August 15, 2013

Splash Pads, Winnipeg - Dakota

Well today we went for the first time to the Dakota splash pad.  I've heard from many, Many people that there is a line up and they only allow so many people in at a time.  We went with friends and my friends husband says we are going to be there for 9:00 am.  It opens up at 9:30.  My friend was like  no we are not getting there that early.  But Nathan was having trouble with his poison ivy, so I did a run to Shoppers Drug Mart, to get some benadryl.  And my need to get to places on time had me at the park at 9:00.  We sat in the van for a couple of minutes, as no one else was there.  Then all of a sudden, a few vans came speeding through the parking lot.  So I said to the kids, OK go stand in line while I get the stuff.  It didn't take long for the line to get long, I was a little surprised.  My friends got there almost at 9:30 and they got in.  Then a big daycare came and there was some discussion about whether or not they could get in.  I'm assuming they were pretty close to the cut off.  I have a feeling they were over a little bit.  What I find funny is that yes it's an enclosed space, but they had 6 lifeguards on.  The one off Jubilee is not enclosed and I have only seen 3 lifeguards there.  And it gets really busy some days.  The Jubilee one also has a pool with standing water that is deeper then the Dakota one. 

So I think it was a good one.  Water was cold, but that's to be expected.  They have a slide, it's wide and runs into a little pool of it's own, you don't slide right into the big pool.  Nathan loved it, he was yelling Best Slide Ever!  Then there is kind of a pool with standing water, it's not very big really.  I would have liked to see the pool part bigger; not deeper.  There are 7 of spraying things and a bucket that dunks water.  But basically nobody played with those.  They have two spray guns with a kind of wall near them to hide behind, those were a big hit, with both the little and big kids.

There is a lot of cement there, plus 2 bathrooms.  Clayton realized that the air for drying your hands is warm and he would sneak in there to stand underneath it for a couple of minutes.  There is not really a lot of grass for sitting.  Because I was the first in line, we got the one spot that has shade for the majority of the day.  Plus it gave a great view to the whole park.  I wish that the seating area was a little bigger, cause let's face it, they could extend the fence quite a bit.  Then that would open it up to allow more then just 100 people in at a time.  Should parents really count because they are not in the water??  There were 2 different daycare's that came.  I was a little surprised, the second one had to sit outside for quite awhile before they were let in.  As a parent I don't know if I would like that.  The life guards are counting and writing notes every 10 minutes or so.  I was impressed with how attentive they were.  The ones at the Jubilee spend an awful lot of time on their phones/ipods. 

The kids Loved it and hopefully we will go back on a day when the water doesn't feel quite as cold.