St Louis Zoo

I will tell you right up front, this is THE SINGLE BEST ZOO I have ever been to. I love this zoo and use it as my measuring stick for every other zoo we've ever been to. Most of them don't even come close to this zoo. PS, with my dead laptop, I have no photo editing software right now. Once I get this issue taken care of, this post will have pictures as well. On to the review.

We went Wednesday. According to the weather we had tracked all week, it was was supposed to be in the mid-60s. Unfortunately, TWC was showing us mid-50s, which marred our enjoyment somewhat (not much but it was a little colder than I would have liked). I-64 is totally under construction and simply gone for a large stretch, which made actually getting to the zoo a little difficult. However, because of the detour, we found a section of the zoo we had never seen, called "Turtle Park". It has huge statues of different kinds of turtles for the kids to climb on and play around. We didn't stop to play (see the previous mention of cold) but did make a note of it for future trips. The zoo being all about conservation and saving the earth has installed fancy toilet flushers where you lift it up for liquid waste and push down for solid. MT thought this was the coolest thing ever and took to announcing, loudly, which way she was pushing the handle.

The zoo itself is free. Parking costs $11, unless you get there early (or are willing to hike in). We got there about 8:50 (the zoo opens at 9) and were able to get the second free space so I was happy with that. They also not allow but encourage people to bring in their own food and drinks. There are several outdoor eating spots throughout the zoo and people can take their food into the cafes to get inside for awhile. I would suggest taking your food if at all possible. The food at the zoo is marginal at best and pricey. It was $8.50 for a single cheeseburger, an order of fries and a small drink. The kid meals are also lacking in variety. It was a hot dog or chicken fingers. They do have some healthy side options but my kids, being my kids, opted for the fries.

Some of the attractions, including the "Endangered Species" Carousel, the Children's Zoo, the 3-D movie, the motion ride and the train do cost extra. You can get a "Safari Pass" that is $10/person and includes admission to the Children's Zoo, Zooline Railroad, Sea Lion Show (while in season), Conservation Carousel, Motion Simulator and 3-D Movie (while in season).

The Children's Zoo and the Carousel are free for the first hour. My suggestion would be to hoof it back to the carousel, ride it first and then go to the Children's Zoo and spend as much time as your kids would like. There are a bunch of climbing things, the otters, some animals the kids can touch, and in the summer, there are water sprayers to help kids cool off.

Because of my mom's broken foot, I encouraged her to rent a motorized wheel chair and it came in very handy. The process to rent one was a little tedious, including leaving a driver's license and doing an inspection of the cart before being allowed to leave with it but it was an absolute blessing to have it. Being our second straight day of going full tilt, there is no way she could have managed all the hills and stuff without it. I do need to mention that many areas of the zoo simply aren't set up for scooters or large strollers. Both the gift shops had aisle too narrow, the seating in the cafe was too crowded, and the exit to Peguin and Puffin Cove was hard to navigate, thanks to sharp turns and close quarters. Other than that, she got around remarkably well with it.

Since we were there in the off season, there was quite a bit of construction going on. they are building a new exhibit in the center with sting rays and the like and they have most of the reptile house (including the alligators, TB was devistated) roped off and inaccesable. Most of the stands weren't open as well. This was both a blessing and a curse. It meant I didn't have to keep saying no to junky toys and candy but it also meant we had to hike halfway across the zoo for a drink. Personally, I prefer the off-season because it is less crowded and the animals are more active. It was 11 before it felt like there were more than a handful of people there. We were able to get right up the exhibits and see the animals without anyone being in our way or us being in anyone's way.

The 3-D movie was LAME and so not worth the $4 per person we paid for it, but it was a new one that we hadn't seen and now we can say we've done it and don't have to mess with it the future. We didn't do the motion ride but I have in the past and they aren't for people prone to motion sickness or younger children. It is often violent motion, combined with scary scenes and generally best suited for the late tween/teen crowd.

The only con is that this zoo is BIG. If you have young children or children who aren't used to vacationing at full throttle, this is not a one day zoo. We have been many, many, many time and we have only once or twice hit every exhibit in one day. And those were the days we dropped into bed at the end of the day, wanting to die from exhaustion. Not fun for anyone.

