Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark - Poconos, PA

Major water slides - water coaster and Venus slydetrap

Aquatopia indoor water park and the attached Camelback Lodge was completed in 2015 and offers a wide variety of fun activities.  The main attraction, Aquatopia, is an enormous indoor water park that boasts seven pools and 13 slides, including the longest water coaster in the U.S.  We choose to go to Aquatopia, out of the several indoor water parks in the Poconos, because it seemed to have the most large slides that a 42" child could ride.  Many other water parks' slides required the riders to be at least 48", and my 4-year-old had just hit 42" barefoot.

Entrance to the water park is automatically granted when you stay at Camelback Lodge, and an overnight stay of at least one night is actually a requirement for entrance.  When staying one night, you may enter the water park at 12:30PM on the day of check-in, and you have access to the water park for the entire operating hours the next day.  When arriving, each guest receives a wristband that must be worn for the entire stay.  It unlocks the hotel room, gives access to the water park, and can be used to charge items and food to your room.  It's actually quite convenient to not have to carry a room key, cash, or credit cards with you while in the water park.

Entrance to the lodge

If your room isn't ready when you arrive, you may use the changing areas immediately to your right as you enter the park.  We planned ahead and backed a pool bag separate from our overnight luggage, so that we could just grab that bag to take to the water park when we arrived.  Also, upon entering the water park, don't forget to grab a stack of towels that are available on your left.  It's also great to not have to deal with wet and dirty towels in your luggage, since they are provided by the hotel.

The massive wave pool was the first stop for the 4-year-old and 8-year-old.  Life jackets are required and provided for those under 48".  There are also a few dozen tubes to float in, and an alarms goes off before the waves begin.  We chose to sit by the wave pool, since most of our time was spent there.  The major slides are located one floor up, and the lazy river winds through the section below the slides.

There is a wide variety of slides, which kept the adults and kids busy.  Some of the more conventional tube slides didn't have any lines.  The water coaster probably had the longest line, and though the Venus Slydetrap line looked to be the longest line, it actually moved quickly because several people could fit in the large rafts.  The mat slides had some cool light features in them.  Every slide we went on was really, really fast.

An overview of the park

Other favorite areas of the water park were the basketball hoops and the obstacle course.  This area is also near the three story water structure, which has several smaller slides on it.  The top slide has a 48" height requirement, and actually ends with sliding around a "bowl".  Then you get up and walk to the stairs that take you back up onto the platform.  This was a unique ending that I had never seen on a water slide.

After a long day at the water park, there are several other activities at the lodge for children.  Climbing walls, pottery painting, an arcade, and mini golf are just a few additional things, and each day they have different crafts to do at particular times.  Since we were only there for two days, we didn't get a chance to try everything.

Things to Remember:

1.  Take your child's barefoot height into consideration.  Even if they are 42" in a regular amusement park with shoes, they may not hit that height barefoot.

2.  The water coast requires a double tube, even if you're going on it alone.  There is a sign that says this, but it is easy to miss.

3.  If it's a really sunny day during the summer, bring sunscreen!  You wouldn't think about it because you're indoors, but the ceiling is all glass.  There are signs posted around the park reminding guests that it is possible to sunbath and get sun exposure while indoors.