Theresa's Mixed Nuts: Have A Howling Good Time At Great Wolf Lodge

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Have A Howling Good Time At Great Wolf Lodge

*Disclosure- I received the mentioned products courtesy of the sponsor for the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.


If you follow along on my Twitter or Instagram, you'll have seen that Mariah was home from college last weekend, so we thought we'd load up the family and head over to Illinois and check out Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge

We've passed by several Great Wolf Lodge locations on our travels, but never had the opportunity to go in and see what the fuss was all about. Thankfully, the stars aligned where the whole family was going to be together with nothing planned, so it was the perfect time to spend a day indulging in family fun activities.

When I think of Great Wolf Lodge, "water park" is the first thing that pops into my mind. However, it's so much more than that. We started our day off with dry-land activities. 

Great Wolf Lodge

Howler's Peak Roper's Course was our first stop. Mariah was a little unsure of this obstacle course, so I hung back with her and let Allison and Jason take the ropes first. They were securely strapped into a rope harness, explained the safety rules for the course, then set off on their merry way.


Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge


After raving reviews from those two, Mariah and I decided to work our way though the course also. Our verdict? Tons of fun! Afterwards, the girls wanted to try their hand at bowling, so we cruised over to Ten Paw Alley. 

Great Wolf Lodge


Allison left a bit miffed after losing by a few points, but redeemed herself by kicking Mariah's butt in a few arcade games in the Northern Lights Arcade.

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge

The competition didn't end there though, because Mariah wanted to one up Allison again and challenged her to a round of mini golf at the Howl In One mini golf course. Here they both ditched the scorecard when they realized they were equally terrible at the game. It didn't stop them from whacking the ball around the course, giggling all the way.

Great Wolf Lodge

Adventure Park has 40,000 square feet of dry-land activities, all designed for families to do together. There's even a spot to mine for gems at Oliver's Mining Co, in addition to MagiQuest, where you'll find 145 different quests located throughout the resort. Simply purchase your MagiQuest want in the MagiQuest shop and you'll be on your way to even more dry-land adventures.

Once we were done on "land", it was time to slip into our swimsuits and enjoy some water fun!

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge
Great Wolf Lodge

Here you'll find 80,000 square feet of water fun for all ages.  There's a splash pool for the littles, 15 water slides, 2 family raft rides, and a wave pool. While the girls couldn't get enough of the water slides, Jason and I spent the majority of our water time floating down the lazy river.

Great Wolf Lodge

We noticed that the water area was easy to navigate, the slide lines were short, and there was plenty of seating available. This is because they do not sell day passes, unlike other indoor water park resorts. Water fun is reserved for resort guests only to keep lines to a minimum and prevent overcrowding. I love this!

All of that dry-land and water fun combined can wear a kid out, so they can head up to their room where we noticed they have the cutest little cubby areas just for kids attached right to mom and dad's room. Wiley's Den is where kids can tuck themselves into one of the bunk beds and watch their own television programs. It's a great little spot for kids to get some R&R and recharge before heading back out for more Great Wolf Lodge fun. (P.S. If you are looking to book for large families, the largest suit can hold up to 16 guests!)

Great Wolf Lodge

If you need some movie snacks to go along with the cubby hole, stop by The Great Wolf Candy Company for some sweet treats. 

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge

Or maybe run by Ben & Jerry's for a scoop or two.

Great Wolf Lodge

There are also many different restaurants to stop at, where you can pick up goodies ranging from pizza to burgers to tacos. Yum, Yum!

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge
 
We did notice they were just setting up Halloween decorations, which is fun in itself, but we were also informed through the month of October, every night they are offering trick or treating for the resort guests. Kids will be able to make their way through stations to collect treats all over the resort. Now, how fun does that sound!?

Great Wolf Lodge

The central hub of Great Wolf Lodge is Story Time, where children ambassadors keep the fun going with dance parties, story time, and even yoga.

Great Wolf Lodge

If you are looking for a full day of family fun and adventures, it's easy to see why Great Wolf Lodge is the perfect destination. There's something fun for families of all sizes and ages to enjoy here. We most definitely enjoyed our stay!

Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge resort featured here is located in Gurnee, IL, but you can find other Great Wolf Lodge resorts throughout the country.


Do you prefer dry-land activities, or would you be more interested in the indoor water park?



 

20 comments:

  1. I always wanted to give it a try, I hear they are fun.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe you and Daisy could go for your anniversary sometime?

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  2. OMG I want that bear in the tent in front of my main entrance!
    OMG a candy heaven!
    Keep water away from me, unless it is in a bathtub or a glass!

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    Replies
    1. Isn't that bear the cutest? All of their little woodland animals around the golf course were adorbs.

      Candy heaven indeed! Tried me all kinds of jellybeans that day.

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  3. It is so fun there. There's one in Kansas City that we've been to. It's been years though. Isaak probably doesn't even remember it. I like water slides way more than roller coasters. Although I wouldn't have gone on that slide that decapitated that little boy in Schlitterbahn Waterpark Kansas City. YIKES!

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    Replies
    1. The older I get, the more I like the water slides better than roller coasters too. That one in Kansas City looked like it would have been more than I could handle. I prefer the ones that you can sit in a raft and go down.

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  4. We've never been to a Great Wolf Lodge, and I thought it was just water rides. I had no idea they had other kinds of fun. Looks amazing!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, all kinds of fun that's not in the water. We had no idea they had so many dry land activities either.

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  5. I definitely plan to take my son to Great Wolf lodge one day. You have totally convinced me that it needs to be soon

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  6. I think it would be fun to try the obstacle course. Never even knew Great Wolf Lodges existed. I'd probably float down the lazy river too, swimming and my umm the thing that goes #2 don't get along well.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure if they are available in Canada, but that more of the reason for you to come to the States. I think you'd like the obstacle course. I had my reservations about it too (I don't like heights) but found it to be quite fun.

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    2. haha coming to the States takes $$$

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  7. That looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing such great pictures.

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  8. It looks fun. I've been to the one in Sandusky, but it's been awhile. They didn't have a ropes course when we went. I wonder if they do now!! We love those too.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe next time we're in Sandusky we'll pop in and see. We drive by it all the time going to Cedar Point, and now that we've gotten a taste of the fun, we simply can't drive by without stopping now.

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  9. I've never been to Great Wolf, but my parents have brought my kids for a weekend. They had a blast! I would love to go, as I've never been to an indoor water park. Outdoor, yes...but I like the idea of just leaving to head to your room anytime you want.

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  10. Looks like it was a fun time! I've heard great things about Great Wolf Lodge but have never been. Since I live in IL, I may have to see how far away Gurnee is!

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Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

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