Return to Great Wolf Lodge:

 

Prologue:

 

            I had a lot of fun when I went to Great Wolf Lodge and really wanted to return. I also wanted to go for two nights instead of one.

 

            Great Wolf Lodge has many locations in the United States; not just the one north of Chicago which I rode past on my St. Louis-Chicago Trip and my Kenosha Make-Up trip. I thought about visiting a Great Wolf Lodge in 2025. The ideal American Great Wolf Lodge location to me is outside of Boston. However, its water park was undergoing renovations until early May. I considered going to another American location but when I saw my work schedule gave me three days off, I decided to simply return to the Niagara Falls location.

 

            My plan was to ride the Maple Leaf to Niagara Falls and have lunch at the Flying Saucer restaurant which I ate at after I checked out of Great Wolf Lodge last year. I would then head to Great Wolf Lodge where I would spend two days before taking the Maple Leaf home. The trip unfolded as follows.

 

January 14, 2025:

 

            I left home shortly after 6:00 am. I took a VIVA bus to Finch. Along the way we passed TTC Nova LFS #3100 which was the number of my room at Great Wolf Lodge last year. It is also the closest TTC vehicle numbered to the Rosa Parks bus long after fishbowl #2855 and the Scarborough RT trains were retired. Once I got to the subway, I then took the subway to Union, getting there shortly after 7:30 am. I joined the line for VIA train #97. Boarding began shortly after 8:00 am. I was seated in Amfleet 1 coach #82683. I pulled out my laptop and began working on this report. Since my last trip I had to get a new laptop. This is my third laptop since 2011.

 

            I filmed the equipment that would be today’s VIA trains 62 and 52 with #62 heading to Montreal and #52 heading to Ottawa. A VIA employee asked if I was familiar with the emergency windows. I told her I was.

 

            I watched as passengers for train #52 began boarding their train. Train #97 departed one minute early. I filmed the rest of VIA train #52.

 

            My ticket was scanned. I was told the café car was open. As we passed VIA’s Toronto Maintenance Center, I filmed the equipment in the yard. I saw three trainsets of VIA’s new Siemens Venture trainsets. One of which was the specially painted trainset which is known as “Lumi”. Lumi is painted in a mostly yellow livery compared to the yellow and grey like other Siemens Venture trainsets like what I rode home from Kingston on last year. I had previously seen and filmed the Lumi trainset pulling into Union.

 

            I also saw the coaches owned by the VIA Historical Association. They are a group dedicated to preserving the history of VIA Rail Canada. They have a goal to be able to create a VIA trainset of restored equipment. To date they have a FP9, a baggage car, two Daynighter coaches and a sleeping car. They also have some RDCs as well.

 

            I noticed my coach was the only coach that was open. As in the case of my Kenosha Make-Up trip, the seats in the coach were arranged so that half of them were facing backwards. The train stopped at Oakville. Between Oakville and Aldershot, the train slowed to almost a crawl. We soon picked up speed again. The train stopped at Aldershot. We weren’t stopped for long as we departed moments later.

 

            We passed through downtown Hamilton. At a railway crossing I saw an ambulance with its lights flashing waiting for the train to pass. As we passed the industrial site where I saw CN switcher #7304 in the past, I saw it was again there. I photographed it.

 

 

            I went to the café car.   I noticed that Kit Kat chocolate bars were no longer the only candy being sold on the train which is good. While I like Kit Kats, it’s nice to have choices.

 

            The train passed through Grimsby non-stop. Shortly after 10:00 am we stopped at St. Catherines. We soon departed. The train passed over the Welland Canal which was practically dry. The VIA crew announced we were 15 minutes from Niagara Falls Ontario. I readied my stuff in preparation to get off.  I photographed Great Wolf Lodge from the train.

 

 

            Train #97 arrived 5 minutes late. The train made a double stop to change engine crews before I got off. I walked over and photographed the train.

 

 

            I filmed the train departing. I noticed that like my Kenosha Make-Up Trip, it had all Amfleet 1 coaches.

 

            I then walked to catch a Niagara Regional Transit bus. I was going to the Flying Saucer restaurant for lunch. I was not going to use WEGO like I did last year.

 

            While waiting for my bus, I saw Nova LFS #1397 on route #108. This was the bus I had seen at the Nova Bus factory in 2013. I didn’t photograph it. However, I photographed a WEGO bus.

 

 

            My bus came and I rode to Main and Ferry. I got off and photographed the bus.

 

 

            I boarded another bus on route #116. Since my trip last year, Niagara Regional Transit route #116 took over the WEGO Red route. I rode to the Flying Saucer restaurant. I got there and photographed the restaurant.

 

 

            I had lunch and once I paid, I went out and went to a variety store across the street and got some milk and a 2L bottle of Pepsi. I then walked to the bus stop. I saw Niagara Regional Transit Orion 7 #2192 show up. I photographed it before I got on.

 

 

            I rode to the Morrison/Dorchester transit hub. I transferred to route #108. I saw #1397. I photographed it before I got on.

