Interesting. DH and I are hgh SES and we have been to GWL a half dozen times with the kids. We enjoy it every time. They are pool rats and they love being in the water. We have teens and they hung out in the video game lounge and bowling alley if they did not want to be in the water park. The food in GWL is mediocre but there is a great BBQ place 5 minutes down the road and a lot of restuarants within 15 minute drive.

DH and I both grew up low SES and some of the best times we had as kids were on vacations that folks here would consider low scale. Thus, we have the mindset that EVERY vacation does not need to be a 5 star experience. As PP's have said, it is a waterpark.

I needed a last minute getaway on MLK weekend while house was unliveable and took my kids and three others, all teens. Basically it was strictly from necessity, I thought they'd enjoy the water park. We stayed in a loft room, quite nice. Obviously it is geared toward little kids and the whole wand game thing was bogus. But the teens (and there were plenty of other teens throughout the place) had no place to hang out if they didn't want to use the water park all day (and they didn't). Why wouldn't GWL do what every cruise ship does, and have a teenagers hangout. Lots of littler kids have older siblings, and they were all out of luck.

As to the food, the pizza place downstairs was really top notch, thus the long lines. We never saw a crowd in the restaurant (and believe me the crowds were everywhere else.) So I assume the restaurant sucks. We ate out.

Anonymous wrote:This sounds kind of weird, but we hardly got any sleep the last time we were there b/c the sheets were so NOISY! I don't know if they are really rough or rigid or what, but everytime someone moved, it was super noisy. The kids were even in the "cabin" and it was noisy. It was the scratching sound of the sheets. Hard to believe we paid for such little sleep, but live and learn. I didn't have any issue with the other guests... just the lack of sleep.

I have never been kept awake by rustling sheets in a hotel. Usually, it is the other guests who are running/shouting in the halls or those insufferable heating/AC units that are so loud.

Best hotel I ever stayed in for sleeping purposes was a Sheraton in Syracuse. I remember it fondly.

The part about the remembering the Sheraton in Syracuse fondly made me laugh!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it just seems like they aren't even trying. For instance, there are tons of people staying in the hotel, a captive audience, why isn't the restaurant at least decent? It was mostly empty the whole time we were there. Seems to me if they could make the restaurant appealing, then it might be a money maker for them.

I also noticed a lot of the guests that showed up on Thursday night looked to be lower SES. Not a problem for me, but it got me wondering. Is GWL the destination vacation for folks who can't afford to fly somewhere warm on the winter?

Shame on you. We could buy the hotel three times over and love taking DS. I remember being in an elevator with a a family of five who had saved up the entire year for this trip. Reminded me of me when I was a kid. Thought it was fantastic. All levels of SES.

Oh please.