Great Wolf Lodge Guide

Oct 11

For Boston's 10th Birthday, we traveled with our close family and friends to Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California. It’s always tricky trying to figure out what to do for your kids’ birthdays. Sometimes, they want a birthday party at home with all of their friends, and sometimes they want to go somewhere. Five years ago, we went to Great Wolf, and he loved it so much that he wanted to go back this year for his birthday.

Great Wolf Lodge Guide

Great Wolf Lodge is one of the most family-friendly water parks in the country. It doesn’t matter what time of year you go because the water park is indoors. Not only do they have a water park to enjoy, but they have so many other activities that everyone can enjoy. I will share all of our tips for a fun stay with the kids and what we liked and didn’t like about our trip.

Where Is Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge we went to is down in Southern California. It’s so crazy because we took Boss on a trip to Disneyland for his 3rd birthday!! Anyways, They also have another one in Manteca, which is in Northern California. We haven’t been to the one in Northern California, but from what I have heard, it's pretty much the exact same thing.

What to do at Great Wolf Lodge

Water Park

Great Wolf is known for its access to the water park. The water park is huge, and they have a lazy river, a ton of water slides, a spot for little kids, a wave pool, and so much more. It really is one of the main attractions for GWL. The BIG water slides were also REALLY fun; all the adults went on those and had such a good time. You can also rent a cabana out there, but for the price, I didn’t really think it was worth it. They have food and a bar at the water park, too. The chicken strips and fries were good, but I would definitely not suggest getting the salads.

Arcade

The kids always love a good arcade, and they can spend hours playing games. The prizes aren’t the best at this arcade, but because there are so many other things you can do, it's not a big deal.

Glow In The Dark- Mini Golf

The glow-in-the-dark mini-golf was so much fun. We all did that and had a blast. Most places are outdoors for mini golf, so this was so fun for the entire family.

Magic Wand Quest

The magic wand quest is a journey that they send you on throughout the entire hotel all the way up to the 6th floor. After experiencing that, I would suggest requesting your room on the 7th floor or above, just because there will be so much activity on your floor because of the quest. It just wouldn’t be fun having people running and walking up and down the hall with your room there.

They also have morning Yoga and a dance party at night, which we didn’t do but seems so cool if that’s something your kids want to do.

Places to eat at Great Wolf

Besides the water park food, They have a restaurant at Great Wolf called Lodge Wood Fired Grill. We ate there, and it was really good. The pizza place was OKAY. It wasn’t the greatest, but the kids will eat it. They also have a Dunkin’ Donuts and an ice cream place as well. I wish they had more food options, but that’s okay.

Great Wolf Lodge tips

When we booked our rooms, we were locked in at a specific rate.. and then my mom booked hers at a cheaper rate. I called them and asked about it, and they lowered our rate. So I would suggest looking for a discount code or a special before you go so you can save as much as possible on your reservation.

Check-in can be a hit or miss, so I definitely suggest preparing for that to take, at a minimum, an hour.

The Paw pass is an additional pass you can purchase for the kids. With that, they get One MagiQuest game. Choice of classic wand, standard topper or Magi belt. One small candy cup from the GW Candy Shop. $5 to spend at the Arcade. One scoop of ice cream. One pair of Great Wolf goggles to wear at the water park.

They have so many other passes and add one you’d definitely have to check out and see which suits your trip best. If you’re celebrating a birthday, they have a birthday package you can get, and they’ll decorate the door of your hotel room with a card and balloons inside your room. We did this for Boss, and it was so cute. It made him feel so special.

All in all, this is about the kids. They seriously LOVE every single thing about Great Wolf Lodge. Yes, it can be expensive considering what you get. The rooms are old and dingy and the bed was OK if I’m being honest. However, you don’t spend all of your time in the room, so it just serves its purpose.