Great Escape

Great Wolf Lodge turned out to be a perfect family-friendly time away. From the moment of arrival, the entire experience is designed to amuse and engage kids. A talking moose, bear and racoon plus a pack of howling wolves greet everyone and they also entertain during an interactive story time at 8 pm every evening. And as cheesey as it may have seemed, it was all really well done.

I loved story time as there were about 40 young kids surrounded by just as many adults gathered together to watch, listen and participate.

The water park is about the size of 4 football fields and about 6 storeys high and full of water slides, wave pools, huge buckets to dump on innocents below, hot tubs and mercifully lots
of coffee and corona.

While the environment is overwhelming at first, the various 'rides' down huge water slides were really pretty fun. Picture yourself in a raft hurtling down a water-filled pipe that descends and ascends 6 storeys, roller coaster-like, so that your screams are punctuated with gulps of water. One slide called the Vortex begins as you fly really fast through a pitch black pipe before being thrown into a huge ring that you encircle several times before plummetting again into the waiting water below. (I didn't like that one.)

Everyone - kids ranging in age from 2 to 12, as well as their parents and aunt had a blast!

The accommodation and amenities were well thought out as part of the overall experience. A wristband provides access to rooms and other activities throughout the resort and with it you can charge additional costs to your account. Restaurants, the Trading Post store, Aveda spa were all right there so visitors can truly spend all their time (and money) without leaving the premises.

The guys went golfing for a day, while my sisters and I went to Niagara-on-the-Lake the following afternoon for a wonderful lunch and some shopping and exploring. I hadn't been there in about 20 years and I definitely want to go back for wine touring another time. (We think we were dining across from James Woods as well - very exciting.)

On the way home, I took the scenic drive along the Niagara Parkway, before hitting the highway. Along the way (I drove by myself to ensure I'd have some 'me' time following so much togetherness), I admired the scenery, stopped for freshly picked cherries and raspberries, and happily sang along to the radio. Turned out to be a wonderful escape afterall.

Photos: Story Time; Ben, Bret, Michael, Mitchell, Claire, Liam and Aleah at Story Time; Matthew and Dawn at the Water Park; John and Ben give thumbs up