Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort is an indoor waterpark resort in Utica, Illinois next to Starved Rock State Park and the historical Starved Rock area. It opened in the Summer of 2005 and is Illinois' first indoor waterpark. The three-story resort has 92 rooms, an indoor waterpark, a fitness center, and 2 conference rooms. Guests can also buy or rent log cabins and villas located throughout the resort. Included in all cabins and villas are standard televisions, located in the main living room, and each bedroom.
Contents |
Inside the 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) waterpark, there is a large wavepool with two styles of waves, a smaller kiddie pool, two water slides, a lazy river, a hot tub, and an interactive water play area. Both slides empty into the Lazy River which is very fast-paced indoor river.
The new Enchanted Forest is a mini theme park within the resort. At Enchanted Forest, wristbands are required to go on the rides. As a guest of the resort you are given full access to the Enchanted Forest. There are nine total rides inside Enchanted Forest. There are also arcade games scattered about the facility, including ticket-redemption games, and other no-prize games. From the games that you can win tickets from, there is a small counter near the entrance where you can redeem them for prizes. The tokens you obtain are also usable at the Arcade next to the waterpark.
Adjacent to the water park is an arcade. Instead of using quarters, token machines are placed throughout the area. Each token has a cash equivalent of $.25. There is a fairly wide variety of activities, ranging from racing, shooting, sword-fighting, ticket-redemption games, capsule machines, sport-related machines and more. Tickets earned from certain games can be used to redeem prizes, ranging from small prizes like rubber toys to larger prizes like lava lamps and stereos.
During the summer, the Bandit's Bar & Grill and Bear Island are open. Bear Island is a playground for smaller children and features an 18-hole mini-golf course for everyone. The Bandit's Bar & Grill is located next to Bear Island and has a deck that sits in the middle the 80-foot (24 m) Curtis Canyon. The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, Pepsi brand beverages, and snacks.
There are multiple restaurants and cafes located throughout the Grand Bear Resort. This includes Lumber Jack's Pizzeria and Sports bar has three large high-definition TVs for watching sports games and also offers a delivery service. Inside the waterpark, The Wave Snack Shop, sells sandwiches, ice cream, salads, and a variety of Pepsi products. The Honey Pot Sweet Shop candy shop offers twelve flavors of ice cream and sweet treats such as chocolate-covered strawberries, hand-dipped taffy apples, and fudge made right in front of you. Finally, the Grizzly Bean Cafe offers a private blend of their coffee, along with other food such as muffins, pastries, bagels and other breakfast foods.