Great Wolf Lodge

We have just got back from a fabulous two and a half week holiday in Canada. I have lots to write about, starting with the last part of our our stay, at Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls.

Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) is a resort that caters to families with a variety of attractions, including an indoor waterpark, outdoor pool and splash area, mini golf, bowling alley, arcade, and laser tag. There is also their famous MagiQuest game (more on that later) and a variety of accommodation options, including regular hotel rooms, themed rooms and cabins for larger groups. My parents offered to take us and my brother's family when our visits to Canada overlapped, and it was the perfect place for us to spend a few days with each other with the kids.

We arrived early on a Sunday afternoon, after a long, traffic filled drive from Mississauga to Niagara Falls. Our accommodation wasn't quite ready, but that was no problem as we were still able to check in and access all the facilities anyway. We headed straight for the waterpark, which reminded me a little of of Centre Parks in England. This is the main attraction at GWL, and it is a popular option in winter for families wanting to escape the cold. It was still a good option for summer as well, as it meant you could enjoy a waterpark and not worry about being outside in the sun all day long. There was a wave pool, lazy river, a huge kids play structure with water flying all over the place, and a decent variety of waterslides for all different ages. 

We spent the entire afternoon between the indoor waterpark and the outdoor pool on our first day. Ella was keen to try all the waterslides so my dad, Mike, Ella and I went on those for a while. They had one ride called Niagara Rapids which was like a combination of a roller coaster and waterslide. Up to three people can ride together in a raft which is propelled in sections by a motorised track, travelling up and down hills in a similar motion to a roller coaster. It was really, really fun! 

Ollie loved playing basketball in the water, and on the lily pad rafts they had floating in the water. Some smaller slides for Ollie and Cam in the toddler area kept them both amused. Ella and Ollie loved the wave pool - but unfortunately, Cam found it too intimidating, which caused him to feel left out by his bigger cousins. Poor Cam! 

The most thrilling (scary) slide of all was called Wolf Tail. You start the slide by stepping into a "launch pad". The door closes and then there is a countdown and whoosh, the floor drops out from under you and you are sent into a free fall for about 8-10 metres, before looping around and coming to a stop at the bottom. My brother really wanted to go on it, but I was not so sure! The ride only lasts about 6 seconds, but the thought of having the floor drop out from under me was just too much. At the end of our first day, my dad and Mike went on the slide, but I still hadn't worked myself into trying it out (yet!)

I was really impressed with the cabins we were staying in. The decor was very inviting and there was a lot of room for all of us. We had an outdoor patio in the back with some classic Adirondack chairs which was a nice touch.

After a full day at the waterpark, we came back to the cabin for some dinner and then headed to the campfire to make some s'mores with the kids before bed. We were a bit disappointed to learn it was a gas fire, not a real campfire, but I suppose a real one would have required someone attending to it from GWL at all times. Still, we were able to toast marshmallows so I guess that was the most important part!

The next morning my mom and I went to check out the rest of the resort while everyone else had a slow, lazy start to the morning. We had heard about an activity with "wands" and wanted to check it out. This turned out to be a game called MagiQuest. This led us to discover MagiQuest, a live-action game spread across two floors of the resort. To participate, you need to purchase a wand for $20, which is reusable for future visits to GWL. Additionally, you must activate the wand to play the game, which costs another $20. There are also "wand toppers" available for an extra $25, featuring fun designs like dragons or unicorns—because, of course, what child would settle for a plain wand stick?

Despite the costs, the game turned out to be much more enjoyable than I had anticipated, especially for Ella. MagiQuest consists of various quests that increase in difficulty, each with a set of clues resembling a scavenger hunt. Players wave their wands at what they believe are the correct items for their quests, and if successful, the wands light up and confirm with messages like, "You've found the chest of gold" or whatever it was you were supposed to find. 

The great part is that even if you don't find the correct item, your wand will still activate the item, causing it to light up or provide a message. This feature makes it fun for younger kids who might find the quests too challenging—they can still enjoy waving their wands and watching things light up, talk, or move.

My mom and I returned to our cabin and gathered the kids to get their wands and start a quest. It took some time for us all to figure out the game, but once we did, it turned out to be quite fun.

After completing our first quest, we went back to the cabin for brunch. Later, we headed back to the water park for the afternoon. Ella and my mom, however, went to do one more quest at Ella's insistence. Ella was the perfect age for MagiQuest, really getting into the game. Ollie was a bit young but caught on with some help, while Cam was definitely too young to understand it.

Throughout the day at GWL, there are numerous activities for kids, both in the main lobby and by the outdoor pool. There’s yoga in the morning (Ella begged, "Please don't tell my mom" when she saw the yoga class happening), storytime, giant games, and a dance party every night, among other things. By the pool, the kids played bingo, participated in a hula hoop competition, and enjoyed a water balloon tossing competition. The more I saw of GWL, the more impressed I was. You could easily spend four to five days there without getting bored.

While at the waterpark during our second day both Ollie and I overcame some obstacles. First Ollie learned how to do this leapfrog activity (pictured below), which we initially thought he was too short for. We learned that if the height requirement wasn't met you could still take part as long as you had a parent in the water with you. Ollie quickly mastered monkeying across the net above or jumping to each of the rafts floating in the water, to get across to the other end of the pool. He was absolutely obsessed with this activity and did it over and over and over again that day.

As for me, I plucked up the courage to go on the Wolf Tail waterslide. Though I was very nervous, I went on because Ella wanted me to. I could tell she wanted to go on it but was too scared, and wanted to see my reaction first. Heart pumping, I climbed the stairs to the top of the slide, trying hard not to think about what I was about to do. However, when I got to the top I discovered they were having technical difficulties and the ride was closed! Argh! Ella was super disappointed to see me come back down via the stairs rather than the slide!

Later in the day, I tried again, this time with Mike by my side. There was a bit of a line at this point, and I had to watch as the 10 or so people in front of me dropped through the launch pad. I think waiting in that line, watching others drop, is the scariest part! Finally, I was next in line and... technical issue again!! Nooooo! By now I was thinking, maybe this is a sign. But I knew Ella was waiting expectantly at the bottom for me and I did not want to disappoint her again! The ride operator said it would just be 5-6 minutes while they reset the system so Mike and I waited it out. The next thing I knew, I was stepping into the launch pad and the door closed. There is a sound of a heart pumping while you wait for the floor to drop, just to add to your anxiety. And then comes the countdown... 3... 2... 1.... whoosh! The free fall you experience takes your breath away!

In the late afternoon Mike and Ashley took all three kids to mini-golf and I sat on the back patio enjoying a bit of piece and quiet. That night Mike and Ashley and I went out for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant close by while the grandparents watched the grandkids. Apparently Ella thought it was a great idea to play a game with Cam and Ollie with her wand, where she was the "Grand Wizard". I think all that that meant was that she got to boss them around. Cam was game for all this, but Ollie not so much. He's very used to his bossy big sister and could not be fooled into thinking it was a game just because she had a wand!

The next morning I took the kids for their last few quests while the others packed up the cabin. We spent the morning in the waterpark before heading off early that afternoon. Sadly our stay at Great Wold Lodge had to come to an end, but it's definitely a place I would go back to again!