Recently we packed up our niece and nephew and hit the road to Sandusky, Ohio. It is a fairly short drive for us, about 3.5 hours, and there is a bunch of things to do in that area. It was kind of our last hurrah before the business of the winter set in.
One of the things we did while in Sandusky was to visit the Kalahari Resort. We have visited Kalahari previously but never explored the Big Game indoor arcade room. The kids we were traveling with are what you would consider “gamers” and they really enjoy playing video games. We were delighted when Kalahari Resorts asked us to come and check out the Big Game room. So were the kids!
The most known attraction at Kalahari Resort is the amazing waterpark. It is the largest indoor waterpark and there is a TON to do inside, fun for the whole family. Check out the map of the Kalahari Waterpark! However the Big Game room indoor arcade is also pretty amazing. It’s massive and designed in a way that you are not crowded with other visitors and you have the room to roam and have fun. The arcade machines are very well maintained and the attraction is incredibly clean. It was fun to meander through the walkway and explore all the different games.
We loved how the kids were able to use a card to pay for their play instead of having to fumble around with cash or coins. You can load the card with funds at the Big Game room arcade. It is super convenient and also easy for kids to check their card balance so they know how much they have left to spend. Most of the games reward players with tickets that are redeemable for prizes.
Our nephew was so sweet to his younger sister; he gave her all the tickets he had won so she could combine them with the tickets she had to get a stuffed animal prize she had her eye on. It was really a heartwarming moment because these two have their share of not-so-friendly interactions. What a nice memory we have of his doing this for her; look at how happy she was!
Our niece loved the machine they have at the Big Game room that counts your tickets and so did we! It eliminates having to carry the tickets around and allows the kids to know exactly how many tickets they have earned. Here is our niece feeding her tickets into the machine.
Once you feed the tickets in, the machine gives you a paper receipt that records how many tickets you redeemed. Once you have the receipt you can take it to the counter and the friendly employees will load the ticket count onto the gaming card. It is a well-organized and easy system; we love that there is no risk of losing tickets or losing the receipts – they are loaded on the card!
We spent hours in the Big Game room and really had a fun time. It is a perfect spot to take the kids for some fun when you want a break from the waterpark. You do not have to be a guest of the hotel to visit the Big Game room and there is no admission charge. You simply pay for what you play.
When it came time to redeeming the tickets our niece was very thoughtful in how she spent them. She was able to get the stuffed animal she had been hoping for as well as some other items. We should also mention that while we were playing games we noticed 2 employees playing games as well during their break. These 2 girls went above and beyond with their friendliness and helpfulness to our kids. They could see that our niece was eager to collect as many tickets as she could and they gave her tips on which games seemed to reward with the most tickets. (The one game rewards you with 500 tickets if you win – our nephew tried it and won twice!). She loved the extra personal attention and we were grateful that they were so kind. In fact at the end of their break they gave all the tickets they had won to our niece. They truly went above and beyond and their behavior is a perfect example of the experience we enjoy each time we visit Kalahari Resort.
Here are the kids at the end of the time in the Big Game room, sporting all their swag:
We would like to disclose that Kalahari Resort did provide complimentary Big Game room prepaid cards in exchange for this honest review.
