(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with, nor have I received anythng from, Great Wolf Lodge for this review.)
{Argh, Typepad just ate my post. Now I have to start all over, even though it now has an auto-save feature! Grrr.}
So Wednesday was filled with anticipation for our visit to Great Wolf Lodge, because we had to go to Sophia's dance class, Chloë's dance class, and then Jack's soccer practice in the evening before we could head up to Williamsburg. To keep busy, the kids all helped me empty their closets and dressers of Fall/Winter wardrobe and replace it with Spring/Summer. Yay, it's time for that at last! (Although I'm still keeping Winter out, as I remember it snowed here in April a few years ago...) The busyness didn't keep the kids from barraging me with questions, though. "Are we going to Great Wolf Lodge? When? Today?!! Why can't we go now?? Is it time yet? What are we waiting for? Etc."
Finally, we'd finished up with classes and practice (which didn't go so well; Jack wants to quit soccer already!), and it was time to make our way north. Everyone was hungry, so we decided to stop at McD's for dinner on the way, thinking we couldn't bring outside food into the Lodge. (We were wrong.) I ordered a chicken sandwich for Rob and a 20-pc nuggets for the kids to share. I ate three of the nuggets myself, not having eaten all day; big mistake. When Rob found a giant pickle- and tomato-covered hair in his sandwich, we turned around and returned to the "restaurant" just in time for me to get out and yak all over the ground. But at least he got the food replaced, some extra fries, and the total amount recharged to our card...
Anyway. On to the Lodge.
(Hey, Great Wolf Lodge! If you're listening, and I know you're following me on Twitter, it would be a great idea to put a sign for the place on I-64 and also at the turn onto Rochamebeau, letting people know how long of a drive it is down to the Lodge. Just my $0.02.)
At check-in, the fam waited outside while I went in. Everything went swimmingly, and we even got a free upgrade to a larger suite with a fireplace, because the KidCamp Suite I'd reserved only came with two beds in the tent, and of course we have three kids. They switched us from a tent room to a cabin room, but that was okay since the kids didn't know what they were supposed to get anyway. Also, when I reserved us, Rob wasn't going to come, so he wouldn't have gotten a wristband pass to the waterpark. He changed his mind and came along at night - suckily having to work during the day - and they gave me an extra wristband for him at no extra charge! I was well pleased.
Speaking of the wristbands, they were so cool! Not only were they the waterpark passes, but they were the room keys, too. You just waved them in front of the door lock at your room, and it opened right up! Plus, they were an in-house credit system, too! You could pay for everything with your wristband instead of having to carry a wallet around. I loved that. It was a little too convenient, actually!
But I'm sure you wanted to see pictures, yes? Don't worry. I have a ton of 'em:
Once in our room, the kids ran right to their cabin to get changed into jammies. We didn't arrive in time for the 8PM PJ story time, but we had a few minutes 'til the 9 PM Clock Tower show about not being afraid of nature. The waterpark closed at 9 also, so there was no point trying to go that night. Rats!
Our crew heading down the hall to the show in the Lobby. Everything at GWL was rustic and wilderness-themed. Wood everywhere.
Waiting for the show to start. Sophia just pulls up a rug and lies down wherever she feels like it!
The giant Clock Tower in the lobby, where the critters all talk and sing about Mother Nature.
Haha, most kids sat up and kept to themselves, but Sophia just sprawled out wherever she wanted, to watch the show. And how does she do that with her legs?! My knees don't go like that!
After the show, we toured the Lobby and the rest of that floor, including the Gift Shop. There were these wolf statues everywhere, and Soapy squatted down and made friends with a few of them.
Our first glimpse of the waterpark, from above. See that giant bucket near the top right, that says, "Great Wolf Lodge"? It dumps 1000 gal of water every five minutes, and my favorite thing to do was stand under there and wait to be drenched. So fun!
Sophia loved to sit in this bear chair by the Front Desk. Every chance she got, she would run over to it and have a snuggle. (I swear the other kids were there, too!)
Sophie and Jack peeking out of their Cabin windows at us, when they were supposed to be settling down for the night! Chloë and Jack fell asleep soon after, but Sophie couldn't get to sleep for quite a long time. She kept chatting away to herself and us for a couple of hours. I couldn't blame her; I, too, was too excited to rest. I spent the evening poring over the next day's edition of Lodge Life to see what we should do and when.
