Great Wolf Resorts

Great Wolf Resorts is the world's largest chain of indoor water parks. The company owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge brand. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to a water park, each resort features specialty restaurants, arcades, spas, fitness rooms and children’s activity areas.

History

Black Wolf Lodge was founded by brothers Jack and Andrew "Turk" Waterman, the original owners of Noah's Ark water park. Black Wolf Lodge was purchased by The Great Lakes Company. Founder and chairman Bruce Neviaser changed the name to Great Wolf Lodge and the company headquarters were established in Madison, WI. The chain has since added twelve additional locations and has one in development.

On May 1, 2012, Great Wolf announced they were adding a new amenity or attraction to each of their resorts in time for the summer season. In addition, they spent over $4 million renovating the company's first two locations – Wisconsin Dells and Sandusky.

Water park

A water park or waterpark is an amusement park that features water play areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds (water playgrounds), lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments. Water parks in more current states of development may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment such as a wave pool or FlowRider.

History

Water parks have grown in popularity since their introduction in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The United States has the largest and most concentrated water park market, with over a thousand water parks and dozens of new parks opening each year. Major organizations are IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) and WWA (World Waterpark Association), which is the industry trade association.

Water parks which emerge from spas tend to more closely resemble mountain resorts, as they become year-round destinations. For example, Splash Universe Water Park Resort, a member of the WWA, is themed to match the community in which it is located. The theme is intended to enhance the community's destination appeal. Therefore, the amusement and leisure-time industry is becoming more concentrated, as winter sports are becoming common themes in summertime water recreation.

Lodge Reservations

United States Senator Henry Cabot Lodge from Massachusetts was the Republican Majority Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of the U.S. Senate since 1893. In response to the Treaty of Versailles, Senator Lodge penned twelve reservations to the proposed post-war agreements. Heavily influenced by Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty called for the creation of a League of Nations in which the promise of mutual security would prevent another major world war. Differing from his Democratic contemporary, Woodrow Wilson, Henry Cabot Lodge held that the United States should take a cautionary approach towards international arbitration after the Great War. As a result of Henry Cabot Lodge's Reservations, the United States Senate voted down the Treaty of Versailles after momentous debate. The denial of this Treaty by the United States prevented the United States from joining the newly formed League of Nations.

The Lodge Reservations

These Reservations essentially gave a lot of power back to the United States of America in control over how it interacts with other nations, and how they interact with it. Almost all of the Reservations granted the United States more authority over its place within the League of Nations, or when the League of Nations was allowed to make decisions involving the United States.

Water slide

A water slide (also referred to as flumes, water chutes, or hydroslides) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.

A typical water slide uses a pump system to pump water to the top which is then allowed to freely flow down its surface. The water reduces friction so sliders travel down the slide very quickly. Water slides run into a swimming pool (often called a plunge pool) or a long run-out chute. A lifeguard is usually stationed at the top and the bottom of the slide, so that if a rider gets hurt they will be treated immediately.

Traditional water slides

Body slides

As the name suggests, body slides feature no mat and require the person to sit directly on the surface of the slide. There are a variety of types of body slides including simple flumes, speed slides, bowls and AquaLoops - the latter three are explained below.

Gray wolf

The gray wolf or grey wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the timber wolf or western wolf, is a canid native to the wilderness and remote areas of North America and Eurasia. It is the largest extant member of its family, with males averaging 43–45 kg (95–99 lb), and females 36–38.5 kg (79–85 lb). Like the red wolf, it is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features, particularly on the ears and muzzle. Its winter fur is long and bushy, and predominantly a mottled gray in color, although nearly pure white, red, or brown to black also occur.As of 2005, 37 subspecies of C. lupus are recognised by MSW3.

The gray wolf is the second most specialised member of the genus Canis, after the Ethiopian wolf, as demonstrated by its morphological adaptations to hunting large prey, its more gregarious nature, and its highly advanced expressive behavior. It is nonetheless closely related enough to smaller Canis species, such as the eastern wolf,coyote and golden jackal to produce fertile hybrids. Its closest relative is the domestic dog, with which it shared a common European ancestor which likely diverged 40,000 years ago. It is the only species of Canis to have a range encompassing both the Old and New Worlds, and originated in Eurasia during the Pleistocene, colonizing North America on at least three separate occasions during the Rancholabrean. It is a social animal, travelling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair, accompanied by the pair's adult offspring. The gray wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range, with only humans and tigers posing a serious threat to it. It feeds primarily on large ungulates, though it also eats smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage.