Plan Your Next Vacation at a Water Park

Are you having a hard time trying to decide what to do for your vacation this year? Has the weather not cooperated with your last vacations? Are you tired of packing the raincoats and umbrellas? When you are planning your vacation there is always the chance that what ever you have on your itinerary it could be rained out. How would you like to have a vacation that weather doesn't make any difference, it could be raining, snowing or the temperature is 100 degrees in the shade? Doesn't that sound nice? Then how about an enclosed entertainment complex? These are all the rage!

Entertainment complexes are enclosed-like structures and have water parks with a greenhouse roof over head. There will be a dozen water parks opening this year and 240 are in the drawing room. These water parks under green roofs are mainly for colder-weather states, where indoor resorts can be great during the winter months. But they are now popping up outside the Midwest, in Texas, Arizona and North Carolina, among many other states.

So what do you get compared to taking your vacation outdoors: Entry to a wonderous building, some are three acres in size, where the sounds of cheerful children echo in the climate-controlled area. If you are a vacationer that likes the atmosphere of an indoor hotel pool, you will love these indoor water parks they are in a much grander scale.

You can be sitting in the sun but if you need relief from the heat most indoor parks offer areas that are air conditioned with wireless Internet service. Even at some parks, parents can sip their drinks at the poolside bars while the kids play.

There is one draw back to some of the water parks; in the summer months with the see-through roof it can feel like you just walked into a musty sona but in the winter months it is nice and cozy.

There is one water park in Gatlinburg's Wild Bear Falls that opened in March, which has solved that problem. The park put in a retractable roof that will let more light and fresh air in, but still allow the space to be climate-controlled.

If you are concerned about the weather every time you vacation don't feel alone. Weather can make or break your fun. If you have ever vacationed in Florida and it rains, that's it your vacation is ruined. Most Americans are taking shorter trips by following the weather forecast.

If you decide to check out one of these water parks be for-warned. They probably won't be cheap! You might be looking at a premium room for $200 and up for just one night and this could be in August.

What is also appealing to people about these water parks is that they aren't in the suns direct rays. Skin cancer is a worry for parents with there children in outdoor pools. Water parks are not totally blocking out the ultraviolet light; they have to let some ultraviolet light to pass through the roof so you will still need your sunblock but the chances of a sun burn is very low compared to being in the suns direct rays. One good thing is that if you are a person that wants a tan, water parks are still for you.

Maintaining a water park doesn't come without some risks. It takes a lot of energy to keep a steady climate and pump thousand of gallons of water in order to keep is sanitary. Environmental issues have risen with water parks that already exist and for the one that are still on the drawing board. Most that are up and running have "green" roofs and gardens that absorb heat, which makes the building cooler, and one water park is now using ultraviolet rays to kill the bacteria that can grow in the water so they don't have to use as much chlorine.

So it doesn't matter what the temperature is or if it is raining or snowing, now you can have an enjoyable vacation without worrying. Go ahead check out one of these water parks and your kids will never let you go anywhere else on future vacations.

The Gatlinburg's Wild Bear Falls Park includes a giant water-spewing treehouse and a 300-foot tube slide.