Shipshewana's Splash Universe Indoor Water Park Resort

I had never even heard of Splash Universe Indoor Water Park Resort, even though I used to live about 45 minutes from the place. So when I got some complimentary passes from Jan Taber inviting me to visit the place for VisitIndiana.com, I took my wife and three kids up to Shipshewana in LaGrange County.

I have not been to a water park since my wife and I were in Florida for our honeymoon. And given the 50 degree weather in northeast Indiana, indoors was going to be the only way we would enjoy any water that day.

There’s something for everyone in Splash Universe. There’s a small wading pool for babies and toddlers, small slides for little kids, a structure that looks like something the Swiss Family Robinson cooked up for everyone to climb around, a giant water slide for the brave at heart, and Lazy River for the parents who are tired from running around after their kids or climbing all the stairs for the giant slide. And the entire building is kept at a warm 84 degrees, so it’s summer inside, no matter the weather outside.

The giant slide is actually two different slides that twist and turn and careen before dumping you into the pool below. I rode the slides with my kids at least 12 times, and went by myself a few times as well.

We especially enjoyed the 500 gallon splash bucket, which fills up at a rate of about 5 gallons per second, and dumps its contents on the screaming kids waiting about 30 feet below. (That’s my kids getting the entire 500 gallons dumped on them on the right.)

We left at the end of the day, stopping for about 30 minutes in the small township called Emma, just a few miles south of Shipshewana. But we could have spent the night if we wanted, since Splash Universe also has a great hotel with family suites, executive suites, and a variety of different rooms for different sizes of parties.

We only stayed for a little over three hours, although all-day passes are available. I don’t think we would have lasted all day though. Twelve times up the 40+ stairs to get to the top of the giant slides wore me out, and my kids and their mad scrambling gave us a quiet three hour drive back home that night.