Midwest Health Aquatic Center — Local services in Topeka

Beware the fun police...

Today I discovered that it’s hard to have a good time while under the jackboot of authoritarian teenage lifeguards. At this pool there is never fewer than 12 of them at their posts, and they rule the place with an iron fist. Let me tell you about my day, and why I will never go back...

Upon entering the pool, expect a teenager to rummage through your personal effects, looking for contraband. Apparently it’s unreasonable to think you could bring your own bottle of water to a pool; instead, expect to purchase one at the snack bar. The first thing my 7 year old son and I do is climb to the top of the water slides, only to have a lifeguard tell me that my son is about ¾” too short. There’s only one slide he can go down, and he must sit on my lap. The slide is so slow we actually came to a stop multiple times. Somewhat annoyed, we move to a different part of the pool where my son wanted to show me the progress he’s made on his swimming. The whistle is blown, and we’re told free swimming is not allowed in this area. It turns out that the large pool, which is the only place where the water is deeper than 3 ½ feet, is ONLY for the one diving board and the two slides. Once a patron goes off the board or down the slide, they are expected to immediately swim to the ladder, despite the fact that this pool could easily accommodate 20 people or more. There’s a small platform next to the high dive which is perhaps three feet off the ground, and my son walks up to it to jump in. The whistle is blown, and the lifeguard glares down from his tower: “You can’t do that.” I ask why not, and he says, “That’s only for the zipline.” I crane my neck all around, looking for a zipline that isn’t there. Reading my body language, the lifeguard says, “The zipline’s down for the season.”

My son really wanted to show me how he can do a cannonball, so I asked the lifeguard where he can do that. The teenager scrunches up his face as though he’s never heard such a ridiculous request, and finally he points and says, “I guess he could go over there.” The area where he’s gesturing is 3 ½ feet deep and is between the water tower play area and the whirlpool. This seems to be where debris likes to accumulate, as there are sticks and junebugs everywhere. My son jumps in once and hits the bottom with his feet.

My son decides he’ll try the highdive, since that seems to be the only way to jump into the pool in a satisfactory manner. He gets all the way to the top, then loses his nerve. When he starts coming back down, all hell breaks loose. The lifeguard closest to him screams at another guard to blow her whistle twice. She complies, and a third lifeguard comes sprinting (and I mean SPRINTING) from across the pool. They’re yelling, “STOP! STOP!” at my son, who is frozen in fear. Apparently they trust their patrons to ascend ladders, but not descend them.

We walk over to the wavepool, where 50% of the time there are no waves at all. Regardless of whether the waves are going or not, don’t expect to engage in any horseplay in this pool; there are four lifeguards, one at each side, whistle in mouth, ready to nip your enjoyment in the bud.

One amusing thing that happened while we were in the wavepool is one of the guard’s rescue boards accidentally fell into the pool. The guard freaked out and blew her whistle twice, which seems to be their signal for EMERGENCY. The same guard who sprinted to the highdive earlier sprinted out again and dove, Baywatch-style, into 3 feet of water to save the board. I half expected him to give the board mouth-to-mouth, but instead he simply returned it to his colleague, who seemed a bit rattled by the experience. You’ll be happy to know that no rescue boards drowned at the pool that day.

I get that pools are dangerous and lifeguards have an important job to do. But there’s a line to walk between safety and fun. This pool has not found...

I do not recommend to anyone, not even my mortal enemy.

Now let me start off by saying, I would give this particular water park fewer stars, however, Google Reviews' programming prevents me from doing so. Upon arrival I was excited to spend an afternoon enjoying a new outdoor water center in Topeka. Immediately, I was let down. The space was crowded beyond any reasonable measure. The wave pool was waveless, two of the five highly anticipated slides were functional, and the staff carried a rather disrespectful attitude.

PROs: Clean, new, cheap (under evaluation)

CONs: Lacked a lap-pool, crowded, zip-line was unsafe, diving board unsafe, terrible staff attitude and lack of safety concerns, lack of seating

If there is anything I would expect from a multi-million dollar ($9.25M) aquatic center, it would be a a lap-pool. Surprisingly, some people go to aquatic centers to swim, making a lap-pool absolutely essential.

I understand that a new facility attracts a large number of interested guests, however, there was little space within the "wave pool" to move around. It was uncomfortable having so many guests crowded into a microscopic pool. While I do not blame the other guests, having others pushed up against me ruins both parties experience.

As an Mechanical Engineer, I am honestly surprised that this zip-line was approved. The pool that this particular zip-line spanned was approximately six feet over shallow waters. The deep end measured up to a staggering five feet deep. Most participants would want enjoy the full ride of the zip-line, but doing so would drop you into a measly three feet of water.

The diving board fulcrum was set to the max. When the fulcrum of a diving board is set all the way back, it results in the diver traveling further from the board. This would not typically be a problem had there not been a concrete slab resting maybe ten feet away from the end of a 3 meter tall diving board. Upon informing a "lifeguard" of a serious hazard, I was met with a scoff and my report was simply shrugged off.

Leading me into my next and likely most serious concern. The staff lacked concern for guest safety. Upon hearing that a setup on a diving board could result in serious injury, a typically response would be to address or resolve the issue immediately. I would rather not see some kid run of the board and onto the concrete. The staff seemed more concerned about getting switched out or being relieved than the guest experience. The slides would stop functioning the second another "lifeguard" started up the stairs to take their place. The relieved guard would then insist on taking the slide down, ignoring guests that may have been waiting in line for upwards of 15 minutes. The typically required safety break was little more than "playtime" for the "lifeguards".

While not the biggest complaint by any means, the lack of seating was disappointing. Also, it would have been wonderful to secure my belongings without having to pay for a locker. Instead, my stuff had to be left out in the open without any sort of safety provided by a...

I went to the entry counter, told them I had a 10 year old and a 14 year old, they took my debit card and asked for my ID, they told me I had to pay just to enter the park, I told them I wouldn't enter the park, they ran my card, gave me back my ID and debit card but no receipt, I asked them for my receipt, they said they don't give them out, I asked them how is someone supposed to know how much they have been charged, they told me they could email my receipt, so I am thinking is everyone supposed to have an email account just to get a receipt at this park, so I asked them how much I was charged on my debit card, they said they charged my card for three entry's to the park, even though I told them I wasn't coming in, I asked for a refund, they said they don't give refunds, the two employees at the counter said I told them I was going to enter the park that is why they charged me for three entry's to the park, never did I once tell them I was entering, asked to see a manager, the male employee went to the back room for a few minutes and came out with a lifeguard, both looking dumbfounded, she also told me that they give no refunds, I then told them they were going to give me a refund, finally after about 10 minutes, the female employee handed me my refund. I have been to every public pool in Shawnee county and have to say I have always had a pleasant experience, the employees at Midwest Health Aquatic center are the rudest people I have ever had the misfortunate experience to have to deal with in my life, I will never visit this facility again, in fact I will pay a visit to the parks and rec office and make a formal complaint against these rude employees, the time and date of my experience was 5:30 pm...