Great Wolf Lodge question

[Mellie2162]

Ive tried doing a search of this board because I know its been discussed here before, but I keep getting a server too busy message. Anyway,for those of you who have been there do you have any advice on what to do or not to do as far as activities and food/restaraunts? We are going the end of this month for 3 full days and will be staying locally in Williamsburg the day before. I know the kids are not going to want to leave the waterpark, or DH for that matter but how much can I expect to spend in food for 3 days?

 

[zurgswife]

Personally I'd stay away from the onsite sit down. We didn't enjoy the food at all and I thought the prices were too high for the service. Sort of like Peppermill Market in my opinion. You get your own food and the server bring you your drinks and you tip the server

Any how at the water park area...inside portion anyway there was a pizza pan pizza station and dippin dots. As I remember any way.

Also right up the road there is a sonic ( I like sonic, good onion rings and milkshakes) and a walmart. I'm sure if you do search on google you can find other food places too eat.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I echo Zurgswife! We don't do the sit down restaurants unless they are included. The food is just ok and it's really pricey.

There's a great BBQ place right down the road (less than 1/2 a mile I think) from GWL. When you are headed out from the parking lot take a right. It's called Pierce's BBQ. Reasonable prices & good food.

We like Sonic too. You'll see it on your way in by Walmart.

We've eaten at the outside grill by the pool. Again, reasonable prices, good food. Very relaxing. They had a fella playing the guitar and singing.

Breakfast in the main restaurant was alright. The price was included in our stay. We wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been included. Lots more food than needed. The coffee was awful! It was burnt! Both urns. So disappointed. I did go to Starbucks downstairs for a regular coffee. (I think theirs usually tastes burnt, but it was 1000x's better!) Gotta have my morning coffee!
Anyway, that's the only sit down place we did.

We brought some sandwhich makings and odds and ends and ate in the room sometimes. We were just too dog tired to go anywhere but our rooms!

HTH!

 

[magiroux]

I agree the restaurants were nothing too great. However, I was suprised to have the best pot roast dinner *ever* in that restaurant (and I make a pretty mean pot roast ) the last night of our stay. They served it in a cast iron skillet and I've had cravings for it ever since .

Not that I went looking, but I don't remember much being around the lodge except the Walmart & Sonic.

 

[LisaNJ25]

hmmm ok why doesnt that location come up in Sonics website.

 

[Annette_VA]

hmmm ok why doesnt that location come up in Sonics website.

I just checked & it does come up. Put in the address for GWL & it's the first result.


We've been to the Wmsbg GWL 5 times & have been really disappointed in what they've done to the restaurants. Our first few trips, the Bar & Grill resaturant was awesome. But, they did some restructuring & it's all gone to pot.

We won't eat on-site anymore. We hit Sonic a lot or we head out to 60 - there you can find a lot of chain restaurants: Outback, Applebee's, Olive Garden, Friendlys, Chilis, etc.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I just checked & it does come up. Put in the address for GWL & it's the first result.


We've been to the Wmsbg GWL 5 times & have been really disappointed in what they've done to the restaurants. Our first few trips, the Bar & Grill resaturant was awesome. But, they did some restructuring & it's all gone to pot.

We won't eat on-site anymore. We hit Sonic a lot or we head out to 60 - there you can find a lot of chain restaurants: Outback, Applebee's, Olive Garden, Friendlys, Chilis, etc.

Are you guys talking about the one in Virginia or PA?

 

[jayandstacey]

My recommendation would be to split the eatings like this to save some money while having some convenience. Of 3 meals, eat one in your room, one on the property and one off the property. Walmart will get you your bread, peanut butter, bagels...whatever you need for your room meal.

This will save some money while not making everyone mad. Outside GWL are TONS of places to eat if you're willing to make the 10 minute ride toward williamsburg.

As a GWL shareholder, I'm always surprised at how they miss the mark on some minor stuff. The cafe and sit down place aren't bad, but they don't make you want to stay in the building. GWL should increase the value of the food offering - by lowering the price or offering more for the same dollar. The idea is that people should have the sense of "leave the property? no way!" It is too easy to find an excuse to leave.

The food offerings aren't bad.

Enjoy

 

[Mellie2162]

Thank you guys! This is exactly what I was looking to find out. We certainly don't mind driving to get a good meal, I'm just wondering how exhausted we are going to be at the end of the day to even leave. At least I know that there is good food not far away.

Any other tips on things to bring with us to enjoy our waterpark stay without breaking our bank? Is there a place to wash and dry our bathing suits and towels at the end of the day?

 

[clh2]

I've only been to GWL at Wisconsin Dells, but have a few opinions to offer:

Will your room have a fridge? if so, pack a cooler, or pick up some basics, i.e.OJ,milk, cereal, donuts, easy fruit i.e. bananas. Breakfast is done.

If either you or DH could go out for lunch - is there a place that sells subs nearby?

For dinner - is there a Pizza place nearby that delivers to the room? If you bring your own pop, that will cover dinner very cost effectively!

Also - in Wis. Dells, the rooms had coffee makers, and a microwave. We love to take microwave popcorn with us, when packed, it doesn't take up any room.

I wouldn't bring my own towels. They have towels in the waterpark for guests to use. They just take up extra space. I don't recall if there are laundry facilities, but in the shower there is probably the clothes-line-thingy that most suits should fit on. I always like to bring a couple of clothes pins for the clothes line. It tends to keep the suits from "smunching up next to each other" and not drying.

 

[StephMK]

Hi, I just stayed there w/ ten 12yo Girl Scouts a few weeks ago. We had a blast!! We did not eat at the onsite restaurants but ended up at IHOP both nights. Right near the Sonic, which is very close to the hotel. I thought at their age that they might get bored of the park but they didn't. The few water slides kept them busy as long as we stayed. Bonus because climbing all those flights over & over wore them out!