Finally she slept, and so sweetly. I would stroke her little round cheek, and she would stir slightly before settling again. Always with the thumb in the mouth!
Another sweetheart. No, I didn't climb up to the top bunk to take Chloë's sleeping picture. Shame on lazy me!
Though I stayed up late (ahem, with Rob), I managed to jump right out of bed after my 0745 wake-up call. Very uncharacteristic of me, but there was stuff to do! (That's the mania part of having a bipolar mother: when there's fun to be had, I'm the one pushing them to go, go, go!) The Littles were sound asleep, but Chloë grumpily awoke when I turned on a coupla lights. She and I went down the hall to order the Non-Twins' birthday party package, and when we returned, they were just beginning to rouse. Everyone got dressed and ready, and we went down the hall to the restaurant for breakfast. But first, we encountered Wiley the Wolf for a character meet-and-greet. The Nons wanted no part of that, but Chloë was thrilled to pose with the mascot! (And yes, she does have on two different color flip-flops; we could only find one of each. Oh, well!)
The kids attacked the big bowl of half-and-half in the restaurant. When I was a kid, I used to love to drink them, too! Sophia was free for being 3-and-under, and I managed to get myself a kids' buffet price after explaining about my surgery to our awesome Server. And it was true, I ate less than a third of what the kids each put away!
They really chowed down. OJ for everyone, along with cereal, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, fruit - you name it! It was a great meal to start a busy day of play.
Almost as soon as we returned to our room to change for the waterpark, the kids' birthday package arrived! Paper went flying as they dug through the giant gift bag to sort out who got what. Jack commandeered the disposable camera (which he doesn't like to use, he just wants to have), Sophia took the fun birthday hat and the GWL stuffed waterpark wolf, and Chloë was all about her little gift bag with a giant candy bar and stuffed wolf keychain. There was a GWL t-shirt as well, and they can just share that as they grow into it. No one cared that they had to share the package, which was great since we'd deliberated over needing to order extra stuff.
The goofy hat was awesome, and she wore it all over the Lodge when she wasn't swimming, garnering many comments and compliments! It is now our official birthday hat, and I'm going to make anyone celebrating in our house wear it for their day!
This sign was posted on our door, announcing their special day(s) to passers-by. It was great, too, because that's how the kids knew which room to go to when they ran ahead of me.
We went down to the waterpark for a while after that, until it was time to do a free craft at the Cub Club. I signed the kids up for Cub Club membership, and they were given free keepsake wristbands as well as a certificate for a free meal and treat for the two birthday kids! I forgot my camera for that part of the day, but they each colored a Great Wolf Lodge-themed shrinky dink, which they really enjoyed watching shrink in the toaster oven. (Note to self: buy some for later!) The girls' were turned into necklaces, and Jack's was made into a keychain. We returned to the waterpark after that, for many more hours of play.
My kids are pretty chickeny, so we mainly stuck to four areas of the waterpark: the baby/toddler play area, the wave pool, the lazy river, and the family hot tub. On the lazy river, I'd get a double tube and put one kid straddling the middle, with another kid at each end, and push them around the stream. It was relaxing for everyone when they were tired of splashing and playing. Wish I'd gotten a picture of the three of them sitting atop a tube, though!
We had lunch inside the waterpark, and the worst thing imaginable happened to me: I got mustard all over myself trying to clean up the Littles' hot dogs! If you don't know, I have a major mustard phobia. I Freaked. Out!! I think I was in shock, actually, until I got my wits together and scrubbed it off with napkins. But some was under my wristband, and I couldn't get it out. Talk about nightmare!! Somehow I managed to survive, but I'm developing hives right now just thinking about it! Hehe.
At 1500, we retured to the Cub Club for another free craft time. Chloë is all about crafting, as you may remember, so she loved that. Here she is decorating a paper turtle, while Jack is making a Chinese lantern.
Sophia decided to make a lantern, too. I helped her cut the shapes and stick on pretty rhinestones.
