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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Preview Post: Plamann Park

While Plamann Park in Appleton does not have a playground, they offer quite a bit in its place.  One of the park's main features is its trail system.

Another more seasonal attraction is the beach.  There is a small lake with sand beaches open for swimming in the summer.

In the summer, they also house a petting zoo with animals from area farms.

Plamann Park
1375 East Broadway Drive ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 832-4790
Admission: Free, fees for beach: free/seniors, $3/Ages 16&up, $2.50/Ages 4-15, free/under 4

Preview Post: Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve

The Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve has year-round trails to explore.  They also hold many events throughout the year that sound like great family fun.

Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve
4815 North Lynndale Drive ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 731-6041
Admission: Free from what I can tell, though I am sure many events have a charge

Preview Post: Wisconsin Museum of International Wildlife

The Wisconsin Wildlife Museum is a more unique museum.  It consists of many mounted animals from around the world.  Some of the mounts look like they are pretty need "action" shots.  They also have some hands-on exhibits, which would make this a whole lot more fun!

They do have quite limited hours, so be sure to check ahead.

Wisconsin Museum of International Wildlife
10 East College Avenue, Suite 222 ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 419-2721
Admission: free

Preview Post: Trout Museum of Art

The Trout Museum of Art looks like a typical small art museum.  While it is not geared toward children, it could be interesting for them, especially if you have one who is interested in art.  I think I would be most inclined to try one of their events that are more specifically for kids.  There are regular family art project days as well as performers that they bring in, called the Young Audiences series.

Trout Museum of Art
Fox Cities Building for the Arts ~ 111 West College Avenue ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 733-4089
Admission: "Varies by Exhibition" (?) but at the moment it's:
                    $6/Ages 11&up, $2/Ages 5-11, Under 5 free

Preview Post: History Museum at the Castle

The History Museum at the Castle is in Appleton.  It is not a children's museum, but they do welcome children, and it looks like they try to have some family friendly, hands-on exhibits.  I am not sure how frequently their exhibits change, but at the moment, the ones I think my kiddos would most enjoy are the Houdini and toy areas.

History Museum at the Castle
330 East College Avenue ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 735-9370
Admission: $7.50/adult, $3.50/child, under 5 free OR $20/family

Wilderness Resort

We attended a family gathering at the Wilderness this spring.  The kids had blast!

The highlight, of course, was the water park.  While the Wilderness does have an outdoor water park as well, we were only able to experience the indoor in March!  It spans three large rooms.

One room is primarily a splash area.  There is a large climber as well as a small splash pad for babies and toddlers.

Another room contains the "activity" pool, VERY small lazy river, and some little water slides geared toward preschoolers.

The third room has a wave pool, a small climber area for small kiddos, and more full-sized water slides.

The Wilderness has a great variety of activities that are appropriate to span all ages.  I also really like that they measure and provide wristbands to kids based on their height so the lifeguards know at a glance which rides each child is tall enough for.  It's also an easy way to reference the rides as a parent and know which are okay for your child.

The water park has plenty of life preservers on hand, but they also allow you to use your own, which is awesome since some don't!

The disadvantage of the Wilderness is that you are supposed to be a hotel guest in order to use their water park.  However, we had some members of our party join us just for a day, and they were able to get a day pass.  I am not entirely sure how that works, but I believe a staying member had to go vouch that they were with us.

I will also say their lost and found program is not very user friendly.  The ONLY way to retrieve an item is to fill out an online form and wait until they contact you.  We did eventually get our stuff back, though.  And, yes, I realize it was our fault it was left in the first place.

All in all, if you are looking for a weekend water getaway, the Wilderness was a pretty decent one.

Wilderness Resort
511 E Adams St ~ Wisconsin Dells, WI ~ (800) 867-9453
Admission: included in room rate