We took an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge after getting a really good rate through a coupon code. After reading some of the reviews here, I had some trepidation, but we thought it'd be a fun time for our boys, ages 3 and 7, who both LOVE the water. It's so close to us (Buffalo, NY) we decided it'd be worth a try.

We had a BLAST! We just had a standard room, but it was fine. Absolutely immaculate. The boys adored the water park. Our 3-year-old went down waterslide after waterslide in the kids' area. Our 7-year-son swam and played water basketball and swam some more. It was very warm in the park (too warm, we thought at first, but once you're in the water it's nice) ... I'm usually always cold and even I was fine.

The staff was wonderful. Person after person took to time to engage the boys and tell them things about the hotel and the park. My 7-year-old has a disability and sometimes it's tougher to engage him than other kids, but they took the time and effort to do so. He loved it, and my very social 3-year-old was in heaven. Everyone was very polite and everyone was smiling.

Yes, the food is pricey. But it's comparable to other spots in Niagara Falls. We ate one meal there (dinner buffet, which had something for everyone) and brought a cooler with other food. All the rooms have fridges and microwaves, so it's easy to help your budget out a bit this way. The boys just wanted to gobble things down to get back to the water (and the arcade) anyway.

We'll be going back. And I just want to note again that the staff was fabulous, and I hope someone from GWL reads this and sees how much this little family appreciated it.

just back from a family birthday party at great wolf lodge.this place is perfect for people who dont want to leave the hotel.the people at the hotel are very helpful and always seemed to want to help. we rented a room for 2 adults and 4 kids so we stayed in a bigger suite it was nice and big clean and very comfortable.we choose the all inclusive option which includes a buffet dinner and morning buffet and pizza or lunch item and pop for lunch on check out day. the water park is great for the kids my bunch had a blast although they are 12 to17 .theres even a bar in the waterpark for parents to grab a cold drink. things a lil on the expensive side but u are at one of the 8th wonders of the world niagara falls.

Our last stay was 7 months ago with GWL. My wife sent my 6 year old up the stairs to go down one of the water slides and went to wait for him at the bottom. The staff determine that my son wasn't tall enough to go down on his own even though they allow him to do it several times before. They turn him around and sent him back down the stairs by himself without any supervision. GWL is a jungle when it is busy and my son was lost for several minutes. Even with him screaming and crying there still was no help from the staff. My wife finally found him and we left that day. Now my son is unable to sit in a room by himself without freaking out. We had wrote GWL several times about this concern and no response.

I would rate this more at 3.5/5.0 but half stars are not an option.

I went with my wife and three year old daughter on the first Wednesday and Thursday of February 2012. My parents joined us for just the Wednesday. We stayed in a Family Suite located in room 4064.

We all enjoyed the waterpark but had a few complaints. First, the water in the park was too cold. My daughter's lips would turn blue after being there for more than half an hour. They had a "kid's friendly" hot tub but that was busier than the actual main pools due to the chilly temperature of the water.

Second, the line-ups were longer than they needed to be as they would only allow one rider on the slides at a time. This meaning you had to wait for the person in front of you to be completely off of the slide before they would allow you to go. I can understand that on the Canada Vortex but the other slides it didn't make any sense and created a 30-45 minute wait per ride. This would really make me want to avoid a week-end or a busy day.

My last complaint would be the fact that my daughter was under 48 inches and could only go on one of the four kiddy slides or with my wife and I on the Wooley Mammoth. My family and I went to Zehnder's of Frankenmuth in December of 2011 and my daughter was allowed to go on the two bigger slides with an adult and she loved them, so she was quite disappointed she couldn't go on the same type slides at Great Wolf. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa were there to help on the Wednesday so we could enjoy some of the bigger slides. It would have been nice if they discounted my daughters pass to the park since she could only use maybe 50% of it.

If everyone in your family is over 48 inches then I am sure you will have a blast. For the amount of money they charge a family to attend there it would be nice if they put some of it towards heating the water a bit more.

They do have an outdoor hot tub for 16 years and up, as well as an indoor hot tub, 18 years and up which are nice to help you warm up. But once again if you are there with younger kids it makes it hard to take advantage of them.

We didn't eat at any of the restaurants so I cannot comment on the quality of food. I did however purchase 4 regular coffees on the Thursday morning for just under $12!!! There also is a fridge and microwave in the rooms if you wanted to bring your own food to save some coin.
Keep in mind no microwave popcorn allowed. I picked up lunch one day at Mr. Sub which is 2 minutes away from the resort. If you take a left out of the parking lot and drive 1-3 minutes you will come across a Mr. Sub, Subway, Tim Hortons, Bank machines, Shopper's Drug Mart and a 7-Eleven.

Our Family Suite worked well for us as it had two queen size beds and a pull out couch. There is also a half wall in between the queen beds and the couch creating a seperate area and a little extra privacy. The bathroom was very small but did the job. Once again the microwave and mini-fridge are an added bonus. Remember the reason why you booked your stay at this resort, I would assume it was for the waterpark so don't expect a luxury room.

The staff were all friendly and went out of there way to help you enjoy your stay. They do have several activities throughout the day for the kids as well as an interactive game called "Magi-Quest" which seemed to be a big hit with most of the kids ages 5 and up.

They only have two elevators which are in high demand so if you are able to take advantage of the stairs I would recommend it as I got around much quicker skipping on the elevators. Luckily our room was close to a stairwell, but some of the rooms appear to be quite a jaunt from the lobby and waterpark areas.

All in all in all we had a great time but will be even better when my daughter is big enough to enjoy all the waterpark has to offer.