If you are a 12 year old boy, it seems that Great Wolf Lodge is not so much a water park as it is a place to battle a dragon with a wand in MagiQuest. Once upon a time, I knew nothing of Great Wolf Lodge. My enlightenment came this past weekend. I chaperoned a slumber party in one of their kid rooms. Twas an epic journey as I followed 5 young wizards pursue their quest. First, we wrapped the birthday boy up, like a mummy, using toilet paper. I helped with this initiative all the while talking in my Russian accent. Upon hearing my voice, one of the boys rushed out of his bunk bed exclaiming, “Who’s that? Who’s voice is that?” I smiled and told him it was me. His facial expression seemed a mixture of surprise and delight. Once the birthday boy was freed from his mummification, toilet paper fights broke out. I sang a silly song about toilet paper as I crawled back to a neutral part of the room (away from the war). Once the boys ran out of TP, they wanted to go pursue MagiQuest again. Ready, set, GO...They were gone. The only thing I mastered that night was the stairs. I went up the steps and down, repeatedly, chasing the boys until 11pm. The birthday boy told me he had earned 7,000 gold coins so far. At 11pm, thankfully, the hotel-powers-that-be shut down the MagiQuest. The kiddos had to go to sleep. I slept immediately. The next day, we all had breakfast at the hotel buffet. Afterwards, it was back to the MagiQuest. The boys had an hour and a half to conquer the dragon. I went with my friend to Starbucks (it’s in the hotel). We got our caffeine. When the boys finally returned, one of them was upset. I went over to where he stood. What’s wrong? He turned and with tears in his eyes said that he wanted to beat the silver dragon. I was speechless. I couldn’t think of anything to say. We ended up going as a group to the place that that battle went down. We stayed there until he finally achieved victory. Occasionally, we paused for ice cream. I’m not used to eating such sugary food. When the high wore off, then I crashed. By the time we finally entered the water park, I was exhausted. The boys were energetic and charged into this new adventure with gusto. I stayed for about one more hour at this point. Then I said my goodbyes and made my exit. Outside, it was deliciously cold. I bundled up. I was on a quest to see my sweetheart before the day ended.
