Santa Claus got the family a trip to Tropical Islands for Christmas a few weeks ago. He always knows exactly what we want! Who needs "stuff" when you can go to the largest indoor waterpark in the WORLD!?! (Superlative, check!)
Santa treated us to three nights at Tropical Islands in their mobile home area, which included tickets to the park for all of us. Now, I'm from the south so when I hear "mobile home," I immediately think trailer park. But these were very different. They were very nice with a fully equipped kitchen (where we brought our own food and coffee for breakfast each day), two bedrooms, two bathrooms and they EVEN had hooks in the bathrooms, something we have found to be scarce all over Europe. Like how do you hang your towels?!?
The only problem we had with the place was that they had these little cups inside of the drain which made the water pool up in the bottom of the shower. Grant didn't know this, and the water rose over his feet and overflowed all over the bathroom! So just a heads up if you ever want to stay here - these mobile homes are great for families, but make sure you remove the little cup in the shower drain!
Todd dropped us off to go park the car so we wouldn't be too cold outside. There are two entrances - one is for day trippers, and the other is for those who are spending the night on the property and already have their wristbands. You can enter on the left in the above picture. Swipe your wrist band on the machine and the gates will open to let you in.
It's pleasantly warm in Tropical Islands too, but not so much that you sweat horribly. It's always 77 degrees inside (25C) and the water temperature varies from about 82 degrees (28C which yes, is a bit cold for this Floridian!) to 89 degrees (32C.) The warmest water is in the lagoon or outside in the Lazy River pool area.
Although we stayed in the mobile home area, which is on the park grounds but not directly in the dome, you can also stay inside the dome in one of their many themed houses. There's also a large tent area which is much less expensive.
Even if you have kids who can't swim, floaties are available to purchase (or you can bring your own) AND they have a massive children's area that even my older kids enjoyed.
For a couple of coins, rent a little car and take it for a spin!
I was disappointed this wasn't in use, and I couldn't find any statement telling me why. This is a ride that is kind of like the Tower of Terror at Disney. I can't find anything about it on the Tropical Islands website, but Natalie had seen a video on YouTube with it running. That would have been a blast!
When we first got to Tropical Islands in the morning, we realized that we had forgotten Grant's EpiPen back in the mobile home. Of course we did, we are the Griswold's! So Todd drove back before lunch to pick it up and snapped this great pic of the zeppelin hanger.
Beneath the macaws, swam some big koi. They would even come right up to you and poke their faces out of the water!
We had a really fun day, riding the slides, going into Amazonia and riding the Whitewater and Lazy Rivers, eating burgers and pizza (not bad!), and drinking incredibly strong Mai Tais. Earlier in the day we had booked a ride in the tethered balloon. It doesn't go as high up as the free floating balloon, and a guy literally walks the balloon all around the dome. You need to book it in advance (and by that I mean on the same day you are there. You can't book them any further in advance) so we wound up with a 5:15 flight.
I would probably recommend that if you want to do this, try to book a ride in the daylight. The evening ride obviously has it's pluses since everything is lit up below, but it made for very poor quality photos. Also, you're required to keep your phone in a clear plastic case around your neck (no objects can be brought on that you might drop on people below). So that enhances the poor quality of the photos.
But the ride itself was a blast! And I say that probably because I had three Mai Tais before I went on the balloon. But it was also very safe, not very high up (I'm terrified of heights) and the guys who were working there were very funny. We had a great little discussion about our collective dislike for the current American political situation before we went up. Too funny!
This. This is what happens after three Mai Tais.
Again, I'm sorry for the poor quality of these photos. We literally took about 100 between us and fewer than 10 came out decent. Here we are floating over the lagoon!
Hello down there in the lagoon!
Todd walked around and took a few great panorama shots of the dome after lunch but before Mai Tai's.
Here comes the balloon again! Those guys work so hard pulling that heavy thing back and forth and all around the dome. I was impressed!
I liked it when they had the window shades open. They have shades, although I'm not entirely sure why they would ever be used. Unless maybe they would use them in the summer when the sun rises at like 4 am and people are trying to sleep in there!
