ROUND ROCK, Texas – Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, touted as one of “America’s largest indoor waterparks” is set to open in Round Rock, just north of Austin, on Nov. 12.
Officials with the resort have not yet mentioned how the COVID-19 pandemic might affect the opening of the waterpark but they are giving an inside look at the 350-acre resort complex with a hard hat tour.
The Kalahari Round Rock Resort is expected to have 975 guest rooms, five restaurants, 10,000 square feet of retail space and 200,000 square feet of flexible meeting space for conventions and events.
Twenty pools and whirlpools along with 30 waterslides will be located throughout Kalahari Round Rock Resort and attractions will include FlowRider, a rock-climbing wall, a 23-foot LED projection TV screen, an adult grotto swim-up bar, cabanas and waterfalls.
According to resort officials Kalahari, 22 life-size sculptures will be located throughout the property, including 12 elephants, seven zebras, a mother and baby rhinoceros, and a cape buffalo. Each sculpture weighs up to 10,000 pounds and some measure up to 10 feet high.
The Kalahari Resort in Round Rock is expected to have 223,000 square feet of waterpark which would put it at No. 2 in size behind DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey, a 370,260 square foot waterpark, which is expected to open sometime in 2020.
That ranking is according to Trip Savvy, a website that lists America’s second-largest indoor water park as Kalahari Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, which is around 220,000 square feet.
The African-themed resort and water park will be located on U.S. 79 near Old Settlers Park.