Great Wolf Lodge Opinions??

[mrs. magoo]

Hello,

I was wondering how many of you have visited one of these hotels and indoor water parks. I was thinking about going to the one in Niagara Falls in June for a night. We have 4 kids ranging in age from 3 - 8. Would there be enough for everyone to be happy? They look great from the pictures, but I was looking for opinions from people who have visited in the past.

Thanks
Kathe

 

[ntburns22]

We go every 6 months to the one in Sandusky, Ohio. My DD6 and DS3 love it. There is enough to keep everyone happy.

****added*** We normally check in around noon. We are given our park passes. The rooms are normally aren't ready till 3-4. There are locker rooms to change and there is also rental lockers. We normally stay the nexy day until 3. The locker rooms have showers and hairdryers which makes it nice not to have to leave soaking wet. FOr the little one we bring our own swimvest. They seem to only have a handfull of the smaller vests and we were never questioned about using our own.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

We are headed to Great Wolf for the first time in July. Friends that have been said it was great. We are also only staying one night, but taking advantage of the waterparks for two day.

Anyone been?

 

[clh2]

We've been to the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells a couple of times in the last 2 years. Love it, love it, love it!

Visit 1 was DH, me, DD (10 at the time) DD's favorite cousin (11 at the time). The girls had a blast, and literally did not leave the water park area during the day. My ONLY disappointment with the first visit, was DH encouraged me to go treat myself in the spa with a massage, and I debated too long, and then there were no openings for any type of service by the time I decided I should treat myself. In a 2-night visit, I did not hear "i'm bored" from anyone.

Visit 2 - 1 year later - DH could not come, so it was just me and the girls (who were 11 and 12 at that time). Unfortunately due to schedules, we could only stay 1 night this time. DD and Fav.Cousin did not leave the waterpark, and I managed a manicure in the spa, since I planned better this time

There is plenty to do for all ages at GWL, and I've been very impressed with the lifeguards. There are active things to do, there are passive activities (i.e. lazy rivers).

We are hoping to go back again at the end of this summer (rates drop right before school starts as long as schedules permit.

And there is plenty to do, both in the indoor and outdoor pools for kids of all ages.

Edited to add: The girls actually did leave the waterpark - to go to Wiley's Woods, which is kind of a nerfball play area, which is 3 stories tall. They loved this too!

 

[Bob Slydell]

We've also been to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky (back when it was being called Great Bear Lodge) and we had a blast. DS was 3 at the time and we had to drag him out of there the night we got there and the next morning, he was waiting by the door for them to open the park for the day. Our only complaint was a lack of food choices, but the road that the hotel was on had plenty of other choices, so as long as you didn't mind leaving the resort, you had plently of options.

 

[Disney Ella]

I think your kids are the perfect age for Great Wolf Lodge and will love it. We went to the one in the Poconos on April 17 for one night and the kids had a great time. My kids are too old for the toddler area, but it looked nice, with two sets of slides, one set that went straight down for the littlest ones and one set that curved a little for the more adventurous older toddlers.

Your older kids will like some of the bigger raft slides and water roller coaster (if tall enough). The one thing they don't tell you about the water roller coaster is that the raft must contain 200 pounds. My two daughters wanted to go together, but had to split up and ride with us instead because they wouldn't have been heavy enough. We all thought the water roller coaster goes faster than the one at TL - a positive for us.

The bottom of the wave pool is padded and the waves are gentle. The lazy river is a lot of fun too.

We had a wolf den room and the kids really enjoyed having their own TV. They weren't so happy with the beds, though. The mattresses were vinyl and the sheets were rough, scratchy flannel. They insist that they would stay in the wolf den again, though, but want to bring sheets from home.

We had plenty of room for the four of us in the room and the only negative I found was the room heater. It got down into the 30's the night we were there, and the heater was so loud that it woke us up every time it came on.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Thanks for all the great responses. I am completely sold on it. It sounds like it will be a great time.

It is good to know that you can check in at 12 and use the facilities. Thanks.

Will they only allow Coast Guard approved life vest? My youngest is 3 and a daredevil, but still uses a bubble in the pool. Just wondering.

Thanks again
Kathe

 

[ntburns22]

Will they only allow Coast Guard approved life vest? My youngest is 3 and a daredevil, but still uses a bubble in the pool. Just wondering.

Thanks again
Kathe

My DS3 uses a speedo swimvest. It is not Coast Guard approved, but we have always used it and we see a lot of people uses them too. Sorry but I do not know what a bubble is.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Nikki,

A bubble is what we use at the YMCA and our pool. It straps on their back and buckles in the front. I used one when I was a little girl and all of my kids have used one, but many places will not allow them because they are not coast guard approved, but it is good to know that they allow the Speedo suits. My friend has one of those for her son. Rowan probably will not need any device by the end of summer since he tells me "Mama I going to be on swim team too"

He cracks me up.

Thanks,
Kathe

 

[ntburns22]

http://www.speedousa.com/index.cfm/...oductID/f8d5b9de-7729-42ce-9ff4-7178d29d8080/

This is what my son wears there. It really is a great time. That is why we go twice a year. It is nice too because it is only about 30 minutes away.

Thanks for the bubble info. I never knew what those were called.

 

[laura001]

I just received a flyer in the mail from Great Wolf in Niagara Falls (don't know why because I only live about 10 minutes away from it..oh well) supposed to save you $100.00 per night Canadian.

It has a promotional code for savings in it...
the code is NGRAND

It says to see details at www.greatwolf.com or call 1-800-605-9653

Hope it helps.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Thanks. That is exactly why I am looking at going in June before the promotion is over. Thanks

Kathe

 

[4nana]

THX, enjoying all the replies,
we're doing our 1st trip for Father's Day weekend at Williamsburg GWL with the family.

 

[budbeerlady]

We have been to the one in Travese City, MI. DD had a great time. She had a kid cabin room, with the bunk beds and little cabin in the room. It was great. It does get loud in the water park, but she enjoyed it. She went to story time and played in the archade. It was fun and we would go back again.

 

[PixiePop]

We are going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Virginia in May. I can't wait, I think my son will love it.