Blue Mountain Collingwood is a spot I haven't visited since I was maybe 12 years old. When the opportunity came up to check out Blue Mountain this past weekend we were curious to see how things had changed. With my Lay's Chip Trips once again, we were able to save a few bucks on this trip. In total a day for four at Plunge is about $42. We saved on one free child's admission. It was a lovely treat to stay in Weider Lodge at the base of Blue Mountain and Plunge was a hoot. I'd very much recommend this venue for kids even younger than ours. Plunge is an aquatic area with a plunge pool, a couple of water features indoors and pools outside. There are numerous hot tubs for all ages and, as you can see in the video, even spouses can enjoy the rope swing into the deep end. Modelled after old style boathouses, Plunge is quaint and picturesque. There are many Plunge! packages that come with a stay here. I would say this water park is more suited to children even younger than ours. It's like a starter water park.
The village at the base of Blue Mountain is amazing. Excellent and unique shops include Hatley's Scoops, an ice cream parlour with Hatley's merchandise. We timed it so that the gorgeous children's wear and adult's equestrain - themed items were on sale half price. That was unexpected and a lovely little highlight. Picked up cute little horse rainboats for my daughter who does therapeutic riding programs and loves horses. Restaurants here are pricey. Luckily the drive to town is very short and many restaurants are affordable there. Also many rooms come with kitchenettes. Before we left town we were able to take the gondola up the mountains ($20) for four of us and hike throughout the moutains up top. This was a lot more fun that I thought it would be, but bring proper hiking shoes for kids if you plan to do this.
More big chairs or Holy Smokes the kids shrank again!
Hiking at the top of Blue Mountain: An unexpected treat, but leave your Crocs at home.
We arrived on Saturday and there were horse-drawn carriage rides being offered. Also there is rock climbing and mountain biking and an endless array of activities for all ages. Weider Lodge was affordable for a two-night stay (under $500 for the four of us in a bachelor suite with fully stocked kitchen.) It was a chalet style room and quite nice, but the beds were hard and kids slept on a pullout sofabed. Before we left Collingwood, we visited the Westin Trillium House, a newer building that is cleaner and simply a lot nicer. The rooms were spacious and much more modern with TVs in every room. Next time I would choose a stay here instead - even if that meant paying a bit more. Blue Mountain Resorts, owned by Intrawest, are clustered around the village. One building is Weider Lodge in Blue Mountain Inn and the rest of the buildings have other names. Westin Trillium House is about a two-minute walk from Weider Lodge. For kids there is a playground, a pool at every lodging resort building, and scheduled events if you time it right. We just missed the outdoor movie night, but I am plotting for next year already. The town square has a cute fountain that's essentially a very small splash pad. There is something to do every season at Blue Mountain. In the fall there are numerous festivals. There are some truly lovely opportunities to enjoy Collingwood throughout September and October. The Apple Festival is one highlight I would head back for if money were unlimited here at my house. In the winter of course Collingwood is well known to skiers. I highly recommend this venue and will come back.
I am participating in the Lay's Chip Trips program by Mom Central on behalf of Frito Lay Canada. I received Lay's Chip Trips and a gift card to offset my trip costs to facilitate this post. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Now thrifymomma has yet to make it to this excellent resort, but wanted to pass this on to my readers before it's too late. The Atlantis is extremely buzzworthy and I totally plan to get there some day when I win the lottery. Just joking. I think this one is doable and affordable if you book it when there is an excellent deal like this. Companion airfare is free only if you book by tomorrow, June 4th. For travel between now and Dec. 22, 2010. Also this deal is only good for stays that last at least four nights or more. Atlantis is the incredible celebrity-magnet on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It has extensive water features and marine animals and this year opened a new kid's club. Atlantis Kid's Adventures is just for kids and also new Fantasy Camps. Atlantis is legendary for its big name concerts and this month alone, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber are playing live. So what are you waiting for?
