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First of all Can someone give me a kick for not buying a season pass for Great America earlier. It totally makes sense to buy a season pass for 66$ (via discounts). Heres why:
1) It has good rides for kids. The Kidzville area has some nice rides for Kairavi. Kairavi could go into some other rides (accompanied by an adult) outside Kidsville which had 36 inches as limit (she barely made it). She could sit on rides in Kidsville by herself.
2) This place is so nearby.
3) You save on Parking fees on each visit.
4) The Boomerang Bay water park is a blast. We had so much fun there. The Waves at Great Barrier Reef was a nice experience. I liked the Lazy river also. Other water rides were also fun.
5) The Park has so many rides that we barely managed to touch the adult rides. (Spent most time on Kidsville and Boomerang Bay). Need to go back to explore the other rides.
6) Entry to Gilroy Gardens amusement park is included in the VIP Pass.
7) Not as much crowded as the other popular theme parks like Disneyland, etc. But its as much load of fun since its so nearby. The Kids get to meet characters like Dora, Spongebob, etc.
8) Now Instead of going to a park for Kairavi to play in we can just hop over to Great America and spend half a day there whenever we feel like it. On a hot day we can just spend 2-3 hours in Boomerang Bay and come back.
9) Children under 3 are free. :-).
The only negative part is the cost of the food. But you can bring some food from home also.
With the addition of Boomerang Bay, Great America has become a GREAT place to visit. We had last gone there 2-3 years back. But that time there was no Kairavi and now with Kairavi this place seems a definite attraction to visit often. We mostly will visit the park again in August (especially before Kairavi becomes 3 🙂 ).
Dont wear shoes to the park. Wear Sandals. That way your feet will dry off faster from the water rides. (Some of them you have to go in with bare feet).
Also take a stroller with you. I would say that take the bigger stroller and not the lighter one. That way you can make use of it to keep your stuff too. Its a long walk from inside the park to the Parking lot. So try to get all your stuff inside in one go.
Seems like you guys had fun.
Fyi .. On our previous visits to Bonfante, they did not allow outside food inside the park. Crackers, munching stuff is ok but not lunch items. One may want to check if planning a trip, u can eat in the parking lot and then enter the park. It’s a small park and can be covered in 5-6 hrs. The cars ride and paddle boat @ Bonfante gardens has a long wait.
Hmmm. cool reasons for not only buying pass but visiting the theme park too, looks like.
When in Aug?
We can decide date in Aug based on people’s convenience. Will await Kojain Picnic Date to be released before we finalize date for Great America.
My worst fears came true when I read about the 4-year old boy drowning in the wave pool yesterday.
When I saw the wave pool with waves for first time the same thought ran through my mind that it is easy for some kid to drown here. With the pool depth increasing due to waves and the excitement of waves which distracts adults also it is very easy to lose sight of your kid.
For the water park and the Wave pool especially it is very important to have every kid assigned to one adult. The Wave Pool is fun but also can be dangerous to kids who are unsupervised. The waves can easily knock a small kid over and hence safety should be first priority.
There are 4-5 lifeguards around but due to the crowd it can be a bit difficult for them to spot a real drowning kid.
Hope all of us take proper precaution when visiting water parks. Our prayers are with the family of the boy who drowned.
I read the same in Mercury news and was terrified. It reminded me of the Del Valle incident that most of us witnessed during the 4th July picnic in 2004. Water activity seems to be dangerous and one needs to be careful about it. Pray to god to give strength to his family.
What a coincidence…….just today we spent almost whole day at Boomrang Bay….was so musch fun………..Total Paisa vasoool