Travel with Kids: Family Fun at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort + GIVEAWAY

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Castaway Bay, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Last week, my family and I left Pittsburgh, and made the easy 2 1/2 hour trip to nearby Sandusky, Ohio, for two days of family fun at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort! The timing was perfect for a trip with kids. The winter blues were kicking in, and what better way to chase them away than by escaping to a fun, tropical-themed water park?!?

The five of us had an amazing time! (Yes, five. Find out why we left Liam with his grandparents.) Castaway Bay is a perfect family-friendly vacation spot, and every hour of our two days at the resort were filled with fun! We could have easily spent several more days there, and we're looking forward to going back!

The moment we walked through the doors of the resort, I knew we were going to love it. The decor was fun, and I immediately felt happy and relaxed! The lobby alone was full of fun places to explore, but we couldn't wait to check out our room, change into our suits, and head on down to the main feature: the indoor waterpark!

THE RESORT

Castaway Bay is a resort located within a very short driving distance of Cedar Point. It has a 38,000 square foot indoor waterpark and 237 hotel rooms and suites that are perfect for families of all sizes. Although you can purchase a day pass for the indoor waterpark, and make your visit a simple day trip, if you book a room, the price includes admission to the waterpark from the day you arrive through the day you leave.

The resort also has a large arcade, a fitness center, a child activity center (which includes crafts), retail shops, three restaurants and a marina. The resort has everything you need, so there's no reason to leave during your stay!

THE ROOM

Castaway Bay has a variety of rooms and suites that fit families and groups of all sizes! They offer a wide range of choices from rooms that sleep 3 to suites that sleep 8. The room reservation includes your Waterpark passes!

During our visit, we stayed in the Tarpon Suite, which sleeps 6. The 2-room suite had a king bed in one room, and two sets of bunk beds in the other room. My kids loved the window between the rooms, because they could peek into our room (when the blind was up)!

Our suite also had a large, private balcony that overlooked the water, a coffee maker, a microwave, a mini fridge, a walk in closet that worked perfectly as a changing room, free wifi, and a large flat-screen TV (which was perfect for watching the Superbowl)!

We loved our suite, and it was spacious enough for our large family. It had the feel of a room at a tropical resort, but the wooden balcony overlooking the lake and the bunk beds gave it a comfortable, cabin in the woods vibe, too. (And can we just talk about how pretty the paint color is?) The room was cozy, the view was beautiful, and as you can see, the kids quickly made it feel like home!

THE WATERPARK

We spent almost all of our time at the impressive indoor waterpark! When we first walked through the doors, it felt like we were walking into a tropical destination. It was warm, the sound of Caribbean music and ocean waves filled the air, and the entire 5 story structure was decorated to look like an island. It was like being at a tropical island resort!

Castaway Bay Wave Pool

The spacious wave pool was the first attraction that grabbed our attention! It felt like we were at the ocean - just with less sea creatures touching our feet! (Confession: I liked it better.) Every so often the waves would stop. My kids soon learned that when the buzzer sounded, the waves would follow, so they would race back to the wave pool!

Tropical Tube Slides

We didn't discover this thrilling attraction until our second day at the resort! The steps were hidden off to one side, and we didn't see anybody coming out of the slides the day before, so we thought it was closed. Remember those colorful tubes on the outside of the building? That's them!

Once we tried them, we went back again and again. We had a great time racing each other on the three separate slides. They were super fast and twisty, and one was even completely dark. I thought they would be too scary for Lily, but she tried one of the slides, and loved it!

Creature Cove

My 13 year old spent most of his time in Creature Cove! This separate pool features 3 floating animals to climb on and 4 basketball hoops. Dylan quickly made new friends, and joined in on basketball games. Playing basketball in a pool pleased my basketball player so much that he barely left that area!

Cargo Crossing

Think you could make your way across a pool using only floating treasure chests, floating barrels and an overhead net? It's harder than it looks! My kids quickly mastered it, but this mama only made it halfway before falling into the pool!

Rendezvous Run

This was the hit of the indoor waterpark! This water ride starts at the very top of the waterpark and loops its way through the structure. The 2 person raft whips around curves, flies down hills, takes you through pitch black tunnels, and ends with a big splash! I think my family rode it about a hundred times!

Lookout Lagoon Family Funhouse

The kid-friendly attraction is full of thrills! It's a fun combination of spray park, water slides, and playground. If you play in Lookout Lagoon, you're sure to get completely soaked!

There are steps to climb, nets to cross, and three water slides to go down, all while ducking under spraying water. And listen for the bell, because just after it starts to ding, a HUGE bucket will spill out over the ground below!

