CoastersRZ Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Lodge ready to howl BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER The buzz has been growing for months – but maybe we should call them howls. After years of planning and 16 months of construction, the Great Wolf Lodge will open the doors of its conference center, lodge and indoor water park Thursday in Mason, next to Paramount’s Kings Island. The $100 million project – nearly as costly as the $110 million National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati – hopes to attract people from hundreds of miles away to splash away the winter doldrums in a resort where rooms will cost $169 to $699 a night. This will be the eighth and largest resort nationwide to be operated by the Wisconsin-based Great Wolf Resorts Inc. Two more are under construction in Texas and Washington. Local officials also hope the north woods-themed lodge – where employees are trained to howl on a regular basis – will make waves in the region’s economy by helping convert the Mason area into more of a year-round tourist destination. The lodge will employ a staff of about 500. Tourism officials predict that the jobs and the spending of as many as 500,000 visitors per year will add up to a big economic impact. Although local figures haven’t been calculated, a similar Great Wolf Lodge that opened this year in Niagara Falls was projected to generate a $32 million annual economic impact for that region. “We’re all looking forward to having Great Wolf Lodge become a major player in our tourism playground,†said Shirley Bonekemper, executive director of the Warren County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The 400-room lodge is next to Paramount’s Kings Island – the big attraction that has made tourism Warren County’s top industry. Tourism drew 6.4 million visitors to Warren County last year, which generated an estimated economic impact of $636 million. The Great Wolf Lodge could add another 500,000 visitors a year, potentially drawing guests from Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, even St. Louis and parts of Pennsylvania. Counting Kings Island, the Beach Waterpark, the Ohio Renaissance Festival, annual pro tennis tournaments and other events, tourism has become such a part of the area that a water tower visible from I-71 proclaims: “Warren County – Ohio’s Largest Playground.†Even more tourism growth may be coming because Mason hopes to land a deal next year to build a $52 million regional sports park. The downside of tourism in Warren County has been that most of the attractions shut down for the winter. Great Wolf will change that. It will offer visitors 84-degree days at the pool no matter how cold it is outside. “The indoor water park and conference center will add a year-round element to our destination,†said Bonekemper. “(It) will also attract visitors during our traditional off-season.†The star attraction at Great Wolf is the indoor water park. It features six pools and 11 waterslides – including a water roller-coaster. It also sports a four-story treehouse water fort, all under a 90-foot-high sky-lit roof. Great Wolf guests also won’t have to worry about bringing their wallets or room keys to the pool. As in its other locations, the Mason Great Wolf Lodge will equip its guests with computer programmed wristbands that will unlock their doors and allow them to make cashless payments for food, gifts or arcade tokens anywhere in the resort. On the dry side, the resort offers a 100-game arcade, a spa, two restaurants, a fitness center, miniature golf, and a multitude of children’s activities including story-time with lodge mascot Wiley the Wolf. The arcade, restaurants and other amenities are open to the public; the water park is open to guests only. Some say that policy may chase away local residents. “I’ve got this great community center that’s good enough for me,†said Carolyn Gibb, a Mason mother of five. Even so, she said she’s glad the lodge is in Mason in case she ever decides to take her family there. Jeff Karim, a Mason father of two, said he’ll consider taking his family there – but only after doing some research. “The exclusivity is enticing because you don’t have to worry about big crowds,†Karim said. “It sounds good. Especially when it’s cold. But I’d have to see the price and value.†Great Wolf plans to offer periodic “local appreciation†rates for Greater Cincinnati residents. Indoor resorts started sprouting up about 10 years ago with projects opening in the Wisconsin Dells. More than 60 have opened nationwide, according to industry analysts. The Mason lodge is the largest Great Wolf built to date. The next closest Great Wolf Lodge is in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference center is nearly as big as a football field. Its water park is about twice that size. It has 401 rooms, all suites. Some include separate sleeping quarters for kids that give the feel of camping out – with a flat-screen TV to play lodge-provided video games. The Great Wolf has been named the official resort of Paramount’s Kings Island. The lodge will be marketed to everyone from conference-goers to honeymooners. But families are expected to make up 95 percent of the clientele. So the lodge will offer lower price restaurant options and a kid-friendly atmosphere. “We want to make people come back time and time again,†said John Emery, chief executive officer of Great Wolf Resorts. Locally, the Great Wolf Lodge may face some competition from a smaller indoor water park to be built in Sharonville next to the refurbished Sheraton Hotel. But other tourist attractions generally view the new lodge