It is likely by now you know about Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls, especially if you live within driving distance.
We had heard about how much fun Great Wolf Lodge is for the whole family before traveling there for the first time almost two years ago.
GWL is a favorite destination for Spring Break.
We felt like experts When we decided to go back this spring.
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About Great Wolf Lodge
Great Wolf Lodge is more than just a place to stay; it’s a destination for family fun and adventure. With 20 resorts spread across North America, Great Wolf Lodge boasts the largest family of indoor water parks on the continent.
Each resort features a massive indoor water park, complete with a relaxing lazy river, thrilling slides, and even a surf simulator for the more adventurous.
Whether you’re looking to unwind in a hot tub or experience the rush of a fast slide, Great Wolf Lodge has something for everyone.
It’s no wonder that Great Wolf Lodge has been voted the number one indoor water park by USA Today’s 10Best.com Reader’s Choice and has received a TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice designation.
So, pack your bags and get ready for a splash-tastic time at Great Wolf Lodge!
Your First Steps at GWL’s Indoor Water Park
The first step on the day of check-in is to visit the front desk.
Check-in time is 4:00 pm, but you can begin using the water park at 1:00 pm.
A 2:00 p.m. late check-out is available, allowing the whole family to squeeze some more play time into the stay.
There is a locker room with small lockers available for rent on a daily basis, perfect for storing belongings while enjoying the water park.
You will need a credit card unless you prepaid (but GWL will want a credit card for “incidentals”). The water park closing time is 8:00 pm daily.
Wrist Bands –
These are essential safety features.
A lifeguard staff member measures the kids’ height and gives them a wristband that identifies by color which rides or slides your Pack Member can use.
It also identifies your child as a guest to lifeguards.
Adults have a wristband that functions as a room key, access to the entire facility, and a method of payment (connected by credit card) for various products or services in the park.
Water Safety Precautions
At Great Wolf Lodge, your safety is our top priority. Our water parks are designed with safety in mind, and we have a dedicated team of trained lifeguards on duty at all times to ensure a safe environment for all our guests.
We provide life jackets in various sizes, including Coast Guard-approved options, to ensure that everyone can enjoy the water park safely.
For our youngest guests, we recommend wearing a life jacket at all times while in the water park.
We also offer life vests for children who do not meet the weight limit for our puddle jumpers.
To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, we encourage all guests to follow our safety rules and guidelines.
So, dive in with confidence and enjoy all the fun that Great Wolf Lodge has to offer!
It is excellent for the little guys, too
The first time we went to GWL, we chose to leave our one-year-old at home with Grandma and take our older kids (then ages 2, 4, 6, 8).
This year, we made a similar choice: we left our younger children (babies four months and one-year-old son) at home and took just our older children. (*if you are confused, we are foster parents and have babies come and go*).
It was the perfect opportunity for us to focus on our older kids and do some more ‘grown-up’ activities. Sometimes, it can be too overwhelming for young kids.
I am also recovering from a back injury, so I could not participate in the active portions of GWL, which meant that Daddy was on slide duty with our little ones.
HOWEVER, the little ones have many options to keep them splashing. The Cub Paw Pool gives little ones some independence, with mom or dad close by.
The Totem Towers are also smaller slides open to all ages; even little ones will love them.
My youngest was only 2 when he was climbing the stairs with his big brothers, and I met him at the bottom.
They remember the Tweens
My oldest son is ten, and it is evident that he is a TWEEN.
He loved all the slides and the wave pool, but it was no surprise that his favorite slide was the Howlin’ Tornado.
He was also the only one of my kids to choose the slide. It is a wild slide only for those 48″ and above.
The Northern Lights Arcade was another hit for him.
The arcade has games for all ages, and my son loves to use his Paw Points or Paw Pass to practice motorcycle or car racing.
You never know when that skill might come in handy.
Life jackets are provided
One of the most common questions my friends have asked me since I first traveled to Great Wolf was, “Do I have to bring my life jacket to the Indoor Water Park to Great Wolf?”.
The answer is “NO”. Great Wolf supplies life jackets of all sizes and has “puddle jumpers” for toddlers. However, guests can bring their own life jacket, especially during busy times or holidays when availability may be limited.
Considering we were traveling by car with four kids, space was limited. Bringing their own life jackets for younger kids can enhance safety while enjoying water activities.
The last thing we want to do is to bring unnecessary supplies and equipment.
This also means that if you leave the water park for a while, your child will have a nice DRY life jacket waiting when you return.
