Like families all over the country, we have had some fun stays at our local Great Wolf Lodge. When I was doing some research before our first visit several years ago, I found some posts about how much families enjoyed their visits but not a ton of practical tips. So I am offering my modest contributions to your family’s preparation for Great Wolf Lodge. Here are our top 5 tips for visiting Great Wolf Lodge. We hope they will help you with your visit.
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1. Bring robes to the waterpark.
Obviously swim wear is essential for a Great Wolf Lodge visit, but the other clothing items that a made a big difference in our visits were robes. We bring regular hooded bathrobes for the kids, and this is what they wear over their swimsuits before and after their waterpark time. The robes keep them covered and cozy on the long walk between the waterpark and our hotel room.
Robes are especially important at Great Wolf Lodge, because the hotel asks that you not take the waterpark towels back to the guest rooms. There is actually a desk inside the waterpark where you check-in and check-out your towels by scanning the wristband tied to your stay. You could bring your own towels to wrap around little ones or fully change, but we think bathrobes are the best option. Honestly, I am surprised we don’t see more kiddos using robes at Great Wolf Lodge.
We especially like hooded fleece bathrobes like these. We love cotton, but it gets heavy when wet.
2. Don’t rely on the restaurants at Great Wolf Lodge.
If you have read any other posts on our site with attraction tips, this advice will sound familiar, but, bring your own food to Great Wolf Lodge to save money! You cannot bring it with you into the waterpark area, but otherwise, you can pack your own food for your visit.
The reviews for restaurants inside our local Great Wolf Lodge are pretty dismal. Unfortunately, we have no personal reviews to share with you, because we looked at the menu options and prices and decided the Great Wolf Lodge dining options were not for us. What does work for us is packing a variety of food options. After we check-in, we place our groceries in the in-room mini-fridge and on the surrounding shelves. When we have food that needs to be microwaved, we walk down to the ice and vending machine area where we use the shared microwave located in that alcove.
Here are some food items we have brought to Great Wolf Lodge:
- macaroni and cheese cups
- ramen cups
- edamame
- caprese skewers (toothpicks loaded with mozzarella pearls, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves)
- charcuterie spread (various cheeses, cured meats, crackers, etc)
- hummus plus carrots and pretzels
- apples, bananas, oranges… basically produce that did not take-up space in the little refrigerator
- shelf stable milk boxes (same idea)
- cereal
- yogurt cups
- salad kits
- sliced bread, peanut butter, and other sandwiches supplies
On our first trip, we thought we might leave Great Wolf Lodge and visit a nearby restaurant for one meal. After our first day, we were so worn-out from the waterpark, that we were glad we brought plenty of food we could just eat in our room. Keep in mind, we do not eat out much as a family, so packing food matches our lifestyle. If you do like to eat out, we suggest previewing the menu options at Great Wolf Lodge and the surrounding area.
Also keep in mind that, as with many family attractions, the dining options can get very busy at mealtimes. This seems to be particularly true for breakfast when the poolside dining is not yet open and the remaining dining options are few. The Dunkin’ Donuts at our nearby Great Wolf Lodge gets very backed-up at breakfast, even with pre-orders and automated kiosks.
3. Pack an extra suit.
Whenever we go on a swim-based vacation like visiting Great Wolf Lodge (or the beach or a hotel with a great pool), we pack an extra swimsuit. This usually means two sets of swimwear for each family member.
Speaking of swimwear: the seams on the waterslides can also be a little rough on exposed skin, so we like to use rash guards at Great Wolf Lodge even though most of the attractions are inside. Brightly colored rash guards also make our kids easier to spot in a crowded wave pool or lazy river.
4. Have a plan for the many (many) up-charges.
We love that the admission to the waterpark is included with our stay, and we make the waterpark the focus of any of our visits to Great Wolf Lodge. However, there are many more activities at Great Wolf Lodge that are not included with a hotel stay: ropes course, arcade games, miniature golf… the list goes on. All of these cost extra whether you pay for them individually or buy one of the add-on passes.
Our take on these extra activities is that none of them are as fun or impressive as the waterpark. For this reason, we prefer to prioritize the waterpark with our limited time at Great Wolf Lodge. We explain this to our kids before we visit and remind them that we can access much larger ropes courses, miniature golf courses and arcades near home. We talk about how we would rather do those activities on another day and not miss-out on fun waterpark time.
Of course, your family will have to make your own value calculations and have your own family conversations. This is just how we handle it. Maybe you do not have access to a ropes course near home or you are planning to go all-in for your Great Wolf Lodge Visit. In any case, we really want you to be prepared for these extra-fee options to be twinkling, ringing and flashing right in front of your kids noses.
There is really no way to avoid walking right past these extra-charge activities, so it is helpful to either prepare your kids ahead of time or prepare your budget.
5. But, don’t forget about the freebies at Great Wolf Lodge!
But, Great Wolf Lodge is not all up-charges! In addition to the waterpark, there are some sweet little extras included free with your stay. During our latest stay there were yoga sessions, dance parties, free craft activities, and free wolf ears for everyone. Characters from the Great Wolf Lodge’s branded “great wolf pack” hang-out in the lobby for meet and greets. When we visited during October, Great Wolf Lodge treated us to free trick-or-treating around the lodge.
Most of these little extras take place in the hotel lobby. And, to get your free wolf ears, just go inside the gift shop and ask. The times for these freebies change, but you can find times in the Great Wolf Lodge app or on the website under “daily activities.”
As much as we prioritize the waterpark during our stays, it can get exhausting! Rather than head to the arcade or other paid activity, we go dry-off and enjoy some of these included offerings. Plus, we think the lobby is a nice spot. Just be prepared for crowds!
Thanks for reading this post with our top tips for visiting Great Wolf Lodge with your family.
We hope you have found this post helpful. For other guides to great attractions, please explore our website for posts like Big Guide to Brookfield Zoo Chicago. We also have a free and complete guide to planning a Disneyland trip with Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. Thanks again for reading!