Diane Kehm

   When we were offered a generous discount to stay at Hayden Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites and guest passes to enjoy Triple Play Family Fun Park and Raptor Reef waterpark for a day, we couldn’t pass it up!

   Last year when we visited Silverwood Theme Park, we passed Holiday Inn and Triple Play on the way – they’re impossible to miss with the go-carts and miniature golf course right on Hwy. 95 north to Athol – and everyone in the car whispered ‘ooohhhhh….cooooool!’ in unison as we drove by. How great that we were able to stop there this year and share our experience with our readers and fans.

   Everyone (I’m not exaggerating) at Hayden Holiday Inn Express was incredibly kind and helpful, from the front desk staff who greeted us, to housekeeping who we passed numerous times in the hall, to maintenance who set up our WiFi, to the breakfast crew who kept the food in stock with a smile on their faces, and to management who welcomed us and offered suggestions for free family fun events in the Courd a’lene area. (Isn’t it neat how every community has little gems and hot spots for kids and families?)
 
   When you stay at this Silverwood lodging partner, you will be in very good hands. They are extremely family-friendly and the rooms are clean and spacious. We had a suite on the first floor with two queen beds and a sitting area with sofa bed, and we could easily get to the car or hang our wet swim towels outside via a slider that led outdoors. I also had a desk, of course, where I pulled an edition of Macaroni Kid together. And the microwave, wet bar, and fridge came in handy when we had leftovers from restaurants. They also offer rooms with kid-friendly bunk beds.

   The hotel located closest to Silverwood Theme Park, Hayden Holiday Inn Express offers Silverwood and Triple Play “Stay and Play” packages, which are great deals to experience all there is to experience! You’ll also enjoy the deluxe hot breakfast buffet - especially the pancake machine.

   Attached to Holiday Inn Express by a sky bridge, Triple Play is just as kind and welcoming, including all the Triple Play staff who supervise the rides and attractions.

   What is Triple Play? It’s a state of the art recreational park “Where Fun is Always in Season” and where you’ll find bowling, co-carts, mini-golf, laser tag, arcade, an indoor water park, Raptor Reef, and much more! It's easily accessible and offers endless fun for the entire family.

   The hardest part was deciding what to do first. We practically had to flip a coin. The options are so numerous and everything sounded so appealing that it was hard to choose. I played the parent card and decided for everyone that we’d head to the racetrack.

   I can’t remember the last time I drove a Go-Kart®. So I may have been slightly more excited than the kids to take the wheel. Both my MiniMacaronis were too small to drive a car themselves (the oldest by a hair) and found themselves passengers as mom and dad took to the raceway.

   We also played miniature golf outside on an 85-degree morning and while the kids tried hard to beat one another (and their competitive mom), I soaked up the sunshine while surrounded by the waterfall, creeks and volcano obstacles.

   Also on the top of our list was laser tag. This kind of indoor, black-light, fog-filled laser tag is brilliant. Wearing vests like SWAT team members and carrying bulky pretend pistols, we entered the laser zone with some other kids. For the next 7 minutes we peeked around corners, sneaked up on unsuspecting children, and slyly targeted the interceptors for extra points, while my Army veteran husband overtook us all.

   Somewhat sweaty from combat, we spent some down time in the black-light-lit indoor miniature golf course decorated in a grim mining theme with water trickling through the middle.

   The newest feature in Triple Play added a year ago is a mining slough where you can purchase a bag of ‘dirt’ and sluice through it for gems, arrowheads, or fossils. This was a highlight for our kids, and they’ve been talking about it ever since. They’ve learned a lot about rocks and gemstones as they’ve researched the names of their various artifacts. Highly recommended!

   For those with younger children, there is also a three level tube crawl located in a soft play area.

   We spent most of the afternoon in Raptor Reef, which you can purchase entry to separately. It's one of the only indoor waterparks in the Northwest. Folks line up at the door before they open at 10 am to be the first ones in. There is a toddler area with slides, spouting water everywhere, and a huge dumping water bucket. There’s also a wave pool with two raptor dinosaurs towering above. And some different water slides. A twisty-turvy one, one that leads you into a tornado, and the last one where you lay down on a mat and go down a steep, but fun tube. You could have found me in one of the hot tubs restin' my weary bones.

   They are adding another slide this fall (Raptor Reef will be closed for two weeks during construction) that will debut on Nov. 9. Called the Cobra, this tight-twisting slide will be the first of its kind in the Northwest.

   After a brief respite for dinner at the Triple Play restaurant (typical amusement park fare like burgers and hotdogs, but also options like chicken salads and sandwiches), we closed out the evening bowling (blacklight bowl is 12-3 daily and Friday and Saturday nights, too), rock climbing, and playing in the arcade. We closed them down at 9:30 and bid adieu after a long, but incredibly fun day.

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