Great Wolfs Lodge Poconos Pa.

[tink15823]

Hi we want to do a mini vacation with our family and my cousins family in the fall . Pocono area is about 1/2 from her house in Ct and ours in Pa. I was wondering if they have discounts or promos for Great Wolfs Lodge? If anyone has gone pros and cons is the price I'm seeing include the water park?. If you have other weekend ideas in that area ? We have done Steamtown in the past the kids loved it. Doesn't have to be extravagant we just want to get together .

 

[burnurcomputer]

Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos was a ton of fun! We did it over Mothers day with a groupon

The price include the water park on the day of check in and check out, so you are getting 2 days of water park for your $. There are plenty of close by places to dine if you wan to save some cash. We took milk and cereal to eat in the morning- rooms have fridges. Bathrooms are a bit small for my taste, but hey, its a bathroom!

We didn't have to leave for anything, but make sure you bring extra cash for things like the arcade, the general store, a locker rental, and any other snacks that you will eat.

We will go back again sometime, we had a ton of un! The only thing that gave me pause is in the winter months you can't go outside (duh!) but my 2nd oldest has asthma and had to be on steroids for a week because of the chlorine exposure and not being able to go to an exterior air location without leaving the building. Its is not a great Wolf lodge problem, but my sons lungs.


Edit to add: Only Lodge guests can swim at the park, so you don't have to worry about random people. Plus, an outside agency does the life guarding and they are awesome! I have been to GWL two times at different places and will not hesitate to go again, and I am not a fan of water parks!

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

Not knowing what PP's Groupon price may have been, the best discount I've seen is 20% off. They send them out once in awhile in the emails. I've been watching for probably 3 years, since we went, and this is the best I've found.

It was okay. We weren't overly impressed by it and it was way to expensive... which is why I was trying to look for a good deal. If it were cheap enough we'd go back, but I'd never go with even the 20% off. The room was nice but the couch was falling apart. The waterpark would have been better for older kids. We weren't allowed to double up to go down the slides with our little one, and it wasn't all that clear. One employee let us, then later another said no. This made it difficult with my already difficult DS The Pizza Hut inside was ridiculously expensive and the garbage cans were over flowing and it was not busy. For the price we just didn't think it was worth it overall. We didn't have trouble avoiding the "extras" at the hotel so we didn't need extra money.

If you go, do plan on going into town to eat and stay away from or tell the kids the extras are not part of the trip and you'll be good.

 

[eeyore29]

We live about 20 minutes from the lodge and the only "great" deals I've seen was for September weekdays once school was back in session. About 6 years ago, we got $99 per night with a promo they ran on the radio. The following year it was up to $129 or $149 for the same promo. We haven't been back since, and I haven't heard anything that low anymore. A great deal might be out there, I just haven't been looking for it though. I signed up for emails with them, and the offers I've received were NOT awesome at all.

BTW, I did have fun & liked it there. For our little family, $300 per night is out of the question. Now, if you have more people, it's probably not a bad deal. We haven't been back because both times we went, DH broke out in a rash from the water. He says it was something "icky"; I say it was just overly chlorinated.

 

[rantnnravin]

Look on the website for current promotional discounts/specials.

If your kids like interactive/immersive RPG games, set aside extra funds to play MagiQuest. DD and MY DBF spent the time we had out of the water running around the hotel playing this. It was a LOT of fun. IIRC is was about $30 each for the wand and game?

They not only have mini-fridges in the room, they also have microwaves. Since the H20park is connected to the hotel, it's really easy to go back to the room for lunch/dinner. We brought beverages, snacks, and stuff we make or could heat up and that saved a lot in terms of meal costs - We didn't want to go offsite, so we did eat at the buffet for dinner one of the nights and didn't really find it to be outrageously expensive - though there are only us 3, so YMMV. We also went downstairs to their pizza place (not pizza hut) and got heroes that were so huge that we split them and had them for two days along with the salad that we made and brought with us and kept in the fridge.

We had a blast and have already booked our room for Feb break - they have a bounce-back discount - just ask at the desk.

 

[trewin]

We visit the GWL in Sandusky every year. I always get email deals (only for Sandusky tho). You could always book it, sign up for emails and if something better comes along, cancel and rebook! I almost always get a special when we go, it always includes park admission. We think its perfect for younger children- they have a lot of activities, like story time, an arcade, "nature hikes", a dance party! I do think its aimed towards younger kids, so if you have teens that might be a con. The only other con I can come up w/ is: we aren't crazy about the food for the price. Some meals we thought sucked for what we paid, so we usually go out to eat!

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I have never been but a lot of friends and family go and love it. The best deals are usually last minute, mid week deals to fill the rooms.

 

[maciec]

I would recommend that if you decide to go to stay on the top floor. The walls and floors are thin. The kids above us must have been jumping off of the top bunk at 530 in the morning every morning we were there. Not a fun way to wake up!

 

[Jerseymomof2]

Look on the website for current promotional discounts/specials.

If your kids like interactive/immersive RPG games, set aside extra funds to play MagiQuest. DD and MY DBF spent the time we had out of the water running around the hotel playing this. It was a LOT of fun. IIRC is was about $30 each for the wand and game?