My recommendation would be to pick up a zoo map on your way in (or check out the one on the website before you go)and spend a few minutes figuring out the must see exhibits for your family and making a point of seeing them. Our must sees were the alligators, the monkeys (we saw ONE monkey habitat out of 3 different ones), the elephants, the penguins and Bear Row (they have several different types of bears all along one pathway).









Of course, we saw the animals around those animals as well but we completely skipped the big cats, most of the primates and several other areas.

This zoo is clean, the exhibits are well cared for, the people are friendly and helpful and the price is right. Other than the 3 hour drive to get there (and STL has TONS of other things to see and do, much of it free as well), there is no reason not to make this trip at least annually.

I give St Louis Zoo 5 full stars and highly suggest you check it out.

Children's Museum of Chicago

This weekend we went to the Children's Museum of Chicago. We were there a little early and were able to see some of the Navy Pier shops while we waited. Once we were able to get in, we were directed to the "other admission" desk because we were using our pass for a reciprocle ACM membership. Normal price is $9 for adults and children 2 and up. Seniors are $8. This is a smaller museum (compared to something like Indy, which I realized I have never reviewed) but offer plenty to keep the kids entertained. We started on the second floor, where the admission desk is and quickly made our way through the children's museum standard "health and safety area" They had exhibits on riding in and driving an ambulance, why you should buckle up in the car and how to call 911. The best part of the second floor was the climbing schooner. There is a "below decks" area, that includes some playground type climbing equiptment and a slide. Adults aren't comfortably able to get below so I would suggest this area for ages 5 and up, unless you have a super independant preschooler (MT had no issue climbing down and playing by herself). They also a net tube that goes all the way to the second floor. It is recommended for ages 5 and up but younger kids can climb with guardian permission. MT couldn't be held back once she found out her brother was going up so we just met them at the top. On the third floor, there is a short net tube that goes up to a rope cage that kids can climb through to get to the "suspension" bridge (sections of it move but it is totally supported) to exit.

From there, we went to the skyline building area. MT had a good time pounding the nails into the foam board they had out but that is a rotating exhibit and is only out occasionally. There is plenty to build, with real wood, bolts nuts and tools. I was impressed that they used real hardware instead of plastic junky stuff. MT screwed a few screws but mostly wasn't interested. TB, on the other hand, was enthralled. He built (surprise, surprise) a Star Wars ship

that he and Nonni worked on for nearly an hour.

Once he was done with his building, we went on to "Snow Much Fun" (Waterworks was closed or we would have stopped there but it is water, things that float, etc, can't say anything bad about it LOL). They had the BEST exhibit ever in the snow area. It is "Pretend to ice skate" and it was great. They have a large piece of linolium on the floor that is waxed and the kids slide around on it in their socks. They placed some fun music and the attendants really got involved with the kids. The guy attendant was getting the kids to skate like airplanes, then having them run and fall down and slide across the floor. The girl was having the kids practice jumping and falling and sliding like penguins. Because they were involved, it kept it from turing into a free for all and having someone get hurt. When they were done skating, they built a snow fort out of interlocking cardboard blocks and had a snowball fight with white puff balls.

Then we went to "Big Backyard" where the kids had their pictures taken and their faces were put on bugs. I wish they would have had a print out option because they were cute but you could see them on the screen. They dressed up like bugs and played in the giant shoe. The best part of that area was the shadow wall. One side has rain falling down it and the other side has butterflies. If you stand still in front of either one, the things will interact with your shadow. They rain will fall around you and the butterflies will land on you. It was a lot of fun.

From there, it was the museum standard "pretend town" They have a grocery store, a bus to drive and a mechanic's shop. Nothing exceptional about it but it is something that all kids seem to enjoy.

After lunch (the museum doesn't have food but the Navy Pier food court is right around the corner and you have in and out priviledge) we started on the first floor. The first floor includes the gift shop and the art area.