as more of a boon than a threat. Officials at the nearby Beach Waterpark and the Kings Island Resort and Conference Center said they don’t feel threatened by their new neighbor. The Great Wolf is a completely different type of attraction, said Kings Island Resort general manager David Bowles. He expects it to actually help local businesses by boosting tourism throughout the region. Read the article and see some pictures on the Cincinnati Enquirer website here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozz Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Sounds good........we made reservations for Dec.22nd.........should be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Bozz; we have a reservation for Dec 22nd and check-out on the 25th. I was worried that being so close to the Holiday that we would be the only ones there! I'm so glad to hear that some one else will be there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium13 Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Bozz; we have a reservation for Dec 22nd and check-out on the 25th. I was worried that being so close to the Holiday that we would be the only ones there! I'm so glad to hear that some one else will be there too. I actually heard that it was sold out for New Years Eve, so it may be pretty crowded when you are there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozz Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 (edited) Bozz; we have a reservation for Dec 22nd and check-out on the 25th. I was worried that being so close to the Holiday that we would be the only ones there! I'm so glad to hear that some one else will be there too. Yeah. Cool we'll be there till the 23. One night only. Wish we could do two nights. But we'll get there by 1 to splash around and stay most of the day Sat. as well. Hopefully more from here will be there. I have some friends in Indy that may go sometime. We vacation with them a lot. Are you doing gifts there or after you get back? Pretty cool x-mas either way. Can't wait. We have been to Kalahari and Great Wolf up north. Kalahari was very sweet and this one sounds good too. Man swimming in Dec. is gonna be a rush and I need it. Edited December 9, 2006 by CoastersRZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Pretty cool news even though I wont be staying there ever unless I move away from the Cincinnati area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Trust me on this...Never say never. Things can change on a dime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozz Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Cool thing is if ya know somebody staying there that day they can get you a day pass for $30 without staying over night........My nephew is coming out from New Mexico to stay with us and go while visiting us for a week.........he's never seen anything like this place, Heck he's barely seen a coaster before.....lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 If he's from New Mexico and barely seen a coaster, he really needs to get over to Cliff's! That's one cool little ride! And either the last CCI or the one that the park had to finish itself when CCI didn't...depending on how you look at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheeMatt Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 All I can say is wow. Just got back from the Wolfe Lodge after staying 1 night for free! My friends uncle actually worked on all the plumbing so they gave him two free rooms. We had a regular room, which was great, and my friends and I stayed in a Kid's cabin room. It was so cool. They had a miniature cabin inside the room with bunkbeds plus a regular bed. The arcade was pretty big but the problem is that it was pretty expensive... One of the games was like 10 tokens and most others were 3-4. Also it closes pretty early... like at 10, which I think is too early. The food was really good too, we had the breakfast buffet. What can I say about the waterpark... amazing. It was huge and really fun. Our favorite ride was definitely Hydro Plunge, which is the one that uses LIM's to launch you up the hills. Yeah I would definitely recommend visiting the Great Wolfe Lodge... It is absolutely awesome. I can't fit all the cool stuff it has in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 It’s my understanding that the Great Wolf Lodge has submitted their address to the North Pole and that Santa is aware that he needs to stop their too. We will probably take a small fiber optic tree and maybe 1 gift for each person to open on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning if Santa has decided that Miss Rae has been good then hopefully we will watch her open up some Christmas presents from Santa in the room at the Great Wolf Lodge. Then we’ll probably swim for a couple hours then check-out and head for home. The rest of my family will meet us back home and we will exchange gifts at that point. We actually go out of town for Holidays a lot except for Christmas, so this will be fun to do for a change and will at least be a Christmas that we will remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozz Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Good article in the dayton dailey news paper today with a nice video and pics......it say's rooms for $149 a night......we did not find that to be true.......ours is $189.......I'll be checking it out Sat. and getting some pics,....you'll have to surf around a bit to find the video,....I try a direct link....but did not work,pretty cool vid.Wolf lodge video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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