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jmac98 · 01-28-2020, 12:35 PM

Good afternoon Greenlantern (and all reading),

I have been taking my kids to WestEd every November for about 8 years now. What started as just an idea for a quick getaway when they were young quickly turned into an annual event they quite look forward to. My girls are now 10 and (almost) 12, but they started at ages 2,3+.

For the waterpark, you'll obviously make great use of the kids play structure in the corner and the giant wave pool. The waterslides in and of themselves, you actually cannot go 'with' your kids on the slides together. They don't allow it. What they do allow, however, is for you to go first, then wait in the pool at the bottom while your child goes down for you to catch them. Your 7 year old will likely be fine, but the younger ones will probably be too scared unless they're the adventurous type.

There's 1 'kids' slide on the giant waterslide structure that all 3 kids will enjoy and be comfortable on, which you'll find facing the kids play structure. Other then that, the rest may be too large for them. The only one you can go on together is the raft one.

Galaxyland is a little different in that of course you can go on the rides with them. They'll collectively all only get to go on maybe half the rides as the majority of the main rides have a height restriction regardless of parents accompanying. There's still some fun rides for the little ones to enjoy all the same.

Inside the mall itself there's an impressive looking mini golf course that is like an 'alien' themed one just outside London Drugs (this is not the glow-in-the-dark ones others have noted). This course is well designed, visually a ton of fun, but is actually quite difficult. Many mini golf courses for family are often fairly easy and/or wear a path that kind of guides the ball. This one is not like that. It's actually quite challenging, and in that, kids will tend to lose interest halfway through at such a young age. Although they may be drawn to it by its presentation and atmosphere, the novelty will wear off quick for them mid game.

There's of course a handful of other things in the mall you can decide upon in real time.. public skating, $1.00 boat RC controlling (kids will like this), seal/marine show, animal go kart things (whatever they're called that kids ride around the mall on), an arcade, movie theatre, candy stores (really really pricey) ... all of these things are fine but really, the day you're swimming especially the kids will be super tired after to do much.

We always stay at the WEMINN which is literally across the street and affiliated with the Galaxyland Hotel or whatever it's called. Same owners. The difference is that its far cheaper. When the kids were super young, as yours are at 2,3, we stayed in the Galaxyland Hotel right in the mall just so we didn't have to bundle them up and carry stuff around and lug the strollers (etc). And we could take them back inside for quick naps mid day, whatever. But as they got a bit older, we just stayed across the street, the walk from the hotel being closer than half the parking spots in the mall lot all the same.

I hope you guys have a great time. Again, we've been going for years and it's a nice little getaway in the winter that doesn't cost too much and is fun for the kids especially year after year when they taller for more rides, etc. We've had friends come with us from time to time as well,and it's always a great weekend.

Enjoy yourself and make some memories with the family.

01-28-2020, 12:35 PM	#21
jmac98 Scoring Winger Join Date: Aug 2009 Exp:	Good afternoon Greenlantern (and all reading), I have been taking my kids to WestEd every November for about 8 years now. What started as just an idea for a quick getaway when they were young quickly turned into an annual event they quite look forward to. My girls are now 10 and (almost) 12, but they started at ages 2,3+. For the waterpark, you'll obviously make great use of the kids play structure in the corner and the giant wave pool. The waterslides in and of themselves, you actually cannot go 'with' your kids on the slides together. They don't allow it. What they do allow, however, is for you to go first, then wait in the pool at the bottom while your child goes down for you to catch them. Your 7 year old will likely be fine, but the younger ones will probably be too scared unless they're the adventurous type. There's 1 'kids' slide on the giant waterslide structure that all 3 kids will enjoy and be comfortable on, which you'll find facing the kids play structure. Other then that, the rest may be too large for them. The only one you can go on together is the raft one. Galaxyland is a little different in that of course you can go on the rides with them. They'll collectively all only get to go on maybe half the rides as the majority of the main rides have a height restriction regardless of parents accompanying. There's still some fun rides for the little ones to enjoy all the same. Inside the mall itself there's an impressive looking mini golf course that is like an 'alien' themed one just outside London Drugs (this is not the glow-in-the-dark ones others have noted). This course is well designed, visually a ton of fun, but is actually quite difficult. Many mini golf courses for family are often fairly easy and/or wear a path that kind of guides the ball. This one is not like that. It's actually quite challenging, and in that, kids will tend to lose interest halfway through at such a young age. Although they may be drawn to it by its presentation and atmosphere, the novelty will wear off quick for them mid game. There's of course a handful of other things in the mall you can decide upon in real time.. public skating, $1.00 boat RC controlling (kids will like this), seal/marine show, animal go kart things (whatever they're called that kids ride around the mall on), an arcade, movie theatre, candy stores (really really pricey) ... all of these things are fine but really, the day you're swimming especially the kids will be super tired after to do much. We always stay at the WEMINN which is literally across the street and affiliated with the Galaxyland Hotel or whatever it's called. Same owners. The difference is that its far cheaper. When the kids were super young, as yours are at 2,3, we stayed in the Galaxyland Hotel right in the mall just so we didn't have to bundle them up and carry stuff around and lug the strollers (etc). And we could take them back inside for quick naps mid day, whatever. But as they got a bit older, we just stayed across the street, the walk from the hotel being closer than half the parking spots in the mall lot all the same. I hope you guys have a great time. Again, we've been going for years and it's a nice little getaway in the winter that doesn't cost too much and is fun for the kids especially year after year when they taller for more rides, etc. We've had friends come with us from time to time as well,and it's always a great weekend. Enjoy yourself and make some memories with the family.