Great Wolf Lodge

[PollyannaMom]

Any advice if you've been to Great Wolf Lodge (especially the new one in Massachusetts)?

We're planning a weekend trip, and of course I've been exploring their website, but I'm also looking for the kind of insider info/tips that we share here about Disney.

 

[littlejimmy]

Been to a couple of them. Not the one that you are talking about. My only tip: just go and have fun and go on water rides like crazy and laugh and giggle and scream and get soaked.

 

[TAX GUY]

Any advice if you've been to Great Wolf Lodge (especially the new one in Massachusetts)?

We're planning a weekend trip, and of course I've been exploring their website, but I'm also looking for the kind of insider info/tips that we share here about Disney.

I started the planning process for a weekend trip too (also in MA). I was all for it until the total price....

With a check in on a Friday and check out on Sunday, for 2 adults and 2 kids, only the "basic" package and a "den" room.... I was looking at over $1000!!! For a weekend? Pass.

 

[DISNEYD14]

We go once a year for one night. Price has me puzzled...would rather do Disney for the same one night stay.
It's fun but it's NOT worth the $$$ to me.

The only reason we go is because I get one night for a 45% discount

 

[littlejimmy]

Geez. You guys are downers. Sorry, you don't want the expense, why rain on the ops parade. Come on.

 

[DISNEYD14]

Okay - you are right, just because to me the expense was crazy. I'll give a few tips of advice.
Depending on age of kids get the paw pass or pup pass (saves $$ big time). We didn't find enough to do at GWL but my kids love it. I found the expense outrageous but if you love Water parks, you'll enjoy.
My kids love MagiQuest and it can be difficult to play for younger ones.
Bring lunch with you, heat up soups etc as the food there is pricey and really no good.
Go to waterpark early morning to get seats and back again after dinner until close. Best times for no wait lines (same as disney

 

[TAX GUY]

Geez. You guys are downers. Sorry, you don't want the expense, why rain on the ops parade. Come on.

Expense is one thing, over $1000 for a weekend is another. For a hotel stay and water park, not for this family. I know there are far more options for us for entertainment for a weekend for far less money.

If you are able to drop that kind of coin for a weekend, kudos to you. Even if I could afford to spend that kind of money, it probably wouldn't be on something like this.

 

[TAX GUY]

Okay - you are right, just because to me the expense was crazy. I'll give a few tips of advice.
Depending on age of kids get the paw pass or pup pass (saves $$ big time). We didn't find enough to do at GWL but my kids love it. I found the expense outrageous but if you love Water parks, you'll enjoy.
My kids love MagiQuest and it can be difficult to play for younger ones.
Bring lunch with you, heat up soups etc as the food there is pricey and really no good.
Go to waterpark early morning to get seats and back again after dinner until close. Best times for no wait lines (same as disney

Pay attention to the bolded part. If you read reviews on line you will see this brought up over and over again.

 

[DISNEYD14]

Expense is one thing, over $1000 for a weekend is another. For a hotel stay and water park, not for this family. I know there are far more options for us for entertainment for a weekend for far less money.

If you are able to drop that kind of coin for a weekend, kudos to you. Even if I could afford to spend that kind of money, it probably wouldn't be on something like this.

** I agree and if I can save anyone the $$$ I would **
The first time we went we did spend over 1K for 3 days. I cried when we got home and because of what happened to us while we were there we were able to return with a comp stay and 45% discount the next 3 visits was the only reason we went back...but that's another story.

 

[richmo]

GWL is definitely not cheap, but sometimes discounts are available during off periods.

My answer depends quite a bit on driving distance. Consider going for just one night. Arrive early the first day...you can check in and do the water park for quite some time before getting your actual room assignment (I think it was noon at the Poconos location last we went...not sure). You then go back to the desk later to get your actual room. Then the next day you can go back to the water park for quite awhile, even after checking out. Point is you can get a lot of water park time in even with one night. Of course, if you have a long drive to and from, that could change things.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I guess I should be more specific. - Rather than the monetary aspect, I'm looking for details like what time the various activities open and close and which ones are more or less crowded in the morning vs. afternoon vs. evening. - My group will likely be most interested in the waterpark and ropes course.

