A few weeks ago, I was approached by Blog Meets Brand to participate in a campaign to visit Michigan’s Adventure and WildWater Adventure.  I quickly and enthusiastically said, “YES!”.  I’ve always been a huge amusement park and waterpark enthusiast and had been wanting to take our son to experience the fun and thrills. I had been reluctant to go quite yet because he’s only 2 1/2 and I figured that he would be too small to enjoy most of them. When I went to check out Michigan’s Adventure website, I was thrilled to see that they had a ton of rides for the littlest adventurers AND a great waterpark with rides for all different ages and thrill levels.

michiganadventure

Michigan’s Adventure and WildWater Adventure is a duel amusement park and waterpark, all for the price of one ($31 online or $36 at the gate). They have 60 rides and attractions, including WildWater Adventure! They have rides for the ultimate speed and thrill seekers, such as roller coasters like Thunderhawk and Shivering Timbers, or thrill rides like Grand Rapids or HydroBlaster. For the younger and more tame crowd, they have slower rides like the Grand Carousel and Timbertown Railway.

panoramic-michigan-adventure

Since Aiden is only 2, we weren’t sure how he would respond to the rides. It was a 50/50…he’d either love them or hate them. When we walked in and he saw the rides, his eyes lit up and he hopped right in line to get on a ride. I think my husband and I were more nervous than him! He fell in love with the first ride and wanting to ride them all after that, even the Frog Hopper, which is kind of a big ride for such a little dude. He has no fear! There was definitely a large variety of rides for him to choose from.

frog-hopper

It was great because the lines to get on the lines were super short (we never waited more than 5 minutes) and quick moving, which is fabulous for an impatient toddler that doesn’t like to wait. The attendants were super friendly, thorough and safety minded. Many of the rides for the younger visitors are similar to the rides you’d see at a carnival. It was comforting to me that they weren’t constantly being taken apart and put back together.

airplane

carousel

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whale-ride

They also have a great area for younger kids, called Funland Farm. To commemorate the park’s 60th anniversary, a petting farm featuring llamas, alpacas, a mini horse, goats, bunnies, ducks and a mini donkey was constructed. Aiden’s loved being able to check out the animals up close and personal.

farmland

me-and-bri

WildWater Adventure is Michigan’s largest waterpark. The waterpark has something for everyone. There are 3 different size wave pools, tons of water slides for all thrill levels, a lazy river for a relaxing ride, huge splashpad areas with spray guns, water slides, dumping buckets, net bridges and water wheels. You can rent additional tubes and life jackets for all sizes are available at no cost.

cyclone

beach-party

The definite favorite for our family was Beach Party! Aiden ran through the multi-story splash area, climbed the nets, played with spray guns and rode the slides. Nearby was a large shaded area with plenty of chairs and loungers, so my husband and I were able to easily switch places (one was always with baby Brielle). We also spent a ton of time in the smallest wave pool (Commotion Ocean), the Lagoon wading pool and the Gang Plank body slide.

aiden-and-ry-wading-pool aidenandmom-splash

If we lived nearer, I would definitely buy a season pass (only $99). It would be worth it for the waterpark alone, plus all the other great benefits and discounts that you receive with it. The park is small enough that you could do it all in one day (it’d be a very busy day especially if you were riding all the roller coasters too), but big enough that two days would be even better. You could easily spend one day hanging out at WildWater Adventure Waterpark without being bored.

Despite my reservations about going since my son was so young and small (only 37″ – minimum for most rides is 36″), we had a great time and there was no shortage of things for us to do. It was super easy to get in and out of the park which was a great perk. We had lunch packed in the car and had a picnic lunch before heading to the waterpark so being able to return easily was a huge bonus and saved us a lot of money.

After the great visit that we had this past weekend, we’ll definitely be returning and this is likely the start of a new tradition for our little family. As the kids get older, I think that we will fall even more in love with Michigan’s Adventure since we’ll be able to explore and enjoy more rides (unfortunately we didn’t get to go on the larger rides because of the kiddos, but they do have a parent swap pass if you have younger and older children so you can both ride). Michigan’s Adventure really does a fantastic job with appealing to all different age levels, disabilities (their assistance with autism spectrum disorder patrons is great!), thrill and speed levels.

If you plan on being in the Grand Rapids or Western Michigan area or are looking for a quick weekend getaway, definitely give Michigan’s Adventure a visit. You won’t be disappointed!

Are you an amusement and waterpark fan?

Have you taken your kids to one before?

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand, and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own.

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