Great Wolf Lodge
Wisconsin Dells
This past weekend, in February 2008, our family of five spent the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. We met relatives from my husband's side of the family there. This was our annual winter trip that we have done for the past 3 years in a row. It was my husband and I with our three kids, ages 6, 4, and 19 months and my husband's cousin's family who also have three young kids ages 5, 4, and 2 years. There was also my husband's Dad, Step Mom, brother, sister, our two nephews ages 10 and 8, my husband's Aunt, Uncle, other cousin and her husband. For our family, this was our third visit to Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. It is one of our favorite resorts in the Wisconsin Dells. In the past we have always stayed in a double queen suite, which is quite large with 2 beds, a pull out sofa, bathroom, mini bar area with sink, mirror, fridge, and microwave, and a TV and table and chairs. On this trip we stayed in a Kid's Cabin Suite, which ended up being awesome. Our room had one queen bed with a pull out sofa, table & chairs, fireplace, TV, large bathroom, mini bar area with sink, fridge and microwave. Also in the room was a walled off kids room that was trimmed in logs and had a sign above the entrance that read "Welcome To Our Cabin." Inside was a set of bunk beds, a single day bed, and another TV, just for the kids. It even contained a kid's bear skin rug on the wall. The entire suite was decorated in the Northwoods theme. The suite had more than enough room and I can't tell you how fabulous it was to have a separate room for the 3 kids and for each of them to have their own bed. It was great. My husband's cousin's family that have 3 kids had an identical suite right next door. The rest of the relatives had a 3 bedroom condo on the opposite end of the resort. It was a long walk to go over to their condo each time, but it was fine. We really couldn't complain. The condo section of the resort is built at the opposite end from the other hotel rooms and suites. Their 3 bedroom condo was decent. Not the best condo I have seen, but not the worst. The actual bedrooms and bathrooms were nice. The largest room was the same as a double queen suite. It had 2 beds, a pull out sofa behind a dividing wall, 2 TVs, and a bathroom. The second bedroom had only 2 beds and the third bedroom had a king bed. The second and third bedroom had to share a bathroom that was off the living room. The living room was kind of small. It had a pull out couch, 2 arm chairs, a table that seated four and a balcony. The kitchen was basic with full size fridge, stove, microwave, full stock of kitchenware, sink, dishwasher, and toaster. There was a breakfast bar that seated four. When you came into the condo there was a foyer area, that gave a little more room for placing extra items.
The main attraction at the Great Wolf Lodge is the indoor waterpark. It is big enough to satisfy just about any age and is divided into three sections. The front section contains a small lazy river, a tube slide, a family jacuzzi, an adult only jacuzzi, an activity pool with basketball and floating animals and logs to play on, a pool with 4 small slides for younger kids, 2 smaller body slides that look innocent but are surprisingly fast, and a pool with a climbing rope and floating logs to try to maneuver across. The second area has a baby pool for infants with fountains, squirting water features, and a little volcano with some infant slides. There is also a large tree house type building that has tons of rope bridges, stairs to climb up, lots of water blasters, buckets, and squirters, surprise splashes, a huge bucket that dumps every 5 minutes, and 3 medium sized waterslides. In the back of this area is the most extreme of the waterslides. It is called the tornado. Up to four people can sit in the tube. You slide down a steep drop before entering into a huge cone shaped room that resembles a candy corn, due to the color of it. You slide back and forth inside this cone going almost completely vertical. You then drop down into the hole at the bottom or small end of the cone and finish with a splash into the pool at the end. The third section of the waterpark there is a large wave pool, 2 larger tube slides, a children's play area with a water station with more squirting, dumping water, and spraying. There is also a small slide and three little jet skis that you can sit on and spray water at the other kids. In the back of this area of the indoor waterpark there is also a set of speed slides. There are four runways where you slide down on your stomach on a mat. You slide in a short loop and then slide down a racing hill. Four people can race at once. It is fun. If you visit the Great Wolf Lodge during the summer, you also have access to the outdoor waterpark that consists of even more options for water fun. Check-in time at the resort is 4pm, although you can arrive earlier to use the waterpark. Stop at the front desk to receive your wristbands and then you can swim and play until your room is ready. On your check-out day you are also allowed to use the waterpark for as long as you want that day. In the indoor waterpark area, there is also a concession stand area with hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, french fries, cheese curds, drinks, ice cream, pretzels, nachos, and various snacks. There is also a bar area with a TV that often has the current hot sporting event on it. We ended up buying some snacks at the concession stand, but it isn't cheap. We brought food with us to have in our room. We usually stuck some food in our beach bag to have throughout the time at the waterpark. There is a restaurant and a buffet at the Great Wolf Lodge. We did not visit either of those places during this trip. Since part of our group had the condo with the full kitchen, we met there for breakfast and dinner. On the first night my husband's Aunt brought a slow cooker of Chili and on the second night we ordered a bunch of pizzas. It was much easier than trying to go out to eat with such a large group. On previous trips we have dined at the restaurant and buffet at the Great Wolf Lodge. The restaurant was ok, but I don't think I would bother to go back again. The food was average and pre-made with a higher price tag. The service wasn't the best. We did like the breakfast buffet at Camp Critter Buffet that we went to twice on another trip. The food was good and plentiful and we received good service. There were many hot breakfast items, fruit, yogurt, pastries, and an omelet station. I would recommend not going at the peak time, especially on a Sunday before check out. Either go really early or for a late breakfast. On this trip we walked past the buffet on the way to get to the condo and there were people camped out waiting in the hallway to get in to eat breakfast. The Grand Lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge is really nice. There is lots to look at and it is totally decorated in the Northwoods theme with lots of wood and stuffed wildlife. In the lobby there is the Great Clock Tower Show. It plays at 10:00am, 8:00pm and 9:00pm and is only 10 minutes long. The kids like the show (so do I) and the music is really fun. At nighttime the kids usually put their pajamas on and we go sit in the lobby to see the show before going to bed. Also in the lobby, later at night, there is a bedtime story time where kids can sit by the big fireplace and hear some bedtime stories before going to their room to go to bed. The Great Wolf Lodge has a pretty good arcade in it also. It is not huge, but there is plenty of games for the really small kids on up to adults. We also thought that the games were pretty generous on spitting out tickets and that the choices of prizes were good and plentiful. On the far end, attached to the resort is Wiley's Woods. This is an indoor, 4-story, dry play area with climbing, bridges, slides, mazes, and tons of soft balls to shoot, catch, collect, and jump in. In Wiley's Woods there is also a Pizza Hut Express. Also in The Great Wolf Lodge there is a spa, an ice cream themed children's spa, a gift shop, a swim shop, and a Bear Claw Cafe where you can pick up coffee, candy, fudge, ice cream, and muffins to go. Another tip is that outside The Great Wolf Lodge there is an outlet mall with 30 name brand stores. It is good shopping for before, after, or during your trip.
The Great Wolf Lodge is a great resort and I highly recommend it. If you are making reservations you will notice that the room rates are higher than most regular hotels. Remember that this is not just a regular hotel. You are not only paying for your room, but also for all the admissions to the waterpark for your group. You are getting a much larger accommodation and hours of swimming and fun. You do not need to leave the resort. If you were to pay individually for hotel, waterpark tickets somewhere else, and entertainment, you would probably spend the same or more. The Great Wolf Lodge is not cheap, but well worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment