Kalahari Resorts

The Kalahari Resort and Convention Center is a water park resort chain with locations in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; Sandusky, Ohio; Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania; and in Round Rock, Texas.[1][2] Named for the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, the resorts are heavily decorated with African animals, plants, and other African motifs.

Kalahari Resorts
LocationWisconsin Dells, Sandusky, Pocono Mountains, and Round Rock
Coordinates43.570178°N 89.772184°W / 43.570178; -89.772184, 41.382750°N 82.643977°W / 41.382750; -82.643977, and 41.098621°N 75.390042°W / 41.098621; -75.390042
ThemeAfrican
OwnerTodd Nelson
Opened2000 (Wisconsin)
2005 (Sandusky)
2015 (Poconos)
2020 (Round Rock)
Operating seasonYear-round
Websitewww.kalahariresorts.com

The Round Rock location's 223,000-square-foot indoor water park is the largest in the United States,[3] followed by the Pocono Mountains location's 220,000-square-foot water park, the 173,000-square-foot waterpark in Sandusky and the Wisconsin Dells' 125,000-square-foot park. The DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey claims an 8.5-acre (370,000 sq ft) size, which would make it the largest indoor water park in the U.S.[4][5]

On March 17, 2020, all resorts were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. All resorts were reopened by July with health and capacity restrictions.

Locations

Wisconsin Dells

The Wisconsin Dells resort opened in May 2000. It has 756 guest rooms, making it the second-largest resort in the state. The convention center has expanded from 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) to 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2).[6]

The indoor water park at Wisconsin Dells is the largest in Wisconsin, at 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2). It was also America's largest indoor water park until the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky finished its indoor water park expansion in December 2007. The Wisconsin Dells resort's Indoor Waterpark is home to the first indoor uphill water coaster and first indoor FlowRider surfing simulator. In 2011, the indoor waterpark went through an expansion, which included America's first indoor "SuperLOOP" slides.[7] Wisconsin Dells Kalahari also has a 77,000-square-foot (7,200 m2) outdoor water park with several water slides, a lazy river, and a three-story interactive play structure.[6]

In December 2008, the resort added a 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) indoor theme park.[8]

Sandusky
The outside of the Kalahari resort in Sandusky, Ohio

Opened in June 2005, the Sandusky, Ohio, resort's waterpark is 173,000 square feet (16,100 m2). In 2008, the resort expanded its 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) water park by 93,000 square feet (8,600 m2), making it the largest indoor hotel water park at that time.[9] The water park contains a FoilTec roof system that lets in natural light.[10]

With 884 guest rooms, the hotel is the largest in the state of Ohio.[11]

In August 2006, the resort opened a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) convention center that was later expanded to 215,000-square-foot (20,000 m2).

On March 12, 2018, a section of HVAC ductwork fell from the ceiling of the indoor waterpark, injuring five people.[12][13]

Pocono Mountains

The Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, location opened on July 1, 2015, and completed an expansion in March 2017. It consists of a 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) indoor waterpark, an outdoor waterpark, 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) convention center, 977 guest rooms, and a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) arcade and entertainment center.[14]

Round Rock

The Round Rock, Texas location opened on November 12, 2020. It consists of a 223,000-square-foot (20,700 m2) indoor waterpark (the second largest in the country), outdoor water park, 3 acres of outdoor pools, a 975-room hotel, five restaurants, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a 200,000 square-foot convention center. It is the first location to be in a metropolitan area instead of a resort town because the manager stated that “Round Rock has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and we took notice of that and as we started to look at our next development, it made sense we go south and what better place than the great state of Texas”.[3]

References
  1. "Coming Soon to Texas: America's Largest Indoor Waterparks". Kalahari Resorts. Retrieved July 1, 2017. Opening 2020
  2. Killough, Kirby (February 5, 2019). "Kalahari Resorts & Conventions' Round Rock location on track to open in November 2020". Community Impact Newspaper.
  3. Macias, Rebeccah (November 10, 2020). "Kalahari Resorts in Round Rock has grand opening on Thursday". Statesman. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  4. Pries, Allison (November 21, 2020). "DreamWorks Water Park at American Dream mall delays opening". nj.com. NJ Advance Media. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  5. Fox, Alison; Kaczerski, Deanne (October 25, 2020). "Nickelodeon Just Opened the Largest Indoor Theme Park in the Western Hemisphere". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  6. Bishop, Christy. Kalahari Resorts. N.p., December 3, 2011. Web. Dec 5, 2011.
  7. Selwyn, Adam. Kalahari expands Waterpark, Yahoo Finance. N.p., 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 5 Dec. 2011
  8. Seyler, Christy. Fun Coast. N.p., January 29, 2009. Web. December 5, 2011.
  9. "Ohio resort boasts biggest hotel indoor water park". Orange County Register. 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  10. Butcher, Dan (July 15, 2009). "Top U.S. water parks". CNN. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  11. "Kalahari Resort & Hotel Breakers named top family hotels". WKYC. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  12. Keenan, Bretton (2018-03-12). "Injuries at Kalahari after duct falls into pool". WEWS. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  13. "At Least 5 Injured After Air Duct Falls Onto Guests At Ohio Water Park". KDKA-TV. 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  14. Levine, Arthur (2017-04-03). "Poconos' Kalahari: America's largest indoor water park". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
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