We had a fun family adventure today at a place that we didn’t even know existed until yesterday!! Spring Valley Beach is a waterpark in Blountsville, about an hour out of Birmingham.
It was ideal for Ali.
There was plenty to do, but without the mile long walk to the car, the huge lines, and the overwhelmingness of other water parks.
When we arrived, Ali was stunned:
They have a Gigantonourmonstrosity of a pool – I don’t know how big, but it looks like about five Olympic sized pools all stacked next to each other:
The pool has multiple small water slides into it,
as well as a HUGE kiddie portion with all sorts of toddler sized attractions:
We made the mistake of taking Ali straight into the huge kiddie pool, with water spraying and buckets dumping and kids running and screaming. Let’s just say it was a bit overwhelming for her cautious spirit.
So we ended up at the side of the pool (where they have a nice concrete-beach-like slope into the kiddie pool), where she was perfectly content to pour from cup to cup for endless amounts of time:
(Yes, we could have done that at home, but there wouldn’t have been AS MUCH water available to her. Plus, she loved the people watching.)
(Oh – and Lianne – this picture’s for you. See how MULTI-PURPOSE those sour cream containers are?? They held snacks on Monday and Pool Water on Saturday!!)
After letting her enjoy herself on her terms for a bit, it was time to seriously stretch her comfort zone. They actually have a waterslide that you can take two year olds on!!
So after watching Daddy test it out by himself, Ali and I took to the slide.
Now, it must be said here so that you understand the full breadth of this endeavor: Ali is scared of even the smallest of playground slides.
I was SO proud of her for only slightly whimpering when we got to the top and she realized what was to come, and then UNBELIEVABLY SHOCKED and proud when she screamed “YAY SLIDE!!!” with me on the way down, and actually squealed in enjoyment:
That is, until we got the the bottom and we both went significantly underwater. I tried to hold her up but wasn’t strong enough. That just MIGHT have freaked her out a bit:
But she didn’t panic like I was afraid she would. She did, however, declare that she was done with the slide.
Then Chris and I tried out the set-into-the-ground concrete slides:
You have to wear a very classy helmet on these – I suppose since they’re concrete:
It goes with my swimsuit, don’t you think?
There were six large slides in all (not counting the four or five that go into the pool), but the most original (and scariest) slide they have is called The Sidewinder, but I think “The Halfpipe” would be more appropriate.
You start out going almost STRAIGHT DOWN (It really feels like you get airborne), and then slide up the other side, back down, back up the original side, etc. Here’s Chris’ ride:
Doesn’t that look fun? It really is. Here’s the one shot that Chris got of me on my ride. It looks like I’m casually sitting still on an almost vertical wall. I assure you that I was doing no such thing.
After that, we convinced Ali that the original slide was “FUN!!” and “made” her go down it one more time before we let her go back to the pool, this time with Daddy. I think she would have enjoyed it had she not been dreading a dunking all the way down:
He, being stronger, did a much better job of holding her up in the air, and she managed to stay dunk-free,
But not panic-free.
But hey – she’ll certainly remember that experience!! And, since we bought summer passes (it really was that much fun, and they let us apply today’s admission to it), she’ll be getting more practice on the slide, whether she wants to or not because she’ll love it, I’m sure.
I highly recommend Spring Valley Beach, and we will most definitely be returning! Let us know if you want to tagalong sometime!
I wrote a review of Spring Valley Beach at Alabama Bloggers.
Wow, Alli's slide looks about my speed…I nearly lost my lunch going down the tall inflatable slide at Pump-It-Up last week! lol :) Looks like fun! (but I'll pass on the halfpipe) :)
Looks like a blast!!! We have something like that here called Pioneer Water Park, that we just "discovered" this year to, and if we bought tickets before Memorial day they were 10 bucks! So we preordered a set! I hope we have as much fun as you do…. but the weather still isnt really cooperating here! LOL
looks like you all had a great time. thanks for sharing about it. i have heard of it, but wondered how it was. one question. how clean was it? i've seen waterparks that are just not that clean so i'm wondering about that.
Wow, that looks like a ball. We would love to go sometime!!
Amy – it all felt very clean! I felt comfortable there.
I think it would be super fun to take all of Mama Hen's kiddos!
That park looks like a lot of fun!
Oh so glad you posted this. I had heard about it, but like Amy wasn't sure how clean it was. It looks like alot of fun! Really cool that they have a website with pics/prices etc.
I didn't realize we had another water park in Alabama. :) :) Cool. I'm glad you guys had fun.
What a great water park to say the least. That one slide with Chris going down and then up was all kinds of crazy. My husband would love that! Hey, if I was in your neck of the woods, you bet we'd join you for a day out to that awesome place.
What a fun day! I've never heard of that water park, we'll have to check it out soon! I loved going to White Water in Atlanta (Marietta), but it was always so crowded and there was a ton of walking.
Hello hello! I've been reading your blog for a while but rarely leave a comment. My apologies :)
This was a great post, and I can totally relate to dunking your child. I did the exact same thing to my 1 1/2 year earlier this year. Needless to say, he hasn't wanted to really go since.
Thanks :)
Tee hee hee! Even before the shout-out, I was eyeballing the containers in the other pic. Hilarious!
I guess her Cheerios or Goldfish might taste a little funny this week. :)
That place looks awesome! Road trip!
We have a very similar one near us and when I found it I was excited like you. So much of it was kidsize and it wasn't crazy crowded and it was reasonably priced. Your pictures are great!
I was sooo reluctant the first time we ever went there. My husband had been "back in tha day" when it wasn't nearly as nice as it is now.
When we got there we were both overwhelmingly surprised. We were there for a birthday party and they had rented a pavilion area. We had a great time.
Since that time we've gone back SEVERAL times, for other parties and on our own, and the kids really look forward to it.
And depending on which route you take, it's a pretty nice/scenic drive!
(BUT, I've never done that V-horseshoe inverted slide…Ain't gonna happen, LOL And I've seen several girls lose their bathing suit bottoms, Yikes)
Wow, that looks like so much fun! Except for the half-pipe one…I would definitely not be brave enough to do that! Scary. :)
This looks AWESOME!
I don't know if I would have been brave enough for 'The Sidewinder'…it looks scary, but waayyy fun!
That sidewinder looks dangerous! I didn't know that water park existed. I've thought about taking Ella to Visionland/Alabama Adventure or whatever they call it now, but I always feel weird walking around half naked. Last time I went there I ran right smack into some kids I used to teach while I was waiting in line for the water slide. Weird!
April S.
That looks absolutely fantastic. i know you will enjoy that many times and Ali will probably get to enjoying the slides. LYB