Because we were there until Monday, we were able to get entrance to Tropical Islands on Monday as well. We knew we had a 3.5 hour drive back home, but decided to go back into the park for another few hours, have some lunch and then leave. Todd went to the top of the water tower to take some pictures. But not after we sauntered into the Sauna area. Where clothes are optional, if not forbidden. The Sauna area was included with our tickets, so no money lost when we walked in, saw a couple of naked people and then turned around and walked out! Totally not a big deal, but we didn't want the kids shouting, "HEY LOOK! NAKED PEOPLE!"
The park as seen through the slides.
Looking down into the tent area. I can't imagine I would stay here. I LOVE to go camping, but the sand would drive me crazy.
A nice shot of the park from the top of the tower. You can't even see the lagoon area because it's behind the trees. This place is just massive!
Panorama from the top of the slide tower, just from a slightly different perspective.
If you have too many pruned fingers and toes, you can always take a break and play a little mini golf.
Todd takes such good panoramas (and the iPhone 7 has a better camera anyway) so I had to include one more!
It's probably at least 90 degrees in the walkway between the Tropical Waters area and Amazonia. It definitely feels like a rainforest!
This is the Lazy River pool area. I call it that, and it's my own personal name for it, because there are jets that gently push you around the pool. You can pretty much just float around and relax. The water is warm - definitely in the upper 80s. They also have jet areas and some sprays.
You just need to walk down the stairs and go through the turnstile door to get into the Lazy River. I love these things. They have them at almost all waterparks here and they're always my favorite.
This is the "end" of the Whitewater River. It's called that because it rapids at points, and you move pretty fast in less than a foot of water. At some points, the water gets deeper but it all goes pretty fast. It's kind of chilly this time of year, but it's so much fun that you hardly notice. They tell you not to go face first, but almost everyone does at some point and to me, that was when I went the fastest!
The entrance to the Whitewater River is similar to the Lazy River but there is a worker there monitoring who goes in. No one under 8 years old is allowed, and it appeared they only let you in in groups of 8 or less. Then they would wait a minute or two, and then let another group in, to avoid too many people crashing into each other on the rapids.
When we had been out here during the afternoon, the sunlight was SO bright reflecting off of the water and there was so much steam. You can see above the slide that was closed for the winter, in the upper right.
Grant always calls chipmunks "DeeDees." Please don't ask why, as he is the strangest child on the planet. This little guy took a liking to Grant! They have about a half a dozen of them behind glass in the cafeteria style restaurant. Super cute!
After lunch, we headed back to the locker room to change and head back home. But not before cashing out our wrist bands. Yeah. I guarantee half of that is Mai Tais! Santa sent us some extra cash, right???!!??
Until next time, Tropical Islands! We had a blast!
Santa treated us to three nights at Tropical Islands in their mobile home area, which included tickets to the park for all of us. Now, I'm from the south so when I hear "mobile home," I immediately think trailer park. But these were very different. They were very nice with a fully equipped kitchen (where we brought our own food and coffee for breakfast each day), two bedrooms, two bathrooms and they EVEN had hooks in the bathrooms, something we have found to be scarce all over Europe. Like how do you hang your towels?!?
The only problem we had with the place was that they had these little cups inside of the drain which made the water pool up in the bottom of the shower. Grant didn't know this, and the water rose over his feet and overflowed all over the bathroom! So just a heads up if you ever want to stay here - these mobile homes are great for families, but make sure you remove the little cup in the shower drain!
Now this is the life. Hanging out in my jammies, watching FC Bayern Munchen. Thankfully we had an uneventful drive up to Halbe, which is about 45 minutes south of Berlin but when we got to the mobile home area, the signage was pretty terrible. We couldn't figure out where we were supposed to check in, so we went to the dome first, but that wasn't the right place. So then we went to where the mobile homes were, but the parking lot wasn't near where the reception was (as in it wasn't even close. You had to drive to it.) We drove around until we found it but it really was a mess. Then, after we checked in, we went to our cabin only to realize the guy at reception had never given us the key! Grrrrr. Then, Grant overflowed the shower and we had to clean THAT up. I was annoyed, so I was super happy to relax and watch some football.
Day One: These kids were jacked. Let's go to a Tropical Island, shall we?
Unless you have a handicapped equipped mobile home (and a real need for it), you cannot park directly at your mobile home. There simply isn't space. For this, there is a parking lot that's about a 5-10 minute walk away. It's a nice walk through the mobile homes, though!