They not only have mini-fridges in the room, they also have microwaves. Since the H20park is connected to the hotel, it's really easy to go back to the room for lunch/dinner. We brought beverages, snacks, and stuff we make or could heat up and that saved a lot in terms of meal costs - We didn't want to go offsite, so we did eat at the buffet for dinner one of the nights and didn't really find it to be outrageously expensive - though there are only us 3, so YMMV. We also went downstairs to their pizza place (not pizza hut) and got heroes that were so huge that we split them and had them for two days along with the salad that we made and brought with us and kept in the fridge.

We had a blast and have already booked our room for Feb break - they have a bounce-back discount - just ask at the desk.

We went 2 weeks ago. me, my mom and my 2 boys 5 & 7. We had a great time. They have a fridge & microwave and we didn't but any food. I brought a bag full of food and left with it empty. I feel it was totally worth it. The room was ok. not great but I wasn't grossed out enough to leave.
and if you had to pay for water park passes for 4 people for 2 days it would have been more $ then I spent.

You can check in the 1pm the day you get there to use the water park and they will try to have you room ready (check time is 4pm but you can start using the park at 1pm) our room was ready. then the next day we packed up the car and didn't leave until after 2pm (check is 11 am) so I feel we got oiur money's worth. We will go back sometime this winter.

 

[njmom47]

Do you have a workplace employee discount program? At my place of employment, we have 2 different programs and they both have discounts for GWL. I didn't notice how much the discounts were but maybe you could check if you have something like that where you work.

 

[mjkacmom]

We went 2 weeks ago. me, my mom and my 2 boys 5 & 7. We had a great time. They have a fridge & microwave and we didn't but any food. I brought a bag full of food and left with it empty. I feel it was totally worth it. The room was ok. not great but I wasn't grossed out enough to leave.
and if you had to pay for water park passes for 4 people for 2 days it would have been more $ then I spent.

You can check in the 1pm the day you get there to use the water park and they will try to have you room ready (check time is 4pm but you can start using the park at 1pm) our room was ready. then the next day we packed up the car and didn't leave until after 2pm (check is 11 am) so I feel we got oiur money's worth. We will go back sometime this winter.

We have been many times, and have always been allowed to use the water park as soon as it opened. They just call our cellphone when the room is ready. No need to wait until 1.

 

[Happyjen27]

If you sign up for emails on their website, they will email you deals. If you visit they will follow up with good discounts for a short while after the visit.

Pros:
They make it very easy to be there. Wrist bands in and out of the room and to charge food.
Clean towels in abundance in the water park
Everything you need is right there in the resort, no need to leave the property (unless you have taste buds, more on that in the cons section)
They do nice little things, like stories in the lobby with all the little kids in pajamas.
The rooms were clean enough, but not everything is in tip-top shape (see PP and couch)
They provide pack n plays for little ones
There is a nice outlet mall nearby for some good shopping if Mommy wants her "me" time.

Cons:
Expense. It's very spendy. Yes, the numbers you're seeing do include the water park, from check in day to check out day.
Gross food. Not only was the food icky, it was expensive. From beginning to end, all the food we ate was edible, but not good. I refer to it as "Gut wad" just something to hold space down there so I don't starve, but nothing I enjoyed eating. We went off property the second night, and while everyone at the restaurant was nice, that was sub par food too. I'm glad we thought ahead and packed breakfast and lunches to eat in the room.

ETA: I checked the ages of your kids, and they are all older. I think they will quite possibly have the time of their lives there! Lots of big slides, and fun stuff to do.

 

[MaleficentRN]

We haven't been in a couple of years because the discounts haven't been all that great lately. But they do have promos on the website and also sign up for their newsletter. It may even work out to be a better value if you get one of the large family suites that sleep 8 people.
As most have posted, don't eat on site. It is overpriced and terrible. We brought snacks and breakfast foods. (I got Starbucks for me. My vice) and ate other meals at the diner less than five minutes from the property.
Can I suggest you go near Halloween? They have more activities that time of year.Trick or Treating, Costume Party are listed. And I'm not sure if they still do it, but they did a hayride and pumpkin patch when we went on Halloween a couple of years back.

 

[aprilgail2]

You can check in the 1pm the day you get there to use the water park and they will try to have you room ready (check time is 4pm but you can start using the park at 1pm) our room was ready. then the next day we packed up the car and didn't leave until after 2pm (check is 11 am) so I feel we got oiur money's worth. We will go back sometime this winter.

I have been there often and if you ask they TELL you that you can start using the park at 1pm- but we have routinely checked in at 900-930 am and are in the water park by 10am- sometimes our room is even ready at 9:30 am but that is a bonus if it is, we don't expect it to be. One time our room wasn't ready until almost 6pm, that stunk! We leave our house with bathing suits under our clothes, leave the luggage in the car, check in get the bracelets and get right into the water park so we are able to spend the full day there!

 

[disny_luvr]

What time can you stay in the waterpark on check-out day? My kids have a short two-day break in March and I'm thinking of taking them to GWL but it would only be for one night. I'd like to stay as long as we can on checkout day. Also, are there showers and/or a changing area we could use before we leave?

 

[aprilgail2]

What time can you stay in the waterpark on check-out day? My kids have a short two-day break in March and I'm thinking of taking them to GWL but it would only be for one night. I'd like to stay as long as we can on checkout day. Also, are there showers and/or a changing area we could use before we leave?

You can stay until closing- they have showers and a changing area there and also lockers.