Looking for a fun winter getaway with the family, check this out. Columbus, Ohio's Fort Rapids indoor waterpark has several very cool deals this January. I've been to this water park with my family and I reviewed it back in August. (Only five and a half hours from London and a nice drive, really) It got a four out of five rating and frankly I would absolutely go back again as our whole family enjoyed this stopover in Ohio. January Splashtacular deals start at $99 a night. For this month only stay overnight at Fort Rapids and pay only $99 for the water park passes. That means you stay for free essentially. Like many stayover water park resorts you can stay one night and play at the pool and slides for two days, which makes the trip worthwhile. Also for a limited time (until Jan. 22nd) Fort Rapids is offering 20 % off birthday parties. Let me tell you I think any kids who did this for their birthday party would be the coolest kid in their class, regardless of how old they were.
Also this month comes Science and Splash deals that are running in partnership with COSI, Columbus, Ohio's excellent science museum for children. Love both of these places, so call now and book starting at $179 a night for this package with four passes to COSI Museum, four passes to the water park and a cheese pizza. I would think you'd want to stay for two nights to get the most out of this deal.
Call 1-877-33-Splash to book and quote January Splashtacular or Science and Splash deals.
Also ABC's SuperNanny has a casting call at Fort Rapids on January 16th if you wish to be subjected to that kind of thing...from 11 to 5 p.m. They should be able to find some children and or parents behaving badly at a waterpark, huh?
Looking for something fun to do in nearby Ohio? In the spirit of Great Wolf Lodge, Columbus, Ohio's new Fort Rapids Resort and Indoor Water park is a destination in itself. A converted Holiday Inn, at 4560 Hilton Corporate Drive, turned Disney style resort, this water park is a blast. My family and I decided to stay at the water park last week for four nights, while in the city for a conference. After a good deal of research which turned up a great variety of truly lacklustre motels, we happened on this one and took our chances booking on the Internet. Prices at Fort Rapids were only slightly higher than those at motels like the Hyatt and the Red Roof Inn - we paid about $200 a night - and the bunk beds alone (see lower picture) were enough to win my girls over. Also included in the price of our stay was unlimited use of the water attractions. While the room was not without some problems, staff at the resort were incredibly friendly and helpful. Fruit flies were present in the first room we checked into and the room itself was hastily cleaned at best. So when the plumbing in the bathroom was an issue, we complained and were quickly moved to another room on the same floor. The complaint was effectively resolved and the manager was understanding. The on site Gold Mine Arcade was a lot of fun for my kids. My husband and I enjoyed it too. The water park area itself is 60,000 square feet of adrenaline-inducing thrilling fun. There's absolutely something for everyone and the activity pool (slightly warmer than other areas) was a big draw for my five-year-old who swims like a fish and loved the basketball nets on the side. Blackout pass was one of the fiercest waterslides I've ever seen and while my husband tried it a couple of times, it was much too daring for me. Height restrictions were in place that prevented either one of my daughters (5 and 8) from riding this particular slide, but the rest of the slides were fair game. The children's area Kiddie Corral had several pint-sized waterslides and the park itself was well supervised and clean. Tubes and mats are available and included in the cost of the water park. We stayed in a Cisco Kid bunkroom with children's bunk beds that were sort of separate from the main room and well worth the money. Our package for $200 a night A particular hit was the gigantic bucket that periodically tipped over soaking everyone underneath.
This is the Kiddie Corral - as you can see Ainsley loved it. If I had one complaint about Fort Rapids it would be that the food itself was not great. The pub on site had burgers and fries and children's meals, but meals were slow and the menu was quite unappealing. There are however, dozens of restaurants nearby. Big Boy, Olive Garden and Red Lobster were all within a five minute drive.
Our really neat Cisco Kid bunk room.
Thriftymommagogo gives it $$$$ out of $$$$$. Well worth the money. Check in time at 4 p.m. and hours of operation most days are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for water park.
