheers! Food:  The same snack shack serves both the outside and inside water parks and has windows to both.  Efficient!  Prices are readily displayed outside the snack shack, however, there were some items available that weren't listed on the menu such as large pretzels with cheese and nachos. The boy got a slice of pizza and ate every last bite, much to the husband's disappointment.  I wanted water.  The nice gal at the snack shack told me the water from the tap didn't taste the best so I bought a $2 bottle of water and asked for a cup of ice.  No problem. I then poured the water bottle into the cup and once the water bottle was emptied, I went off to find a water fountain to refill it.  There were two--one near the entrance to Fun City's indoor arcade area and other between the bathrooms next to the hotel front desk. It took some doing, but I was able to refill the water bottle with cold water for FREE! The Tiki Bar is also located in the outdoor water park serving alcoholic beverages.  Guests need a special bracelet that they can get at the admission desk when showing an ID.  Guests can smoke in the Tiki Bar area as no food is permitted skirting the "no smoking in restaurants" law in Iowa. Cleanliness:  The pools were clean.  I tripped over one of the umbrella bases that were just sitting on the ground not holding an umbrella and not under a table.  I then told a lifeguard just walking by, not noticing the umbrella stands, that people were tripping over them.  He did move the stands to the side near the fence.  The trash remained on the ground. Friendliness:  There were a few friendly faces.  When I asked for a map of the park at the admission desk, one lady said they didn't have any, but said they were available at the Snack Shack.  I said how would I find the Snack Shack without a map as I hadn't been there before?  Dilemma.  The other lady in the admission area offered to get a map for us.  We waited and visited with the man putting on our bracelets--the same many who didn't notice the umbrella stands later in the day--and I asked about  the different color bracelets--some for paying admission, others for hotel guest admission.  A huge crowd was there nd even finding a parking space had been difficult so I asked if they had a capacity limit and was told yes.  I asked how they would know if they reached it and I got a shrug.  I looked for a capacity sign and couldn't find one. The nice lady hadn't returned and we wanted to get started, so I went off to find the Snack Shack and look for a map. The nice gal at the Snack Shack told me they didn't have any maps.  That's when the other lady found me and gave me what she had. I thanked her and asked if she gave some to the Snack Shack and she said yes. Web-site:  www.thepzazz.com  click on Fun City and then on Huck's Harbor for water park information. Pros:  Huck's Harbor seems to be a family and group destination. There is something to do for folks of all ages.  The adventureous in our group gave a thumbs up to the red "toilet bowl" slide. The boy liked being able to go from the outdoor water park to  the indoor and vice versa.  The lazy river was fun, once we were able to secure tubes.  The large swimming pool offered a place just to swim. Cons:  The large crowd decreased our enjoyment of the water park. It wasn't until 4:00 pm or so that we had more fun.  The pavement can get very hot and there is walking from one are to another, so flip flops or water shoes may be beneficial.  We were okay, though. There is no way to exit the water after riding the red "toilet bowl" slide other than to ride your tube into the lazy river until you find a place to exit. The splash pool for the three slides only has one exit out of the water. The tube slide   dumps into the splash pool farthest from the exit, so either you navigate your tube past two other slides and their water rushes OR you exit into the lazy river.  So, this in itself, makes the whole "use the tubes people are giving up to ride the slides" rule even more inefficient, as it is difficult to navigate a tube across two water currents to get out of the water when sitting in the tube. The slide tower with the four different slides is a nightmare. There's no organization and people pass other people waiting in line.  One of our party said to a gentleman walking by that he had just passed others who had been waiting in line for some time only to be rebuffed and the man kept going. There needs to be some signage indicating where to stand or walk if you are riding a body slide or a tube slide.  Guests are navigating tubes on stairs--again making the no tubes on the bridge rule even more ridiculous! The in my opinion, misplaced attention of the lifeguards was a con. The zero depth entrance to the lazy river turns into a small wave pool at times with many guests sitting on the edge of the entrance o r just standing in the area--the water is deeper than the kiddie play  area and shallower than the large pool--this makes for quite a bit of congestion.  There are NO lifeguards in this are to help guests get on/off tubes if needed or to clear the congestion. The alcoholic beverage consumption can also be a con depending on yourpoint of view. Fun Factor:  Once the crowd dispersed and we could get our hands on tubes, the fun factor went up.  Again, the boy enjoyed being able to go back and forth between the indoor and outdoor water parks. The location next to Fun City and all it has to offer can increase the fun factor if you plan that experience and cost into your stay.  Just know that swim attire is prohibited beyond certain points.  We explored the area in our swimsuits, coverups, and t-shirts without issue.  Just be sure to dry off. You can use your admission fee and any other expenses at the water park towards your Fun Club points.  Either present your Fun Club card or ask for and save your receipts and have the purchases added to your Fun Club account.

