KIC Holiday Party @ Great Wolf Lodge TR

[malem]

After almost two months of planning, the holiday party at Great Wolf Lodge finally happened!

Seeing everyone have such a great time was amazing. The freak early-December winter storm made travel difficult for many, and a few had to cancel at the last minute. Devan kept a near-constant watch on road conditions prior to the event, communicating with everyone to help people arrive safely. (Thanks again for all you did, Devan!)

I was organizing hotel arrivals and check-ins, so I stayed rather busy running between rooms and around the hotel to get everyone situated. This was more work than I thought it would be, but at least I got lots of exercise! Thanks to everyone who helped me with this.

The room party Friday evening was a lot of fun, though I missed parts of it helping late arrivals. I evidently need to study KI/CP ride statistics and the names/manufacturers of CP's flats, but I did win one of Devan's challenge coins by correctly answering that Paramount Communications purchased KI in 1992. After the festivities, LoraX, Katie.Greg, Mrs. No Chickens, and NoChickens gave everyone an awesome gift. (Thanks again! Both of those are very special.)

Of course, the highlight of the event was the huge waterpark, which has a great mix of activities. Only registered guests are allowed in, so wait times aren't too bad even when the hotel is fully booked. My favorite rides were the ProSlide hydromagnetic water coaster (Hydro Plunge) and the ProSlide Tantrum with the LED lighting package (Triple Twist). The latter ejected at least two of us from the inner-tube - it's important to hold on tightly!

Other must-dos include the family tube slide (River Canyon Run) and the tube slide that circles a bowl (Coyote Canyon, but even the lifeguards called it "the toilet bowl"). Those two are best ridden with as much weight as possible in the tube, staying under the posted weight limit of course. Rounding out the selection are two additional tube slides and two body slides attached to the 4-story treehouse structure. Besides the water slides, there were plenty of other welcome diversions: sitting in one of the hot tubs, floating on the lazy river, swimming in the wave pool, manipulating water effects in the "Fort Mackenzie" treehouse, and watching jcgoble3 scale a giant snake in the kiddie pool.

I will say that it is impressive how clean and well-maintained they keep this place. The floors apparently get sanitized nightly, the 84° indoor air is kept fresh, and the water lacks any "chlorine smell" from excessive disinfection byproducts. I'm usually bothered by the water in swimming pools and waterparks, but I stayed comfortable the entire time here.

The dinner and white elephant exchange Saturday afternoon was a great change of pace after many hours of waterpark fun, with lots of food and plenty of laughs. Sadly, however, I left my (rather funny) white elephant gift at home. As you can see, ohiocolts loved opening a box filled with Justin Bieber posters:



As we left the restaurant, the meetup devolved into a snowball fight as many prepared to head back home. Devan and Korbin thought it was funny to gang up on me since I wasn't wearing a coat, so I ended up covered in snow. Luckily, I managed to (mostly) block photographic evidence of this. I suppose this is a lesson to dress for the inevitable when attending a KICentral meetup after fresh snowfall. (What's a KIC event without a little off-the-wall silliness?)

A few of us returned to the waterpark for the last ~5 hours of operation that evening. Surprisingly, lines were shorter than they were Friday evening, so we got to do a lot. With the meetup nearly over, I could finally relax without worrying about who might be calling me. By the time the waterpark closed, only exscream team, Goki32, and I were left.



Overall the event was a huge success. GWL can be pricey, but the quality makes it a good value - especially at the price we paid. There's not much that's better than riding a water coaster on a cold December day, then waking up to a great overhead view of Kings Island.

[BB1]

Thanks for the PTR, it sounds like it all played out to the point! (Wish I would have went, sadly plans said other wise)

Now I wonder, what kind of coaster is that "Hydro Plunge"? That can't be no slide!

[jcgoble3]

Great report, and thanks for your work in helping organize this!

watching jcgoble3 scale a giant snake in the kiddie pool.

I wouldn't call the deepest pool in the waterpark outside of the wave pool a "kiddie pool". The kiddie pool would have been the pool to the left of the entrance as you walk in, between the hot tubs and the front wall. And that snake was difficult to get up on and difficult to stay on. Definitely not for very little kids.

[The Interpreter]

What about for big kids? Did you slither up there?

Terp, who likes to ask questions.

[jcgoble3]

Yep. Most of those playing on the floats were preteens to teenagers, but I spent quite some time on them myself. I've always said that I'm an overgrown kid.

[LoraX]

Great trip report. Thank you for organizing a great event. Both you and Devin did a fabulous job taking care of things which helped me have a much better time than I typically would have. (I have organized more events than just participate in activities. So that was awesome.)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thedevariouseffect]

Thanks again for the help if I did this all in my own it would have been stressful as all hell

Toast to you...wait...I need a drink for that...brb my drink before bed awaits...

Anyways good trip report. I miss it already, it's only been a week. I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could

[NoChickens]

Thanks again, it was a wonderful time.