The Cub Club was a really well-thought-out space for the 4-12 set. There was an abundance of great craft supplies, lots of fun toys, comfy places to rest and read one of the many books, always a kids' movie playing, and more. We especially loved Amanda, who worked there Thursday and Friday; she was tireless in getting all the kids involved in something fun, and she had the patience of a saint.
Most of the time, Jack was either pushing around a shopping cart full of cars and trucks, or playing on this really cool Little Tikes computer. Or... both!
Chloë's finished turtle - and you can see her shrinky dink necklace, too.
Included in the birthday package was a discount for color-your-own t-shirts, pillowcases or knapsacks. Sophie chose a shirt, Chlo the pillowcase, and Jack refused. Three times, he refused, until the girls were just about finished. Then, he wanted a t-shirt, too. Nope, nope, nope. Mama doesn't play that game. No means no! Chloë didn't want to keep coloring, so Amanda took her pillowcase and saved it until the next day.
The kids' finished art. Sophia didn't get the concept of "too much glue, honey," and it was everywhere!
One or both of the Nons spent a lot of time on the rug, watching a movie, while Chloë was doing yet another project. Always with the projects. That kid would have spent more time at Cub Club than the waterpark if I'd let her! (And if I could have left her there alone to do so, I would have!)
Finally, we left Cub Club and went next door to the Northern Lights Arcade. Also included with the birthday package were a bunch of tokens for play! Sophia did really well at bashing shark heads! Hmmm....
The arcade was a bit of a rip, since some games took 2, 3 or FOUR!! tokens. But we had a lot of fun there.
On the other hand, this guaranteed-win candy grabber claw game was awesome! They kids played it over and over, and each time they won a handful of candy - for one token each! They filled a paper bag with the loot. Just what they needed - more junk.
Jack loved riding this little fire truck!
...and Sophie enjoyed this little ice cream truck! We managed to collect a ton of tickets for playing games. I even found one that paid me 45 tickets per token a few times! In the end, it wasn't enough to get a whole lot, and they redeemed all their tickets for what? More candy!!
Jack had been wanting to go back to the room, to take a nap, all day. But I was determined to keep them up and get them good and worn out, so everyone would fall asleep at night. I did give in then and take them to our room for a breather, though. Everyone (not me) sucked on a Tootsie Pop from their candy winnings and chilled out on the balcony. It was a really beautiful day outside, and we enjoyed the rest.
Chloë on the balcony
It became clear then that Daddy wasn't going to make it to the Lodge in time for dinner, so we went down to the bar to order the large pizza and drinks that came with the kids' birthday package. After 15 minutes, we went down again to pick it up, and poor Soapy took a spill off a bar stool and hit her head. I'm so nervous about head injuries now, so I really checked her out before proclaiming her to be fine. We went back to the room, where she and I had our pineapple pizza on the bed. I have to say, and I am a bit of a pizza aficionado, that this was probably the worst pizza I've ever had in my entire life. There was also a Pizza Hut Express on the property, and I found myself wishing the pizza could have come from there instead of the restaurant. Ugh, it was awful!
Chloë and Jack both asked for pepperoni pizza, which they ate on the floor in front of the fireplace and TV, watching cartoons. Only, they picked off all the pepperoni and put it on the side. Why? "We don't like pepperoni," said Chlo. Well, why did you order that then?? Crazy kids.
We went back to the waterpark to wait for Daddy after that. Sophie had a brave moment and climbed up inside Fort Mackenzie, but then she couldn't get back down again. So, I took Chloë and Jack in hand, and up we went to get her. Jack cried the whole time, but Chloë was able to crawl through a place I couldn't - or wouldn't? - and bring her sister back to safety.
The kids loved to go to the family hot tub (there's another one for 21+ only) when they were chilly, and warm up. And the tub was really, really warm. When Sophie wasn't keeping to herself on the stairs, she was busy walking around the entire wall of the the tub, chatting up everyone in her way. There were lots of adoring looks and smiles. She made buddies with a lot of folks that way!
Chloë was tall enough to walk around the hot tub, so she also would walk back and forth, back and forth, chatting up people in her path.
Jack's favorite thing to do in the hot tub was sit next to Mommy and take off his life vest, enjoying a little freedom.
