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Place to Play, a Place to Stay Story and photos by Jessica Bellack Tucked away in Queensbury, New York, sits Six Flags Great Escape theme park, a familiar prospect to anyone driving on Route #87. Brightly colored roller coasters catch many drivers off guard, and now the addition of three tangled water slides adds to the vision. If that's not head-turning enough, these slides appear to be popping out of a building. That's because they are. On February 3, Six Flags opened its doors of the newly built Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark, the company's first. The lodge, a $43 million spectacle, is home to 200 guest suites, two restaurants, a spa, arcade, and a 38,000 square foot indoor water park, dubbed White Water Bay. As of now, it employs 120 staff members, while the water park keeps 17 lifeguards on rotation.
Since the Adirondack region during the mud season is slower and more vacant than in the summer, hotels tend to charge lower rates. The lodge offers online specials this season starting at $189, while rates usually go for around $250-$300. The Adirondack theme, evident in the lobby, contains oversized leather couches and chairs carved with wood trim. High ceilings host antique style chandeliers with pine leaf detail that glow with dim light. The burgundy and butter colored walls lead into stone accents, while the entire room is dominated by deep, bold shades of greens, reds, yellows, and browns. Green plants are tucked away in corners and nooks of the walls and plaid upholstered sofas covered with overstuffed pillows bring a feeling of warmth. A life-sized bear statue and mounted moose head on the wall help add more Adirondack authenticity. At the far end of the room, a large picture window allows guests to peek into the water park and view the excitement that waits below. “Everyone likes to come in from the cold, perhaps after skiing all day, and then just taking a nice, warm raft ride along the river." According to Mike Consuelo, the lodge's director of sales, the water park's theme, however is, “Wet and wild.” The park, which is kept at a steamy 80 degrees, is host to seven major rides, a concession stand, and locker rooms equipped with showers. The tropical-like climate is, admittedly, a bit stifling to someone wearing jeans and long sleeves, but Consuelo says that the temperature may be lessened, depending on weather or occupancy. One spending time at the lodge during a chilly mud season is likely a welcome contrast. According to Consuelo,the most popular ride is perhaps the Tak-It-Eesi Creek, where people float on large tubes above a warm stream. “Everyone likes to come in from the cold, perhaps after skiing all day, and then just taking a nice, warm raft ride along the river,” he says. The river winds riders down a path of 112,000 gallons of water. Also popular is the Boogie Bear Surf, a simulated wave where patrons can surf or body board. While the wave that's produced may only be about ankle-high, the water pressure is powerful enough to hold anyone afloat. “Watching the older people try it is a lot of fun,” Consuelo admits.
What's most eye-catching and thrilling are the three enclosed tube slides, soaring four stories off the ground and weaving in and out of the building's structure, and actually taking the rider outside and plunging them back inside into a pool of warm water below. While one tube is completely dark, the others allow for natural light to peek in. Large rafts are transported by a conveyer belt, allowing five to six people to ride at one time. As these slides may be more suited for older kids, the Tall Timbers Tree House lays at the park's center. “The park's geared toward children of all ages. The [inner] children are even coming out of adults as soon as they get their bathing suits on.” Posing as a multilevel playhouse, the Tree House has 160 interactive features, two slides, and a barrel-sized bucket of water that spills its contents on those waiting anxiously below. The water park also boasts a transparent Texlon roof, a material allowing for sun and tanning rays to penetrate the park's deck. “You can actually leave here in the winter with a good looking color on your face,” Consuelo says.
To enjoy the water park you have to be a guest at the lodge, but amenities such as the arcade, spa, two restaurants, and gift shop are open to the public. “Right now this [policy] is going to be pretty well that way for a period of time, until we determine what our levels of occupancy will be at certain times of the year,” he says. According to Consuelo, when the Great Escape theme park opens its doors on May 13, guests of the hotel can enhance their stay with reduced ticket prices to the park that's within walking distance. This is Six Flag's first attached lodge and water park, but Consuelo thinks they may add more in the future. In the late 1990's and early into the turn of the century, Six Flags went on a spending binge that resulted in a more than $2 billion debt. Consuelo ensures that the lodge was not developed for reasons of recent debt issues associated with Six Flags, but rather to enhance the visitation to region on an all year basis. |
A park with great history and development .. In 1954, about 45 years before the Great Escape was sold to Six Flags, the park was known as Storytown USA, a creation developed by Glens Falls resident, Charles Wood. Originally a park built around the Mother Goose Fairy Tales, the park was changed to the Great Escape Fun Park in the early 1980's, to widen its appeal to children of all ages. Splashwater Kingdom was created in 1995, adding the attraction of a thrilling water park to the mix. In 1996, Wood sold the park to its current owners, Six Flags, who today have created the lodge and indoor water park. Wood passed away at the age of 90 in late September of 2004, in Glens Falls.
Outside Adirondack water parks that you can really dive in to.. Splashwater Kingdom Water Slide World Water Safari Thunder Island
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