Just back from Great Wolf Lodge

[MkyMws]

So it was our 1st time going to Great Wolf Lodge (Niagara Falls) & we got a great deal using the "inclusive" code, we got two nights in the regular room (two double beds, a couch, balcony, a fireplace), water park passes (from check-in Friday, Saturday, all day Sunday), 10 arcade tokens per child, a round of mini gol for each child, a craft for each child and meals for each day (2 breakys, 2 lunches & 2 dinners).

Overall I would score the weekend a 7.5.

Loved the size of the room, it was huge.

Really liked the wrist band as key to the room...I would love to see Disney do something like this. It would be easier for extra magic hours.

At 8 PM each night they had story night...it was cute, but the animals in the lobby got to be a little tiring.

Boy am I glad food was included in the price, cause if I had to pay for it, I would have complained. Dinner starts at 4:30, so you would think that everything would be fresh & hot for 4:30 or 4:45...not exactly the case. Most of it was just warm. There wasn't a real change from day to day on the menu either, let me rephrase that, there was no change except at the specialty bar (Fri. shrimp, Sat. veal).

I know the menus at most Disney restaurants don't change day to day, but you can go to different restaurants on site.

The deserts were good, but it was like they bought it all at M&M's.

They sell a GWL mug ($7.00) which is tall & skinny & lights up on the bottom. It's great, but instead of a one time fee and free refills like Disney, if you take the mug anywhere it cost $0.99 for a refill. I think they could charge a bit more & give you the refill (talk about nickle & diming you to death).

The waterpark is good, lots of variety. A small lazy river, 2 waterslides for little little kids (under 2), 2 for small kids (2-5), 2 for bigger kids (5-9). 4 tubes slides, 1 family tube slide, 1 roller coaster slide (like crush & gusher), 2 adult hot tubs, 1 kids hot tub, a wave pool & an outside pool.

The arcade or kids casino as I call them (cause you get tickets for how well you do), was ok with some variety.

Overall I say it was about a 7.5.

tim

 

[rodeo65]

Thanks for the review on GWL. I've often thought about booking it for a quick getaway in the winter, but didn't know anyone who had been to give me some first hand info.

The room size sound great - we like to not trip over each other if possible. If not booking an inclusive package are there restaurants nearby to go to instead of having the same buffet each meal? I seem to remember driving past it and thinking it looked fairly isolated.

Our kids would love the slides!!!

 

[treehugnmama]

we are local and love it there!! I can't believe how much the rates change from season to season. We vowed to go every January as the rates are usually at an all time low. Each time we have gone we have been invited to stay one more night for a really cheap price but it never has worked out as hubby ALWAYS is ready to go home lol.....me I'm never ready to go home just to the next trip .

i loved the bracelets too it is so convienent.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

They sell a GWL mug ($7.00) which is tall & skinny & lights up on the bottom. It's great, but instead of a one time fee and free refills like Disney, if you take the mug anywhere it cost $0.99 for a refill. I think they could charge a bit more & give you the refill (talk about nickle & diming you to death)

We LOVE the lodge. We have a five night/six day stay reserved for the first week after school gets out, and are so excited about going back.

We have four of our five nights booked under the "two inclusive" code. We love having the meals taken care of after a couple dining disasters in Niagara during the last trip (by disaster, I mean $100 for 2 adults & 2 kids at Perkins, and we only had burgers and fries!! ). We also love the idea of a buffet, considering we are feeding two 13 year old boys with enormous appetites!

As for the cost of the mug, I read somewhere (not long ago) that the average stay is only 2 nights. I would guess that they'd have a harder time justifying a $12.99 price tag on a refillable mug for 2 nights (with Disney, I would think 5-7 nights would be the average of many stays). At least with the $7 for the mug, you get a good souvenir for a reasonable price, then only pay for what you use after that. 99 cents for a refill is a great price in my book .

So the cups have lights on them now? The boys will love that . Last year's mugs are water-bottle style....tall, with a big long straws out the top....no lights on the bottom.

We'll be there in 27 days.....can't wait!

 

[SandraC]

We went Mother's Day weekend. The buffet was included. It's okay, but nothing special....definately not worth the $24.99 p.p they were charging.

The waterpark ROCKS!

The rooms are awesome!

I love the animal theme everywhere.

The story time is cute if you're 3.

Good weekend away. S