For the water park especially, things like how many people per raft on the group rides, or similar details.

Also, are there any "little touches" that are not be missed, but you need to explore the building a bit to see? (I'm not expecting Hidden Mickeys - maybe a favorite photo spot, or that sort of thing.)

Thank you for the tip on being able to bring in outside food, too. I had seen that mentioned in a review as well, and I like to be prepared.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We visited the one in Wisconsin Dells for 3 days. Honestly, the water park was the only part of it we really used, wave for the bedtime story one night. We spent roughly half our time there, the rest of the time out & about and that worked well for us.

 

[richmo]

I guess I should be more specific. - Rather than the monetary aspect, I'm looking for details like what time the various activities open and close and which ones are more or less crowded in the morning vs. afternoon vs. evening. - My group will likely be most interested in the waterpark and ropes course.

For the water park especially, things like how many people per raft on the group rides, or similar details.

Also, are there any "little touches" that are not be missed, but you need to explore the building a bit to see? (I'm not expecting Hidden Mickeys - maybe a favorite photo spot, or that sort of thing.)

Thank you for the tip on being able to bring in outside food, too. I had seen that mentioned in a review as well, and I like to be prepared.

At GWL Poconos, I believe the tube/raft rides were either 1 or two people. You just grab whichever size you want.

Also, they had an interactive game you could play within the hotel...kind of like Kim Possible/Phineas and Ferb at Epcot, but you purchase a wand. Not sure if they still have it or if its in other locations.

Lines are short early in the morning. The hotel check-in line can get long as the afternoon goes on, then lets up later. I'd encourage you to get there as soon as possible. The raft ride lines tend to get long from mid-day to late afternoon. Before and after that were better.

And, yes, the food is so-so. At Poconos there was a Red Robin nearby, so we went there. Bringing your lunch isn't a bad idea. There was a breakfast buffet that wasn't bad...

 

[TAX GUY]

This is what I got from a good friend of mine when I was looking into going. This is specific to the NE location:

"Fun! We all had a great time. We bought the wolf pass - a little taste of everything... It was perfect for our 3 nights there. If only going 1 night - I would pass on it and do a-la-cart activities. I thought that 3-4 hours was perfect time at park - otherwise you get waterlogged. We brought breakfast/lunch snack things and ate out for dinner. Once at the lodge but then down a few exits - there are many other options. But we also have the 3 kids with 10 year gap - so bringing food I knew they would eat was easier for me. We did the normal family suite - 2 queen and pullout and I felt that 90% of the time the 5 of us had plenty of room to move around. The only thing lacking was hanging space to dry suits & my towel. They do provide towels - I brought mine and was happy that I did - but I couldn't imagine trying to hang 5 towels to dry..."


She also told me they got a promotional deal when they first opened. They went as their family vacation. They arrived early on check in day and used the water parks and she paid for the late check out too, which gave them more time to enjoy the morning of check out and they stayed after check out too (until I think 9 PM).

 

[rszdtrvl]

DH and I have taken DS twice to GWL in Grand Mound, WA.

We all had a blast. 2 nights seemed barely too long. But I think one night would be too little.

DS always had a friend with him. They would stay up late in the lobby with other teenagers and just hang out.

Last time we went was a couple years ago, DS was 15.

I recommend it! Yes, it is expensive - especially the Grand Mound one, which is a newer one - but so much fun! Even DH and I had a blast on the slides!

 

[cluvsdisney]

I went to the GWL in PA in August for one night with my sister and her 2 kids who are 4 & 5 years old. We went from Sunday - Monday. It was her treat, so I don't know how much the room was but we had a Kid Cabin Suite. The kids loved having their own room with a TV since they don't have TVs in their room at home. The room was very spacious and had a small kitchenette area with microwave, fridge, etc.

