Great Wolf Mason Questions

[guy1115]

We are considering taking the family to GWL this weekend. I see many room types are already sold out for the days we are looking at. I was curious, what are normal waits like when the resort is busy for the slides? Also, any must-do's or suggestions for a 10 yr old? Thanks in advance!

[malem]

I was recently there in December when the resort was nearly sold out.

 

Wait times for slides varied substantially throughout the day, ranging from walk-on to as long as 45 minutes. The longest were late Friday evening and from around 11am to mid-afternoon on Saturday. The water coaster (Hydro Plunge) and family slide (River Canyon Run) usually have the longest lines, so seize the opportunity if you see a short wait on either of those. If lines for all of the slides are long, that might be a good time to try some of the other waterpark attractions or to take a break.

 

The must-do slides are the water coaster & family slide that I mentioned, Triple Twist (which uses the green intertubes), and Coyote Canyon (called the "toilet bowl" by most guests & lifeguards). Triple Twist is most fun (read: thrilling) with a single intertube, but hang on tightly to avoid falling out!

[BB1]

I would suggest first off to check out their website for further information and ways to contact the resort directly for details.

Last year I did visit the waterpark and I'll have to admit, it's a solid line up. Malem sums it up accurately but for me last year the lines were small on Friday early-mid afternoon and will grow as the night prolongs. On Saturday, it's really a wild card as usually the lines will get long, about 30-45 at the max, but bearable. It is DEFINITELY a Winter activity I suggest doing and don't forget about the fantastic views of Kings Island!

Hope you have FUN!

[Cdeq]

I was a dispatcher there this fall (I worked for 3 days and found it wasn't a good fit for me).  The longest lines would be for the coaster and family raft beacuse of only have 1 dispatcher and 1 guard on bottom. The slides you bring your tube go by quicker. 

[jcgoble3]

I was a dispatcher there this fall (I worked for 3 days and found it wasn't a good fit for me).  The longest lines would be for the coaster and family raft beacuse of only have 1 dispatcher and 1 guard on bottom. The slides you bring your tube go by quicker. 

 

At the holiday party, the lower floor of the slide tower (the tube slides) also had only 1 dispatcher for all four slides and 1 lifeguard at bottom for three of them (plus 1 for the toilet bowl, most likely only because it's physically impossible for one lifeguard to cover all four). So that made them take almost as long as the upper floor (coaster/raft). I actually felt that the upper floor lines moved faster than the lower floor lines.

 

Also, I was not impressed by the fact that they had one single lifeguard covering the entire wave pool. IMO a wave pool of that size should have at least four lifeguards.

 

Bottom line: their staffing levels suck.

[Top Flight Back Deck]

It's fun, and some things you'll wait for, but it's a once in awhile thing anyways. The park hasn't received an upgrade in years, or potentially since it was built. I prefer Kalahari for indoor water parks, I had a huge blast there.

[malem]

^ They received Triple Twist in 2010, after opening in 2006. Unfortunately, the lighting package there hasn't worked for the past two years.

 

I'm hoping that one of the tube slides gets a Slideboarding retrofit, as happened in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

[Cdeq]

 

I was a dispatcher there this fall (I worked for 3 days and found it wasn't a good fit for me).  The longest lines would be for the coaster and family raft beacuse of only have 1 dispatcher and 1 guard on bottom. The slides you bring your tube go by quicker. 

 

At the holiday party, the lower floor of the slide tower (the tube slides) also had only 1 dispatcher for all four slides and 1 lifeguard at bottom for three of them (plus 1 for the toilet bowl, most likely only because it's physically impossible for one lifeguard to cover all four). So that made them take almost as long as the upper floor (coaster/raft). I actually felt that the upper floor lines moved faster than the lower floor lines.

 

Also, I was not impressed by the fact that they had one single lifeguard covering the entire wave pool. IMO a wave pool of that size should have at least four lifeguards.

 

Bottom line: their staffing levels suck.

 

They were understaffed when I was there, but the thing with those bottom slides is they bring there tubes with them so you don't have to belt to bring the tubes. The belt when I was there broke about 3 times in one shift. 

[Italian Job 2005]

I also prefer Kalahari for indoor water park resorts.  They seem to pay more attention to detail and are intent on providing a great guest experience as well as maintaining and updating their parks and facilities.  Too bad we don't have on here in Mason.