Family summer fun at Schlitterbahn!

As a part of the US Family Guide mommy bloggers, I was given the chance to take my family to Schlitterbahn New Braunfels for a day. Schlitterbahn has been a family favorite since the very first time we went a few years back. There are so many perks to the park that other parks do not have. Free parking, allowing you to bring your own food (no alchohol or glass containers), and something to do for all ages! The rides use water filtered from the Comal River. This saves water, and cuts back on the chlorinated water use that most parks have these days. I don't know about you, but chlorine dries my skin out and speeds up the burn process for my skin when I'm in water and sun all day. So I really appreciate the river water usage more. They also boast the worlds only uphill water ride! The Master Blaster is amazing. Water pushes you along rather than using an electrical system. 

To prepare for the trip, I purchased and packed a few things to help us get through the day. Sunscreen is the most important item to bring when you know you will be out all day in sun and water. My children are mostly fair skinned and burn easily. We stopped back at the locker we rented frequently to reapply it. The lockers are $8/day plus a $2 deposit you get back when you turn in your key. Like other parks, they give you the option to take cash or to accept a gift. The day we went, they were offering Schlitterbahn reusable bags. 

Another important item to have is a way to keep your phone and money dry. Normally I wouldn't need to carry my phone with me but would instead leave it in the locker or my vehicle. This time, however, I brought it so I could take pictures of our fun for the review. Last time I went, I bought a waterproof disposable camera. I picked this watertight box up from Target. 

For paying only $6, it's amazing! Everything stayed dried and it fit perfectly into the pocket of my fiancés swim shorts. It's not water proof or promised to work under submersion. But it worked when we rode the wave pool circuit repeatedly. It can be difficult to pop open, but it's worth every penny! 

We brought our picnic lunches. It was easy to pack the kids lunchables and we older ones got the Rev packs.
I took everything out of the boxes and put them into a hand carry lunch box with ice packs and cold water bottles. It stayed cold all morning until we were ready to break for lunch. 

After lunch, we decided to chill in the pools. Mostly the wave pool. My kids loved the wave pool. They used the kid friendly tubes and we formed a human chain to stay together as each wave pushed us around the great circle.
We also went to a couple of the kid-friendly areas where the water is super shallow and the kids could climb on things to play.

The Congo River Expedition was one that my fiancé and I absolutely loved being on!

We have decided that Schlitterbahn is going to be an every summer event for our family from now on. I highly suggest you pay them a visit. They have locations in New Braunfels, Galveston, South Padre Island, Corpus Christi, and Kansas City. Check out their ticket page for dates that are cheaper.