The art area had a huge table to do art at. They had the standard markers, glue scissors, etc but they also had cardboard boxes, metallic paper, mailing tubes, etc that the kids could use to decorate or create other things. They also had a stage where the kids could do a show and tell of the things they made or perform for the group. Neither kid used the stage, but we did spend a fair amount of time in the art area.

According to the map, there was an aquarium on the first floor as well. We ended having to ask at the gift shop where it was because it is actually between the two levels on a landing. We assumed, being called an "aquarium" that it was fairly large and TB was quite excited (he wanted to go to Shedd's while we were there but we had other stuff planned and couldn't make it this trip). Unfortunately, it 2 small fish tanks with maybe 10 fish between the 2. We were pretty disappointed.

Overall, the museum was good but I'm glad I had free admission because it is too small to justify the $9 per person admission.

I would rate it 3.5 stars

Magic house Review

While we were in St Louis last weekend, we went to the Magic House. I had been several times when I was kid but hadn't been in about 20 years. Apparently, according to my mom because I didn't remember, it is COMPLETELY different.

When you walk in the door, there is the admission desk where you pay and get your sticker, letting people know you have paid. To the left are a few benches and the gift shop. Beyond the benches, there is a large expansion area, which is opening next week. To the right is the actual museum area. As you head down the hallway, they have the "Little bit of magic" area for kids under 6 (shh, don't tell but we snuck TB in). In it, they have some slides, a sand table, a water play table, a climbing area. In the back corner, they have a baby area for kids under 2.

Around the corner from the LBOM area, there is the Math Path, which is all numbers. From math puzzles and guess the number of items to giant calculators and build the fastest Lego car, the Math Path is a dream come true for your budding Einstein.

Beyond the Math Path, you will find the Children's Village. It includes magnetic fishing, a mechanic's shop with a car up on a lift, an electric company, a store, a pizza palor and a tree fort. This also were the elevator to the basement is located. MT loved playing in the mechanic's shop, changing the tires and the license plate on the cars (this tells me she will either be a mechanic or a car thief LOL) TB liked the tree house and the pizza palor.

From there, we took the elevator down to the basement because the kids were hungry and there was a vending area marked on the map. We were disappointed to find that their vending area consisted of a couple of drink machines and no food. Both kids ended up getting sugary caffinated drinks so they were really hopped up for the rest of the visit.

After our drink stop, we continued down the hall, past the experiment center. It looked like something TB would have enjoyed but there was really nothing for MT so we bypassed it. The majority of the basement is given over to Lewis and Clark. In one area, they have a Lewis and Clark camp site, with a wooden canoe, a teepee and a fire, as well as some costumes to dress up in. MT proclaimed it "boring" and insisted on going elsewhere. Off of the camp site, they have a Lewis and Clark Trail setup. WARNING, this exhibit is NOT for young children, old people, or anyone with any kind of limited mobility. The age range for it is 5-12 but we took MT in because wouldn't allow us to leave her out. 10 feet into the exhibit, there is a rope you have to use to swing across a gap in the floor (you can walk across if you must, but what is the fun in that), that leads to stumps to step on, ladders to climb and slides to slide down. Over all the whole exhibit was pretty dark, with some pitch black spots. It was also pretty physical and quite fun. The kids wanted to make a repeat trip through but each guest is only allowed through once, for some reason.

Then it was up to the third floor to see the fitness center, the shadow wall and the coolest of all, the electro-static generator. That is the machine that when you touch it, makes your hair stand up all wild. Unfortunately, it didn't work at all for TB. It worked fairly well for MT but because I had to hold her to reach it, I didn't get a picture of it. However, we found that my hair worked GREAT so I went back and TB took a picture of my crazy hair.

By then the kids were hungry and tired and we decided to call it a day. We stopped off in the gift shop which was pretty much to be expected. It had the components of the various exhibits, highly priced for children to beg for. We picked up a couple of things and got some ideas for Christmas as well.

I remember it being mostly a museum for older kids, but MT had a really great time. There were a few things she couldn't do (the Lego racers were for kids 4+ but I think that was because they are considered chocking hazards) but she didn't lack for things to keep her busy.

