JUST What I needed. . .

A Weekend away with friends!!! This past weekend we took an overnight trip with friends to The Great Wolf Lodge and Kings Island! So, obviously, I wanted to share pictures and my own "little" review for people thinking about going as well :)

- The Expense -

The first thing that I noticed, when booking the room, was that the pricing changes several times a day on their website and when you call in - the only thing they're going to give you is the best price on the website - nothing more. The rooms are very expensive - even when you deduct $30 per person as the waterpark ticket you're still greatly overpaying for your room. Now, everyone knows I'm a budget shopper. I love to get the best deals possible at home, so of course I'm going to do it on a getaway too! I searched and searched coupon codes. The thing is, is the GWL really puts a lot of time and effort into making sure that everyone that uses a code has the proof to back it up; for example they have a deal with pepsi right now that can save you, i think, 20%, so if you enter that code in it will save you the 20%, however, when you check in, you must bring the empty pepsi can with you that has the coupon on the can. If you don't have it, you'll be billed full price. It's like this with every coupon code. THANKFULLY I found one that was with a disney mailer and was able to save 10% and even after that, it was still $314 for the night! and $44 of that were taxes and fees - the rooms itself was $269 and some change! But something that GWL offers is a HUGE discount to anyone that works at a hospital, military, Fire, etc. Our friends saved like $125 on their room because the husband was in the military years ago. Of course he had to show proof when he got their, but I think it's great that GWL offers such a great disount to our heroes!!! They honestly deserve it. I was a BIT jealous, but they've BY FAR earned it!! Actually I think they should stay for FREE!

- The Room -

was nice. VERY clean (I'm a fanatic when it comes to hotel cleanliness). Landon had is own "Wolf Den" which was like a little cave that had bunk beds and his own TV! He thought that was the coolest thing ever! The TV also had nintendo but it was like $5 or $10 for 60 mins which I thought was too expensive since no one will spend much time in their room. It should have been free, in my opinion. . .Not that any of us would have played it, but that's the point! It should be free! LoL.

- The Waterpark -

was FUN!!! It was crowded but we expected that since it was a holiday weekend. The rides were awesome! I get motion sick very easily so I couldn't do a lot but we did the family waterslide, which consisted of upto 5 people in a raft. It went super fast (of course we had 2 men in it, me and 2 little boys) and it actually made my stomach turn because as it goes up the sides and back down, it's gives a slight roller coaster feeling. But totally worth the upset tummy afterwards, plus it was a ride that we could do together with our kiddos! That is the only ride that you can actually ride together with small children. Landon loved it, the only issue was at the very end, we were backwards and he got splashed in the face with a LOT of water, but he wiped his eyes and kept right on going! They have other, smaller, open slides that were fun that they said my son could go down alone, however, it was MUCH too big for him. And he thought he could ride on his daddies lap when he went down but we were told that wasn't allowed, so that was disappointing. But when you first walk in on the left is the kids only area, which has age appropriate slides for the little ones. these slides are too small for moms and dads so you have to let your kids go by themselves. Landon went down them without a problem and loved every second of it!! There are life vests available for your kids. We did not put one on Landon because he wasn't ever by himself. We were with him at all times and we really thought it'd just weigh him down. On another note - they do shut down the pools kind of early. The ones outside shut down at like 8pm. which was a huge downer considering the fact that at least 3 other areas inside were closed due to "accidents". So please parents - if your little one is not potty trained, put a little swimmers on your kid - OR - if you buy a pack of SPLASHERS, swin diapers, it'll save you $25 off your room. (they have a promotional thing with them) just remember to bring in your proof of purchase. But "accidents" shut down the pools several times that day, and it's just not fair to everyone else!! Be responsible.

- The Food -

They have an all you can eat buffet which you can purchase for your family. It is expensive and we chose not to do this. Simply because we knew we could drive accross the street and get dinner for cheaper, however one of the friends that went with us purchased the buffet for 4, which included their 12 month old baby and of course the baby's not gonna eat steak so they kindly shared their buffet ticket with us. Which is not technically allowed, but they did pay for 4, so it seemed to balance out. The food was good. Hubby got the steak which he thought was awesome. Landon and I had hot dogs that were yummy.

We did purchase the all you can eat breakfast buffet the next morning so we could have a good, hot breakfast before we left for Kings Island. Normally this is 18.99 per person and children 3 and under are free, however, I booked it online as part of our package and got Breakfast for 3 for under $25, not including tip. The breakfast was really yummy. They had eggs, potatoes (that totally rocked) oatmeal, fresh fruit, french toast, pancakes, different toppings, bacon, sausage and more. This was a really good deal and a good way to start the day. We got to have a hot, filling breakfast with our friends before heading off to KI.

- OVER ALL -

A great experience! Now that we have stayed once, I'm on their mailing list and will receive special offers for return guests. I'm thinking a future, discounted trip would be fun, that way we could stay 2 or 3 days instead of one!! And of course have our firneds there again! We had 3 familes total - ALL BFF's - The other family couldn't make it, which stunk, but hopefully all 4 families can make it next time!! Landon had an amazing time with his buddies and it was so great to be able to share the whole experience together witch everyone! Just a note - DO NOT buy Kings Island Tickets from GWL! you can include that in your package but they're cheaper (like $20 per ticket) if you just buy them from Kroger!

Now for some pics!! Please keep in mind- we were at a waterpark filled with children so I was focused on my Camera's well being, not creativity! :)

On the way out of Kings Island - I saw this and had to take to a picture. What a beautiful way to end out 4th of July Weekend!!