My 5 Best Tips for tackling Great Wolf Lodge
I love a good theme as you know. And Great Wolf Lodge just really celebrates that so basically the mother ship called me home. 3 times.
When Covid hit in March 2020, we didn’t leave the house for a looooong time. Especially the kids. By the fall of that year I couldn’t NOT celebrate the kids’ birthdays but I knew I had to get creative. We decided to surprise the kids with a trip to GWL and the best part is they were in hybrid school at the time so we were able to sneak off mid week to avoid crowds. We have since gone two more times in the last two years so we wanted to share some of our best tips if you are planning a trip to the lodge with your kiddos.
First things first - where do you get the ears? Remember how I said I love a good theme? You need to get the wolf ears immediately. No one really tells you about this little tidbit but just head straight to the gift shop and ask for them. They are FREE and our family enjoyed wearing them at all times. You can also ask your kids to howl at any moment during your stay and they do it. It made us laugh … a lot.
Minneapolis or Kansas City? We have done both and the kids honestly enjoyed both parks. They all agreed though if we go back - Minneapolis was better for their age (11, 9 and 8 currently). They love the lazy river, the boogie board and the wave pool. KC has a lazy river but it’s way smaller and Mommy wants to RELAX. The pros to Kansas City though is they have a hot tub which is a big plus for me personally and in the summer they have a really large outdoor area that is great for the little ones. If my kids were little I would probably do KC first then do Minneapolis when they get to be about 8+.
Pup Pass - yes or no? YES. We decided they were definitely worth it and we did the youngest version (called the Pup Pass - there are Paw and Wolf versions too) where they get the Build a Bear with it. My kids adore stuffed animals and had fun doing this both times in Minneapolis. They also loved the mining experience which kind of surprised me. Now the arcade is like any arcade that unless you are a wizard or like to waste a lot of money - not really worth going there - it IS included in the pass so we did a few games and then got out of there :). I would much rather just visit their gift shop and buy them something - or do the Build a Bear. The pup pass gets a cup of candy at the gift shop, an ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s, Build a Bear and the Mining experience. I have heard they would love the MagiQuest version so next round we will probably try the Paw Pass.
Best time to go? Try to book mid week or not during actual spring break. I am not one for crowds or waiting in line so we thoroughly enjoyed going when it wasn’t their peak busy times. It made me feel better with Covid as well, but they are doing a great job of keeping up the guidelines and making everyone feel comfortable.
Food - bring it in or buy it? We purchased the food voucher to save $$ online and we used it all at the snack bar (Buckets) in the water park. It’s nice to eat there as we could eat in our swimsuits and then get back to swimming and not have to go back to our room for lunch. They have great chicken strips, fries and cheeseballs which is all our family really needs ha! We did try some of the in house restaurants at other meal times but overall we decided we liked just getting McDonalds for the kids and Mexican for us and eating in the room. We did bring popcorn and snacks the second time for the kids to have with a movie at night in their little bunk room which they loved.
Ok I have 6 TIPS. I couldn’t narrow it to 5 because this is a good one. You can use the park the day you check into the hotel AND the day you check out. All three of our Great Wolf trips we arrived early afternoon the day of check in and asked at the front desk if we could check in early. We got lucky each time and were able to. I did have a small bag packed with suits in case we couldn’t and planned on changing in their locker rooms. On our check out day we packed up and loaded up the car in the morning. We then headed to the waterpark with an extra bag of clothes to change into for later. We swam and played until a little after lunch, changed in the locker rooms and then headed back home. It’s a great way to get the most out of your time there!
I love sharing travel tips as I always want to have the “insider info” myself when you are spending the time and money to go on a trip with the kids.
Have you been to Great Wolf Lodge or any other fun places for the family in the Midwest? I want to know your best tips and experiences! Our family loves to travel when we can and are always up for a good adventure.