Kalahari Resorts and Conventions is a

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

chain with locations in

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Wisconsin Dells is a city in Wisconsin, straddling four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk. A popular Midwestern tourist destination, the city forms an area known as "The Dells" with the nearby village of Lake Delton. The Dells is ho ...

;

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...

;

Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania Pocono Manor Historic District is a national historic district located in Pocono Township and Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 75 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, 4 contributing structures, and 4 contr ...

; and in

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...

. Named for the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...

in southern Africa, the resorts are heavily decorated with African animals, plants, and other African motifs. Kalahari Resorts operates some of the largest indoor water parks in the United States. The Round Rock location's 223,000-square-foot

indoor water park An indoor water park is a type of water park that is located inside a building. An indoor water park has the ability to stay open year-round, as it is not affected by weather conditions. History Some of the first indoor water parks are at Duinre ...

is the second largest in the United States, followed by the Pocono Mountains location's 220,000-square-foot water park, the 173,000-square-foot waterpark in Sandusky and the Wisconsin Dells' 125,000-square-foot park. A

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

location was in development until 2013, when it was scrapped after problems with financing. Conventions held at the Kalahari Resorts are typically by state and regional organizations, such as the Wisconsin Network Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in May 2014, Ohio Holstein Convention in February 2020, and Wisconsin District Ladies Ministries Retreat in April 2021.

Locations

Wisconsin Dells

The Wisconsin Dells resort opened in May 2000. It has 756 guest rooms, making it the second-largest resort in the state. The convention center was expanded from to in 2011.Bishop, Christy. Kalahari Resorts. N.p., December 3, 2011. Web. Dec 5, 2011. The

at Wisconsin Dells is the largest in Wisconsin, at . It was also America's largest indoor water park until the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky finished its indoor water park expansion in December 2007. The Wisconsin Dells resort's Indoor Waterpark is home to the first indoor uphill water coaster and first indoor FlowRider surfing simulator. In 2011, the indoor waterpark went through an expansion, which included America's first indoor " Super Loops" slides. Wisconsin Dells Kalahari also has a outdoor water park with several water slides, a

lazy river A lazy river is a water ride found in water parks, hotels, resorts, and recreation centers, which usually consists of a shallow () pool that flows similarly to a river. There is generally a slow current, usually just enough to allow guests to g ...

, and a three-story interactive play structure. In December 2008, the resort added a indoor theme park. In 2011, six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen was last seen at the Wisconsin Dells resort. His mother (who was with Pitzen at the time) was found dead in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

Sandusky

Opened in June 2005, the

, resort's waterpark is . In 2008, the resort expanded its water park by , making it the largest indoor hotel water park at that time. The water park contains a FoilTec roof system that lets in natural light. With 884 guest rooms, the hotel is the largest in the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In August 2006, the resort opened a convention center that was later expanded to . On March 12, 2018, a section of

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

ductwork fell from the ceiling of the indoor waterpark, injuring five people. In 2019 and 2020, the resort made some minor updates to the property. A new outdoor mini-golf course was constructed, the Zip Coaster roller coaster-water slide hybrid was torn down, and the water basketball area was closed and replaced with underwater virtual reality.

Pocono Mountains

The

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

, Pennsylvania, location opened on July 1, 2015, and completed an expansion in March 2017. It consists of a indoor waterpark, an outdoor waterpark, convention center, 977 guest rooms, and a arcade and entertainment center.

Round Rock

The

location opened on November 12, 2020. It consists of a indoor waterpark (the second largest in the country), outdoor water park, 3 acres of outdoor pools, a 975-room hotel, five restaurants, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a 200,000 square-foot convention center. It is the first location to be in a metropolitan area instead of a

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

because the manager stated that "Round Rock has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and we took notice of that and as we started to look at our next development, it made sense we go south and what better place than the great state of Texas". On March 21, 2022, an EF2 tornado passed by, leaving no major structural damage at the resort.

References

External links

Kalahari Resorts Website
{{authority control Indoor amusement parks Animal theme parks Water parks in Ohio Water parks in Wisconsin Water parks in Pennsylvania Water parks in Texas Zoos in Ohio Buildings and structures in Sandusky, Ohio Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Erie County, Ohio 2000 establishments in Wisconsin 2005 establishments in Ohio 2015 establishments in Pennsylvania 2020 establishments in Texas Amusement parks opened in 2000