There were lots of fun things to do in the kiddie pool, so that was a favorite with all three of them. Poor Chloë. There were three slides in the kiddie pool, and she kept going down the two orange ones. I repeatedly asked her to try the yellow one, but she refused. It looked like so much fun, though, so finally on the second day, I carried her up there and sent her down the slide. Well, she cried and cried, and I felt like a crappy mother. I learned from that and will never, ever put her on a ride she doesn't want to go on again. Sophia, however, went down the yellow slide multiples times with glee!
Jack loved to play with the valves, which made water spray in all different directions. When Rob joined us, he was concerned about Jack touching them, thinking they weren't for kiddie play! I was amused by that...
Whee! Chloë taking a ride down an orange slide
OMG, this child. (Jumping ahead a little bit), on the second day, we were playing in the baby pool when Sophia decided to go down a slide. Like any mother alone with three kids, I was constantly turning my head in all directions to keep an eye on my widely wandering ducklings, so I turned to check on Jack and Chloë, and when I looked back, ,she was gone. Gone. I ran over by the slides and looked up there, but couldn't find her. I looked all over the baby pool, but she wasn't there. Finally, I told the lifeguard my baby was missing, and he blew three tweets on his whistle. A lifeguard supervisor came rushing over, and they locked down the waterpark. Sobbing, I told him her name, age, description, and what she was wearing. He was very professional, telling me to check the ladies' rooms while he and the other guards searched the park. I left the other two in the hands of the lifeguard in the baby pool and took off.
Well, she wasn't in either restroom. She wasn't in the wave pool. She wasn't in the hot tub. She wasn't anywhere!! I was bawling, imagining my baby girl facedown in the water somewhere, despite her life vest. It was awful. I was grateful to the guards searching for her, but I knew she needed me. Finally, I returned to the baby pool, and there she was, playing with her siblings. What a relief!! I can't even begin to describe the feeling to you. I ran up, and Chloë told me that Sophia had said she fell down and went under the water when she went to go on the slides! I cried some more and held my baby tight for about five full minutes, telling her how much I loved her and how worried I had been. She was fine, though, smiling and happy. Thank God. Thank God!! (Of course, I've been worrying about dry drowning ever since, but all is well...)
We finally found Daddy, who apparently had been searching for us for an hour with no luck, instead of having fun in the park. Poor guy! I felt really bad for him, even though I'd told him we'd be in the park. Guess we should have been more specific and stayed put, instead of doing our circulation amongst our favorite attractions. But, he'd gone to the room and had some pizza (blech), and then he played in the park with us until it closed for the night. Which wasn't long, not long at all. (Sorry, honey.) It was then that I managed to go down my one and only slide, and I realized for the millionth time that any big fun adventures will have to wait until the kids are bigger! This time is all about them. Just as well, though. It'll be over before we know it. :(
We also received a big ol' birthday cake for the kids as part of their package. I'd ordered it ahead of time to arrive after we'd returned from the waterpark and gotten dry, and it came right on time - when Rob and I were both naked. Sophie opened the door when she knocked, and the server may or may not have seen one or both of us in all our glory! Hee.
We sang to the two birthday children, and then Daddy cut the cake! Of course, I didn't get any. Wah. According to Rob, it was really good, too.
Nummy...
...nummy...
...nummy!
After cake, the kids washed up, brushed teeth, and went to bed. According to my evil plans, they fell asleep immediately. All three of them. Woot! I wanted to read the next day's copy of Lodge Life to plan our activities, so I sent Rob down to the Front Desk to get it. In the birthday hat. Lots of people looked at him like he'd had a little too much to drink, and smirked, but no one said a word!
I packed up our room to get ready for check-out the next morning, and told Rob exactly what to take with him when he left for work. So imagine my dismay when he forgot half of it, and I had to lug it all around the Lodge after we left our room the following day. Bah! I managed, though. I didn't even pay $20 to rent a locker, opting instead to hide our things under towels in the waterpark and leave them there when we went around to various things. It worked; no one touched a thing. Even when I forgot to take all our cameras with us.
For breakfast, we went down to the sweet shop and picked up doughnuts for the kids and a yogurt for me. We ate in our room, and none of the kids could finish a single doughnut. How weird is that? Ah, donuts. I miss you. (But not the sixty pounds!)
