Murphy Aquatic Park — Attraction in Avon

Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe the park was hyped up too much but it definitely missed the mark.

It was nice going to a new facility but even just days after opening day, and an hour after opening in the morning, the bathrooms were pretty gross. There was also only one handicap stall in the bathroom, and it was all the way in the back passed the flooding/poorly draining floor. Not very accessible for a facility trying to market itself as inclusive. There were also no locker rooms/changing stalls.

The kids area isn't kid-friendly for younger kiddos as it sprays everywhere, nonstop. There's no where to catch your breath and is very overwhelming. I understand that there are plans to have sensory friendly days, but the playground is basically unusable by many kids under 6yr or so. The water table space that is supposed to be for little kids was too tall for them to actually utilize except for the single, lowest section... So there was nothing that was particularly engaging for my 2y and 4y olds.

The facility overall was much smaller than I was expecting, with minimal seating and parking.

I understand that it's new, and there will be a learning curve, but as someone who used to work at a community "water park" this facility sorely missed the mark...and they missed many many opportunities to make it truly accessible for all. After visiting, it felt like that line was all for marketing purposes and not very true. We were quite excited to have it open since it was going to be closer to home, but we'll be either going to our local splash pad, or making the long drive to Splash Island. MAP isn't worth it unless they may some very significant changes.

(If anyone from MAP is interested in having a genuine discussion about the mentioned concerns--among others-- I am more than happy to chat, since it's apparent that no one actually spoke to parents with sensory or other accessibility concerns before the...

Ryan Miller says he answers to no one but the tax payers of Washington township and refused to give me contact information for a higher up because he was not hired but was elected. Laura Hilmick gave me his number, her statement was that I need to contact the state board of accounts. Then there was Elizabeth Blake, whom was my original contact that led me to the others whom’s statement was that the refund policy is listed in 5 different places.

on my sons 10th birthday we came to this park, never touched the water, sat down or anything of that nature. Came here under the false guidance that a party was booked for him here by another relative. Once we walked in and saw no one we knew we turned back to the admissions gate for a refund which was denied. I spent $40 here for no purpose at all, and have been given a lot of sly comments and excuses as to why we can not be refunded. No one wants to provide contact information for a higher up and I don’t live in this area, so I came a pretty long way to even be here, nor was I given another option for the funds I’d spent. I’ll be posting this same review on the parks site as well. Thanks for nothing Washington Township, as I think more on it Mr. Miller’s and Ms. Hilmicks tones both got to a point of my 8 year old sitting in the back seat saying “mommy he’s/she’s rude. Why is he/she talking to you like that?” Her understanding of rude is a raised voice and not letting the other person speak. I don’t feel that I should have to go through this much for a simple refund will file a civil suit because although it’s not a big issue for them as they’re sitting in salaried jobs paid by the state and don’t answer to anyone a hardworking mother is meant to just give up $40 for their refund policy which lists a plethora of things that could possibly happen in the water;...

This started as a very good experience, Friday, June 9th. We were at an event that was from 7-9 with friends and their kids. The park in general is very nice and may have been a place I would consider frequenting if not for this incident. Around 8:30pm- 8:35pm I see my daughter waving for me to come to her. I also see a woman with a very small child yelling in her general direction. This person turns out to be Lora Helmick the park director. I walk up to the wave pool and my child is visibly upset, turns out this woman was trying to kick my youngest son out of the pool because of his shorts and undershirt. Again he had been swimming from 7 to 8:30 with no issue and this was similar to what other grown men had on as well. This person, Lora Helmick started fussing that his shorts and undershirt were an Indiana Health code violation (she would not explain how) and yelling that my kids were rude to her. First, she was yelling at kids she thought were there alone. Second, she never Identified who she was. My friend found out who she was online.

She wanted me to make my son come out of the wave pool or she would not let them turn the waves back on. I told her I won't make him come out when nothing was wrong until she showed up out of nowhere to make a scene. She threatened to call the police to which I said call them. There was literally 20 minutes left of this event and when the police arrived and then she ran off to hide.

I am thankful for the professionalism and kindness I and my kids received from the Avon police officers we interacted with. I don't know why this person Lora Helmick wanted to single out my son but it doesn't matter. She was highly unprofessional when speaking to myself and my kids. It's a shame she tried to ruin my...