A huge thank you to Castaway Bay for hosting my family and I for a weekend of fun! We received a complimentary stay and waterpark passes to help faciliate this review. All opinions are my own.
Indoor waterparks are magical, aren’t they? They bring the best of summer and paradise to one large space while the weather outside might be rainy or snowing like crazy. At Castaway Bay in Sandusky, Ohio, you literally walk in and forget about the weather or making plans for anything other than a weekend of family fun, splashing, and enjoying a break!
We were invited to check out Castaway Bay and while it was a 3-hour drive for us (with snow flurries coming down! Gah!), it was well worth it as the kids had so much fun and we enjoyed a late-night dinner at Quaker Steak & Lube.
If you aren’t familiar with Sandusky, Ohio, it’s right on Lake Erie and home to Cedar Point (which I have yet to visit and can’t believe we were so close) and a great place for family fun depending on what everyone likes to do! We will definitely be going back, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be paying Castaway Bay another visit.
The check-in process was smooth – busy, but smooth. We were given a map to our rooms which were in an amazing location being right by the waterpark entrance and the arcade. If you don’t want to walk around the hotel wet, bring cheap flip-flops and a robe or swim coverup. I, of course, had none of those so I was pretty thankful our room was so close. Our room was a decent size for a family of five and while I typically enjoy more space, since we spent so much time at the waterpark, it wasn’t a big deal. A great addition would have been a mini swimsuit dryer, especially for families staying several days. Not many people like to put on a damp, freezing cold swimsuit! They have many great room choices though, so take a look and find the perfect one for your family.
Castaway Bay features several on-site dining options, including Quaker Steak & Lube and room service. The Quaker Steak restaurant is connected to the hotel and there’s no need to drive there! Our local one had closed years ago so it was a real treat since we love their food so much! Let me tell you something though, you will be STARVING if you go after a few hours of the waterpark so definitely order an appetizer or two! Something to note as well is that this restaurant will be busy, so bring something to entertain the kids during the wait for a table.
Take a look at all of the dining options that are on-site, including Starbucks coffee!
What’s really great about Castaway Bay is that they offer more than just a waterpark, they have various family activities every day! You can meet Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, do a craft, attend a PJ movie night and more! We had just finished our dinner and were heading back to our room when we saw dozens of little ones in their PJ’s heading to a bedtime story with their parents! Seriously, how cute and a great way to wind down before bed!
Two of three kids had never been to a waterpark, so it was great to see Gavin pretty much jump right into the action and take on the waterslides… over, and over, and over! He was all about the slides, while Brenden really liked the Cargo Crossing “obstacle” course, and Haley loved trying to jump over the waves at the wave pool. I really liked Creature Cove, where they could wear a lifejacket and stay within arms reach but practice their pulls and kicks! The large floating creatures were quite popular with everyone so grab any chance you see to climb on!
There were tons of chairs for anyone needing to take a break or if you needed to move around and have a place for your towels and belongings. If you have older kids who don’t need constant supervision, bring a book and enjoy the 82 degree paradise and kick back!
Overall, we had a great quick weekend trip to Castaway Bay and it’s definitely a viable option for a longer stay. You can pair it easily with Cedar Point and split your time between the two. Maybe that’s what we’ll do next time!
An awesome final note: You do NOT need to stay overnight! You can purchase day passes and just like you would at any other pool, go for the day and head home when exhausted!
Be sure to follow Castaway Bay on Facebook and Twitter to stay in-the-know on upcoming deals and events!