A couple of years ago, our family visited Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine over Mardi Gras Break. We had a great time and I was supper shocked when my kids asked if we could come back again next here for our family vacation. My wallet was all too happy to fulfill that request as it is substantially cheaper than our typical trip. Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor water park with locations all over the United States and is the perfect place to travel with kids. Here are some tips from our last two visits that will help you plan your trip.
Look For Great Wolf Lodge Deals Or Stay In the Off Season
Great Wolf Lodge is cheaper than many vacations, but it still is not as cheap as others. I suggest looking for one of the many deals that they advertise online and getting on their mailing list. The other suggestion is trying to book off-season. Mardi Gras was a perfect time. Rates were low, and the crowd was moderate.
Great Wolf Lodge Activities
Great Wolf Lodge is full of many activities beyond MagiQuest and the water park. There is a bowling alley, movie theater, arcade, meet and greets with characters, mini golf, a build your own character stations and more. You’re days will be packed full of fun things to do. We found that swimming in the indoor pool / waterpark all day was our best bet. Then we would take a break and do MagiQuest at night.
Don’t forget me time for you and the other adults in your group. My husband would sneak away during pool time and I would take a break at night during MagiQuest.
Buy An Add On Pass
This is a must if you have kids. There are three levels of passes the Pup Pass for younger kids and the Paw Pass and Wolf Pass for older kids. The passes get your a starter pack to try all the activities at the resort. We got the Wolf Passes both times and I felt they were a great value at $99.99 per kid.
MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge
I would describe MagiQuest as a sophisticated scavenger hunt on steroids around the hotel. My kids absolutely thought this was the best part of the trip. There are wands you can buy for the game which makes certain items do things like a treasure chest opening. TIP: The Paw Pass and Wolf Pass include a MagiQuest game and wand. The game takes some time and you will need a few days to complete it. So if you are booking for just one night, you probably won’t have time for a MagiQuest game.
What to Eat At Great Wolf Lodge
Great Wolf Lodge sometimes include some food deals when booking. We got the breakfast add on on our last visit since we typically eat breakfast at the resort. The add on is $15.99 per person per day. For lunch we either eat by the pool at the snack bar / restaurant there or one of us will venture off site and grab lunch. Dinner is normally eaten at an off site restaurant; however, Great Wolf Lodge has a restaurant at the resort where you can eat also. The rooms have a mini fridge and microwave so you can also bring your own food to save even more money.
Indoor Waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge
Great Wolf Lodge is known for their indoor waterpark. It’s the main attraction and is reserved for resort guest only. This helps keep the lines down for everyone. I personally loved going during Mardi Gras. The kids were super excited to swim since it had been so long since summer.
The waterparks have serval waterslides and special areas such as a splash pad for little swimmers. Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine also has a lazy river and wave pool. There is something for everyone here.
Towels and life vest are provided but must be returned before leaving the water park. Guest may also bring their own towels and life vests. There are no inflatable water toys or coolers allowed in the waterpark and everyone must have a wristband to enter.
Explore The Area Around Great Wolf Lodge
Great Wolf Lodge locations are usually by a large city making it a great way to have tons of family fun and explore a new city. For instance at the Concord, North Carolina Great Wolf Lodge you can explore NASCAR Race Team Facilities or the Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina. When we stayed at the Grapevine Great Wolf Lodge we also booked a few nights at a hotel close to the Dallas Galleria and visited the American Girl Store and Perot Science Museum.
For deals on the area you are visiting check out CityPASS. CityPASS has passes to tons of local attractions in various cities for one low price. This allows you more ways to explore while you are at Great Wolf Lodge.
We had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge and can’t wait to visit again. Have you been? Do you have any tips for visiting Great Wolf Lodge?