They have a great machine in the locker room for drying suits. Stick it in, close the door for a few seconds & it comes out nearly dry! They have washers/dryers but I imagine they are pricey. Sodas were $2 in the vending machines!! We had a frig but it needed to be defrosted. They took it & brought it back by the end of the day. Pain because we found out at 11pm that night & wanted cold drinks for the following day. So check your frig at check in if you plan to store items.

I was a little ticked that they gouge so highly on vending machines & their stores after paying their room prices but we came equipped w/drinks so just be prepared. Donuts were some goofy high price in their shop so we avoided those as well.

Have a great trip!!

 

[OceanAnnie]

We didn't think about lockers. But they do have them for rent in the restroom area. So much nicer to have a locker than having to lug & keep track of things you need to have somewhat handy. We used them on our last day.

There is a Pizza Hut inside GWL. It's beside the reception desk. We haven't gotten anything there yet. But it's nice to know it's there. We may use it sometime.

They do have coffee makers, microwave, and a nice size fridge in the rooms. I always tend to run out of sugar & creamer so I get my coffee elsewhere. (next time I'll buy some) I am glad we bought drinks and things to eat ahead of time. I wasn't kidding when I stated we were too tired to go out to eat. Sometimes it was just like that. It was nice to have the option to eat in.
And as someone stated-- cost effective.

We brought our towels from home too. But as clh2 stated, it wasn't needed.

 

[jayandstacey]

Mellie -

I echo the other tips. Since you are in MD and driving, consider bringing a cooler filled with snacks, sodas, etc. That's where you can save some real money. The room should have a fridge, but even if not, you have your cooler. This will also allow you to bring juice, milk, etc. (note to GWL management - charge $.75 for a soda and people won't bring coolers - and you'll make more money...)

Consider bringing a book, some playing cards, a radio, puzzles, or other games appropriate for those who may not want to be in the water all the time. One of the nice things about the waterpark is that it is closed, no flies, no burning sun, no rain - so you can sit and play and not worry about the kids running off, or worry about feeling uncomfortable. So get the room's money worth and just hang out poolside.

Another suggestion is to bring a portable DVD player (and movies) to hook up to the TVs in the room. Bring some movies, microwave popcorn and your evening is set. However, I would also recommend a walking candlelight ghost tour in Williamsburg if the kids are old enough. Great way to spend an evening and not too much $$$.

Bring your own coffee cups and coffee/tea. Heat the cup and water in the microwave and have a nice beginning/end of day drink.

As others said, it can be a hike back to the room, but it is all indoors and is not too bad. Our strategy has been to bring everything we think we might ever want - then load it all into the room - then if we are poolside and want it, we go get it.

There are loads of shopping/eating places within 10 minutes, and some are next door - but none are within walking distance. Be prepared to drive to get anything, even from the neighboring Walmart

 

[jayandstacey]

I guess someone else mentioned the coffee maker in the room - but I like hot tea (I've never had coffee) so I always bring a cup and some tea bags. Gotta have my sleepytime

also be sure to bring forks, knives, napkins, salt, etc. All the little stuff that you always have and use at home. Makes life easier.

 

[grgich]

We stayed at GWL in August 2005. The kids had a great time in the indoor water park, and we did enjoy the outdoor pool area as well. The rooms are "nice", but not really as nice as I would expect for the prices that you pay. Especially since most of the balconies either overlook a parking lot or the building that houses the indoor water park. Our room overlooked the back of the "wave" pool and you couldn't even sit out on the balcony to enjoy a cup of coffee, as it was so loud! Such a shame that they didn't think to landscape their grounds a bit more and figure a way that people could actually enjoy their balcony without the air conditioners/heater noise.

We did have a pizza deal one night, you can eat it in the water park. One afternoon, we had grilled items from the outside pool cabana area. The food was good, but... it took over 1.5 hours to get it! We also ate at the sit-down restaurant for dinner, and again, the food was good, but the wait was unbearable. Not even half of the tables had guests, but we were told that it was an hour wait to get a table. Then after our hour wait turned into almost 2 hours (yes, it was almost 9pm by then, and we just didn't want to leave to go someplace else), we finally got to sit down. Then it was almost another 1/2 hour before our order was taken.... it was a nightmare in terms of service. Actually, the food may have been mediocre, but we were so hungry at that point - anything would have been good, I suspect.

Anyway, if we were to do this again, I would plan to eat elsewhere. The room we had did have a fridge, microwave, and coffee maker, so breakfast in the room would be fine, maybe bring something for sandwiches for lunch or do the pizza hut deal at the water park, then if I could drag my kids out of the water park, I would go into Williamsburg to eat dinner.

I do believe that GWL is missing the "service" component that I find so desirable at Disney.

 

[summerrluvv]

How is the GWL in the Summer time? We went last November and the 85 degree water felt good, but is it just too hot in the Summer? I was thinking of taking a weekend getaway this month to PA.

 

[Otto's Doll]

How is the GWL in the Summer time? We went last November and the 85 degree water felt good, but is it just too hot in the Summer? I was thinking of taking a weekend getaway this month to PA.

We took the kids (14, 13, 12, 11) 2 weeks ago, and had a blast. The water was perfect and we loved that the kids could just go and play. No worries about sunburn, bugs or where they were. (Actually DH and I went on all the same rides as the kids, and liked it so much we are considering going back for our anniversary in November!) We did try the Pizza Hut Express and it was awful. We ate at Friendly's the night we stayed (took forever, but was cheaper than eating at GWL) and ate breakfast at a diner nearby. I would do the same thing next time, and bring a cooler and pick up some sandwiches or something for lunch and keep them in the cooler till we are ready to eat.