Travel: The Park at OWA
* I was recently hosted at The Park at OWA resort in exchange for media coverage. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
My family and I were recently invited to Foley, AL to visit The Park at OWA for the weekend. We decided to take advantage of the fun weekend getaway, especially since it’s only a 3.5 hour drive from Baton Rouge, LA. We packed up the car and hit the road around 10 a.m. on a Friday morning… the extra bonus for our son was being able to miss school on a Friday! Yeah!
OWA means “Big Water” in the Muscogee Creek language and is named that, because you have big views of the Gulf of Mexico from the peaks of the amusement park’s highest rides. The Park at OWA is on 520 acres and has several components to it: the amusement park, which has 21 rides; Downtown OWA, free admission to shopping, treats and dining in a family-friendly atmosphere; an amphitheatre; Foley Sports Tourism Complex; and a new, on-site TownePlace Suites by Marriott.
During our vacation, we stayed on-site at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott. My favorite part is that we parked at the hotel for the weekend and didn’t need to get back in the car until we left. Everything on the property is within walking distance. With this convenience, you can go back and forth from the amusement park to the downtown area and back to the hotel.
The lobby of the hotel was pleasantly decorated. There is a kid’s hangout room with TV and foosball table, that our son really enjoyed. The hotel also has an indoor pool and gym. In the morning we enjoyed a free continental breakfast in the lobby.
On Saturday we visited the theme park and had a blast! The park consists of 21 state-of-the-art, family-friendly rides and an interactive splash pad. The weather was very cool the weekend we were there, so anything with the water was out of the question! We enjoyed many of the rides at the park but our favorite was the Crazy Mouse. It reminds me of the Mouse Trap game we played as kids. The seat spins as you ride so you get a 360-degree view during your ride. This is the second biggest roller coaster in the park. We also rode the Freedom Flyer, which is the tallest ride in the park. This is an extreme ride of the swinging chairs that you see at amusement parks, except this one goes very high in the air and you are swinging at a 90-degree angle. The Wave Rider is another one that we rode that was very exciting. I actually started to get nervous as this one started up, because I didn’t realize that it spins in circles as it goes down the track. Not sure how I missed that! I was also nervous that our 7-year-old would be scared and want to get off the ride, but he was a champ and enjoyed it as well! The Wave Rider is a rare ride in the U.S. Only three of this style exist. How neat is that?!?! I really wanted to ride the Park’s signature ride that you can see from the main highway, Rollin’ Thunder. This is a smooth ride with a 90-degree, vertical drop that gets up to speeds of 55 miles per hour. Our son held onto me, and made me promise that I would not ride it. That’ll have to be on the next trip!
Overall, we had a great time at The Park at OWA and will definitely return, especially when we make our trips to Orange Beach, AL! You can plan your visit by clicking here!
