Great Wolf Lodge

[barbmouse]

I have read questions about GWL on these boards so I thought I'd pose my question here.

MY ds has a bday in Jan. he is a tween and is considering a family get away to GWL as his party/present instead of the usual friend party or sleepover. It looks like so much fun on the website but I would love info from families who have been there with tweens or teens.

TIA!!

 

[Tam1067]

We've been to both Sandusky and Traverse City. GWL says their targets are families with children 14 or younger, so it's not "for" the older teens, but my 11, 9, and 6 year olds had a blast.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Depends on the one you plan on going to. We live the closest to Sandusky and Cinncinati. They vary greatly.

My kids (5 and 10) love the one in Cinncinati but think the one in Sandusky is boring.

 

[runswithscissors]

Been to GWL in Pocono Mountains and Williamsburg, VA-love them both. We have a 6 year old and he has tons of fun when we go. I bring my nieces and nephews when we go and my oldest niece (13) likes the water park and arcade. If your son enjoys swimming, you probably can't go wrong.

 

[XYSRUS]

GWL is fun but if you have a Kalahari close by go there instead. I've been to both multiple times. We took our then 10 yo with 6 of his friends for an overnight b/day and had a blast. I of course, lucked out on a typo on the web and got a huge 12 person suite for under 300 bucks. Either GWL or Kalahari is fun!

 

[barbmouse]

Thanks for the replies thus far. I forgot to mention that the closest GWL to us is in Williamsburg, Va. so that is where we'll be traveling.

Any others enjoyed GWL?

 

[opteeka]

We love GWL. My kids are 3 and 5 and they LOVE IT!! We have only been to the one in Niagra Falls Canada. Brand new about 3 years ago. The staff is wonderful and the indoor water park is perfect for younger children. Older teens might get a little bored after a while. We are planning our 3rd trip this January.

 

[Marshay]

We just went to GWL in Williamsburg in early November. Although my DD is only 3 and of course loved it, I saw lots of kids having fun. But, I didn't see many older kids (13 -18).

I guess I would say you know your kids best. If they enjoy a water park and can have fun no matter where they are, then definitely go. They will find something fun to do, like the body board surfing and the teen club and arcade. It's definitely a "go on your own" type of place that so appeals to teens (meaning depending on their maturity level, you can feel free to let them wander around the resort on their own at the club, arcade and depending on the age at the water park, too. What's nice is that it's all contained in one big building so you don't have to keep an eye on your older kids every minute).

However, if they are the type that are very self-conscious and would be mortified to be seen playing on the same slides as 8-10 yo, then maybe skip it.

Just avoid the buffet...it's not really good at all and I'm not in any way a foodie. We thought breakfast was fine but dinner was barely edible (several meats were too hard to chew, dry and just bland, veggies were mush and cupcakes and brownies were stale).