We were recently hosted at The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark for the second time. I covered both stays in my Instagram stories and got a lot of messages on what to pack. Here are my tips on what to pack for an overnight at the waterpark.

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Notes on Kartrite

Both of our trips were for two nights, which is a nice amount of time if you come early on the first day and/or leave in the afternoon on the final day. On our July trip my son was 4.5 and my daughter was 15 months, on our January trip my son was five and mu daughter was 21 months.

The welcome // There is plenty of parking. The lobby is big and has activities (like giant connect four) to keep your kids occupied during check-in. They even have special activities in the lobby during time check-in times.
Premises // The resort is new so everything feels fresh.
Rooms // On our first stay, we had a bunk suite, which is a nice hotel room with a tiny extra doorless and windowless room with 2 bunkbeds — totally sufficient, especially if you plan to spend most of your time in the water park. On our second stay, we had a deluxe two bedroom suite, which had two bathrooms, a nice sitting / dining room and a second windowless room. The suite was definitely an upgrade for us.
Activities
- Water park // There is so much to do for a wide range of ages.
  - Baby - Toddler // My daughter loves the baby splash area and lazy river. She also spent a little time in the toddler-preschooler area but it was overwhelming for her (though I saw a 2.5 year old having a ball).
  - Preschooler // My now 5 year old was just tall enough to go down some of the big slides (42 inches), and loved the thrill. I bribed him to try the Gator Crossing, and then he did it on his own a bunch more times. He also spent a good amount of time in the toddler / preschooler area, which is really fun. He loved it all, and I think trying new challenging things helps to build his physical confidence. I’ve heard people say that the water park is small compared to others. I think it’s really well designed and the perfect size, especially if you’re with younger kids.
  - Cabana // We had a cabana every day. It’s really nice to have somewhere to put your things, to relax, have a snack (it includes a fridge), waiter service, and a comfortable place to change or even nap the baby. I recommend a lower floor cabana to be closet to the action (plus the upstairs was too hot in July). My favorite cabana is #11 — it’s set back and has a great view of the toddler area. #12 is a close second.
- Indoor activities // The arcade area is huge and fun and even has bowling, pool tables, air hockey and more. There is also a ropes course, climbing wall, laser tag and virtual reality. All of these are at extra cost.
- Outdoor activities // There is a great courtyard (plus heated outdoor pool). In July we roasted marshmallows and there was live outdoor entertainment and July 4 fireworks.
Restaurants
- The food is better than average and reasonably priced.

Waterpark packing list

Waterpark-specific items

Waterproof phone pouch with lanyard // While you have the option of putting your belongings in a locker for the day, I like to have my phone on me to capture photos and also to be able to reach my husband when we split up. I bought this waterproof pouch and it fit my iphone 11 Pro Max (ie., a massive phone), it was a little tight only because I have a Loopy case (best case ever, I have a discount code here). I used it going down some steep rides and even wore it in a 3.5 foot deep pool where it was totally immersed, and it worked great! I often went down a water slide ahead of my son and then quickly took my phone out of the case to snap a shot of him coming down. If you want to hold two phones or other items, consider a larger pouch.
Sunblock (even for indoors) // In my unscientific opinion, you need SPF protection in the indoor waterpark — it has a glass domed roof, which can have a greenhouse effect. When we visited Kartrite in July we spent a lot of time outdoors (live music, etc.), so you would obviously need sunblock for that too. See my list of exclusive promos for a discount on two of my favorite brands of sunblock.
Swimsuits (obviously) // I rounded up some amazing leopard print ones for girls here. My favorites for me are MiracleSuit and this one from Boden, which I purchased in two prints.

Swim coverup // These are great for walking to and from your room to the water park area or to stay warm when taking a break from the water. We brought a hand-me-down terry one for my daughter, you can find similar ones here. I brought my favorite Coolibar coverup dress for myself.

Water shoes // I wore mine to and from the waterpark, but my son wore his even going down major slides (he took them off when he went in pools). I wore these unisex Birkenstocks, my son wore his Plae water shoes (available at Nordstrom and Amazon or buy directly from Plae — See my list of exclusive promos for a Plae discount). My daughter wore an inexpensive but adorable neoprene pair.

