Crowded, cavernous, noisy, and sometimes a bargain, water parks aim to please the children, not you
By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff | May 10, 2009
DANVERS - CoCo Key Water Resort knows its target audience. It is young, exuberant, and not worried about taking a bath (albeit a well-chlorinated one) with hundreds of strangers.
This place is all about the kids, and once you enter the tropical, cacophonous 65,000-square-foot arena attached to the Sheraton Ferncroft, you probably won't be needed until it's time to sponsor an ice cream break.
Since your children will be hurling their bodies down the Tower of Power water slide long before you find a corner to stash your flip-flops, CoCo Key leaves parents to do what we do best: Pay, worry, and watch them have good time.
While indoor water parks are a recreation staple across the country and Europe, the concept has been slow to catch on in New England. CoCo Key has been slowly building a following in Massachusetts, opening the Danvers park two years ago, and a second, smaller location at the Marriott Courtyard in Fitchburg in January.
“The concept is less familiar here and there has been much more of a learning curve for New Englanders,” said Robin Kirk, vice president of operations for Denver-based Sage Hospitality, which manges CoCo Key's 10 water parks nationwide.
“We know parents are looking for a place to create memories with their kids and we offer a safe, upbeat environment where kids can burn off enormous amounts of energy,” he said.
The chain has adjusted its Boston-area offerings to adapt to local preferences, Kirk said, offering more day passes, group and after-school programs, and birthday party packages than the company's initial plan to focus on overnight stays and family getaways for tourists already traveling to ski or to tour nearby attractions.
School holidays and weekends have shown the biggest growth so far, Kirk said, as families look for more affordable alternatives during a difficult economic climate. “We have things the kids will really enjoy at a fraction of the price of going to Florida,” he said.
CoCo Key's overnight stay packages at both locations offer the best bargain, with a hotel room and water park access for a family of four running as low as $160, depending on time of the week and seasonal promotions.
The website frequently offers Web-only bargains and sales, but in general, weekday visits cost around $25 for kids and adults, and weekend tickets run between $30 and $40 per person, with children under 2 free and discounts for senior citizens.
Once you pay admission, you will get a wristband, towels, and the run of the park. The most popular feature during our visit seemed to be the aptly named Lazy River, which winds around the building and was so thoroughly clogged with kids on water tubes as to appear mostly at a standstill.
Most of the children dashed around the water slides and splash pools on their own.
Older kids played water basketball in slightly deeper water, and adults gravitated to a 16-plus whirlpool area or the small, open bar area overlooking the entire complex.
There were plenty of lifeguards - mostly teenagers - on duty during a recent weekend visit, and when I briefly lost sight of our overexcited 4-year-old, a kind young man with a walkie-talkie quickly responded with concern until we spotted Dennis atop the Parrot's Perch climbing complex.
The families we saw seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves, though reviews of CoCo Key at online travel review sites like Trip Advisor tend to be harsh.
Web complaints about the Danvers and Fitchburg CoCo Keys include overcrowding, too-cold water, lack of changing and storage facilities, and concerns over under- or over-chlorination of the water.
The water issues got the attention of Danvers health officials, who closed that park for a week in February after customers reported skin irritations and rashes from the chemicals. Tests showed chlorine in the park's 190,000 gallons of circulating water significantly exceeded state standards, and as a result, resort officials agreed to improve water testing standard and frequency, Kirk said.
Be aware that on weekends the park will probably be mobbed. Bring a large tote bag because the changing facilities and rental lockers (if you are lucky enough to get one) are puny, and tables and chairs can be hard to come by. Like many other families, we left our gear in a corner of the building and hoped for the best. A larger group might choose to splurge on a rental cabana (starting at around $100) for a more private and secure place to rest, get dry, and watch TV.
There is plenty of food for sale, but lines are long and quality is mediocre. A better bet is the adjacent bar area that offers a welcome adults-only respite, cold beer, and tropical cocktails. During our visit, one attraction was abruptly closed for about an hour for cleaning.
Even the harshest Internet critics mostly admitted that their kids had a ball.
My own preschoolers were no exception. They giggled riotously at the fountains and scoops shooting water on them from all directions, and they plowed down the slides again and again.
The attractions open to children too young to swim were so shallow I could relax and let them have fun.
The kids also enjoyed the resort's well-equipped game room with video games and skee-ball machines. Most afternoons, a live animal show - with a huge snake - as well as arts and crafts workshops, and G-rated films were available.
Sage Hospitality says it hopes to build a following in Danvers and Fitchburg.
“We can pretty much guarantee that after a visit, you will have very tired, very happy kids, and that they will go to sleep,” Kirk said.
By day's end, my toddlers were snoring soundly in their car seats in no time.
Erica Noonan can be reached at enoonan@globe.com.