Parent Club Review: Great Wolf Lodge (2)

There is a reason why Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls was the 2009 Traveller's Choice Winner: Best For Families; it accommodates adults and children.

For example, the buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) have adult stations with made-to-order omelet and pasta. One can also find child-sized islands where the child can take a non-breakable plate and choose from child-friendly foods (ie. french toast sticks, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese). When our waitress realized someone didn't finish their apple juice a take-away cup was offered so the juice could be finished later. Smart!

Other food choices include Pizza Hut Express, and the Bear Claw Cafe. Even the Trading Post Gift Shop (on-site) has single serving cereal containers and milk in case you choose to have breakfast in your room.

*Note on the Trading Post Gift Shop: Surprisingly, the gift shop has items starting as low as $2.00 - so the kids can bring home a souvenir and the parents don't have to break the bank. Additionally, Simmonds notes that many items are produced in the Niagara region - supporting the local artisans and local economy.

After meeting Wiley at breakfast - we head to the 10am breakfast show in the lobby (free for all). The kids LOVED it!

We walked the animal-image carpet (in fact - they do a great job of animal imagery throughout the facility) to the Cub Club Room where the kids could craft their hearts away. They chose to colour their own Great Wolf T-shirt with fabric markers (cost $15.00). Free day long craft activities are; making a fruit loop necklace, stamping a bookmark and painting. The staff in the cub room were friendly and very helpful. (Note: child-sized potty in the cub w/c!)

From there (and no, we haven't even been to the water park yet!) we head to Scoops Kid Spa where kids can wear a tiara and enjoy ice cream themed spa treatments. Oh la la!

My prince, taking advantage of adult time, headed over to the Iron Horse Fitness Room for a workout.

I, on the other hand, ventured to Elements Spa (right beside Scoops) for a Pumpkin Wrap (ask for Carolina!). It was a decadent treat!

A quick lunch later...and we hit the water park. It had a little something for everyone. Big slides for family tubing, four sizes of water slides (ranging from appropriate for teens & adults to toddler sized), swimming pool, wave pool, frog pond and our favourite the lazy river. We went mid-week and it was busy but not overpopulated.

After a few hours of water play, we changed activities and went outside to try out the Wacky Wilderness Mini Golf. Usually, mini-golf with un-coordinated youngsters is not-so-fun, but this course has animated animals which move and talk at each hole giving you something to giggle at while you wait your turn.

We also hit the Northern Lights Arcade (and we aren't an arcade family so this was somethin'!). The skeet ball tables were returned to again and again.

It is true as, Mr. Simmonds so eloquently put it; "Great Wolf is making family traditions one family at a time". My kids are already asking to go back for their birthdays. I'm sure they would love the upcoming Easter Eggstravaganza complete with the Easter Egg Hunt. A Dad might like the Father's Day race cars & drivers activity. A Mom would enjoy the Mother's Day Tea (a spa treatment would be nice too).

Though the building does have WiFi; I didn't see one parent checking their blackberry. What I did see was families playing and re-connecting.

We will go again - and recommend others to go too. The fact that everything is housed in one building makes it feel like an all-inclusive resort (psst...a meal package is in the works so it will soon feel even more all-inclusive).

Thinking of going?...check out the Great Deals section of the website. Also, save by looking into into corporate rates (Teacher's Union for example).

Read Great Wolf tips from our own Parent Club readers - HERE, HERE and HERE.

Follow on twitter: @GreatWolfLodge
Surf their site: http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/lodge