Fun City: Something for everyone in Burlington

Let’s say your family has varied interests. The younger kids love waterparks, the older kids are into laser tag and the adults really enjoy a cool bowling alley.

For an Iowa getaway that could satisfy all those interests — and a few more — Pzazz! at the Catfish Bend Casino could be just the ticket.

The resort, near the intersection of Highways 34 and 61 in the Mississippi River community of Burlington in southeast Iowa, is actually fairly unassuming from the outside. As I understand it, the original hotel has been on the site for some time, and the resort and casino features were added in more recent years.

We visited with another family during our spring break, and immediately knew our kids — ranging in age from 5 to 10 — would be right at home.

Our first stop was the Huck’s Harbor waterpark, which includes both an indoor and outdoor section. Since we visited in late March, the outdoor portion (actually the larger section) wasn’t yet open, but our kids spent hours in the indoor portion, which includes a smaller area suited for toddlers and two larger waterslides for older kids (and adults, of course!).

There’s plenty more to keep you occupied, too, including an electric go-kart track with both full-size and kiddie-size karts (my favorite part of the trip, to be honest — the adult carts can reach speeds up to 30 mph!); a laser tag arena; a large game arcade (one of the biggest I’ve seen anywhere) and a brightly-themed bowling alley (which we didn’t even have time to check out). There’s even a golf course associated with the resort, though it’s a few miles south.

The waterpark passes come free with your hotel stay. Most of the attractions can be paid for using a reloadable, debit-style Fun Club card that can be swiped through electronic readers around the complex. It can be a dangerously easy way to spend lots of money, though, so be careful with your cards!

There are also four restaurants on site, including a buffet, a Japanese teppenyaki grill and sushi bar, and a family-style diner with burgers, fries and the like.

Our favorite dining spot was the Boogaloo Cafe, a more traditional sit-down restaurant with dozens of TVs showing various sporting events and a menu that includes plenty of kid-friendly choices.

Frankly, we didn’t check out the casino on site, so I can’t speak to that. We’re not much of a gambling family. But if you enjoy the gambling scene, it looked much like the other casinos I’ve visited in the past.

We spent two days at Pzazz! and never had a need to leave the property. I’d recommend it highly as a family getaway.

Check out more about Fun City at THEIR SITE.