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 The enormous indoor water park at the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ont., features water slides for all ages. And because the water park is exclusive to lodge guests, there are few lineups. (Derek Ruttan, London Free Press) |
I knew Great Wolf Lodge was a big hit when my 4-year-old said: "Mom, can we live here?"
But it was no surprise to me the kids -- and even us adults -- wanted to ditch our Toronto digs and move into this Niagara Falls hotel. At Great Wolf, life is fun, and very, very easy.
Our visit to the lodge and enormous waterpark started with a check-in that was actually entertaining for my children. Sure there was a long line at the front desk, but it moved fast and there was plenty of distraction. Kid-level windows embedded in the desk lit up to reveal talking wildlife when touched. Moose and squirrels talked to all from a stage nearby, and life-like (but fake, no worries!) wolves were mounted high up on lodge's gigantic stone chimney and fireplace. It was akin to entering Yogi Bear's den or the mountain abode of Grizzly Adams.
Even more distracting were the wristbands issued to each member of the family -- kids included -- fitted with Radio Frequency Identification technology. No room keys, no locker keys, no cash or credit cards necessary. These nifty waterproof bracelets open your room door, unlock waterpark lockers, and help you charge stuff to your room, all with a flick of the wrist. It also helps ID your children if they get separated from you. My son was still wearing his, two weeks after our trip.
Our room was another great distraction. We rented a KidCabin -- a room with a log cabin inside. It had bunks and a flat-screen TV. Our kids thought this was pretty fabulous -- they asked dad to build one when we got home.
Once moved-in, our kids beelined it for the pool. Make that 10 pools. Great Wolf Lodge has 9,500 square metres of indoor waterpark called Bear Track Landing. At 27.5 metres tall, it's among the largest in North America. There are 13 different slides, all different sizes -- enough to keep toddlers, kids, tweens, teens ... even adults interested. Some are simple and fun. Others will scare adults silly.
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To have the most fun on the slides, kids need to be at least 105 cm tall -- and the rule is enforced strictly by lifeguards. My youngest -- an 18-month old -- had simple fun in the zero-depth entry pool, though she was intimidated by even the shortest slide. My 4-year-old was game for everything. I'd say if you're bound for Great Wolf, to get the most bang for your buck wait until at least one of your children meets the height restrictions.
There's a 12-level treehouse waterfort called Fort Mackenzie that's interconnected by suspension bridges, cargo nets and web crawls. Oak buckets dump water on people below. A lazy river, an awesome wave pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, and waterpolo courts are there for variety.
Outside the pool, there's lots to do, though my kids were very focused on the waterpark. There's an arcade, a fitness room and a playroom for little ones called the Cub Club. Parents can pre-arrange daycare while in the spa or at dinner. There's an 18-hole mini-golf course on the hotel's grounds.
Opening next door in 2008: Ripley's Aquarium of Canada.
To calm the kids down at night, there's storytime in Lodge's giant living room.
Overall the experience was exhilarating.
I'd go back. And like I said, my son wants to move in. He's still got the key to prove it.
For more information on the Great Wolf Lodge at Niagara Falls, visit greatwolf.com.