Great Wolf Lodge (Concord NC) questions

[pantherlj]

I have always been rather maticulous about planning but I think the disboards have made it worse

We are going to Concord, NC GWL for a Thursday night. Assuming that it won't be busy with most kids in school Thursday/Friday.

From what I understand, we can start using the park at 1 on check in and use it the entire next day. We love water and water parks so not sure we will want to do anything else but if we do ... is Magiquest worth it? Can my 8 and 11 yr old run around by themselves and do it? Meaning, can we sit in our room or by the pool while they do it or do we need to be running around with them? I wouldn't want them to separate so can I get away with one wand and one game?

I have read lots of reviews that say the food it overpriced and not good. What is nearby for lunch/dinner that is good?

Any other tips for the Concord GWL?

 

[sharlon]

I can't help you with GWL, but can tell you a bit about the area. GWL is located just off of Speedway Blvd. It is at the same exit as Concord Mills (Outlet mall) which has some restaurants. There are also tons of restaurants up and down Speedway Blvd on both sides of the interstate. Note: traffic on Speedway can get a bit congested due to the large number of hotels and restaurants and the mall all in a relatively small area.

 

[pantherlj]

I can't help you with GWL, but can tell you a bit about the area. GWL is located just off of Speedway Blvd. It is at the same exit as Concord Mills (Outlet mall) which has some restaurants. There are also tons of restaurants up and down Speedway Blvd on both sides of the interstate. Note: traffic on Speedway can get a bit congested due to the large number of hotels and restaurants and the mall all in a relatively small area.

Thanks! Any recommendations for places locals go? We like to find the places the locals go vs chains when we go to a new city

 

[Princess Nancy]

My DS is 17. When he was 14 we used to go to Magicquest in Myrtle Beach. It is it's own facility. You def want 2 wands, not one if this is the case.
He LOVED to go there.
And yes he could run around alone.

At GWL in Mason Ohio, Magicquest is set up around the lodge. He did not like it AT ALL. Says he would not do it again. If you decide to let them do this, I would think one wand would be okay, but often once something is completed you do not replay but move on, so they have to share! If it is set up this way I would not want my kid running all over the place.

HTH!

 

[dis-happy]

At the mall (Concord Mills Mall) on the other side of the freeway there is a Lego Store, located at the end near the movie theatres. Thought I'd mention it.

Sonny's Barbeque is a local chain and pretty good. So is Showmars.


Have fun and tell me how it goes. I've been wanting to try the GWL and haven't gotten there yet!

 

[MSSANDRA]

If you have extra time, hit concord mills. In addition to the lego store, there is a disney store, outdoor world and tons of outlet stores. Most of really close resturants are chain type. Sticky findgers is good and I am not sure it is very popular in other locations

 

[stacyalisa]

We went to GWL in Concord in July. We had fun. You can use the waterpark at check-in and do get to use it all the next day. Even after you check out. They have a great place to change and all. Even a neat bathing suit dryer. We just put all our stuff except a change of clothes and a hairbrush in the van and went back inside to swim more. They have these great wristbands that you can attach to your credit card and you don't even need to carry any money, just scan your wristband (and it is also your room key, just scan and the door opens). They have a bar by the pool too but we didn't use it.

The MagiQuest is nothing like the one in Myrtle Beach. All the things you "find" were just sitting out in the hall and it looked cheesy to me. We decided not to do it. IMO, your 11 year old may be able to get by doing it alone but probably not your 8 year old. You would also need 2 wands I would think. Before the trip I almost went crazy buying these "paw passes" and all that junk. I'm so glad we waited until after we got there to check it out first. We ended up not purchasing anything extra at all. We did spend a little time in the arcade but that's it. My kids didn't even care to visit the room where they were playing loud music and had video games set up (gr8 space?) and I never saw anyone else in there either. The build-a-bear part was pretty crappy imo. Not a lot of selection and not really anything like the real build-a-bear, my kids didn't even ask to do it and they ALWAYS ask for build-a-bear. I was so glad I had not payed for it in advance. My daughter did get a henna tattoo and would have liked to visit the spa for little girl's but it's $$$ so we said no. They LOVED the water park though (especially the inside wave pool) and we did have a great time.

