Bavarian Blast Waterpark — Attraction in City of Frankenmuth

Plan to spend about 45 mins waiting in a long line to check in. I was hanging onto my heavy bags so long I had broken blood vessels on my shoulders. There was 1 employee with the QR code to sign waivers walking around the line trying to get guests to fill it out before getting to the desk. These codes should be posted around on the walls & tables. Sending the forms via text or email to the person who booked the room is pointless when we cant sign waivers for other adults or their children in our room. That whole lobby should be updated for more check in desk space. The area the line extends into with a bunch of empty tables and an adult only pool no one ever seems to use should be updated. It seems like a waste of space & a long time for guests to wait in a weird space with only ONE women’s bathroom stall. Expand the bathrooms, add another bar, something to appeal to guests while they wait. I was given a broken wrist band so had to ask for a new one down by the water park. Check in at 4pm with no early access is very limited. Luckily we stayed 2 nights so we had an entire day the next day to swim, but I imagine those staying 1 night would be pretty disappointed in the hours of swim time. The chemicals in the water is very strong. It made all of our skin burn and itch. It felt like I had drug my body across the carpet. It also took the nail polish right off some of my toes & caused my fake tan to come off. I saw multiple fake nails in the hallways so ladies beware you may lose some nails or polish—dont get a fresh set done before coming here. My son is 7 and had a great time, although he was bummed out there wasnt anywhere with deeper water he could cannon ball into. I am sure for safety reasons with alcohol the water is limited to 3-4 feet pretty much everywhere but for kids that actually want to jump into water and swim doesnt seem to be an option. There is a pool outside being worked on by the family hot tub but it is very small and oddly shaped so again not ideal for kids to jump into. All three adults in our group were freezing cold. I heard comments from others about it too. We sat in the hot tub most of the time, which felt luke warm half the time. If guests are cold, they will spend less time getting out of water to spend money on food & drinks. There should be clocks and better signage. Me & my son waited in line for the family water slide to find out when it was our turn there must be at least 3 people. 2 other random people agreed to join us but it was awkward riding with strangers and no where is it clearly posted how many riders are required. The floor is very slick. My son fell while holding my hand & walking slowly. Someone is going to crack their head open. More of the anti slip mats need to be added by the water slides. The arcade had multiple games broken, taking credits off cards without letting kids play. A good portion of the games are expensive claw type games requiring 20 credits—most games are in the 6-12 credit range. Just seems like a big money grab. I felt bad my son was frustrated & got him a Build a Bear. Maybe thats the strategy to get parents to spend more on disappointed kids in the arcade. Our group received multiple waffle cones with open bottoms from the ice cream shop in the arcade. Mine was leaking all over the floor so had to throw it away before I was done with it. A proper cone should be twisted closed at the bottom to prevent this. Sorry if it sounds picky but I used to make these & have high expectations for customer service having been a manager in the service industry in the past. My son had fun, but I think some tweaks need to be made to justify the cost. Im considering Kalahari next based on similar price point and much nicer looking and bigger facility. There is a way to keep the German charm with newer updates than justifying keeping the old, which is giving...

Our family just visited on Sunday for an overnight stay at the end of spring break. We booked an overnight stay. The night prior we called to see when we could access the water park before check in. The front desk lady told us at 1 pm is when we can access the water park. Mind you, we have gone to every waterpark in Michigan and Ohio and all of them allow you to enjoy the water park much earlier than check in. We arrived at Bavarian at 1 pm. When we checked in the front desk said we would have to pay $50 extra to access the water park before check in. We paid it as we have 3 little ones who were waiting to use the water park. You have to search the website to find this information out. We could’ve just used the family pools and not paid extra, but if we waited then once we checked in the at 4 plus do dinner we would’ve only had 3 hours to use water park. So, we paid the extra. I was very disappointed and it’s a huge reason why we wouldn’t come back. Also, the hotel guests can only use the pool from 10-2. On the website it does say only 12-2. The information they give you online and what they give when you arrive is very conflicting. There isn’t enough time to use the waterpark. With all the money you spend you are very limited. The waterpark was nice, but not a wow factor for us. The place overall is cold. Everyone was shivering walking around and many would go right to the hot tub. Sadly, the hot tub water was lukewarm. The toddler area was very dangerous. I slipped and fell down hard due to the flooring being very slippery. There isn’t much in that area besides slides and a swing. Other places have water falls, animals that kids can get on, jet skis that you can spray others with, and fun water tables. I saw many parents struggling with their littles due to not much access of things for 3 and under. They say no outside food and drinks, but they were allowing thermos drinks just no glass. So, bring your own. Warning though. They will dig through your bags like the FBI. I get just opening your bag, which we just had to do. However, some bags were searched and dug through. The rooms are very outdated. I know it’s the German culture and it’s been that way for years, but I believe the rooms could have a modern look to them and still have the culture included. I hope they read these reviews and make the proper changes. They do have a lot to offer for the older kids and we enjoyed ourselves overall. We would definitely choose Splash Village over Bavarian due to the limited park access and extra charge. I hope they change this in the future. If your looking to go to a water park in Michigan and don’t mind the drive with little ones then Great Wolf Lodge...

I think this waterpark is geared more toward small children than all ages, which is why I’ve knocked off a couple stars. Outside of big slides, there aren’t many water features for older kids/adults, which my family found highly disappointing after years of going to Zehnder’s Splash Village.

The site says there’s a “huge, rip roarin’ wave pool”, but it’s actually quite small and appears to be geared toward small children. 5’ is the deepest it goes. My 14-year-old, who loves wave pools, had zero interest in it.

The “not so lazy river” is only 3’ deep and it’s not as fast as the “rapid river” at Zehnder’s (which is also deeper). So it’s not very exciting for anyone besides small kids and, as a 5’7” adult, I had to crouch if I wanted to walk while immersed instead of swim, which was very uncomfortable. I also found it problematic that tubes are allowed because a lot of people abandon them and then anyone swimming is being bombarded with tubes.

The park also felt small and cramped compared to Zehnder’s. The water wasn’t as warm (maybe because Zehnder’s has the glass ceiling that opens). The seating is along every open space without a large, wide open space designated just for tables/chairs. Also, people were smoking outside the fencing for the outdoor pool, so we didn’t even go out there.

Zehnder’s has basically all the same features, minus the wave pool and swim up bar, but also has more. There are two spacious rooms. None of the features feel cramped or crowded even when it’s filled with people. They have a shallow, lazy river for small kids/tubes AND a slightly deeper, rapid river (no tubes) for those wanting more excitement (small kids in life jackets LOVE it too). There’s also no smoking on the premises.

So I would not recommend Bavarian’s waterpark, specifically. If you’re just as invested in the family fun zone as the waterpark, then maybe Bavarian is right for you. But if you’re looking specifically for a waterpark, Zehnder’s has more to offer.

Also, I was disappointed that both hotels have rooms for the same price, but Bavarian charges $50 if you want to enter the waterpark at 1 pm the day of arrival whereas Zehnder’s charges nothing extra to enter at noon. Zehnder’s also has renovated rooms for the same price as Bavarian’s outdated rooms, though I realize this is a waterpark review, not a hotel review — simply stating this for anyone also staying...