We went down for my son's eighth birthday, on a holiday weekend no less. With the early check in times we arrived for 1 pm. The lineup to get the rooms was quite long but a staff member stood at the end and asked people if they wanted to just skip the lineup and head for the park. He checked our confirmation number, handed my the wristbands and off we went; we could have put our luggage with the consierge(sp) but decided to just leave it in the car.
We played in the park for hours and then returned to check in around 5pm. Well, we got upgraded to the Kids Cabin room from the standard. The boys were thrilled to have their own little space, with their own tv.
An excellent trip with lots of activity and still hardly any waiting (except for the waterpark food,... 6 people still couldn't quite get the hang of who's order was who's. But we got free pop and veggies because of the wait).
The weather was lousy, but we didn't notice because the pools were warm and everyone was so happy to be there.

The hotel- they call it a "resort" was nice but way too expensive for what you get. The "suites" are just glorifed hotel rooms with bunkbeds. It is very clean and the staff were very friendly. The food was very expensive. Either do take-out or delivery from somewhere else.

The waterpark was nice. We were there during a slow time- only 1/4 of the room were booked, so the park was empty. As others have mentioned be sure to bring your own pool towels. The ones provided are dinky and thin. There is another newer waterpark downtown Niagara Falls that is just as nice and you aren't forced to stay at a specific hotel. You can get hotel packages for that park too but at a much better price!

If you opt to go out for food be sure to try the Spicy Olive on Centre St. The food is awesome and the price is great for Niagara Falls.


I don't regret our visit to Great Wolf, the kids loved it but I don't think I'll go back again unless it either becomes all inclusive or comes closer in price to the other waterpark/ hotel packages.

This was our second time at Great Wolf Lodge as we live only 30 minutes away. We arrived on a Thursday prior to the Victoria Day weekend so it wasn't too crowded. I would definite recommend a mid week stay as you will avoid the big crowds.

Waterpark: Overall, this is a well run, quality waterpark. You can use the water park starting at 1pm on the day of your arrival (check in is not until 3 or 4 but your room may be ready early) and use the park ALL DAY the day your leave with check out at 11am (we just brought our bags to the car). Park was open from 9am to 9pm (I think it's open until 10pm in the summer) There are also free lockers available in the water park. Everything is based on a electronic bracelet. It becomes your room key AND credit card (which they'll connect for your at check in) This way you don't need to carry anything with you; very convenient. Towels are available in the waterpark (but you can't take them to your room and they are small towels)

Niagara Rapids Run is the only slide which you MUST be > 48" to ride. All others you can be under 48" if with an adult.
The 2 slides attached to Fort MacKenzie are for anyone > 42". These are not too fast a great for the younger kids (there are also kiddie slides for kids under 2). I wouldn't bother coming unless your children are at least 42" high.

Only complaint was Niagara Rapids Run (the one where a 'conveyor belt' helps to speed you up until you reach the water) was having mechanical problems and needed to be shut down a few times. They were able to resolve the problem each time fairly quickly. Wait times for this slide, Canada Vortex (think giant toilet bowl) and Wooly Mammoth (up to 3 can go together in an over-sized raft) were approx. 15 minutes; in summer and/or weekends I trust wait times could approach 20-25 minutes so keep that in mind. Remember, it only take 30-45 seconds to complete each run down the slide so there's a fair bit of waiting involved.

Wave pool is good with wave action coming every 10-15 minutes. Lazy river has some teens/kids running/splashing through water so it's not really a relaxing ride. Tube slides (1 or 2 together) are good and wait times were < 2 minutes. My youngest (5 yr) really enjoyed riding these with me.

Fort MacKenzie has tonnes of dumping buckets and kids 5-10 seem to really like this one; didn't see too many older teens here. My kids spent approx 30 minutes hear without getting bored.

There is also a good sized outdoor pool which opens after May long weekend. Great area for kids under 5 to splash around, I think deepest section is only 4". BBQ restaraunt ajoins.

