I had big plans for this Father’s Day Weekend. BIG plans. HUGE. However, they didn’t happen as I would have liked. Sometimes life has a way of throwing a curve ball and you never really recover properly. This weekend, we were supposed to head to KeyLime Cove in the early afternoon of Saturday. Hang out in the pool, and then do it all over again on Sunday. It didn’t quite happen that way, but we still had an awesome time.
We arrived Saturday night and were promptly greeted and given great information about the things to do INSIDE of the resort. We were given wristbands to wear – three with our room keys attached to them in the form of chips to scan, and the trifecta had regular armbands that they wore around their ankles. We could use them to get into our rooms, as identification as guests of the park, and to charge items to our room. We didn’t charge anything, but it was nice to know that I didn’t have to have my wallet with me all of the time. Especially in a bathing suit.
I didn’t realize how large the resort was until I took a gander around. It looked like the inside of a cruise ship! And you all know how much Mr. Houseful and I love cruising. The smartest thing that we did that day was to have the children put their swimming attire on under their clothes (for the girls) or just wear their trunks as bottoms (for the boys) so that we could get checked in and head straight down to the water park.
When we entered the park we were greeted to a warm environment and a ton of space for everyone to enjoy something. The littles were immediately drawn to Lil Limers, the gated section for smaller children. I appreciated that they were because then I could wade with them if they needed me to. They did not. I’ll pretend that my feelings weren’t hurt. Lil Limers had two wading pools, and three slides that were age and height appropriate. The lifeguards in this area were pretty rock star as well. Always walking around and checking the pool for children that may have needed them. The big camera didn’t come out because….water, and it was a bit humid, so I apologize for the HEAT coming off of these images!
Right next to that area was a manmade beach area where you could also float lazily down the river on a tube. Nathaniel ended up hanging out on the other end of the water park because there were several slide tubes that he could shoot down. Mr. Houseful and I were going to try to switch off to hang out on the other end, which looked SO FUN, but we had our energy zapped with walking around Lil Limers with the trifecta. That area can poop you out for sure! No wonder so many parents were napping contentedly on the lounge chairs right when we came in. They looked so comfortable! The water was always comfortable, and the kids didn’t seem to be bothered by temperatures like they are when we go to the beach. The air temperature was a warm 84 degrees so that anyone could relax for the entire day if so desired.
Coming into the water park, we noticed these bright tubes outside of the building and wondered what they were. Well, when you go into the water park you see that there are four water slides that you could rush down – in complete darkness. The squeals of delight were nice to hear as I was walking past. The pool that the slides emptied into had a water height of 3’8″ so most older children could land on their feet and not worry about heading under water – depending on how fast they came out.
Riptide Reef is the on site arcade for those times where sitting in the water resort has gotten to be a bit too much, or you just want to de-wrinkle for a while. Nathaniel and I walked around for a bit as he schooled me on how to properly play the games. It’s a sad day when your child knows more about games than you do. This ain’t no Chuck E. Cheese. It was bright, and also had a viewing window into the water park just in case you wanted to keep tabs on your tweens and teens.
The main floor of the resort is just as entertaining as every other place. It feels as if you’re walking on Main Street USA, except this is Duvall Street. There were plenty of shops to stop in, in case you left any water accessories at home. I know this because we left TWO pairs of swimming trunks at home for Sir. Twizzler. It was that type of weekend, remember I told you that at the beginning of the post? We were able to stop into Lulu’s Swim Shop to pick a pair and continue our adventures.
Here’s a bit of information about KeyLime Cove:
Location: 1700 Nations Drive, Gurnee
Phone:
Reservations: 877-360-0403
Information: 224-656-8685
Parking: Free parking in the large parking lot.
Check-in & check-out: Check-in is at 4:00 pm, but you can come in as early as 1:00 pm to play at the water park. Checkout is at 11:00 am, but you have access to the water park for the rest of the day.
Price: Rates vary considerable based on the dates and room type. Because the price includes water park passes, the rate also varies based on the number of occupants. Join Club KeyLime for news and special offers.
We stayed in a Toucan 2 Bedroom Suite from Saturday to Sunday. Our stay, for 2 adults and 4 children, was priced at $249.95.
Accommodations: KeyLime Cove offers 7 types of rooms: King Stateroom, King Spa Stateroom, Queen Stateroom, Queen Deluxe Stateroom, Queen Grand Stateroom, Queen Verandah Stateroom, Family Stateroom, Mangrove 1-Bedroom Suite, Toucan 2-Bedroom Suite, and Captain Dave’s Two-Bedroom Luxury Suite. Rooms/suites can accommodate between 2 & 8 people and all include large flat-screen tv with cable, high-speed internet access, iPod compatible alarm clock, refrigerator, coffee maker, table or desk, and in-room safe.
Our suite was great. We travel quite a bit, and the kids automatically equated the suite with the condos that we so often stay in while on our family road trips. The kids stayed in one room with two full-sized beds to sleep in. The trifecta COULD fit into one bed, but they decided to just pair off. Their happiness came with the television that sat inside the armoire and their private bathroom with two sinks. Lil’ Miss complained that she couldn’t reach the sinks (the same issue she has at home – but we have stools) but with some help from her brother or us, everything was okay. Their bathroom did have a place to sit down in the shower, which was a HUGE thing for the girls.
The master bedroom in the sweet included a king sized bed, along with a private bathroom and a shower/jacuzzi tub. A laundry string to hang up wet swimming suits was also available in the shower. The bed was comfortable, and I think the combination of water play the night that we got there, and just pure exhaustion from the events from the week. We slept fitfully for the entire night and arose to get started first thing in the morning. While we were there over the weekend, the park opened at 9 each morning nd closed at 10pm. During the week, the park opens at 10 am. There are no day passes for the water park, which is just fine because the cost is included in your stay, so it’s quite a way to go for a full day and a half worth of fun.
All in all, we had a great time, and it was really nice to be able to go away for a day and not really have to worry about where we had to go or if we had to really think about eating, or entertainment. It was all there under one roof, and we were free of worry as parents.
I along with the Houseful was invited as guests of KeyLime Cove in exchange for telling you all about the resort. All thoughts and opinions are my own.