Entering the parking lot of the mobile home area, you see the magnificent and imposing former zeppelin hanger, which houses Tropical Islands.
Todd dropped us off to go park the car so we wouldn't be too cold outside. There are two entrances - one is for day trippers, and the other is for those who are spending the night on the property and already have their wristbands. You can enter on the left in the above picture. Swipe your wrist band on the machine and the gates will open to let you in.
Ahhhh! Real palm trees! I'm already in heaven!
We strolled through the largest tropical rainforest in the world (superlative, check!) before emerging into the Tropical Seas area. This has a great swimming area (although Grant couldn't touch the ground when he was swimming) and even sandy beaches. Get there early and get yourself a seat though because they went fast.
The kids wanted to immediately get in the water, but I didn't want to leave my phone at our seats with no one monitoring it, so I walked around the dome and took pictures before returning my phone to the locker room. Here we have four slides on the tallest water slide tower in Germany! (Superlative, check!)
The inside of this place is just massive. You can fit the Statue of Liberty standing up in here, and if on it's side, the Eiffel Tower can fit length and width wise (not height though). When the giant window shades are open, you can actually get a tan in here!
It's pleasantly warm in Tropical Islands too, but not so much that you sweat horribly. It's always 77 degrees inside (25C) and the water temperature varies from about 82 degrees (28C which yes, is a bit cold for this Floridian!) to 89 degrees (32C.) The warmest water is in the lagoon or outside in the Lazy River pool area.
Although we stayed in the mobile home area, which is on the park grounds but not directly in the dome, you can also stay inside the dome in one of their many themed houses. There's also a large tent area which is much less expensive.
Even if you have kids who can't swim, floaties are available to purchase (or you can bring your own) AND they have a massive children's area that even my older kids enjoyed.
For a couple of coins, rent a little car and take it for a spin!
I was disappointed this wasn't in use, and I couldn't find any statement telling me why. This is a ride that is kind of like the Tower of Terror at Disney. I can't find anything about it on the Tropical Islands website, but Natalie had seen a video on YouTube with it running. That would have been a blast!
I wandered back to the Tropical Sea to find three happy Bailey's swimming around.
When we first got to Tropical Islands in the morning, we realized that we had forgotten Grant's EpiPen back in the mobile home. Of course we did, we are the Griswold's! So Todd drove back before lunch to pick it up and snapped this great pic of the zeppelin hanger.
While waiting for Daddy to come back with his EpiPen, we got to check out some macaws!
Beneath the macaws, swam some big koi. They would even come right up to you and poke their faces out of the water!
Hilarious. I found a zeppelin in a zeppelin hanger!
We had a really fun day, riding the slides, going into Amazonia and riding the Whitewater and Lazy Rivers, eating burgers and pizza (not bad!), and drinking incredibly strong Mai Tais. Earlier in the day we had booked a ride in the tethered balloon. It doesn't go as high up as the free floating balloon, and a guy literally walks the balloon all around the dome. You need to book it in advance (and by that I mean on the same day you are there. You can't book them any further in advance) so we wound up with a 5:15 flight.
I would probably recommend that if you want to do this, try to book a ride in the daylight. The evening ride obviously has it's pluses since everything is lit up below, but it made for very poor quality photos. Also, you're required to keep your phone in a clear plastic case around your neck (no objects can be brought on that you might drop on people below). So that enhances the poor quality of the photos.
But the ride itself was a blast! And I say that probably because I had three Mai Tais before I went on the balloon. But it was also very safe, not very high up (I'm terrified of heights) and the guys who were working there were very funny. We had a great little discussion about our collective dislike for the current American political situation before we went up. Too funny!
This. This is what happens after three Mai Tais.
Again, I'm sorry for the poor quality of these photos. We literally took about 100 between us and fewer than 10 came out decent. Here we are floating over the lagoon!
Hello down there in the lagoon!
Naturally on day two, we needed a little hair of the dog after our great Mai Tai adventure the previous day. If you want to order a beer with your lunch (as is custom in Germany), this is how you have to do it. This ain't no ordinary tap!
Instructions on how to get your beer.
Step one: Take plastic cup and place it on the machine.
