Friday, March 16, 2018

Great Wolf Lodge!

The boys had two half days in the middle of the week.  We knew we would be taking days off of work to be home with them, so we threw caution to the wind and said, "Let's take the boys to the waterpark for the night!".  So, after stalking prices at numerous waterparks, we booked the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky for Wednesday evening, only calling them out of school for a half day on Thursday. 

We kept this a surprise from them and wanted to reveal it after picking them up from school on Wednesday.  I had a coworker cover my last class of the day so I could leave around 12:15pm.  I met Scott and the boys at the house, revealed we were going, and we hit the road!

It was smooth driving all the way to Sandusky and when we arrived at check-in, we were upgraded to a family fireplace suite!  This was the room we actually wanted, but it sold out when we deliberated about going overnight.  The boys got new wolf ears that were cool colors for a change and we all were excited to see our room and get our suits on for the waterpark. 







We swam and enjoyed the lazy river and slides for two hours before it was time to eat some dinner.  I brought fruit and vegetables from home so we grabbed a pizza upstairs at the "Hungry as a Wolf" cafe and took it into the waterpark.  It was fun to have a little pizza party in the waterpark.  After eating, we swam some more and decided to go up to our room around 6:30pm for showers and pajamas.











Favorites in the waterpark on our first day were definitely Evan's slushie and he loved the slides!  Especially the one in the play structure.  Sean was a big fan of the pool and the hot tub!  He went down all the slides several times, but you could tell they weren't his favorite.  Both boys did the rope/logs activity and made it across multiple times.  It was a fun day!

After washing up, we explored the hotel and played some games in the arcade.  We got Sean chocolate ice cream and Evan some dippin' dots before they did the Clock Show and Story Time.  I'm bummed to report that both boys found it to be quite boring and we left in the middle of the story.  It was also very hard to hear.  The speaker's voice did not project well through the lobby.  We went back to the room and let the boys watch a movie that was on TV until they fell asleep, but unfortunately, we had some very loud people above us that were running around or jumping off beds for over an hour.  I ended up having to call and complain to the front desk before they stopped.  Scott and I enjoyed the fireplace and watched TV/sat up and talked with some adult beverages until it was lights out for us too.











The boys were up early the next morning so we let them watch cartoons and we made breakfast that we brought from home.  The boys had cereal, some fruit, and a cinnamon chip scone (from Trader Joe's).  Scott and I had some homemade breakfast sandwiches that we warmed up in the microwave with some fruit.  The waterpark didn't open until 10am so we had a long morning waiting for things to open up.  I really think that's something they need to reconsider as a lot of families were wandering around the hotel aimlessly looking for something to do.  The only thing open before 9am was the arcade.  So, we played a few more games (which Sean won a bunch of tickets from). 




I let them each pick out something small from the Gift Shop and they also cashed in on their tickets from the arcade.  Sean got a Great Wolf Lodge bracelet that had 3 snap in charms that also fit in Crocs from the arcade and he picked a stationary set and a keychain from the Gift Shop.  Evan won Fun Dip from the arcade (yay sugar!) and he picked this cool Melissa and Doug water art book that was Great Wolf Lodge themed.  Good choices all around! 

Finally the waterpark opened.  Scott took all the bags to the car since we had to be out of our room by 11am and I grabbed a table closest to the lazy river and the slides.  It was a great location!  We swam and did rides until 11:30am and the kids wanted lunch.  We grabbed a few things we could all share from the snack bar inside the waterpark and combined that with the fruit and vegetables I brought.  We swam again until about 2pm and decided to get changed and head home. 










Favorites on the second day in the waterpark included the hot tub and the slides.  But, on the second day the lazy river was the top choice for a lot of the time!  The boys pretended the double slide was a ship and they were hunting for treasure.  We went around and around that river many times with them while they pulled us on the tubes.  It was so fun!

We enjoyed our stay at the Great Wolf Lodge!  It was a lot for the middle of the week and I'm really dragging today back at work, but I'm glad we escaped for the night.  The boys loved that it was a surprise!  They both slept most of the way home and while I needed a nap too, I stayed awake to keep Scott company as he drove.  And then it was back to reality with homework, packing lunches, doing laundry, and Sean's piano lesson in the evening. 


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