Cleveland Indians Snow Days – Review

This year the Cleveland Indians have come up with an ingenious way to make use of Progressive Field during the winter – they have filled it with snow! Snow Days is a unique and fun winter event that is a sure cure for cabin fever. With ice skating and tubing/sledding for children and adults,  & hot chocolate, there’s something for everyone.

We recently stayed downtown at the Doubletree Cleveland Downtown and while there we had a chance to visit Snow Days.

We arrived at Snow Days on a Friday evening and were pleased to see the air was filled with Christmas music, happy children, laughing teenagers, and smiling parents. The first thing we did was have a look around to try and decide what to do first.

Logan took his time overlooking everything and wasn’t in a hurry to jump into anything just yet.

Thrill-seeker Kora, however, immediately set her sights on the Batterhorn (sledding hill) as soon as she saw it. She immediately started asking if she could do it. Logan’s eyes were pretty wide, but he wasn’t protesting so the four of us followed the easy to read directional signs and floor markings to our sledding destination.

We found the kids lane for The Batterhorn and when we reached the top of the lane, Kora practically ran and jumped into a snow tube. Thankfully, she did have some help from the extremely friendly and helpful Snow Days employee in charge of getting the kids into the tubes and down the hill.

With Kora now sitting in the center of the tube,  she looked back at us and was all smiles. Then off she went down the hill.

I was a little a nervous watching her sled down alone – I initially thought Tired Dad Dave or I would be riding with the kids, but the tubes only held one person. However, at the bottom there as another attentive employee who helped the kids get out, instructed them to stand to the side, and stacked the snow tubes and then signaled the person at the top that she could send down the next child or parent. Tired Dad Dave then crammed into a tube and went down so Kora wouldn’t be hanging out without one of us for too long.

Next, it was Logan’s turn. After seeing his sister sail down the hill while spinning in circles, he decided that maybe sledding wasn’t for him. So he and I went down the stairs and watched as Kora and Tired Dad Dave rode down again and again. She was having an incredible time and was all smiles by her 3^rd or 4^th ride Logan and I could hear her laughing from the minute she got in the tube at the top until she slid to a stop near us at the bottom.

After a couple of trips through a simple hay maze, Logan was asking what else there was to do. He watched Kora tube and laugh, a couple more times and then decided he would like to try it too. Kora was thrilled that he did and they walked together and she told him all about it, while holding his hand for reassurance.

We got to the top of the hill again and I wasn’t certain he would go through with it. However, after Kora went down and then Tired Dad Dave, Logan climbed in the next tube and off he went.

When I got to the bottom, I heard Kora ask him if he liked it. He said “Yes! And you know why my eyes were doing like this?” He was blinking hard and squinting. “Because I was being very brave.” He was so proud of himself and went a second time. By the third time he was hooked and having a blast.

Here’s a video of Kora & Logan on The Batterhorn in the kids lane. If you listen, listen you can hear Kora laughing the whole way down.

Tired Dad Dave tried the adults Batterhorn and enjoyed it so much he went a second time. I didn’t try it but it did look like fun. It was set-up so the riders come down in different lanes racing and then the race is played with a 30 second delay on the big screen so you can see yourself and your friends as you sled down the hill. So fun!

I loved the Cleveland Indians use of the big screen. Not only did it show the sledding races on a 30 second delay on one-half, but it occasionally showed holiday movie clips on the other. Very fun!

While ice skating looked like lots of fun for others, we ran out of time and didn’t get to try it. Seeing all of the smiling faces and laughter coming from the skaters as they glided by us around the perimeter of the event and on the good sized skating pond, did make it tempting to try and squeeze it in. It will definitely be on our to-do list next time because I think Kora & Logan will love it! At this point in the evening we were freezing and decided to head back to the Doubletree Cleveland Downtown, our hotel for the evening, to warm up with a swim in the pool for the kids and rest in the hot tub for Tired Dad Dave and I.

We really enjoyed Snow Days and were very glad to get the chance to check it out. If you and your family enjoy outdoor winter fun, this is the place to be. Snow Days is only open until January 2, 2011 so if you’re in town, don’t miss out on the fun. If you go Kora and Logan (and Tired Dad Dave) recommend a trip or two or three.. down The Batterhorn.

Thank you to Doubletree Destinations for providing the opportunity to review Snow Days and the Doubletree Cleveland. No compensation was received. The opinions are mine and that of my family.