The Grotto

The extra large hot tub was MY personal favorite! The tropical cave-like hot tub with a mini waterfall held a huge surprise. If you waded into the narrow path at the end of the hot tub, and ducked under the plastic flaps, you found yourself outdoors in another large hot tub!

I have never sat in an outdoor hot tub during a snow storm until our first night there! It was a bitter 13 degrees, but it was so awesome looking up into the dark sky and watching the large snowflakes fall down. (Funny story? Our hair froze!)

Toddler's Tide Pool

The extra large toddler pool was awesome! Liam would have absolutely loved it, which is why we have to take him back. It's hard to find places that are perfect for kids who have special needs, but after watching the kids play for a few minutes, I knew it would be a perfect fit for Liam. He would have loved all the spray park features and the small water slides! And I loved how it was decorated like a beautiful, tropical lagoon!

Seating/Ammenities 

There are plenty of comfortable seating areas throughout the indoor waterpark. We preferred the seating area at the edge of the wave pool, because it gave it felt more like a relaxing beach experience! 

There are also family bathrooms, a locker room, showers, and changing rooms. 

SAFETY

Castaway Bay has an abundance of attentive lifeguards at each attraction in the indoor waterpark. I felt like my kids were safe at all times, which allowed me to relax and enjoy the visit! That, alone, is a huge selling point for me!

Not only were the lifeguards incredibly attentive, but they were also very friendly and great with kids! Many of them joked with my family, and I could tell that they enjoyed working there.

There are height guidelines at each attraction, and certain attractions require a child within a certain height range to wear a life jacket. Castaway Bay has plenty available, but we, like many others, brought our own puddle jumper for Lily. She wore both her puddle jumper and the life jackets that were available at the resort during our visit.

Ironically, though, Lily actually learned how to swim while we were at the resort! She was learning the basics at the end of Summer, but still couldn't swim safely on her own. While we were in the spacious outdoor hot tub, Lily swam away from us...underwater, on her own, without a puddle jumper! She didn't even realize she did it, and was so excited when we told her! After that, she swam on her own for the rest of our visit. It was definitely a memorable moment!

WHERE TO EAT

There are three places to eat IN the resort, and a Quaker Steak & Lube right next to the resort, just a short walk through the parking lot! Bonus? There is also Starbucks available in one of the restaurants!

Mango Mike's

Mango Mike's features a large breakfast buffet! We did not take advantage of it during our stay, because we brought along donuts, bananas and juice, but it sure smelled delicious!

Ebb & Eddy's /  Woody's Chart Room

Ebb & Eddy's serves breakfast items, wraps, salads, ice cream, hot and cold beverages (even beer) and more! You can also get your Starbucks fix here!

Big Daddy's Snack Shack

Big Daddy's Snack Shack is located IN the waterpark. They have pizza, wings, hot dogs, cold drinks, icees, hot pretzels, nachos, sandwiches, salads, ice cream and more.

FORGET SOMETHING?

No worries! Nick Knacks has everything you need for your stay! You can grab your souvenirs here, but they also sell over the counter medications, milk, snacks, toothbrushes, and water.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

If you tire of the indoor waterpark (which seems impossible to do), there are plenty of other family friendly attractions like shops, an arcade and a child activity/craft center!

Crabbie's Quarterdeck Arcade

This arcade is 6,000 square feet and offers a wide variety of arcade games. Arcade cards are available, they are reloadable, and the tickets can be redeemed for prizes!

Shopping

In addition to Nick Knacks, there is also another shop on the premises. Pearl's Swimwear sells swimsuits, souvenirs and gifts!

Castaway Arts & Crafts

Free crafts are available for kids, moms and dads!!!

Color Your Own Souvenir

Design your own shirt or backpack during your stay at an additional charge.

Peanuts Meet & Greet / Caribbean Games and Peanuts / Karaoke and Peanuts / Dance Party and Peanuts / Peanuts Family Movie and Storytime with Snoopy

Hang out with the Peanuts gang during all these fun activities!

WHEN TO GO

Ready to plan your trip? Check the calendar and schedule your "tropical" vacation! We went on a Sunday and Monday, and the timing was perfect. Because it was during the school year and on a school night, the resort was fairly quiet. Most of the time, we didn't even have to wait in line for the slides!

We absolutely loved our escape to Castaway Bay! We had so much fun and made incredible memories with our three older kids!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Are you in Ohio or a nearby state? If so, you're going to want to enter this giveaway! I have 4 (four) day passes to Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark up for grabs for one lucky family! This family pack will allow you to spend a full day having fun at this awesome indoor waterpark! 

Enter on the rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway begins today (2/15/2018) and ends on 2/23/2018 at 12:00 AM EST. Winner will be chosen randomly from rafflecopter and notified the following day. By entering, you confirm you are 18+ years of age.

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