My son (4) was afraid to try the big slide, but the kiddie slide around back was perfect. I am pretty sure he wore his life vest there. I KNOW he wore it all over the rest of SAB -- we have pictures! The kiddie slide is short -- like a slide at a playground -- and dumps them in just 2 or 3 feet of water. Tons of tiny kids were on it. What's tricky is that the baby slide lets out nowhere near the bottom of the bigger slide. You have to get out of the water and walk around the back of the big slide to get to the kiddie slide. In fact, my only problem with SAB is that it's so big and winding that it is easy to lose track of the kids! Suggestion? Get bright bathing suits. My daughter had a "hot cherry pink" tye-dyed wetsuit to protect her from the sun (a miracle item bought from Children's Wear Digest or CWD on the internet search) and I could see her from way across the pool! Overall, my kids LOVED SAB. The coolest thing was getting the kiddie meal at Hurricane Hanna's. For an extra $1 or so, it comes in a pail with a little shovel and then the kids can have fun for hours on the sandy beach section of the pool.
Enjoy!