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View Full Version : Summer Day Trips....Sahara Sam's Part 4



NJGIRL
07-09-2010, 08:58 AM
We will be doing alot of day trips this summer so I thought I would post our experiences with everyone. Since many of us are watching our $$$$ I will post prices as well as personal experiences so everyone can decide for themselves whether the cost is worth it for them to make the trip.


Sahara Sam's Indoor Water Park

Sahara Sam's is located on Rt 73 in Berlin NJ. We went the 3rd week in June (report is a little late :blush:) before most schools were out. This indoor waterpark is fairly new. I believe it opened within the last year (maybe last two years). When I was researching this place I went on their web page and my head was spinning alittle. They had soooo many different hours for different days for different weeks so before you go take a look at their website for the hours of the specific date you are going. I hope the hours will be more uniformed for the summer. Also look at their web site for admission prices. Those also had my head spinning. There were differnt prices for different days, prices for half days, prices for after a certain time. Very confusing. The web site also shows you their specials and discounts. You can also order tickets online, which I suggest since they are cheaper than at the gate, plus they only allow a certain number of people in each day so this assures you admission for that day. We purchased all day tickets for a Weds. They were $23.00 but we had a teacher disc card and got them for $19.00 each.

The day we went they opened at 10:00 in the morning and we were there with 10 other people for the opening. When you walk in you are in the arcade. It is big and very clean. The games look new. We presented our pre-printed vouchers and got our wrist bands and went in.

The park was very clean and new looking. It was very nice. It is 84 degrees inside no matter what the temperature is outside. It reminded me alot of the Great Wolf Lodge in PA only a little smaller. Really I guess how many companies are out there building indoor waterparks? They probably are all very similar with different theming. Sahara's theme was tropical. There were alot of birds and palms all over the place.

We pretty much had the park to ourselves (it was myself, my son and one of his friends) so I told the kids to do the rides that usally had lines first before anyone else got there. I forgot to mention that they told us on the web site for the day we purchased tickets that some rides are on a rotating schedule, on an half hour then off an half hour. This is probably only during slow times like weekdays to avoid having so many lifeguards there. I would think during the summer they would be at full operation, but again check their web site when ordering tickets for that info. After we were there about an hour a bus load of school kids came in. They were teenagers but were with teachers and from what I saw they were behaving well.

Flow Rider which is their surfing attraction was not working the day we were there. I think this ride goes down alot :(. Timbuktu is their kiddy section that had two water slides, water "guns", lots of places to climb, and of course the big bucket that dumps thousands of gallons of water on you. Congo Bongo River is their lazy river where you get on a tube and can relax until you get to the place where you must go under the freezing waterfall. Slam Dunker is their water basketball area and right next to it is Croc where you must step on the crocs in the water without falling to get to the other side. Lizard Lagoon is another kiddy section (very cute). It has a zero entry pool, water geysers, mini slides and bungee swings. This is for very small children and the pool is for their size. Snake Eyes are their two water rollercoasters. Water rollercoasters are great! Kilimanjaro is their family raft ride that takes you through rapids. You can see they have a lot of quality attractions but the thing I noticed to be missing was a wave pool. This is a staple at any water park I have ever been to whether indoor or out so I'm not sure why they didn't have one. The life guards (young people) seemed to be on the ball and not goofing off.

Food....The food line was sooooooo slow. They only had two kids working on it. One cooked and the other took orders. Even with the small amount of people there the manager should have jumped in and helped out. With less than 100 people inside (my estimate) I waited 30 mins for lunch. I didn't think the food prices were bad and what we got was hot and fresh. They had chicken fingers, cheese burgers, grilled cheese, nachos, churros, soft pretzels, hot dogs, chicken parm sandwiches, fries, mac & cheese wedges, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, garden salad and frozen drinks. I had a frozen lemonade. It was so good!

Bathrooms were clean and so was the locker room.

Around 2:00 the school bus trip left and the place was empty again. We stayed from 10:00 to 4:00 and the kids had a ball. This place was clean, friendly and fun. It was a great day and would go back again.

My only concern is the fact that they do not have a hotel attacted with the water park. At the Great Wolf Inn for example you can not use the water park unless you are staying at the hotel. This keeps it nice and calm. Groups of kids are not there without parents supervision. I believe at Sahara Sams kids 15 and over can be there on their own and I wonder if this could sometimes become a problem.

Bethanymouse
07-09-2010, 11:00 PM
Sounds like you had a good experience here. I never even knew it existed! Glad to hear the kids had fun!

NJGIRL
07-10-2010, 09:42 AM
Sounds like you had a good experience here. I never even knew it existed! Glad to hear the kids had fun!

It was really a nice way to spend the day. If you're not too far from Berlin you should try it. The other day a friend told me that she went to a BBQ and someone there (teenager) works at Sahara Sam's and loves it. She said the management there treats them good. That's always a nice thing to hear. It makes for happier employees and when the staff is happy I think that extends to the guests.

Bethanymouse
07-10-2010, 07:27 PM
I agree with you. I will tell my gf about it too. She has young kids and they frequent the Great Wolf Lodge, and indoor water park that is huge, but I think in pa.

NJGIRL
07-11-2010, 08:04 AM
I agree with you. I will tell my gf about it too. She has young kids and they frequent the Great Wolf Lodge, and indoor water park that is huge, but I think in pa.

Yes, there is a Great Wolf in PA. We have been there twice and really like it. This is similar but on a smaller scale and is for the day only opposed for the entire weekend like the Great Wolf.

DisneyDog
07-30-2010, 09:03 AM
I've heard commercials for this place on the Philly radio stations. Nice to read your review about it.