Over all, I would give it 3.5 stars. I think it will be better when the new expansion opens up and when it is warmer, the outside stuff will be available. As it is right now, the really fun exhibits (LBOM, Math Path, etc) were really crowed and moving around and keeping your kids in sight was fairly difficult. With more space, some of that congestion would be relieved. I was also umimpressed with the lack of snack machines. If we had something to eat and if the crowds had been less, we probably would have stayed longer. As it was, we rushed through some exhibits and bypassed other completely, just to move things

Knight's Action Park

We went to Knight's Action Park in Springfield over the weekend. I hadn't been in a while (not since I was pregnant with TB) and I was wholly unimpressed. Pricing is pretty expensive. For an adult to get into the waterpark, it is $23.99. If you add in a ride pass, it is an additional $14.95. If you do the math on that it is a total of $38.94. That price doesn't include the go-karts, mini golf, driving range, or batting cages they also offer. Currently, that is more expensive than going to Six Flags since they are running the "everyone pays kid's price" promotion. Even regular priced, Six Flags is only $1.05 more expensive. Knight's Action Park is also pretty small. For the rides, they are all carnival type rides and if you have little kids forget it. There are only 3 rides they can ride :( For the bigger kids there are only a few rides as well. Very disappointing selection.

The waterpark isn't a lot better, but there is enough stuff to do to keep busy for part of a day. They have a couple of kiddie areas, 4 big water slides, a wave pool, an "action" river, bumper boats and peddle boats on the lake. The wave pool is decent, although they require a tube past the 3 foot line. My kids just weren't sure what to do about that because they like being in the deeper water but not with tubes. The action river was nice and a great way to get around the back side of the park. It was one of the fastest "lazy" river's that I have been on, with a serious current, as well as sprayers, white water sections and a wave area. TB enjoyed it as much as anything else.

Seal Bay is a nice play area for middle sized kids. There are several small slides a couple of things to climb on and best of all, there were 3 bigger kid slides that were perfect for my 2. It was perfect because you could sit at the bottom of the slides and still see the ramp up to the top so you weren't walking back and forth to get them up and down. MT spent a lot of time running up the ramp and sliding down one of the 3 slides.

Besides that, they have 4 big kid/adult water slides. 2 of them are new and 2 of them are original. The new ones are the "Royal Flush" which is a bowl type slide. The other one is called the "Devil Ray" and it looks like a half pipe. You sit on a raft and slide down and up the other side, then back down and so forth. The 2 original slides are built into the side of a hill and are flat abusive. TB and I both got hurt on one and although it wasn't an active hurt, I came off the other one feeling like I had been beaten. They are old and poorly maintained, as well as too narrow to be comfortable. The twists are sharp, the bumps are hard and I was left with a headache that took the rest of the day to get rid of.

The bumper boats and the peddle boats were both nice. The bumper boats are big enough for adults to ride and younger kids are able to ride with an adult. The peddle boats are peddle boats. You do get to take them through the "feed the fish" part of the lake so the kids were able to se the gigantic fish pretty up close.

The food is marginal. We ate at Barnical Bill's and were disappointed to find out that they only offer nacho cheese sauce for their burgers. The chicken was decent and the amount of food was better than expected. I was also impressed with the price of the food. The meal (entree, fries and a drink) was around $6 and contained plenty of food.

The bathroom/changing rooms where gross. They were small and inadaquate. There were 5 stalls, one small bench and 4 open stalls to be used for changing. There was no where dry to put our stuff and no where closed to change, unless you took up a bathroom stall. The lack of privacy doesn't concern me but other might well be bothered by it.

Overall, the place was over priced, small, old and poorly maintained. Everything had paint peeling off of it and looked a general mess. I would give it 2 stars, simply for proximity. It is closer to drive to Springfield than to St Louis or Chicago for something bigger and better. If given the choice, I would absolutely drive further to one of the other options.