Friday was much a repeat of Thursday, spending time doing crafts in the Cub Club (Chloë finished her pillowcase and this time, when Jack wanted to color a t-shirt, I gave in. And he colored the whole thing without complaining, which he did every other minute of our time there) and making our way around the waterpark circuit. I missed Rob so much this day, but we had a lot of fun anyway.
For lunch, we dried up and went upstairs to the restaurant to cash in on the two kids' free birthday meals. Jack got another hot dog, Sophie ordered grilled cheese, and Chloë ordered spaghetti and meatballs. I managed to find a shrimp and crab salad on the menu that I could eat, but I was none too pleased when it arrived with a big, nasty hair in the middle. The manager came over and replaced my meal, and in the end, I didn't pay for anything but one kid's meal. Cheap eats!
At 5 PM, we had to leave the waterpark, dry off and dress the girls and make it to their special pampering appointment at Scooops Kid Spa. It was too much fun! The girls got to pick from lots of ice cream "flavors" for their various lotions, scrubs, and bath fizzies. Jack was perpetually curious about the whole thing but definitely deemed it too girly for him!
To keep warm, they were each given a special Scooops robe. Everything was over-the-top pink and ice cream themed. Too cute!
Sophie really ate up the whole treatment! Lesley was wonderful with her, soaking her hands in peach fizzies, drying off and rubbing her with vanilla lotion, and painting her tiny piggies in the neon pink Soapy chose. She answered a million of the kids' questions about what she was doing and why, what she was using, and what was next. She was really great!
The pretty manicure! She did a really great job keeping her hands still for the entire half-hour of Chloë's pedicure, but of course several fingers got smuged in the following hours. Oh, well. And she sucked the paint right off her left thumb. It still looks cute, though!
Chloë looked so grown up soaking in her chocolate foot bath, and when I thought about my big girls getting their mani-pedis done, I started to boohoo.
Poor Jack! He was so curious about everything, but when he tried to peek at Sophia's nails, she glared at him and told him, "No! You can't see me!"
.
Chloë was so thrilled with her "magenta" nailpolish and her pink toe separators. She kept those things for hours until I finally convinced her they were garbage and she could get rid of them!
The pretty pedicure! She has managed to keep them nice, and they look so adorable on her! I haven't managed to paint her toenails in a long time, but I think I will from now on.
Free ice cream from the sweet shop was included with their Spa treatments!
First, though, we went upstairs for Jack's special "pampering session." They had a Build-a-Bear-like fluffing station there, and he chose to fluff a wolf which he named Jacob.
Jack got a special wishing star to make a wish on before placing it inside Jacob. We don't know what he wished for; he wasn't allowed to tell!
We went down to the Bear Paw to get the girls their ice cream, and of course I bought Jack a cone, too. Their single scoops turned out to be more like doubles or triples, and none of them could finish! I would have loved to, but... can't, can't, can't.
The girls couldn't swim anymore because of their nails, so I had them sit and rest while I tried to take Jack in the water. He cried and was too cold, though, so we sat it out and waited for Rob to arrive. He finally got there, but he's sick again and didn't feel like doing much. We tried to sit in the hot tub with the kids sitting out next to us, but Chloë started crying about wanting to swim. It didn't seem fair, so we left. I really hated that Rob barely got to have any fun, though.
I remembered ten minutes too late that the Croc station closed at 7 PM (why so early??), so I tried to go into another gift shop to see if they carried Crocs. They weren't expensive at all (shocking!), and I wanted to buy a pair desperately for my ever-aching feet. Well, the shop girl told me to go up to the main store and talk the manager into opening the Croc station just for me, since we were leaving that night. So I did, and guess what? She took me downstairs and opened the shop! Just for me! I'm telling you, they really went above and beyond at this place, 24/7. I was so impressed. I forgot to take a picture of the Crocs, but they are plain brown, nothing special. So comfy, though!
Of course, we had to do the penny press, since we always get them and do them for our scrapbooks. It was the last thing we did before picking up our cake (they kept it all day for us in the restaurant fridge!) and heading home.
I did manage to speak to the General Manager about all of his wonderful employees, and I'll probably write a letter, too, full of praise. This is definitely a must-see place. I enjoyed myself immensely, and I know the kids had a huge, fun time. Great Wolf Lodge, we'll be back!
Fin.
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