Let me preface with this: for the LONGEST time I refused to pay the prices for Great Wolf Lodge, it was so expensive, and what for? But Baby Fox wanted to go for his half birthday instead of having a birthday party. The cost was about the same as throwing a party, actually, maybe even a little cheaper, so I figure we end up ahead. Anyway, the big question...is it worth it? YES!!! Here's why you need to go to Great Wolf Loge (I'm an engineer so I'll do some bullet points for you):
- The kids will forever be grateful and constantly remind you how awesome you are for taking them there.
- You'll remember how much you really do like water slides, and wonder if it was okay to leave the kids at home next time so you can ride all the rides.
- It's indoors, so you don't need to worry about sunscreen.
- Because no one is wearing sunscreen the water is clean, and you don't feel "yucky" swimming in it.
- It's fun for the whole family, and there is other things to do than doing the water park portion of it.
| Tip 1 | Only Go For 1 Night
You get the most bang for your buck going 1 night, and 2 days at the water park is more than enough time there. If you go for 2 nights you only get 1 extra day at the water park, not worth it, in my opinion. Trust me, you'll be done after two full days.
We've been twice now, and both times day two of water park Mini Fox would pass out for a good hour and a half.
| Tip 2 | Bring Your Own Food
There are mini Fridges (which are big enough to hold quite a lot of food) and a microwave. While you can't bring your own food into the water section of the hotel, you can eat it anywhere on the property. We bought lunch and dinner for day 1, and breakfast and lunch for day 2, we decided that we would find dinner that second night. Turns out we ended up driving home and eating dinner late that night. Our meal breakdown:
Lunch Day 1: Sandwiches for everyone, chips and fruit
Dinner Day 1: Pasta with butter for the kids, and Mr. and I bought burritos at a local mexian place by our house before we left, so we could heat up and eat in the hotel room, worked great and it was nice to have a nice burrito waiting for us and not having to wait in any of the restaurant lines.
Breakfast Day 2: We brought milk and boxes cereal for the kids, Mr. and I ended up going to Dunkin Donuts (located in the hotel), Mr. got a coffee and I got a bagel and cream cheese. If we didn't have that, I would have eaten a protein bar that I brought.
Lunch Day 2: Kids at sandwiches again and Mr. and I walked to a local place next door and got some sandwiches for ourselves (it's a vietiemese place, called Lee's that has super good and super cheap sandwiches).
Side Note: The food there is excellent. The last time we went we ate twice at the Lodge Wood Fire Grill. There is also a Dunkin' Donuts located on the premise that we got breakfast at. We did not try to eat anywhere else. Also make reservations for anywhere you do decide to eat, as things get full in a hurry come dinner time.
| Tip 3 | Timing
Get there early, it says that on your check in day you can get there at 1 to check in the water park...go at noon. They still let you in and there is no line and you can access the water park early. And even if you don't get to go in, you'll want to get in line, because you know a bunch of people are going to be showing up 10 minutes till...be in the line early or get early access, can't lose. Plus while you're waiting in line, there is stuff for the kids to do, there is entertainment for the kids in the lobby area. When we got there they were doing balloon animals.
| Tip 4 | Water Park Tip
Okay, I know they have cabana's that you can rent, don't waste your money! Doors opened for the water park at 9am, and were down there at 8:15am (we had no idea what to expect), and we were 4th in line. And the line didn't really start to build up until 8:45am, even then there wasn't too many people (in case you wanted to know we went the last week of June, we also went the week between Christmas and New Years and we went at 9:15am and had no problem getting a table)
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| They also have chairs everywhere to sit and put your stuff |
Plus they do a cute song and entertainment to tell you the rules of the park, your kids can help "open" the water park.
So now the doors open, what do you do? Bee line it to the tables, find a table that you want to put your stuff, you know water bottles, extra clothes if you need/want it, goggles, etc. And make that your home base. We left our stuff on the table both days and no one ever touched it. We would always meet back at our table where our water, shoes, etc were waiting for us. No need for a cabana that would do basically the same thing. We left our wallets in the car (actually the first day I hide it in our bag of stuff, not recommended, but to each their own) because your bracelet you wear to get in has ability to buy stuff in the hotel, so no need for a wallet. We even were able to use the bracelet after we checked out, but still had a full day at the park.
| Tip 5 | Souvenirs
We all know our kids want them. Get the Pup Pass, it's a great deal. Our kids have never been to Build a Bear (stay with me, I have a point), but Great Wolf Lodge has their version of Build a Bear, so with the Pup Pass, you get to make a stuffed animal (cost was $29.99), you get $10 to spend at the arcade, can get one container of candy from the candy shop, a scoop of ice cream and a glitter tattoo (which lasted 9ish days on my daughter), all for $39.99, pretty awesome deal. Plus you get the parent points for getting all that stuff for your kids. Win, I tell ya.
Oh and there is this scavenger hunt that comes with the stuffed animal, you go around the hotel with your stuffed animal, super fun for the kids, and near the end you can earn a bunch of tickets from the arcade...Plus you can do it multiple times, we did it once the first night and then twice the next day. The gift that keeps on giving, my kids loved it.
If you have older kids that can read, I would suggest getting the bigger package of the Paw Pass or Wolf Pass. The second time we went we got the Paw Pass (as the Wolf Pass has a bunch of other activities to do that we knew we wouldn't have time for, I suggest getting this pass if you are staying for longer than 1 night). So the Wolf Pass has another game attached to it. You get the stuffed animal plus that game and you also get the Magi Quest wand plus game. This game can take up to 6 hours to complete. It's a lot of walking around, if you have to follow your kid around. At our hotel it went from the basement floor to the 6th floor. So you have a lot of walking to do to finish the tasks that are given to you. Baby Fox LOVED it, and Mini Fox thought it was okay. The best part, the wands store where you are in the game and you can pick up where you left off the next time you visit, and the price is $15. So you have a big cost that first time, then you bring your wand and play the game.
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| I didn't take any good pictures of the game, but here they are trying to open the treasure chest with their wands |
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