Stroller and stroller fan
- Stroller // If you are on the fence about bringing a stroller for your child who is aging out of strollers, I vote to bring one. It can function as a cart for all your stuff, and also kids get wiped and may appreciate being pushed back to your room. If your child can take stroller naps, it also keeps you from needing to camp out in your room mid-day. We brought our Colugo, it’s great for naps, has lots of storage and stashes easily in the car. See my list of exclusive promos for a Colugo discount.
- Stroller fan // As I mentioned above, it can get really hot (between the sun and them keeping the space at a temperature that’s comfortable for wet bodies), so a stroller fan (we have this one) is essential for keeping a little one cool in the stroller while in the park.
Life vest (optional) // My now 5 year old only wore a life vest when in the 3.5 foot pool or when doing the Later Gator Crossing. We brought our awesome ilfe vest for our first trip and forgot it for the second trip. The Kartrite vests kept riding up on him and he was pretty uncomfortable. He didn’t spend that much time in the vest, so if you’re tight on packing space, it might not be worth it, but I’d bring my own life vest next time
SPF blanket // If your child will be napping in the stroller or on a chair, drape this SPF blanket over them for extra sun protection. Note that tenting it over the stroller can trap heat and make them extra hot, so I place it directly on the child.

Tip: If you want to hit the waterpark after checkout on your final day, bring a bag with everyone’s dry clothing and shoes (especially in the winter) to the waterpark. Include a big plastic bag (hotel laundry bag works) for all your wet items. On our last day, we gave the kids breakfast in the room, packed up while they ate, checked out and loaded the car and then enjoyed hours at the waterpark.

Mesh beach bag // I like taking a mesh beach bag to the waterpark. It fits a ton, weighs almost nothing, has great pockets for stashing and is easy to wear or hang from the stroller (with stroller hooks). I have his beach bag .
ID bracelet for kids // There are plenty of opportunities for kids to walk off (e.g., only one person can go down a slide at a time, so if the child goes first he can wander off and if you go first the child can chicken out). Kartrite is relatively small and felt safe to me, but I put name bracelets on my kids with my cell number just in case. I got mine from Mabel’s Labels (I prefer the disposable ones since my kids play with and remove the silicone ones). See my list of exclusive promos for a Mabel’s Labels discount.

General items

See my post on packing efficiently for lots of tips on what to pack, how to pack efficiently and stay organized.

Food , snacks and beverages. // We tend to eat about half our meals at the park restaurants and eateries. We do bring some meals from home. I bring banana spinach pancakes (recipe here), yogurt, cereal (this one has lots of fiber and we all like it), fruit, Lara green bars, hummus and pretzels or pita chips. I bring the perishables in a soft cooler with ice packs, and for the way home I bring empty ice bags or Ziploc bags to fill with ice. Our room at the Kartrite had a fridge and microwave but no kitchen sink, so I was glad to have brought disposable cutlery, bowls, cups, napkins and paper towels. We like to travel with single servings shalf stable boxed milk and these plastic casings that prevent kids from squeezing the container. Check out my list of mom hacks for more travel snack and meal ideas.

Tip: we wanted to max out our park time, our kids don’t currently do well in restaurants and our little one has an early bedtime so we ordered takeout for dinner from the restaurant, quickly bathed the kids, and ate in our hotel room. This also helped us get the kids to bed earlier and have more time to ourselves. If you do plan to eat at resort restaurants, be sure to make advance reservations.

Baby-toddler items // See my baby travel post for general travel tips.
- Bottles, sippy cups, snack cups, etc.
- Bottle feeding items // If you have a little on bottles, check out my article on formula feeding for a neat tip on washing bottles, pacifiers and teethers on the go.
- White noise machine or extra Iphone / iPad // We like this Marpac travel noise machine (see my list of exclusive promos for a Marpac discount), but there are also free apps available for your phone or tablet.
- Toy/ pacifier / utensil tether // I always use these silicone toy/pacifier tethers. I tether one side to a toy, pacifier or even my portable Marpac sound machine
Laundry detergent (optional). I noticed that the Kartrite offers free use of laundry machines but not detergent. I didn’t do any laundry but might want to if staying 3+ nights or in case of a vomit or blowout incident.
Rich body lotion and deep conditioner for hair. The chlorine totally dries out my skin and hair, so I try to revive it at night.
Headbands // Speaking of hair, mine gets really frizzy and crazy. I wore a headband the entire day and felt like I looked decent (I like this $4 headband this $1.25 full circle/wrap one). Look out for my upcoming article on the best headbands!
First-aid items. I detailed what first-aid to bring for the kids in this other article. My arms and shoulders got really sore after carrying a double tube up many flights of stairs countless times to go down a slide with my son. I recommend bringing arnica and motrin for yourself.