 

 

            I rode the bus and got off a couple blocks from Great Wolf Lodge. The bus didn’t go straight there but was a long and windy route that ran through my aunt’s old neighborhood. I got off and walked to Great Wolf Lodge. I photographed the hotel.

 

 

            I then went and checked in. I had once again booked the cheapest room. However, unlike last year I didn’t get a free upgrade. I went to my room and phoned home. I then put my room key wristband on and went to the lobby.

 

            Since I left last year, they had built a gingerbread house where guests could dine in. There was also a model train running around the top. This train had a GP30 locomotive, a gondola, a flat car, a boxcar, and a caboose. I took some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I then went to the water park for 90 minutes. I rode five of the slides. I then went inside and got changed. I went out to the lobby. They had brought out Brinley Bear; one of the members of the “Great Wolf Pack” who are a group of characters associated with Great Wolf Lodge. I had photographed Brinley last year.

 

 

            I took a few more photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I went back to my room and worked on this report for awhile before I went back to the lobby. Another character was going to come by. This time it was Sammy Squirrel. I took some photos.

 

 

            There are currently five characters of the Great Wolf Pack: Wiley Wolf, Violet Wolf, Sammy Squirrel, Brinley Bear, and Oliver Raccoon. The characters circulate with four characters coming out each day. I hoped to see all five. The Great Wolf Pack has an animated series on YouTube.

 

            There used to be more members of the Great Wolf Kids (prior to rebranding as the Great Wolf Pack). I have heard rumors that they are bringing an additional character back in the future.

 

            I then went out and had dinner. After dinner I decided to check out Magiquest at Great Wolf Lodge. It is a wizard themed scavenger hunt where we had to find various runes and complete quests. I got a wand and a book and despite my rough start I managed to get going and find some runes. I photographed my wand when I decided to stop for awhile.

 

 

            I then went to play a game of laser tag. This time I was assigned the code name “Woody the Woodchuck”. As with last year, I won the game with a score of 9400, the same score as last year. However, the second-place person was closer than last year. I photographed the final scoreboard.

 

 

            I then went back to my room and decided to resume Magiquest. I played for a little while before I headed back to my room. I eventually called it a night.

 

January 15, 2025:

 

            I got up and got dressed. I headed to the lobby for breakfast. As I was heading out I was surprised to see one of the supervisors from the Home Depot I work at was also staying at Great Wolf Lodge!

 

            After breakfast I went back to my room. I saw Great Wolf Lodge staff were going to do yoga with kids. A little while later I returned to see which character was coming out. This time it was Oliver the Raccoon. I photographed Oliver.

 

 

            I then went to the waterpark for a few hours. Between this time and yesterday, I had gone on 10 of the 13 waterslides. I also went in the wave pool, the lazy river, and a hot tub that goes outside. After I was done in the waterpark I went back to my room. It was time for another character to come out. It was Brinley Bear again. I photographed him anyway.

 

 

            I then had lunch at the restaurant called Buckets located in the waterpark. I bought a souvenir cup. There were many available including three cups of Great Wolf Lodge characters. One is Violet the Wolf in her current form, one of Wiley in his current form, and an older version of Wiley. Since Great Wolf Lodge opened, Wiley has undergone 3 or 4 character changes. The cup I got was of his second version.

 

            I went back to my room and worked on this report for a little while. At one point the fire alarm went off. However, it was a preliminary alarm. If we had to evacuate, there would be a different alarm. After several minutes, the alarm shut off so I didn’t have to evacuate.

 

            I then decided to play Magiquest. While playing, I saw my supervisor from Home Depot again as he was about to leave. I told him I’d see him on Friday which is the day after I get home.

 

            It was time for another character to come out. This time it was Violet Wolf. I photographed Violet.

 

 

            I had now seen four of the five Great Wolf Pack characters. The only character I have yet to see was Wiley Wolf. A Great Wolf Lodge employee said he didn’t think Wiley was coming out today but tomorrow. I mentioned that I hope it would be in the morning.

 

            I went back to the waterpark for a little while. I then headed back to my room.

 

            I then went to play a game of Ripley’s Crazy Golf. It is an indoor mini golf course in the dark with black lights. I have played similar style of mini golf at a place called “Putting Edge” back home. This mini golf course was NOT there last year.

 

            Since I was playing by myself, I decided to add a second name to the score card: Mr. Bean! I based it off an episode of the live action series where he played mini golf. He got a hole in one on the first hole, but on the second hole, he ended up hitting off the course and all over London eventually sinking it in 3,427 shots.

 

 

            When I got to the second hole, I saw that you could drop it from a swing. I dropped it and got a hole in one. I photographed it.

 

 

            I got another hole in one on the next course as well. Those would be the only times I got a hole in one.

 

            On the 7^th hole, the first part was a pool table and you had to hit the ball using the putter like a pool cue.