My teenager appreciated this.
Towels are also provided
As it is clear that space is an issue on our trips, not having to pack towels is HUGE.
You also don’t need to take them from your guest rooms.
Plenty of clean towels on the outdoor pool deck are waiting for you.
I don’t know how they do it, but the towels are usually warm, too!
However, I recommend a swimsuit cover-up, as depending on where your room is, you may have to walk through the lobby to get to the water park.
If you are not comfortable wandering around in a swimsuit, bringing a cover-up will help you feel more comfortable.
You can bring your own food.
When traveling with a large family, eating out can be one of the most expensive parts.
At Great Wolf, there is a small fridge in each room.
We stopped on our way down and picked up cereal, milk, veggies, some crackers, and cheese.
We purchased some food onsite and offsite but supplemented it with 1-2 meals daily in our room.
This kept our costs down.
I also knew I wanted to avoid taking my kids to restaurants when they would rather have a quick bite and return to the pool!
Food at Great Wolf Lodge is not expensive
One big misnomer about GWL is having to buy food.
As mentioned above, we bought groceries and ate meals in our room.
If you eat all meals at Great Wolf Lodge, your bill will add up.
However, I found their prices quite reasonable.
GWL is a theme park, and theme parks have mascots. These mascots attend a regular character breakfast buffet, which the kids absolutely love.
We found GWL very sensitive to food allergies and were impressed by their awareness.
We ate at Hungry as a Wolf and fed our family 6 with two large pizzas, which cost around $30. This was cheaper than ordering from Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
For us, eating out for $30 is very reasonable.
Even fast food can quickly add up to that amount with four hungry boys!
They also have a Starbucks coffee shop on site, which was ESSENTIAL for this mom.
You will not regret buying a refillable cup
We found out about their refillable cup program late during our first trip.
Hungry as a Wolf offers hundreds of Coke products to select from, and refills are also available at Buckets Incredible Craveables.
My husband’s favorite combination was Vanilla Coke Zero.
You can even fill it with your favorite Ice Drink at Bear Paw Sweets & Eats.
Buy a cup for around $13 and refill it for your stay.
MagiQuest game is a blast, but make sure you take good walking shoes
The first year we went, we chose not to do MagiQuest.
This year, our kids begged until we finally gave it a chance.
I am happy we did because MagiQuest became their main attraction.
It was the most popular with our middle two boys, aged 5 and 8. They needed an adult, as they weren’t ready to participate in the Quests alone.
My husband had a great time and got plenty of steps in with this activity.
The MagiQuest game costs an extra charge of about $40, and you also need to buy at least one wand (interactive device to play the game) for approximately $20, which is a good deal.
It’s best to visit the Great Wolf Lodge website to confirm costs
We allowed each of the two to get their own, although they could have shared too.
Wands can be brought back trip after trip, although new batteries may be purchased occasionally.
This game takes a significant amount of time, so I recommend staying at least three nights.
However, we only stayed two nights.
Once you have completed the Magic Quest game, ShadowQuest and CompassQuest interactive games will be available. Could you add a comment?
A two-night stay is okay, three is better, and four is awesome
We went to Great Wolf Lodge both times but could only stay for two nights.
We did not miss out or were cut short.
I encourage you to take this trip if you only have two days.
I think three nights is most likely the “sweet spot,” I would have loved to have had A little less pressure and more time to relax without feeling like we would miss something.
There are rooms for all sized families
A hotel will rarely have basic rooms that fit our large family.
We initially requested a Family Suite.
The Family Suite would have been the bare minimum for our family to fit in.
With my oldest having autism, sharing a bed and a room with younger siblings is a challenge, but he agrees that the struggle is worth it to go on such amazing trips.
Great Wolf upgraded us when they heard we were coming and wanted to write this post.
We were thrilled to hear we would be in a Kid Kabin Suite, themed Kids Cabin Suites.
The little ones were so excited about the bunk beds
About a week before the trip, we received an email asking if we wanted to be upgraded again for just $35 a night.
We jumped on the chance to stay in the Majestic Bear Suite, a themed wolf den suite. In my opinion, this is the best option and made the whole trip extra special.
We (mom and dad) had our own room with a King-Sized bed, and my oldest two boys even got their own queen-sized beds.
If you are bringing Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle, or another family member, this is also a great option for including the entire family.
Great Wolf Lodge offers a variety of attractions and amenities for different family members, ensuring enjoyable options for everyone from kids to grandparents.