Holiday World 2

Day 2 was very much the same as day one. We got there just as they were opening. We went directly to the Scrambler because the kids had been begging since the night before to ride it. Fortunately, MT was big enough to ride because we would have had a serious problem is she hadn't been. I kept telling her "you may not be big enough" and every time she would respond with "I'm big and I'm tall and I'm brave and I'm GOING to ride the Scrambler" She spent the whole ride laughing her head off and as soon as we got off, she was ready to go again. RF and I neither one could take another trip on it and they couldn't go alone so I had to convince them to go ride the old time cars.

After the cars (much shorter wait this time), we got measured again then MT rode teh salmon run and TB and I went to ride the swings. We stood and watched for a minute before he decided he was too scared to do it so we browsed in one of the shops while we waited for RF and MT to be done on their ride. Then we headed to the waterpark.

RF was done before the day even started but he did an amazing job not bitching too much about it. We rode the slides, played in the wave pools, played at Kima Bay, etc etc etc until lunch time. TB had wanted Goblin Burgers for dinner the night before so I promised him that for lunch. We all got dressed (Holiday world does not allow uncovered swimsuits in the park, everyone has to wear a shirt, shoes and shorts while in the park) and headed to Halloweentown for lunch. Fortunately, they weren't just burgers so MT was able to have chicken fingers. The burgers were super tasty and I liked that they offered a "veggie pack" (lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions) with the burgers, which is something most food stands don't offer.

After we ate, we had to ride the Scrambler again since we were directly across the walk from it. Then we talked MT into going on the Log Flume ride. She didn't want to but we convinced her it was just like the Indian River Canoe ride, not mentioning the drop at the end. She likes roller coasters and so forth so I didn't think it would be a big deal, we just had to get past her refusal to get on the ride. We did convince her on the ride and she really enjoyed it. After we got off, she kept saying to herself "That was awesome, that was so awesome" When we would ask her what she thought about it all she would tell us was "that was really fast" LOL

After the log ride, we asked if she wanted to go on Thunder RIver (what it called at Six Flags and the only name I've ever called it)and she wanted no part of that. So I asked her if she would rather go on "the splashing river" That was an absolute yes!. She didn't even hesitate getting on and she laughed and giggled and squealed her way through the ride.

Then it was back to the water park for more water play for another couple of hours. Finally, RF couldn't take anymore and we decided to head out. But first we needed funnel cakes from the "Funnel Cake Factory" They were very tasty but I must comment that the funnel cake on their sign looks more like a soft pretzel! More canoes and salmon then we went and did the kiddie rides they hadn't had time to do yet. It was really sad to see that TB was tall enough that he was being measured to make sure he wasn't TOO TALL for the kiddie rides :( I geave them each one turn on each of the rides they were willing to ride (neither wanted anything to do with "Reindeer Games"). Fortunately, it was not too busy and they were able to pretty much walk on to each ride. We were all tired and it was hot and I was ready to GO. T

After riding all the kiddie rides and meeting 2 other boys with completely awesome spiked mohawks and their little brother who had a cute faux-hawk, we made a bathroom stop and a stop at guest relations to check on my missing sunglasses (which were never found :( ) and then got in the van and headed for our hotel. An hour later and we got checked in and unloaded. Dinner, a little TV and it was time for bed. Once I turned the TV off, the kids were asleep within 10 minutes and slept like the dead all night.

We got up, had breakfast, listened to some people debate the time in China for the Olympics (they were debating if they were 12 hours ahead or 36, the answer is 12-ish depending on time zone, if you are interested), listened to MT tell everyone in the breakfast area about the slides and how "they were FREAKIN' fast" LOL and then headed for home. We made worse time coming home, despite only one stop for bathrooms, which was disappointing.