Official check in is at 4pm but you can arrive as early as 1pm and use the water park. They give all the children wolf ear headbands which were really cute. They have facilities to change and you can rent a locker to store your things. Towels & life jackets are provided.

They had different slide areas you'll have to check the height requirements for your family. But one are was geared towards smaller kids with 4 different slides - two were very short with little bumps and 2 longer ones with a couple of twists and turns. They let out into a very shallow pool. The route for getting on the slides/into the pool/back to the slide was a loop so it was easy to keep tabs on the kids.

There was one on top of the fort that doesn't require a tube or anything.

There were a few with tubes or rafts, due to height requirements (and kid courage) we only went on Alberta Falls with a dual raft. My 5 year old nephew LOVED it and it was his favorite ride.

They had a wave pool which was my 4 year old niece's favorite. They have a lazy river too. On Sunday it was very crowded and tough to get a tube. The whole place was much quieter on Monday, which we expected.

After dinner, we went to the game room which was crazy loud and played a round of duck pin bowling which was fine. There are activities in the lobby...we took pictures with one of the wolves and saw a little singing act. I'm sure there's a lot more but we missed it.


I didn't think the food was that bad or that expensive considering they had a pretty captive audience. Dinner and breakfast were buffets at the restaurant inside and it the food was better than I expected. They had a nice selection and it was fresh. Although, we were kind of bummed there wasn't a restaurant with a menu. It was a long day and my sister and I really didn't want to deal with getting our own food. Lunch on Monday was at the grill/snack bar by the outside pool which was really good. We got 4 burgers, 3 fries, 2 sodas, 2 beers and a big pretzel for $50. I don't remember the cost of the buffet meals.


Overall, we had a great time. My nephew said it was his favorite vacation even though it was one night and ultimately tied with a subsequent trip to Disney.

Hope this helps a bit!! Have a great time!

 

[mjkacmom]

GWL is definitely not cheap, but sometimes discounts are available during off periods.

My answer depends quite a bit on driving distance. Consider going for just one night. Arrive early the first day...you can check in and do the water park for quite some time before getting your actual room assignment (I think it was noon at the Poconos location last we went...not sure). You then go back to the desk later to get your actual room. Then the next day you can go back to the water park for quite awhile, even after checking out. Point is you can get a lot of water park time in even with one night. Of course, if you have a long drive to and from, that could change things.

We were always able to use the water park right at opening on arrival day. This is a good idea, because by 10 or so, there are no chairs to be had. Magiquest is fun, if you are there for at least 2 nights. Otherwise, don't bother. And don't go for more than 2 nights - that's enough. We used to take the kids out of school to save $.

 

[Disneylover99]

We go to GWL Niagara. Love it there! We go when we can get a good deal. Here's a tip.....book for one night.....they will slip your bill under your door in the morning and they usually have a much cheaper rate for staying the second night, then if you had booked the second night ahead of time. Of course you have a better chance of getting a deal like this mid week.

 

[kirstenb1]

We've only been to GWL Williamsburg. We try to go on a Sunday, and return Monday. We're 90 minutes away, so the kids miss a couple of hours of school Monday but it's much less busy, which is a huge deal. My kids have done the Magiquest, which is the wand/wizard game, and they love it. We pack plenty of snacks. The food at the pool is fine. However the pizza line takes forever, imho, and the quality is ick. Personally I think a one night stay allows us to do everything. I've heard Fri/Sat here in Williamsburg are horrendously busy, which is why we avoid them. Overall, it's a fun family experience.

 

[Callie]

My mom took us in February of this year. We arrived on a Monday and left on a Wednesday. There was a deal on groupon, so it was around $300 total. Not bad for a hotel and water park passes for 3 people. We all enjoyed it, even as adults. I would recommend getting the refillable soda mug. It is good for the entire stay. The rooms are large, and for sure bring snacks and breakfast!
Also, we had a room on the basement floor. Thought it would be bad, but it ended up being such a short walk out the door to the waterpark!