booking process, was fresh and tasted great. My favorite choice was the omlet station, where the chef will create your specialty omelet with all the fixins -- and by the way they have feta cheese if you ask for it! Have your cameras ready, because you just may encounter one of Great Wolf Lodge’s mascots: Violet, Oliver or Wiley. During breakfast, we were delightfully surprised when Violet came to our table and greeted the children, happy to have her picture taken with them. If you are obsessed with vacation photos like I am, you will be thrilled to learn that Shutterfly.com has an awesome deal with Great Wolf Lodge, where you can receive a free 8x8 book. Just grab the card in your room, with the code, and upload your own photos. In case you forget your waterproof camera, the lodge’s shops have plenty of stock available. After breakfast, we relaxed by the Great Clock Tower in the Grand Lobby for story time, which is repeated three times throughout the day. We then went to the water park and this is when I had another milestone moment and realized just how brave and fearless my little girl, Jaslene, has become. Ready for action, we started with the kiddy slides, and before I knew it, she was doing belly slides and wanted to try the bigger rides. My four year old princess was pulling me to take her to the Totem Towers, which is described as “twin three-story slides offering the fastest escape route out of the Fort Mackenzie
tree house.” Off we went, I got a wedgie and felt I was about to fly off the Totem, but she was sporting a huge smile and a desire to go again. My partner and I swapped places, and I was able to catch my breath with Max in the kiddy pool. Virtually every area of the water park is supervised by lifeguards and we felt extremely safe, also lifejackets are available free of charge on a first come, first serve basis. The staff was absolutely awesome; they have games to keep the kids entertained throughout the day, and they make balloon animals. Kids and adults can get magic wands and go on scavenger hunts throughout the resort and even battle a dragon in MagiQuest games located all over the lodge. There’s even an ice cream-themed manicure at the kid Spa, an arcade, a pizza place, a sweets shop, a bowling alley, miniature golf, as well as a spa and gym for adults. The fun never ends at Great Wolf Lodge. If you go, say hi to Bill the General Manager, Brieanna the Front Office Manager and Michael the Manager and let them know that Manny from Connextions Magazine highly recommended this resort. We had such an amazing experience, that we returned a couple of months later for Fathers’ Day. Email me your comments, thoughts, or questions and I will try to address them in upcoming issues, (velasquezmanny@gmail.com), or follow me (@mannyvp), also head over to www.facebook.com/ gayfamilytravel for engagement and interaction with myself and other proud gay parents.
www.connextionsmagazine.com
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