The eating area was perfect for us; we ate breakfast around the counter, and in the evening, we played cards and board games.
Most rooms at Great Wolf sleep between 6-8.
If you are considering a trip to Great Wolf Lodge Resorts, I cannot recommend it enough.
Check out all the Great Wolf Lodge locations on their website.
Our boys were the ideal ages and heights this trip with my youngest 42″ and second son just at the 48″ mark.
This meant that they could all go with Dad on the slides, three out of the four could go down the slides alone, and I could watch the younger kids at the bottom.
Several people have discovered some free events and evening activities at the Great Wolf Lodge.
Little kids can go to story time at 8:00 p.m., and older kids can attend a 9:30 p.m. dance party, which seems to be one of its little-known secrets.
Are you looking for Birthday party ideas?
GWL offers special packages for Birthday Parties – call customer service to ask about specials or promotions.
I’m sorry, but Great Wolf Lodge is invited to stay with them at their media rate. All thoughts are my own.
Have you been to Great Wolf? Would you happen to have a tip for our readers?
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There are rooms for all sized families
A hotel will rarely have basic rooms that fit our large family.
We initially requested a Family Suite.
The Family Suite would have been the bare minimum for our family to fit in.
With my oldest having autism, sharing a bed and a room with younger siblings is a challenge, but he agrees that the struggle is worth it to go on such amazing trips.
Great Wolf upgraded us when they heard we were coming and wanted to write this post.
We were thrilled to hear we would be in a Kid Kabin Suite, themed Kids Cabin Suites.
The little ones were so excited about the bunk beds
About a week before the trip, we received an email asking if we wanted to be upgraded again for just $35 a night.
We jumped on the chance to stay in the Majestic Bear Suite, a themed wolf den suite. In my opinion, this is the best option and made the whole trip extra special.
We (mom and dad) had our own room with a King-Sized bed, and my oldest two boys even got their own queen-sized beds.
If you are bringing Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle, or another family member, this is also a great option for including the entire family.
The eating area was perfect for us; we ate breakfast around the counter, and in the evening, we played cards and board games.
Most rooms at Great Wolf sleep between 6-8.
Location and Accessibility
With locations in various states across the US, Great Wolf Lodge is easily accessible for families from all over the country.
Each resort is designed with family-friendly amenities to make your stay as comfortable as possible.
Enjoy unlimited access to our indoor water park with every pass, so you can splash and play without worrying about extra costs.
Our locker rooms are equipped with small lockers for rent on a daily basis, perfect for storing your belongings while you enjoy the water park.
For those who need to store larger items, we also have bigger lockers available.
And when it’s time to refuel, our dining locations offer a variety of delicious meals and snacks to keep you energized throughout your stay.
With all these conveniences, Great Wolf Lodge makes it easy for you to focus on what matters most – having fun with your family!
Behind the Scenes
At Great Wolf Lodge, we are dedicated to providing an unforgettable experience for all our guests.
Our team of staff and lifeguards undergo extensive training to ensure that our water parks are safe and enjoyable for everyone.
We offer a range of activities and attractions that cater to all ages, from story time and yoga tails for younger children to our signature MagiQuest immersive gaming experience for older kids and adults.
When it comes to dining, our locations offer a variety of delicious meals and snacks to satisfy every palate.
Plus, each room is equipped with a mini fridge, so you can store your own snacks and drinks for added convenience.
Whether you’re looking for a relaxing vacation or an action-packed adventure, Great Wolf Lodge has something for everyone.
So, come and create lasting memories with your family at Great Wolf Lodge!
We have always wanted to take our kids there. Definitely have to plan it now. I’m glad to hear they have stuff for little ones as our two youngest are 2 & 4.
They are certainly a great age. I would highly recommend a trip.
Its best to go when they are between 42 and 48 inches. Because they (have to) take you on the double tube and your their best friend. After 48 they leave you in their dust.
You sound like a dad not wanting to give up on having a little guy 😉 #bigkidsaregoodtoo
Makes me want to take my kids even more!!!
I’m glad the post encouraged you. Feel free to ask any questions you have when the time comes.
We have 1 of these just an hour from our house and the children BEG us to go every year. Your review is really helpful in giving an inside look!
Glad you enjoyed it. if you have water loving kids, they will beg even more after you have taken them once. #GWLAddict
We took our boys for the first time last summer. Magic Quest was a huge hit with my 7-year-old, but boy were my feet sore!!
Thank you for the very detailed “inside look”! These are all very helpful details to consider when going to Great Wolf Lodge for the first time.