Room: We had 4 adults and 2 kids; we had 2 queen beds and 1 pull out. Rooms was clean when we arrived. Each room has a safe, large bar fridge so don't be afraid to bring lots of snacks/drinks to save some money!). Sink/mirror is outside of the bathroom. We chose the basic room (didn't have the kids 'wolf den' or 'kid kamp'). You pay approx 25-30% more for these themed rooms but you really don't spend a tonne of time in your roomanyway; my recommendation; book the basic room and save your money. Before arriving ASK where your room is and try to get one as close to the water park as possible. Our room was at the very end of a loooonnngg hall (a 5 minute walk)

Food: Only had dinner this time. $20 for adults and $8 for kids 4+. (kids 3 and under free) This is a buffet so keep that in mind. For a buffet (which I am not a big fan of) this one is not too bad. There is a soup/salad station, stir-fry station, dessert station (with build your own sundae). Main courses were good. Expect to pay $75 for 2 adults, 2 kids. Pop/Coffee $2.50. Lunch is priced at $12 for adults and served until 4:30 so you could eat an early supper at 4pm and save money that way.

Also had pizza from Pizza Hut Express: pizza was ready in approx 15 minutes but as you can expect, approx 33% more expensive then a regular Pizza Hut ($18 for a medium)

Canoe Coffee: Good quality Van Houte coffee available with selection of bakes goods and juices. Large coffee is $2.50

Souvenir Shop/Trading post (lots of over-priced impulse purchase type toys your kids will ask for, so be warned). + clothing/ some drink/food items / toiletries

Staff: There must have been 20 lifeguards (all between 17-21 looking) on staff all whom were attentive to their stations. It's a busy place so I still wouldn't leave my kids alone. Waited approx 10 minutes for check-in and check-in process took 5 minutes. Staff at restaraunt were fine.

Extras: Story time at 8pm was a big hit with my 5 year old. There was approx 20-30 kids so come approx 10 minutes early to get a good spot in front (this all happens in the main lobby under the animotronic animals which are fun for the younger kids) Girl doing the read was energetic and kept the attention of the kids. At 9am they do something similar in the lobby (including a quick craft and 'tour' of the lobby area). There is also a 'Cub Club' area for crafts but you MUST stay with your child.

Arcade: These are games that disspence varying amounts of tickets when you win. All were well maintained and in working order. Approx 40 different game. Warning: This place is quite loud and majority of the games are geared for the older set (>7). It's all about winning tickets to 'buy' prizes. Of course prizes are worth a fraction of what you'll spend but hey, it is what it is. Older kids/teens will enjoy this.

Spa: Didn't use but it's an Aveda full service spa; reading brochure there looked to be a lot of options.

Summary: You will have initial sticker shock of room price but remember for the price you can get almost 2 FULL DAYS of water park. I would recommend the basic room and bring some breakfast items with you to help keep the costs down. GWL is not really near anything else in the tourist area of the Falls (at least walking distance) so all of your food purchases will be at GWL.

We visited Great Wolf Niagara for the 2nd time in October 2007.
If you hate crowds then I would strongly suggest you go the first week of October! It was a ghost town! I walked right up to the check in without having to wait at all. There were never lines for waterslides or the restaurant or anything else.

However...there is a downside to going at a very slow time. The restaurant did not put out nearly as much food as they had during our first trip (in March). Yet the buffet was the same outrageous price. Also, I felt that the food wasn't that fresh. The desserts in the Bear Claw Cafe had fruit flies on them! We mentioned that to the attendant who just shrugged.

We noticed a difference in the waterpark between our first and second visit to great wolf. There was noticeable wear and tear on the hottub and fake trees. There was also sand in the bottom of the family hottub. Overall, we felt the cleanliness wasn't up to the standard it should be.

On the positive side, it was really great that they still had all slides open despite the lack of people right up until closing at night. At 9pm we almost had the waterpark to ourselves yet it was still fully functional and staffed.