Holiday World

We left here at 7 on Tuesday morning. We drove, except for a quick break at McDonald's for breakfast and bathrooms, straight through to Holiday World. Unfortunately, we had some of the worst directions I've ever had from Google maps
:( It first off routed down a road that was closed (not Google's fault but a pain none the less). Then, once we took the detour and got back on the right road, it wound us around down through these little towns with 25 mile an hour speed limits, around hairpin turns, up and down hills etc. For the last half hour of the trip, we couldn't go over 40, which was extremely frustrating. We got in just before 11, so we still made pretty good time. The weather was dreadfully hot so our first stop was "Kringle's Cafe" to get drinks before we headed for the water park. Before we made it to the waterpark, we had the kids' official height measured so they could get wrist bands and we wouldn't have to mess with having the measured at every ride all day long. The waterpark measures shoes off and the other rides are all shoes on. Ms Thang was absolutetly over 36 inches and The Boy was just barely 48. He actually had to put his shoes on to top 48, but that was ok. He was actually the best height he could be. They charge a reduced price for anyone under 54 inches, but the max height of any of the rides is 48 inches. He fell in that "golden zone", which was fantastic for us.

After getting measured, we went around the corner and down into the waterpark. We got changed and went to get sunscreen. Unfortunately, they were nearly out so we got a little and went to find a spot for "home base". The water park was crazy busy so we ended up just parking the stroller (which neither kid rides in, but it makes a nice container for our stuff) near a fence and moving on. Ms Thang wanted to play in "Crocodile Isle" which has a nice all ages slide but is really too small for anyone but her. It has a small kids' slide and some sprayers and is absolutely perfect for younger kids. The Boy was more interested in going to the wave pool (of which there are 2) so we rounded her up and headed for The Wave (the smaller of the 2 wave pools). After she got over having her fit, she decided that the wave pool was pretty cool and figured out quite quickly that she could jump over the waves and they were fun to play in. She was insistant that she could go past the "strong swimmer" line. After the cycle of waves, the kids wanted to go to the treehouse, but I suggested the new feature "Kima Bay", which was similar to the tree house.

Kima Bay was awesome! It was a long walk from The Wave (and appeared to be a long way from everything else except the Bakuli slide but we found out later, there was a bathroom/sunscreen station and an Oasis just around the corner). It is all spraying water, climbing things and slides. It has 7 slides, 3 that are able to be used by the 36 inch and under crowd. TB and RF took off and did the big id stuff and MT and I did the stuff she could do. We went down the slides and up the stairs and under the spayers a million times. We finally drug her out to have lunch because it was 1 o'clock and we were all getting hungry. We ate at Safari Pizza, which is centrally located. They offer combos that are 2 pieces of pizza, one order of fries and one cookies. We decided to get 2 of them and split them, which caused lunch to be all of $14. That is one of my big selling points about the park, is that food is VERY reasonably priced. After lunch, TB decided he wanted to ride the "jungle racers", which Ms. Thang was too small for (and quite pissed about, at that) so I took him on it and RF took MT to the "jungle jets" which is right next door and a "sprayer garden" that she could play in. The racer was really awesome, but watch out for the second hill. It is a rough one!

TB and I went to play in the jets, for about 5 minutes until TB banged heads with another kid and decided to go to Bahari, the other wave pool. Bahari is huge, more like 2 wave pools smushed together. One side has big aggressive waves, suitable for older kids and adults. The other side has much smaller, softer, less consistant waves. It is perfect for younger kids and worn out adults (us by that point in the day LOL). MT refused to play in the smaller waves so huge pounding waves it was. When that cycle was over, we went and got more sunscreen (I love the free sunscreen) and then went back to Kima Bay. By then MT was melting down so nothing was working well for her. We played for a few minutes but it didn't work out too well. RF tweaked his leg and wanted to sit down. I took the kids to the only place in the whole park where I could watch 2 kids by myself, the lazy river (also one of 2). Plus, I thought if she would lay quitely on me for a few minutes, she would fall asleep. There was a problem with wrong sized tubes and I ended up dumped in the water, twice. Once by myself, once with MT on my lap. The second time, I also managed to lose my sunglasses which sucked. :( We finally got some right sized tubes and started around. Part way around, the radios cut out and changed to a warning that storms were in the area and that all rides were being shut down. There went my idea for a nap! We got out and camped out, waiting for all the people to leave. It wasn't raining so it wasn't that big of a deal. Then it started to rain in huge fat drops and we booked to shelter. Not for us, I was drier in the rain than I was at Kima Bay, but for all of our stuff that we didn't want soaked. The rain was short lived, too short to really chase many people out of the park, sadly.