Step 2: Push down so that beer starts to fill the cup. There is a little Tropical Islands magnet at the bottom of the cup which is the opening for where the beer enters the cup. Make sure it's pretty centered when you first grab the cup.
Step 3: You can pretty much just let it overflow so that most of the foam goes down into the drain and you're left with just beer. Make sure your cup isn't leaking when you place it on your tray!
Todd walked around and took a few great panorama shots of the dome after lunch but before Mai Tai's.
Here comes the balloon again! Those guys work so hard pulling that heavy thing back and forth and all around the dome. I was impressed!
At one point Todd had three of these on. One was his band (the green one.) One was the band to the locker (the middle one.) And one was my band (the one on the left.) Each adult gets a max of 230 Euros on their wrist band, and 35 Euros on a child's wristband. At this point, only one of us had any money left on their band. We were freaking out until we realized there was a 120 Euro hold charge for the towels!
There's fantastic lighting in the dome! The sunset (at about 4:20 pm) made for such pretty shadowing!
I liked it when they had the window shades open. They have shades, although I'm not entirely sure why they would ever be used. Unless maybe they would use them in the summer when the sun rises at like 4 am and people are trying to sleep in there!
Because we were there until Monday, we were able to get entrance to Tropical Islands on Monday as well. We knew we had a 3.5 hour drive back home, but decided to go back into the park for another few hours, have some lunch and then leave. Todd went to the top of the water tower to take some pictures. But not after we sauntered into the Sauna area. Where clothes are optional, if not forbidden. The Sauna area was included with our tickets, so no money lost when we walked in, saw a couple of naked people and then turned around and walked out! Totally not a big deal, but we didn't want the kids shouting, "HEY LOOK! NAKED PEOPLE!"
The park as seen through the slides.
Looking down into the tent area. I can't imagine I would stay here. I LOVE to go camping, but the sand would drive me crazy.
A nice shot of the park from the top of the tower. You can't even see the lagoon area because it's behind the trees. This place is just massive!
Panorama from the top of the slide tower, just from a slightly different perspective.
If you have too many pruned fingers and toes, you can always take a break and play a little mini golf.
Todd takes such good panoramas (and the iPhone 7 has a better camera anyway) so I had to include one more!
Amazonia was the outdoor swim area, which is mostly open year round. There's a volleyball area and a little snack bar, as well as a bigger slide and a water spray area that are closed in the winter. But the Whitewater River and the Lazy River pool areas are both open.
It's probably at least 90 degrees in the walkway between the Tropical Waters area and Amazonia. It definitely feels like a rainforest!
This is the Lazy River pool area. I call it that, and it's my own personal name for it, because there are jets that gently push you around the pool. You can pretty much just float around and relax. The water is warm - definitely in the upper 80s. They also have jet areas and some sprays.
You just need to walk down the stairs and go through the turnstile door to get into the Lazy River. I love these things. They have them at almost all waterparks here and they're always my favorite.
This is the "end" of the Whitewater River. It's called that because it rapids at points, and you move pretty fast in less than a foot of water. At some points, the water gets deeper but it all goes pretty fast. It's kind of chilly this time of year, but it's so much fun that you hardly notice. They tell you not to go face first, but almost everyone does at some point and to me, that was when I went the fastest!
The entrance to the Whitewater River is similar to the Lazy River but there is a worker there monitoring who goes in. No one under 8 years old is allowed, and it appeared they only let you in in groups of 8 or less. Then they would wait a minute or two, and then let another group in, to avoid too many people crashing into each other on the rapids.
When we had been out here during the afternoon, the sunlight was SO bright reflecting off of the water and there was so much steam. You can see above the slide that was closed for the winter, in the upper right.
Grant always calls chipmunks "DeeDees." Please don't ask why, as he is the strangest child on the planet. This little guy took a liking to Grant! They have about a half a dozen of them behind glass in the cafeteria style restaurant. Super cute!
After lunch, we headed back to the locker room to change and head back home. But not before cashing out our wrist bands. Yeah. I guarantee half of that is Mai Tais! Santa sent us some extra cash, right???!!??
Until next time, Tropical Islands! We had a blast!
I have heard about this place from one other person, but never got any photos. This is really cool! It is like those domed cities in science fiction! I really like those indoor/outdoor pools-rivers too. It is interesting to experience this in cold weather, like those geothermal pools in Iceland.
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