An honest review with tips and tricks for a great stay at The Great Wolf Lodge. Including video of the waterpark and other fun kid activities offered!

Great Wolf Lodge

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We recently stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge. It was at a reduced rate for a media stay and a review of the resort. In this email you will find my opinions of the Great Wolf Lodge.

Check-In

The check-in process at the Great Wolf Lodge is fairly straightforward; they have a large window right next to the check-in desk that looks over the waterpark. The perfect place for the kiddos to hang out (and gawk! lol) while you take care of the particulars.

When checking in; you will be given wristbands for each member of your party. These wristbands will open the door to your room, as well as get you in to the waterpark, and if you decide it; can be used to purchase and pay for things within the resort.

The Bedroom

Once checked in we went and explored our room. The Great Wolf Lodge offers a variety of room options, some of those options include themed suites with a “wold den” or other neat sleeping arrangements.

Our room was a standard family suite with two queen beds.

To be honest, at the price a stay at this hotel costs; I was not impressed with our room as it was very outdated with cracking in the wall plaster and popcorn ceilings. However, the room was clean and kept so I have no further complaint.

The Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark

The waterpark is truly the reason to visit the Great Wolf Lodge. Especially during winter months when being able to swim is more than delightful.

Chairs and tables are available to leave your towels and any other items at. They also have lockers available for those that would like them.

There is a variety of slides within the waterpark that the older children love. My toddler was able to play in kiddie areas and loved them thoroughly.

There is a lazy river; lazy is the key. Haha! I found it slightly cold and not very fast moving at all. However, it was relaxing and fun and we spent a good amount of time in it!

Since leaving, my children have begged and begged to go revisit that waterpark. It definitely makes the price of the resort worth it! (See video below)

 

Character Activities

The resort offers a number of free character activities including bedtime stories, shows, and fun appearances throughout the day.

My toddler loved these activities! While they weren’t the highlight of their trip; my older kids enjoyed them too.

Magic Quests and Wands

In the same way theme parks have the initial cost that includes many free and awesome activities, and then further costs for upgraded activities;

The Great Wolf Lodge offers many extra attractions besides the waterpark that can be purchased at a further price. Such as the arcade and the Magiquest wands.

We spent a little time in the arcade and my children enjoyed it. However what they really loved (and spent hours playing and wishing they could spend many more hours playing) was the magic quests with the magic wands.

The wands come with a booklet that outlines many quests the kids can go on all over the resort. The quests have them running up and down and all around the entire resort, and it is great fun!

(See more in my video)

 

Juli’s Tips:

1. Pack some eye drops. There is much chlorine in the water of the waterpark, and it can cause irritation. Only one of my children got red itchy eyes from it, but still; I’m glad we had those drops!
2. Food: we ate breakfast at The Great Wolf Lodge. It was a buffet and my kids thoroughly loved all the options. The food was good. Not the best I’ve ever had by any means, but we enjoyed it. However at night, we went out to eat. Using an online search tool we hit up the best restaurants in the area. If you are staying for more than a few days, this may be a good way to break up the time and get some variety in your diet.
3. Plan to spend money. I think if I had visited the lodge without already planning to spend extra money, then I would have been frustrated at the amount I spent. But planning to ahead of time made it so it was just a part of the experience. As stated before, think of it like a theme park; in order to get the most play out of your stay, you will spend a bit more.

Overall we had a wonderful time at The Great Wolf Lodge and my kids are already planning their next visit and what order they will be completing their remaining quests. Haha!