Monday is here, and I’m just sitting at my desk dreaming of our super fun in the sun Friday at Parrot Island Water Park last week!
My kids and I love Parrot Island Water Park, so when they reached out to me about hosting us for the day, of course I agreed. We packed our beach bag and headed over for the Cabana Experience.
We live in Fort Smith, which is a fun border town that is growing really quickly… but quick can have many interpretations when we’re talking about the growth of a city. Fort Smith is the 2nd largest city in Arkansas, but sometimes during the summer it can feel suffocating. It is super hot here, and with no recreational waterways near us, you can imagine how ecstatic we were to get a water park in our own back yard. Parrot Island is only about 5 minutes from our house.. ahhh, convenience. 🙂
One of my favorite things about Parrot Island: my kids somehow manage to actually play together and get along while we are there! Something about water play makes them suddenly become besties. This is reason enough for me to hang out by the wave pool every chance I get.
Crocodile Creek Lazy River is 500 feet of bliss. Well, until your husband and best friend conspire to hold your float under one of the waterfalls along the way! I probably spend most of my time here when I’m not relaxing in a lounge chair.
Parrot Island was very gracious in hosting us. We were able to include our framily in our sunny fun!
Our cabana was next to the Tiny Turtle Island Pool and Splash Area, which is usually Sophia’s favorite place to hang and make new friends.
We always start out in the Tiny Turtle Island Pool and Splash Area. Sophia surprised me on this trip, though. She is finally tall enough to ride the big slides! With a little encouragement from her Daddy, she decided to be brave and give them a try.
I was pretty pumped that she decided to try out a big slide on the day we were there as guests of the park. I had my camera and I was able to stay at the top of the slide area with her to get a couple of photos for this post. Sophia chose to ride the Blue Macaw, which is an open slide. It begins at 30 feet high and is about 200 feet long including all the twists and turns.
She has been so scared to try the big slides that end in Toucan’s Cove Activity Pool!
She has become so independent from me this summer. I know that is a wonderful thing… but as a mother it definitely breaks my heart just a little bit! Look at this little fishy, swimming away from the exit of the slides. So big and brave!
While I was on the slide deck, I snapped a couple of photos of the park. As you can see, the park is lovely with many activities for children (and adults!) of all ages.
It is easy for Sophia to be brave when her Daddy is being brave alongside her.
The Tangerine Twist is 35 feet high and almost 200 feet long. This slide has a lot of twists (hence the name), but the surprise is they switch directions mid-slide. The orange makes a great reflector for perfectly lit photos, too. 😉
Such a fun way for Daddy and Daughter to spend an afternoon!
I love this photo of Sophia coming off the Blue Macaw!
Parrot Island Cabana Life is definitely the life for me. When you get a cabana as part of the Mega Splash party package, you literally have it made in the shade…. at least for part of the day. 😉 You are attended to by a sweet host while you’re lounging. We had the sweetest and most attentive host! She even let me take her picture while she was bringing our drinks. There are 3 different party packages so you can choose which services fit your needs the best. Need a cabana? You got it. Don’t need one? You can still have a great party!
You don’t have to be the birthday girl or boy to get the cabana treatment. Parrot Island hosts groups of all kinds!
We had drinks and pizza and nachos in our cabana, while the kids wandered in and out. I love that there is only one point of entry at Parrot Island. That makes it a lot easier for me to relax and allow my kids some freedom in the park. I know they are safe there.
The amount of lifeguards also makes me feel safe! They’re super friendly and I can tell that they really love their jobs, and that they’re good at what they do. Sophia loved having her picture taken with some of them.
Cabana Life: The pizza is always super cheesy (Sophia’s fave). I can’t say enough how much I enjoy being able to bring my kids to Parrot Island for the day. They feel like they’re getting a mini-vacation, and I’m not breaking the bank.
Another perk of our hometown water park: your kids will almost always run into their friends! This is ultra convenient for me… because they go hang with their friends and give me some peace. haha! It also means there are more eyes on Sophia because she will usually follow her sister around to do whatever she is doing. Lucky for Sophia she’s adorable and most of Olivia’s friends adore her. Who doesn’t?
So when I’m not living my best life in one of the cabanas, you can usually find me reading a book on the lounge chairs in front of the Caribbean Splash Wave Pool. This pool holds 85,000 gallons of water and that number amazes me every time I read it!
I love watching all the little kids play in the shallow part of the wave pool while their cute little mommies sit in the “surf” keeping an eye on them. I love people watching so the wave pool lounge area is a prime piece of real estate.
In the grassy area near the entrance of the park, there are activities that go on for guests throughout the day. From hula-hoop contests to the limbo, Parrot Island Water Park has your kid covered when it comes to summer fun!
Parrot Island definitely strives to have community events going all season long. With Value Days (the next one is August 6, by the way), Family Nights (3 left this season: August 1, August 7, and August 8, from 3p.m.-7p.m.), Tiny Tot Time (for guests 5 and under, August 2 & 9), and Aqua Jogging (which I think is so cool) for guests 40 and older (August 2 & 9), there is something for everyone. Each of these events have special pricing, you can find out more here.
Sophia and Olivia are both looking forward to the Back to School Splash (sponsored by 5News!!). There are a few opportunities to enjoy this huge event! August 18, 19, 25, and 26 are all back to school splash days. The party carries over in to September, on the 1, 2, and 3rd. $9 for kids taller than 48″ and $5 if you’re under 48″. We anticipate running into all our friends from all over town during these splash bash days.
I had so much fun spending my day at Parrot Island Water Park with my husband, my best friend, and our kids. You know the water park is the most fun place in town when your 18 year old niece drives over from Mulberry to spend the afternoon splashing around! Thanks to Andy for this one photo of Michelle and me on our fun day!
Parrot Island closes at 7p.m. on regular park days. As you can see from this photo, we soaked up every available minute of fun in the sun.
Mahalo from Parrot Island! I hope you enjoyed this post… probably not as much as I enjoyed writing it, though. I say it every year (since Parrot Island opened), and I’ll say it again I’m sure: I am so happy we have an economical, close-by, fun, clean, and safe place for our kids to play and hang out during the summer. Keeping our kids busy and involved is really important in keeping them out of trouble.
2019 season passes go on sale August 1, and you can get 10% off if you purchase next year’s season pass before this year’s season is over. That is a great deal and you will definitely use your season pass!
Thank you so much to Parrot Island for hosting us for the day. We had a blast and we will definitely be back again and again… and again.
All opinions and photographs in this post are my own.
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