Places we have been.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Great Wolf Lodge Resort in Niagara

We had our weekend get-away at the Great Wolf Lodge Resort with our friends, the Ocaba family. It was also in time for their daughter Trisha's birthday celebration.

We booked a family suite in advance to avoid the last minute rush. Since it was our first time in the resort I took the liberty of browsing through the internet for any information and tips about the resort. I have been a fan of Trip Advisor for some time now. I find their reviews and photos very helpful especially to the first-timers. Most of them mentioned that although there are restaurants there, it is advisable to bring food as the suites are equipped with microwave, coffee makers, refrigerator and a dining area. Generally, the reviews are positive except for the long queue during check-in. We planned and arranged to bring our own food and drinks. Likewise to avoid the big crowd during the weekend, we opted for an overnight stay on Friday and Saturday, instead of Saturday and Sunday.

Instead of us driving in two cars, we opted to take one car and left our friends' car at the Visitor's Parking in the condo complex. I had to get a permit from the Security Office, it was quick though. We started off our place at around 2pm and arrived at the resort at around 3:30pm. The weather was so nice then, lucky huh! As we approached the front desk, there was no queue at all and we got in to our suite quickly.


The Facade of Great Wolf Lodge Resort.

The Family Suite is reasonably big enough for a family: 2 separate queen beds, a living room, a small dining area, a pantry area (with microwave, refrigerator and coffee machine), a vanity sink, a safe, a washroom and a balcony. As soon as we were settled in the room, we had our Filipino snacks called Palabok (courtesy of Lovely). It was certainly delicious. I thought Herbert wouldn't like it but he really did. Thereafter, we geared-up for the water activities.

The Suites

The Family Suite. Check this link for other types of suites:
http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/suites/suites

We were all so excited when we had a glimpse of the water park from the elevator area. We first stopped to collect our towels and proceed to the park area. The place is amazingly beautiful and huge. We had to deposit our cameras in the lockers provided inside the park so we could all go together for the rides. There are quite a number of activity areas around and every area has a dedicated Life Guard who looks after everyone. They give the parents the freedom to enjoy the activities instead of watching their kids. But of course the toddlers cannot be left alone.

Visit their website: http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/activities/waterpark



Fort Mackenzie. A 4-story interactive treehouse water fort.


The Rainbow Lake ( a wave pool). I love this, it is so much fun surfing with the waves.


Recreation Pool. The family can enjoy basketball games and other fun activities here.


Kiddie slides area.Grizzly, Eagle, and Bobcat Falls- the Three tube slides covering 1,100ft. Twisting inside and outside the Lodge before dropping into a plunge pool below.



The bar by the Rainbow Lake.


Kiddie tube rides




The Canada Vortex, this ride though short but exciting. You will go around three times before you will be dropped into the water.

The Niagara Rapids Run - is a roller coaster ride. So far the best of all rides. Highly recommended.

We are not so happy with the long wait to these tube rides. The queueing time is definitely a lot longer than the ride.


At 8pm, the guests are invited to the lobby for the story-time.


The souvenir shop at the lobby. There are not many interesting stuff around.


The Restaurant

It is very important to note that during breakfast time there is a very long queue in this restaurant. It was already past 9am but still guests are on queue. I learned that some suite rates include free breakfast. Certainly, not a good idea.

The Northern Lights Arcade - where you can enjoy video games and redemption games.

The Forest Friends Show


At the Lobby - I love the theme interiors.


The Facade

After check-out, we drove to Lundy's Lane where a popular Canada One Outlet Mall is located. It was not my first time here. This time, there were not really good deals as last year. We scanned through the boutiques but we didn't find much interesting deals. Subsequently, we headed back to Mississauga. The weather was so great, it felt like summer. However after just few hours, an unexpected storm hit us. Fortunately, we were already home. It was such a wonderful weekend for us. I do recommend it for families especially during winter when the outdoors don't offer anything to do.




























Posted by: Jernie

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)