Great Wolf Lodge, Kansas City, Kansas Indoor Water Fun All Year Long!
Written: Apr 15 '04 (Updated Apr 18 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: WARM WATER! Only bucket on top of treehouse seems cool.
Cons: Extras such as food and personal item are expensive.
The Bottom Line: A nice getaway for families. Good clean fun.
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Hubby wanted to get out of town. Spending so much with the little touches around the house can really soak the pocketbook. We needed someplace close and relatively inexpensive so we could have a little fun. Great Wolf Lodge, Kansas City, KANSAS fit the bill.
Overview
Great Wolf Lodge is a rustic themed water park, as well as having lodging. The theme is log cabin, with bears, coyotes, wolves, etc. The price for our room also included admission for four people to the water park. The stated special on the website had been $129, but this disappeared. We call the reservation number, 1-800-608-WOLF. The Customer Service Rep told us that if we decided to book right then, we could have the special rate we'd seen last week, ($129) otherwise it would be $179 or $229 on the weekends.
Check In
We arrived there about 2pm, although we could start using the water park at 1pm. Our room wouldn't be guaranteed ready until 4pm, but this wasn't a problem. Even though our room was 234, it was on the MAIN level. We used credit card type devices to access our room, as well as the fitness room, if we chose.
Check-in was friendly and fast. There was only one couple ahead of us. I had to sign that I received a room key, we received wristbands for the waterpark, and agreed to the room rate, as well as give vehicle information.
Our Room
Our room was clean, perhaps 50'x 15'. The lighting in the bathroom was a bit dim. We have 300 watts in our bathroom at home, but this barely seemed to have 60 watts. The stool flushed efficiently. The tub was made of textured fiberglass and had a clothesline to hang your wet swimsuits.
There were 2 queen beds in our room as well as a pull out couch. The next day my back was a bit stiff from the bed. A coffee table sat in front of the couch, and there was a small table with a couple of chair for dining, or whatever. We had a dorm refrigerator and a microwave. The wooden furniture was rustic split pine, devoid of bark.
We had a coffee maker, 4 mugs hanging on the wall, a hair dryer, whose bottom part was lit up for a night light. We had a patio to sit on. Make sure your patio door is locked! Ours wasn't. It is a theft waiting to happen!
Don't get me wrong. It appears to be a nice, new, neighborhood, but there is always a first time.
The "suite" was a long room, and the beds and couch were separated by a 1/2 wall, similar to some kitchens and living rooms. The space between the wall between the bed was less than 12" wide and made for tight walking. I suppose I could have gotten in on the other side, or used the other bed, but for some reason I didn't.
Make sure you are fully clothed when coming out of the bathroom. If not, make sure the drapes are pulled, or you could be putting on a show for folks walking by, at least on the ground level.
The radio is pretty crappy GE stuff. The channel fades in and out, tone is awful. Hubby tried to find some romantic music on the radio, but all he could come up with was Country.
Gift and Food Shops
Before I went to the waterpark, I realized I hadn't shaved my legs, nor brought along a razor. I went to the front desk to see if they had a complimentary one. They directed me to the gift shop, that had a lot of rustic type gift shop items. The gal directed me to a single disposable razor blade and a can of shaving cream twice the size of a medicine bottle for $3.50. I didn't want to be mistaken for one of the stuffed Grizzley Bears on display, so I bought it. Candy bars were $1. If you wanted something out of the vending machine, you had a choice of a bottle of pop, for $2, --- all the way down to the end of the hallway.
There was a nice little bakery. Hubby had a somewhat large sweet roll for $2 and I had a pecan roll for $2.50. Individual bottles of milk were $2. Fudge was $10/lb with smaller quantities and higher prices per pound available. All the items don't come to mind.
The WaterPark
Hubby and I checked out the indoor waterpark fully clothed with cell phone in hand. We got about 1/2 way in, and all of a sudden, I got DRENCHED! OK, the big 100 gallon bucket spilled over and I got in the way. NO! A kid was standing about 20 feet away and pressed a nozzle, making a 4' wide wall of water squirt a full 20' away! At least the water was a balmy 84 degrees. Always look up before you pass the treehouse on the left.
We got our bathing suits on and headed for the fun. It wasn't very crowded, perhaps 200 people in an area 300' x 300' roughly. (A pure guestimate, didn't have my tape measure.) The first thing we did was go on the "lazy lagoon." You sit in a tube with two handles, and get whisked around a 2'6" waterway that is about 150' x 75'. Water jets propel you around, but there are a few dead spots. You need to pretend you are in a canoe and use your arms for paddles, kicking off the sides as needed.
Next we went in the swimming pool. It starts off fairly shallow, and is about 3'6". It deepens to about 4'9" by the climbing rope. It is similar to monkey bars, and has floating "logs" that are anchored to the bottom of the pool. There are also baskets and basketballs for your pleasure, or frustration, however you look at it. There are a couple of floating animals that are anchored to the bottom, floating for you to climb on.
Are you a slide person? There are about 3 long, tall slides. Hubby went on two, but I wasn't that brave. You sit on one of two tubes, and slide down on a stream of water, twisting and turning all the while. There is also a large pool outside, probably between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
If you'd rather be in a hot tub, there is one for the family, and another for adults only. The 21 and over hot tub is at a higher elevation than the family one.
Little kids have their own playground as well. Zero depth, and gradually getting deeper, various playtoys and a couple of slides about 15' tall.
There is even a spa here, as well as a video arcade. The arcade was all but abandoned, and I didn't check out the spa.
We had fun here, and hope we've given you an idea of somewhere to go for a get-away. I'd give it higher stars, but it seems a bit pricey.
Here is a link to Great Wolf's recreation:
http://kc.greatwolflodge.com/waterparks.asp?bhcp=1
Directions: Here they are from your part of the woods:
http://kc.greatwolflodge.com/directions.asp?bhcp=1
Great Wolf Lodge is located just off the Junction of Interstates I435 and I70, exit 13 headed west. 10401 Cabela Dr., Kansas City, KANSAS.
The new Nebraska Furniture Mart, and Cabela's are within 1/2 mile or so, on the same street.
Recommended:
Yes
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remnjava
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