By then it was nearing 6 so we decided to ride the family raft slide, which MT loved. It was good, calm ride for the over 36 inch crowd. After the slide, MT and RF changed clothes, but TB and I stayed in swimwear so that we could ride Raging Rapids, a Thunder River type ride that I took TB on last year and he loved it. MT rode the Salmon Run and the Indian River Canoes, both of which were super. After the river ride, we changed clothes then RF and I had dinner at The Alamo resturant. Tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc. The food was fantastic, which was pretty standard for the park. I didn't have anything there that wasn't good. The fajitas where enormous and the tacos were so full of filling that RF ended up having to eat at least of it with a for because it all fell out. The kids wanted a cheeseburger (TB) and pizza (MT) and the only place in the park that had both of those items together was Kringles Cafe. We took the kids there to eat and then rode the antique cars.

My major complaint about the park was it's lack of correct line use. All of the rides have several rows so the lines can wonder up and down and back an forth, because walking is always better than just standing in line. So many of the lines didn't have any of them open, causing the line, while not terribly long to seem much longer than it was. It was super frustrating to to see all those open lanes and no one in them.

After the antique cars, we went to our hotel. After a bit of a disaster checking in (we were booked under my mom's name so she would get the points but because I was paying with cash, they wanted my ID which was forcing them to check me in under my name, costing her the points, we did get everything fixed and finally got into our room, where everyone promptly crashed.

Wisconsin Dells - Knuckleheads

Next was Knucklesheads. It is an indoor family entertainment and gaming center. It had a few carnival style rides and a lot of video games. They also have bowling, food and a play structure for the younger kids. Again, pricey (2 or 3 dollars for each ride) but fun. If you go, plan to spend quite a bit of time (we spent 2 hours before we had to head for home but we could have spent a fair amount more time) and even more money. It was a good activity for a rainy yucky day where the kids could run and play. I give it 4 stars

Wisconsin Dells - Top Secret

First up is Top Secret it is an upside down white house that also houses many government secrets, including Nessy, Big Foot and some Roswell aliens (and some other things that I can't talk about here LOL) It was pretty cheesy but we had a good time. There were some neat effects and The Boy had a good time. There were a few spots where he was a little scared but overall, he thought it was fun. This is not a place for young children. There are many places that have dim lighting, mazes and loud noise. Ms Thang would have HATED it and the other kids on our tour weren't too impressed with it either. Our tour guide moved us through a little faster than I would have like but some of the kids were getting antsy so he did a good job of reading the general mood of the group and tailoring his speil to that. Over priced but then what isn't. Enjoyable to older kids and young tweens (and adults that act/think like kids :) ) and gets 3.5 stars from me.

Wisconsin Dells - Tommy Bartlett Exploratory

Next was the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. It was basically a small children's museum/science center. The kids really enjoyed it and we spent over 2 hours working our way through the whole place. It was small and was a little pricey (nearly the same price as the Indy Children's Museum which is the pinnacle of children's museums), but we had a coupon that saved some money, plus I think it was worth it to have something that the kids really liked. There were small exhibits but there was enough stuff that Ms Thang could do and TB was entertained as well. It is truely a rare event when we find something that keeps both kids entertained for any length of time.

If you go to the Dells with young children, take some time and visit the Exploratory (especially if the weather is yucky and you need to do something indoors for a few hours).

This attraction ranks 4 stars

Wisconsin Dells - Dell 4D FX Theater

The Dells 4D special FX Theater runs a 15 minute double feature of a Funhouse ride and Marvin the Martian cartoon or a dinosaur attack and runaway log ride. I thought that it was 4 seperate movies so we picked Marvin the Martian because he is AWESOME! Ms Thang and I went in and she freaked out at the fun house ride. She didn't like the 4D effects and the stuff was too much "in your face" even without the glasses. Unfortunately, the 3D was poorly done as well and instead of feeling like things were coming at us, it felt like things were fuzzy and just ended up giving me a headache. The Boy thought the dinosaur attack was really awesome and highly recommends it. It isn't something I would do again but it wasn't the most terrible thing I've ever done.

