In February we went to the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark in Queensbury, NY. Again. This is the second time we’ve gone to the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge in as many years because it’s the second time we managed to find a major discount code online! We will probably go back again next year if we find another discount code.
As mentioned in the previous post, this time we stayed for two nights instead of only one and the experience was much less hectic. We weren’t in as much of a rush to get to the waterpark to take advantage of the early entry for hotel guests this time. This allowed us to enjoy the wonderful drive through the Adirondacks. Ironically, for February, there was more snow back home than there was in the mountains!
Once we arrived at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, we were able to check in early. As February appears to be a bit of a low season and we were checking in on a Sunday, it seems they had time to have our room ready for us. Posted check in time is 4PM but we were into our room just after 2PM.
One thing we tried to catch this time was the 8PM bedtime stories by the fireplace. This is a neat little thing where one of the characters comes along with a companion and the companion reads a couple books for the kids. Well, stress that we tried to catch the bedtime stories. The first night we missed them completely as we got there at about 8:12PM and the girls caught the last pages of the last book and woosh, off went the character and companion. The second night we made sure we were there early and that worked much better but still, the whole thing doesn’t last very long. There was a decent crowd of people there both nights so coming sort of early makes getting a seat easier.
The waterpark itself was good again this year. We convinced friends of ours to join us this year and our kids were all old enough to do many of the attractions on their own. Lots of fun.
One big difference this time was the water temperature was much better this year. I don’t think we ever found out why but last year when we were at the waterpark, the water was really cold and made things like the lazy river not enjoyable. This time the lazy river was much better as you could actually stay in the water without shivering.
Spending two nights really made for a much more enjoyable time. The downside was the discount only applied for Sunday-Thursdays when we booked so we stayed Sunday and Monday night. Not a huge problem as this also had the advantage of the waterpark being less crowded most of the time. As mentioned in the previous post, the logistics of checkout time are a little tricky. This time we skipped getting a locker and I just didn’t go swimming on the checkout morning. This is much easier as one parent can manage two older kids without too much difficulty and the second can manage getting the clothes, etc. from your car when you’re done swimming. Of course, we also had an infant this time that one of us had to look after so he and I enjoyed the, uh, scenery.
For a quick winter break only a few hours from Ottawa, ON, we will likely go back to the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge again next year. It’s well worth it to watch for the discount codes from the travel sites as long as you have a flexible schedule because they are rather short notice (like 3-4 weeks in advance for us and we booked the last possible dates at that time).
