Mini-Cation Post #12 – Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark

Wow where to start, this one is probably going to be a long one but oh so fun.  Crooked creek is probably one of my favorite parts of the whole Great Wolf Lodge trip.  Lay back in a tube and just relax while the water flows you around the lazy river, perfect for when the babies want some down time and Maddisyn actually fell asleep while we were just floating around it was perfect.

Thunder Bay is the outdoor portion of the water park but is not open until Memorial Day weekend so i was not able to try that out or take any pictures of it.  Want to relax in the hot tubs?  Perfect you can choose one of two in Manitoba Tubs.  There is one for people age 21 and over so you can relax without a bunch of kids running around or one for the whole family to enjoy which I know my kids certainly did enjoy.  Big foot pass is a fun area where the kids can jump, or climb with the assistance of an overhead net from one side of the pool to the other on giant lilly pads, my kids loved that part.  Plus there was a floating snake in the same pool that they could climb all over and while in the same pool a small wall separated basketball nets where you could have some water fun with your kids or they could interact with other kids, this part of the pool is called Chinook Cove and is 4.5 feet deep.

The water slides are probably my kids favorite part of this all and there are slides for kids of all sizes.  The little ones can play in Whooping Hollow on the kiddie slides where kids under 48″ only are allowed to use the slides (adult supervised of course).  Maddisyn loved climbing up the stairs and sliding back down to her dad and I who were waiting at the bottom for her.  Alberta Falls is a four story high water slide that goes in and out of the building while you ride on a tube, super fun.  There are three water slide options in this area, one you can ride with up to three people and there are specific tubes.  The other side you carry your own tube up and you can ride either single or double down here.  I seen people bringing kids younger then Maddisyn down but I don’t think that she would like the water in her face so it would not work out for her.

The last area I have been saving is Fort Mackenzie. Fort Mackenzie is a four-story interactive tree house water fort offering 12 levels of super-soaking fun for the family. Younger kids can climb with their parents to reach the slides at the top. The older ones will love making their way over suspension bridges and cargo nets to spray stations and soaker buckets. (Watch out below!) The grand daddy of soaker buckets is the 1,000-gallon tipper that sits atop Fort Mackenzie. Every few minutes, the warning bell clangs, and the bucket begins to tip its contents over the roof and onto the giggling group below.

Here is a video i took of the bucket dump as well as a ton of photos I took that I wanted to share, just click on the thumbnail to open the picture and view it full size.

The last thing I want to talk about here is the most important thing.  We have been to Great Wolf Lodge before and this never ceases to amaze me no matter how many times i see it.  The lifeguards and their reaction time is awesome.  They test the lifeguards occasionally by floating a doll named Timmy into the different pools at different times without letting the lifeguards know they are there, they then watch to see how long it takes the lifeguard to react and get Timmy out of the water.  The one lifeguard I saw do it was amazingly fast how quickly he saw Timmy and we were in a pool full of people and Timmy happened to float underneath Lees tube at the time.  Lee then got to witness this again a little bit later and this time the lifeguard dove in jacket and all on to save Timmy.  I then got to see them jump in after a little boy who lost his footing and took in a bit too much water.  I have never had to use them but am extremely thankful for the lifeguards there and how fast they can react.  Kudos Great Wolf Lodge for ensuring your lifeguards are well trained and on the ball with everything.