Braving the Ropes Course at Hawaiian Falls

Thanks to Hawaiian Falls for hosting a blogger event which inspired this story.

My family loves visiting our local water park.  My favorite activity is relaxing in the lazy river and my kids cannot go down the slides enough.  The Hawaiian Falls water park that is closest to our house is the location in Mansfield, TX.  Until recently we had never visited any of their other seven locations.  Luckily I had the chance to venture out to their park in White Settlement, near downtown Fort Worth, with a group of bloggers.  This park is not only a water park but it also doubles as an Adventure Park.

The adventure portion includes a three level ropes course, rock climbing, free fall challenge and zip-lining.  What I love the most about their adventure section is you can select which options you want to do.  In the past when I took the kids zip-lining you had to climb up a rock wall in order to get to the zip-line, at Hawaiian Falls this is not the case.  Rock climbing is sometimes difficult for my daughter with special needs but she loves to zip-line.  The ropes course is three levels with the top level being three stories high.  If you have a fear of heights then you are more than welcome to stay on the lower levels and still have just as much fun.

When I look back at the photos it doesn’t appear we are that high in the air, but it sure felt like it.  Throughout the ropes course there were different challenges and the difficulty level was not always the same for each person.  On one challenge I felt it was easy to master where another blogger found it more ambitious. Whereas the same blogger was able to breeze through another challenge and I was a little hesitant.  You can pick and choose which sections of the rope course you attempt.  You can skip the bottom level and move straight up if you wish or play around on each level.  Truly, it is all up to you – which is awesome.

The safety procedures were taken very seriously at Hawaiian Falls which, as a mom, makes me comfortable to allow my kids to play.  We wore helmets, were harnessed in and were taught how to move our lead hooks from one section to another.  There is always at least one lead harness attached at all times, usually two.  So you are more than secure.  Plus Hawaiian Falls employees are around every corner throughout the entire structure and more than willing to venture out onto the ropes to help you if you get stuck or too nervous to finish a section.

For those of you that have never met me in person, I’m short.  Like, barely five-foot, short.  In this photo it looks like those square platforms are close together but they are not.  Well, actually they are close together in this photo because if you can see my hand is holding the rope of the platform I am about to move on to from the one I’m currently standing on.  Because I was so short I could not reach the next step.  I had to pull it towards me.  This is where the challenge comes in.  Plus, they sway when you try to step.  This ropes course was an exercise for the whole body.  I was sore the next day.

Not only did we learn team building skills we also had to think through each step and figure out the best way to maneuver our bodies to make it across.  These are great lessons for all ages but especially kids.

Things I love about the White Settlement Hawaiian Falls

I love the Mansfield Hawaiian Falls.  We will visit many times this summer.  However, there are some things that I love even more at the White Settlement location.

• Indoor restaurant – cool off while you eat inside at the tables instead of only having outdoor options
• Arcade – sometimes the little ones get tired before the big kids.  Take them inside to play a game while the older ones ride more slides
• Indoor party rooms – cake icing melts outside….
• Faux sand area – it just makes it look more like a beach vacation
• Adventure Park

I cannot wait to take my kids to White Settlement Hawaiian Falls and challenge them to the ropes course.  I know my 8-year-old son will LOVE it.

Thanks to DFWBloggers.com for organizing this exciting event and to Hawaiian Falls for hosting us.  Each blogger received complimentary water park tickets for their family to visit the park.