Looking for a family weekend adventure, in Ontario, that is available year round? You should consider Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara.
Logistics
Great Wolf Lodge has locations across North America. We live approximately 2 hours from the Niagara, Ontario location so obviously that made the most sense for us. The Resort is located at 3950 Victoria Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 7M8
Phone: (905) 354-4888
You can book online (which is very simple and user friendly). You can choose room type and include add ons such as the Paw Pass and dining options;
Paw Pass: $69.99; Great option for teens and children. Includes;
One MagiQuest game and choice of classic wand or topper
One Animal at Great Wolf Stuffing Station
30 Paw Points at Northern Lights Arcade
Your choice of two games of bowling or one game of mini golf (in season)
One digital Paw Prints water slide photo
1/4 lb. Fudge from Bear Claw Cafe
One Colour-Your-Own item in Cub Club
One pair of Wolf Ears from Trading Post Gift Shop
Meals:
Inclusive Meals (Adults) $59.99;
Inclusive Meals (Child) $29.99;
Wolf Wake Up Breakfast $18.99/person
Various room options available.
There is a large parking lot available and parking is free.
Waterpark
Great wolf Lodge has both indoor and outdoor waterpark facilities. Our visit was in late April, and this is Canada, so we stayed inside.
This is by far the most impressive indoor waterpark I have ever seen. we took Audrey (2), Jeff (35), myself (32) and we all absolutely loved it! The water park has something for everyone.
Audrey had to be measured when we entered. They then gave her a bracelet, she was an orange, that informed the lifeguards which slides she could go on. Other than infants Audrey was the smallest size, and she had 4 slides she could use. However she could still access the lazy river (with parental supervision) and the "splash pad" activities. Jeff and I took turns going on some slides as well.
You get access to free towels for everyone in your party as well as free lifejackets for the kiddos.
There is a swim store at the entrance to the waterpark where you can purchase a locker to store your things if needed. We arrived before check in so our room was not ready. We purchased the medium locker size, for approximately $10 for the day. It was the perfect size for our diaper bag, my purse, our coats, clothes and shoes. This store also has bathing suits for the whole family, beach clothes, swim caps, water shoes, earplugs, and other necessities you may have forgotten. In fact, Jeff forgot to pack his bathing suit...to go to a waterpark...yes, it happened. So we had to buy one, I was pleasently surprised at the price, extremely reasonable!
Hotel
Let's start with the parking lot. It is beautiful! Before you even get inside you know you are on vacation. They have lots of flowers and the lodge theme extends to the parking lot. Tons of photo opportunities available. They must have had fresh mulch put in the gardens because even the smell had lodge vibes.
Entering the building, you hit check in. It is spacious but typical check in desks.
Then you get to the "main living room" the main lobby of the hotel. Unlike other hotels this space really did feel like a family living room. There were always people hanging around, mostly in their pj's. It is well suited to the lodge theme, with wood accents and a fireplace. They do have an "Animal Friends Show" with talking moose, bear, tree, etc. It was fun for the kids.
The room: we stayed in the Kids Kamp Suite. In this room the kids get their own "camp" sleeping area, bunk beds with camping theme. Audrey still sleeps in a crib at home but she loved the "big girl bed" at the hotel. I felt comfortable letting her sleep in the bottom bunk as it had a nice railing on the edge. Other than the kids sleep area the room was pretty standard. We did get a balcony which we didn't use due to the snow that was coming down...yes in April. However, our view was of the back loading area. Not wonderful, but not the kind of thing we get upset about. Afterall we are on vacay.
Our only real issue with the room...and again not something we typically would even notice, but we were traveling with a toddler...the tv was not reliable. It froze a lot and there were only 2 kids channels. In the morning we ended up just putting Youtube on our phones for Audrey as the TV was too much of a hassle.
Food
If you are a regular reader of DB Adventures you have probably figured out that we are pretty laid back travelers. We do not complain about too much when on trips. However, I have to say that the take out options were not good. (It gets better though, so hang tight). Audrey was wiped after the afternoon at the waterpark so we decided to order take out and eat in our room. We ordered online, using a QR code, which I loved! #sustainable. The wait time was also reasonable. However, when we got the food to the room it was cold, like it had been sitting for hours cold. I ordered a sandwich and was actually not even able to finish it, this is NOT like me...like at all. I will eat almost anything. But I couldn't do it. We were also disappointed that the take out restaurant did not have fries. This seems like a major oversight for a kids destination.
However, Great Wolf Lodge redeemed themselves in the morning when we went to breakfast. The buffet was wonderful! They had so many options, definitely something for everyone. It was delicious, hot, cooked and delightful. When we return we will have to remember to leave the waterpark a little bit earlier so we can go to the buffet for supper as well.
Tips
Book early and keep an eye for sales. Great Wolf Lodge is not cheap. So get your booking on a sale. We did the math though and on average (for our family) a week at Great Wolf Lodge would be equivalent to an all inclusive in Mexico. So that is good to keep in mind.
Coffee. Parents you feel me. You can get take out coffee from the breakfast buffet that is included in your meal. Or you can buy coffee from across the living room for $8 for drip coffee. I mean I would likely do both but you do you 😉
Go to story time. For Audrey after the afternoon in the waterpark the story time was late. (It starts at 7:30pm) But it was so worth it. They put on a show, completely targeted to the kids, the Forest Friends do a show, you dance, read books and laugh. Just go...bedtime can wait.
Be supportive of all the parents. Probably my favourite part of this trip was the unspoken understanding that all of the parents had. We had each others backs and it was awesome!
Go for 2 nights. We only booked 1 night and it was not enough. If possible also go through the week. It was still busy, so I don't want to know what the weekend is like.
Overall Experience
Overall this was a fantastic trip. Now, almost 2 weeks later, our 2 year old is still talking about it.
Pack bathing suit, pj's and sweatpants
be supportive of the parents
play with your kids
be a kid again
The staff was amazing! The buffet was fantastic! The activities were perfect for kids! Before we checked out we messaged our friends and family to see when they would be able to come with us this summer. That says a lot coming from us!
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