 

            After my game I went to have dinner. I wanted to eat at the place where I had dinner last year, but it was closed by the time I got there. I had dinner at another restaurant in Great Wolf Lodge. I decided to play another game of laser tag. This time I was given the codename Serena the Pixie; a character from Magiquest. This game had a lot of other players. This time I ended up finishing third. I photographed the final scoreboard.

 

 

            I then decided to play a game of 10 Paw Alley which is Great Wolf Lodge’s bowling alley.

 

 

            I played four games. I then went back to my room and got my wand and played some more Magiquest before I headed back to my room and called it a night.

 

January 16, 2025:

 

            I got up and got dressed. I then went to have breakfast. After breakfast I went back to  my room. I went online for a few minutes before I headed out. I walked past where the outdoor part of Great Wolf Lodge is. It is obviously closed for winter. I took some photos of an outdoor pool and an outdoor mini golf course.

 

 

 

            I had time to see one more character I was hoping it would be Wiley so I could see all five characters. It turned out to be Oliver Raccoon. I photographed Oliver.

 

 

            I went to my room and went to play Magiquest for a few minutes. I finished up and went to my room and finished packing. I then went to the Magiquest shop and asked about what would happen since I’m checking out. I was told to keep my wand as it saves progress until next time.

 

            I then checked out and left. I walked to the bus stop. I boarded a Nova LFS on route #108. I rode to the Morrison/Dorchester transit hub. I transferred to route #111. I saw Orion 7 #2193 was running on route #111. I photographed the bus before I got on.

 

 

            It was snowing heavily. I rode to Lundy’s Lane. I got off and photographed #2193 again.

 

 

            I filmed the bus pulling away. I was going to the Flying Saucer restaurant again. However, before I went to the Flying Saucer, I decided to get a haircut at a First Choice Haircutters across the street from the Flying Saucer as I needed a haircut.

 

            After my haircut, I crossed the street and photographed the Flying Saucer restaurant.

 

 

            I had lunch. The person who served me two days ago was there and recognized me. I had lunch and paid. I then headed out.

 

            I caught a bus on route #116 to Main and Ferry. I got off and photographed Orion 7 #2470 on route #107.

 

 

            I boarded a bus on route #104 and rode to Clifton Hill. I got off and explored the area. I decided to visit a theatre and watch a 30 minute Imax movie on Niagara Falls. I had once seen the movie when I was a kid in the 90’s. I noticed that the narration had been updated since 2012 but it was the same movie. After the movie I photographed the former Kodak tower which is part of Casino Niagara.

 

 

            I went into a couple stores before I went to catch a bus to the train station. While waiting, I photographed a WEGO bus.

 

 

            My bus eventually came and I rode to the train station. I still had more than 90 minutes before my train was scheduled to depart. I went inside the train station and had a conversation with a security guard. I had phoned Julie and found the train was running on time. Around 4:45 pm I went outside and saw train #63 at the Niagara Falls New York station across the river. While waiting I photographed some buses.

 

 

 

            When the train crossed the river and pulled into the station, I filmed it pulling in. I then walked to the far side of the station and photographed the train.

 

 

            I then went inside to wait for the train to board. Boarding began about 10 minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. Business Class passengers coming from the States got to board first. Next were passengers getting off between St. Catherines and Oakville. Lastly passengers heading to Toronto were allowed to board. I was seated in Amfleet 1 coach #82642. The train departed on time.

 

            I caught a glimpse of Great Wolf Lodge as we passed. My ticket was scanned. I then went to the café car for dinner. The train stopped at St. Catherines.

 

            I worked on this report some more. The train passed non-stop through Grimsby. As we passed through Hamilton we stopped to let a freight train pass. We were underway but stopped to let a GO train pass. We then resumed our trip and stopped at Aldershot.

 

            We passed a couple more GO trains. We stopped at Oakville. As we passed VIA’s Toronto Maintenance Center, I attempted to film the yard. I saw four trainsets of Siemens Venture equipment. However, none of them was the specially painted Lumi trainset.

 

            We were soon approaching Toronto Union Station. I readied my stuff in preparation to get off. However west of Dufferin Avenue the train stopped and stayed stopped for several minutes. The crew announced that they were waiting for a green signal. Two GO trains passed including an eastbound. We began moving but stopped at the Exhibition GO train station. We sat for a few minutes until a westbound VIA train passed. We were underway and stopped at Union Station 40 minutes late. I got off and photographed the train.

 

 

 

         I went downstairs and phoned home. I then got on the subway and rode to Finch. I then had to wait 12 minutes for a VIVA bus. I got on the bus and headed home.

 

Conclusions:

 

         The Maple Leaf’s lateness into Toronto was the worst part of what was otherwise a good trip. I would have liked to have eaten my last dinner at Great Wolf Lodge at the restaurant I ate last time as well as been able to see all five members of the Great Wolf Pack. Despite this, I still had a lot of fun at Great Wolf Lodge. I now want to try one of the American locations.

 

            As for me, I’m not sure when I’ll be travelling next though I have a few ideas. On my first shift after my trip, I did see my supervisor who I saw at Great Wolf Lodge. Until next time…