Vacation Review - Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, Lake George, NY
A homeschooling family has plenty of flexibility in scheduling vacations, especially right after traditionally congested weeks. Hence, when most families were leaving Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark, we were arriving. By God's grace we arrived before a wintry weather event and left before the next one. My parents vacationed at Lake George frequently when I was a kid and they still do today. It's a pretty area. In the winter, my options are limited since I'm not a skier. However I am a body surfer, and at this Lodge I could surf all day--and I did.
The lines were very short, so my son and I learned to surf on our knees and attempted several tricks. I don't think I would have attained this feat if I had to wait long between attempts. The girls tried this too, but once was enough for them. They preferred the meandering creek. The waterslides with tubes were OK. They were very dark though. My youngest fell off her tube near the top and had a painful ride to the bottom. The lifeguard at the bottom could not have cared less. It's too bad we couldn't have soothed her in the adults-only warm water spa.
We bought a Lodge package that included breakfast and lunch at Johnny Rockets which had a simple menu that keeps kids happy. The other on-site restaurant that we wanted to try was not open. Still, we ate well. I gained weight despite playing hard at the water park and jogging on the fitness center's treadmill. My beautiful bride enjoyed her well-earned massage, which every homeschool mom earns weekly, but I can only afford every 5 years.
The room offered a coffee maker, refrigerator, microwave, and hair dryer, all of which we used. It also offered a pull-out bed from the couch behind a 3/4 wall in addition to the 2 queen sized beds. We let the kids have the real beds and tried to live on the pull-out bed. That was a mistake. I slept poorly on it, both nights. Additionally, we can never get any hotel's in-wall heating/cooling unit to keep a comfortable temperature. We freeze or melt. One bizarre aspect of the hotel was the loss of water pressure, despite only 20 rooms in use. The desk hostess blamed it on the town's water line. Ok. The water pressure would resume quickly, but it was almost like an enforced water conservation method.
There were several kids activities in the beautiful lobby, which we and the kids enjoyed. There was a bingo game and a scavenger hunt, all of which had tokens for the arcade as prizes. Most of the arcade games were non-violent and of the skills-test variety, with tickets rewarded to purchase junk from the arcade store.
This park has not been open long, but the Six Flags park across the street has, so the area is not a hidden gem. I recommend pulling the kids out of school for a couple days and enjoying the short lines at the water park. Any more than a couple of days and your kids will get bored with it. But then you can always visit the museums and outlet stores.
One additional bonus for me was the Coleman outlet in Lake George, the town. Unfortunately, many attractions were not open. My son was relieved though. He kept asking, can't we go on a vacation for once without visiting a boring museum? I was thwarted this time. But there will be other times to inflict history on my children.
The lines were very short, so my son and I learned to surf on our knees and attempted several tricks. I don't think I would have attained this feat if I had to wait long between attempts. The girls tried this too, but once was enough for them. They preferred the meandering creek. The waterslides with tubes were OK. They were very dark though. My youngest fell off her tube near the top and had a painful ride to the bottom. The lifeguard at the bottom could not have cared less. It's too bad we couldn't have soothed her in the adults-only warm water spa.
We bought a Lodge package that included breakfast and lunch at Johnny Rockets which had a simple menu that keeps kids happy. The other on-site restaurant that we wanted to try was not open. Still, we ate well. I gained weight despite playing hard at the water park and jogging on the fitness center's treadmill. My beautiful bride enjoyed her well-earned massage, which every homeschool mom earns weekly, but I can only afford every 5 years.
The room offered a coffee maker, refrigerator, microwave, and hair dryer, all of which we used. It also offered a pull-out bed from the couch behind a 3/4 wall in addition to the 2 queen sized beds. We let the kids have the real beds and tried to live on the pull-out bed. That was a mistake. I slept poorly on it, both nights. Additionally, we can never get any hotel's in-wall heating/cooling unit to keep a comfortable temperature. We freeze or melt. One bizarre aspect of the hotel was the loss of water pressure, despite only 20 rooms in use. The desk hostess blamed it on the town's water line. Ok. The water pressure would resume quickly, but it was almost like an enforced water conservation method.
There were several kids activities in the beautiful lobby, which we and the kids enjoyed. There was a bingo game and a scavenger hunt, all of which had tokens for the arcade as prizes. Most of the arcade games were non-violent and of the skills-test variety, with tickets rewarded to purchase junk from the arcade store.
This park has not been open long, but the Six Flags park across the street has, so the area is not a hidden gem. I recommend pulling the kids out of school for a couple days and enjoying the short lines at the water park. Any more than a couple of days and your kids will get bored with it. But then you can always visit the museums and outlet stores.
One additional bonus for me was the Coleman outlet in Lake George, the town. Unfortunately, many attractions were not open. My son was relieved though. He kept asking, can't we go on a vacation for once without visiting a boring museum? I was thwarted this time. But there will be other times to inflict history on my children.
Comments
This quote made me laugh. Glad you all had the chance to get away and had a great trip.