The Pools at Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter

Our family enjoys spending time in and near the water, so when we visit Walt Disney World, we try to take in the pools at our resort or water park—click here to read more about Typhoon Lagoon.

Since our favorite on-site resort is Port Orleans Riverside, this post is dedicated to the pools at Port Orleans—both Riverside and French Quarter.

The sister resorts allow guest to use the main pools at both resorts. I use the term main pools to mean the themed pool at each resort, as Port Orleans Riverside also had “quiet pools” that are nestled among the buildings of the resort. A “quiet pool” does not have a lifeguard, slide, spa/hot tub, or specific kiddie pool. Main pools are typically themed, have water slides—at the moderate and deluxe resorts, have hours when life guards are on duty, typically have a spa/hot tub nearby, and usually offer a kiddie pool. There is usually a bar, locker room, and restrooms near a main pool, while a quiet pool may offer a bathroom changing area. Just as there is a hierarchy of Disney resorts from value to moderate to deluxe—the pools follow the same hierarchy. The more deluxe the resort, the more deluxe the resort pool—typically.

Laundry facilities are found near the quiet pools at Port Orleans Riverside, while at Port Orleans French Quarter, the laundry facilities are near the main pool.

The main pool at Port Orleans Riverside is located on Ol’ Man Island in the middle of the resort. The theming is that of an old fashioned swimming hole complete with water chutes, water falls, and a water slide nestled on a “hill” near the pool. The swimming area is quite large and the deepest sections are about 5’6” deep. Entrance to the pool is by steps located at various points around the pool. A large spa/hot tub is steps from the main pool, as is a round kiddie splash pool.

The deck area at Port Orleans Riverside’s main pool offers quite a bit of shade as tall pine trees surround the pool. If you are looking for a place to catch some rays, it can be found if you select your deck chair strategically.

You will find a bin of clean towels to use while at the pool as well as a towel return area so there is no need to bring your own beach towels or take towels from your resort hotel room to use at the pool.

There are plenty of lifeguards on duty and the slide is only open when they are on duty. Guests are welcome to use the pool at other times at their own risk.

The quiet pools at Port Orleans Riverside are spacious—lots of room for swimming, have one set of steps for entering and exiting the pool, have a maximum depth of 5’ but seemed to have a larger portion of the pool that is deeper than at the main pool. The deck space is very generous at the quiet pools and is less shaded. If memory serves, towels are also available for use at the quiet pools.

The main, and only pool, at Port Orleans French Quarter is located in the middle of the resort facing the “river.” The pool is themed for celebrating Mardi Gras with jazz playing reptiles and a giant serpent providing the slide. We found the main pool here to be less deep than compared to Riverside, with maximum depths reaching less than 5’. The curvy edges are welcoming and provide several set of steps to enter the pool.

There is a round kiddie splash pool almost adjacent to the main pool. Finding the spa/hot tub is a bit trickier as it is a bit away from the main pool—back towards the main building opposite the playground. The spa/hot tub is surrounded by trees giving it a more secluded feel than the spa/hot tub at Riverside.

The deck area at the main pool at French Quarter is quite large, has various layers, and has less shaded areas than the deck area at Riverside. Towels are also available for guest use at the pool.

Lifeguards are also attentive and plentiful at the pool at the French Quarter. Again, the slide is open only when guards are in place.

How to guests get to use both pools? Guests can walk (about 10 minutes) from one resort to the other, or take the boat that shuttles guests between the resorts and Downtown Disney. We have taken the boat on several occasions. On one of our more recent trips, we brought our swimsuits with us as we left Riverside for a trip to Downtown Disney. After our visit to Downtown Disney, we took the boat back to French Quarter, as the boat dock is steps from the main pool. We then enjoyed an afternoon swim, then hopped back on the boat for the ride to Riverside. Easy and fun!



So, which pool is better? I don’t have to answer that question as guests get to use BOTH main pools!



Some guests heading to Walt Disney World plan to swim upon their arrival at their resort. They pack their swimsuits in their carry on bags so that they can change when arriving at their resort. By the time they are done swimming, the rest of their luggage has been magically transported to their room. Only at Disney!