I'm giving this attraction 2 stars

Wisconin Dells - Wizard Quest

The next morning we went to Wizard Quest. This one gets another negative review, sadly :( The Boy and I did it together and neither one of us enjoyed it. We chose to do the easier level since he can't read and it would have been too hard to try and do all the challenges in the alloted time. As it turned out, we still couldn't solve all the puzzles and TB got bored after an hour and we left only partly done. The premise is that 4 wizards, one from each realm, has been captured and you have to solve some puzzles to get enough magic to free them. The easier level starts you with enough magic points, all you have to do is find the wizards. In reality, you spend a lot of time crawling around on your hands and knees, in the dark or semi dark, looking for symbols on things and doing a TON of reading. You start in the air realm, although they don't tell you that until you have gone through the other 3 and then have to go back to that realm. We wondered through the Earth, Fire and Water Realms, finding little or nothing. In the Earth Realm, we were able to dance with the fairies (which did nothing but deduct magic from us). Other than that, we couldn't find the wizard or complete any of the challenges in the level. We moved on to Fire, where it was nearly dark and there was nothing to do or see. There was a ball pit to cralw through but I couldn't fit and TB was scared because it was pitch black inside. Moving on to the Water realm, we crawled through some seaweed and found black light posters. We also crawled through some tunnels and found a puzzle to solve that was actually broken so it didn't count for anything. Still no wizard. At that point, TB was done and we headed upstairs to leave. Once upstairs, I figured out that that was the Air realm so we looked around in it for a minute. We found another puzzle that was broken and didn't count for anything, again. We did manage to find and free the wizard of that realm. After we found it, we went back to the other 3 trying to find them one more time and busted again. TB asked to leave so we did.

This would be an ok attraction for adults or possibly even much older children but for TB and I, it was boring and difficult and confusing and just generally not much fun. If you go as an adult, make sure you are small, limber and in good health. Also, make sure you take all your smart friends that are good at puzzles.

Wisconsin Dells - Kalahari Resort

Our first night here, we stayed at Kalahari Resorts. It gets a serious 5 stars. It is kind of expensive (twice what we paid at the Comfort Inn) but well worth the price if you or your kids like water parks. They say they are "America's Largest Indoor Waterpark" and they aren't kidding. They have a wave pool, 2 activity pools with basketball and "jungle crossings". They also have a lazy river, several body slides, 2 raft/family slides, a kiddie play area with sprayers and the very best thing is the Flow-rider. Besides having all of that to do, there is an entire outdoor water park to enjoy. We didn't spend much time there because it was cool and over cast pretty much the entire time we were there. In addition to the water, they have 2 different resturants plus several snack bars and a "Damon's Resturant" on the property. They have several gift shops, including a sweet shop. My recommendation is to save your money at the candy shop and head into the down town Wisconsin Dells where there is a candy store every block or so and the candy there is cheaper :) They have a kids areas as well, where, for a fee, you can decorate cookies, color take home souveniers and participate in scavenger hunts (we did and won a free large pizza and drinks for our efforts).

Besides, the all inclusive nature of the resort (they also have a day spa, but we did not indulge because it was really pricey), the staff is fantastic! Every person I dealt with was friendly and VERY helpful. Special consideration goes to Jeremy G and Tyler, lifeguards in the waterpark. They certainly worked hard for their money the night we saw them. They were both working the Flow-rider and were stellar with the kids (and some nervous adults). Tyler was the first to mention that Ms Thang could ride with a guard and he took her on her ride. When we motioned that she was ready to get off, he promptly pulled her off and then apologized that he couldn't see her face so he didn't know. He also chatted with the people waiting, keeping them entertained. Jeremy G was at the bottom of the ride and he was showing people how to do the various tricks that could be done on the ride. He would lay on his board and demonstrate, repeatedly, getting to his knees, then how to barrel roll, etc. All the while watching the person's form and yelling (the surf is really loud, you couldn't hear without screaming) instructions and motioning for them to do things.