We didn't eat there because the reviews of the food were not so good. We ordered pizza the one night we were there from Dominos and they delivered. I took my laptop and ordered online. GWL has free wi-fi. They have a Pizza Hut inside the place but when we called we were told they only serve personal pan pizzas for $5 each.

In short, my advice is not to purchase anything in advance until you see it first. You can add all that "extra" stuff later if you want to. Hope you have a great time! We will be going again one day.
Stacy

 

[tar heel]

Sorry to diss your post dis-happy, but . . .

Showmar's is good, but you'll have to drive a little way because the closest is the university area.

Sonny's is a southeastern United States chain, not a local chain. It is NOT North Carolina barbeuce. If you're going to do a ribs/barbecue chain, I think Sticky Fingers in front of Concord Mills is significantly better.

Some local places:
If you're interested in barbecue, there is a decent, moderately priced place called R & R about five-seven minutes away. Turn right out of Great Wolf, cross Speedway/Bruton Smith Boulevard and go to Pitts School Road. Turn left, and it's about a mile on the left.

There's a nice Japanese steak house, Tsunami, in the shopping center between Great Wolf and Speedway boulevard. It's what my kids used to always choose for their birthday meals. There's also two Mexican restaurants in that area.

We love ethnic food, and there are two wonderful ones. Spice 9, an Indian restaurant, is located across the interstate on the right side of Concord Mills Boulevard. Gateway to Athens, a Greek restaurant, is a little further away -- I can give you directions if you want. We also have a LOT of Mexican restaurants -- we like Mexican, so that's where we go when we don't want to spend a lot.

The Great Wolf exit has about 50 restaurants -- everything from Cracker Barrel to Hooters to the stuff I just listed. You most definitely will not go hungry. I've assumed you don't want to go real far away. Most of the locally owned places are not at exit 49 -- way too much competition!

 

[pantherlj]

Thanks so much for all the tips! DH loves trying new BBQ places so I appreciate the mention of those.

I'll be open minded about any extras they want to do but will make them pick just one thing or we can just SWIM They sure could play a lot of games in the arcade for the price of 2 magiquest wands/games!

 

[bored]

Hopefully your not going next weekend (Oct. 13-17). It's race week at Charlotte Motor Speedway and you won't wanna be in that area all week.

 

[lecach]

Just moved to Concord and work right across the street (right next to the Urgent Care and Waffle House). Let me know if you'd like me to check on anything for you.

We LOVE R&R - their ribs in particular. DS likes the trains that run on the tracks on the ceiling. They are closed on Sundays though.

Tsunami japanese is great and is in the same "center" where GWL is. You can eat at the tables where they cook for you or order the same food at a lower cost in the regular restaurant section. That's where we sit because DS doesnt like asian food and they have a regular menu for kids.

The mexican place that is near Tsunami is supposed to be good too. They have a lunch buffet during the week and the parking lot is always full.

There is a Subway in the center if you just wanted to grab sandwiches.

Across the road there is a restaurant called Quaker Steak that I have heard is really good. Its right next to the 5 Guys Burgers and Starbucks.

You will NOT go hungry - that's for sure.

 

[disneygirl 17]

I also agree R&R is good and so it Tsunami.

Most of the others around are chains. I would avoid Sonny's - I have not been impressed and I would also avoid Quaker Steak and Lube - it is all fried food and nasty in my opinion. There is a Chick-fil-a (chain I know) that I go to when shopping. As always it is good.

 

[princesspiglet]

We lived in Concord for a few years, but I didn't come to comment on that. I wanted to comment on Quaker Steak & Lube. If you like wings, then this is the best place for them. We always make a trip to the orignal one in Ohio when we are in western pa because we love it so much. The food is fried, as in wings, french fries, onion rings, but they also have incredible burgers and salads. Hands down, the best wings we have ever had.

 

[tar heel]

I like R&R barbecue, but, if your DH is a purist, he might say it isn't "real" Q. It is machine cooked, that is they don't have a pit and pile of wood outback. Doesn't matter to me...

The last meal I had at Quaker Steak was disappointing.