As a landlocked family, we are always looking for new ways
to get our water fix! So, over President’s Day Weekend, we traveled to Great
Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas.
While this is a unique place, and only a whopping 6 hour drive, it
wasn’t quite the fix we had in mind. We had a lot of ups and downs this trip, but hopefully
you can learn from our mistakes, and be prepared going in!
One good thing about Great Wolf Lodge is that you can use the water park
on the day of check-in starting at 1pm, even though your room is not typically
ready until 4pm. There are lockers
available to rent in the water park that would easily fit a day bag with
swimsuits. There are also showers
in one of the bathrooms in the park, but more on that later. Because we left after I got off work on
Thursday, we didn’t arrive in the DFW area until 10pm. For this reason, we chose to stay
offsite on the first night. It
really didn’t make sense to us to pay the premium rate at Great Wolf, but not
be able to take full advantage of the perks! Staying off site (besides saving money) allowed us a little
shopping time. We love the DFW
area outlet malls! We spent Friday morning shopping in Allen, and Alex was a real
trooper! It helped that there was an Under Armor outlet, a Nike store, Adidas…
He is becoming a bit of a clothes hound! After shopping, we ate at out favorite
out of town burger joint, In-N-Out Burger. After that, we were on our way to Grapevine (a 10 minute
drive on the tollway).
The Lodge
The Great Wolf Lodge is quite a sight, and of course, I was
kicking myself for forgetting the camera! It has a typical “lodge” feel, with
lots of wood. But as soon as you
walk in, next to check-in, there is a huge picture window showing you the water
park! There are also coloring stations set up to keep the kids entertained, but
the window seemed to be enough for most kids! We checked in at 2:30 (later than
we had planned) but our room was ready.
They provide nice (although small) luggage buggies and we were able to
get everything (suitcases, laptop bag, snacks and a small cooler) in one
trip. However, some larger
families had to have two carts.
Upon check in, everyone in your party gets a wristband. This has an RFID chip in it that acts
as your room key and your water park ticket. These can also be activated individually to allow charging to your
room. So if you want only adults to be able to charge to your room, you can activate only those bands.
Activities
There is quite a bit to do besides the water park. However, as I had to point out to my
son, the water park is included in the price of your stay. Little else is! There is an arcade,
which gives “tickets” that you can exchange for prizes. These are typical prizes for such
places, but some have GWL logos on them.
My son got a basketball that says GWL on it. There was also a wolf he was eyeing for 2,000 tickets. However, my husband was quick to point
out that we should check the gift shop before trying to win more tickets for
the wolf. There were much nicer
wolves in the gift shop, some with the GWL logo, for $10 to $20, depending on
size.
There are stories by the clock tower at night, and a “show”
twice a day, where animatronic kids and animals come out. Younger kids seemed to like this, but
my 9 year old wanted no part of it.
There is also a “Build-a-Bear" type booth where you can make
an animal, but the BIG draw is the wand game. MagiQuest is a game where you get a plastic wand and
are sent on a treasure hunt throughout the lodge. There are pictures and things that will talk or move or
light up when you point the wand at them on most every floor, always in the
public areas (such as around the restaurants or elevators…). My son was dying to do this game –
until he saw the price. At $30.98,
he hesitated and finally talked himself out of it as he watched kids play. As he put it, “It looks like fun, but
not $30 fun.” That said, it was a
very popular game, with multiple kids with wands at every stop.
There is what they call the “Paw Pass” where you can get a
little bit of everything for your kids (or yourself!) It is $64.99, so
basically, you are buying the MagiQuest game and Stuffing Station Animal, and
getting the other things for free.
I could even see sharing this in a family (although I can see fights
over who gets the animal!).
And, last but not least, pressed pennies! These are a
favorite in our family, and we even have pressed penny money (an M&Ms minis
tube) and a pressed penny holder (a Mentos gum container!). Had we but known! Luckily for Alex, we
were able to gather enough change to make pressed pennies. This machine was the only one we found,
and a great inexpensive souveniere, although, as my husband loves to point out,
they are making a 5,000% profit on 50 cents for one penny.
Restaurants
There is plenty to eat at the GWL. However, expect to pay resort prices in the “sit down”
restaurants and theme park prices at the snack bars.
Loose Moose Cottage
In the lobby. They have Breakfast and Dinner Buffets. I’m sorry, but I don’t have pricing for this one!Camp Critter Bar and Grille
On the 4th floor. This is where you can find the “character” breakfast buffet, at $21.99 for adults and $14.99 for kids! They also serve lunch and dinner (without characters). We glanced at this dinner menu, which ranged from about $16 for a burger to about $40 for a steak.Spirit Island Snack Shop
In the water park. This is what I would call typical theme
park food, but the wrap from the “lighter side” menu was quite good! The
“chicken tenders” remind me of the pressed chicken we used to have in the
school cafeteria, but the Fish and Chips my husband got were good. The way this is set up, it seems they could also have a
window in the main hall of the 1st floor, so people didn’t have to
go into the park to get food and drinks.
By the way, the refillable sports cup (red, shown with the combo meals),
was a great deal. I hat to say
why, as I don’t want to get people in trouble, but, in the name of full
disclosure, you need to know: We paid $8.99 for the mug. Refills are advertised as $1.99 (50
cents less than a small drink) so it’s a reasonable deal if you want a souvenir
sports bottle. They are happy to
charge you $1.99 when you use your wristband. However, if you are holding cash, they always said, “That’s
fine, just take it.” My husband
and I tested this out, watching other families and doing it on our own, and it
worked every time. I don’t know if
it was the busy weekend, or that people don’t like dealing in cash, but it
turned out great for us!
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| Spirit Island Menu |
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| Spirit island Menu 2 |
There is also breakfast here starting at 9:00am. They serve breakfast burritos and
sandwiches. Alex chose to buy a breakfast
burrito on our last day, and said it was very good.
Hungry as a Wolf
1st floor, outside of the water park. Pizza, delivered to your room for $2 or carry out. We paid $16 for a cheese pizza, and my husband and I think we now have a good idea what the cardboard pizza in all theme parks is like.Starbucks
Oh, you can’t go anywhere without seeing this strange green
mermaid/goddess/Seattlean. And GWL is no exception. Same prices as any other Starbucks. I avoided it and drank the in-room
coffee after lecturing my son the first day on not spending money on things we
can get anywhere!
Bear Paws Sweets and Eats
They have breakfast in the mornings, with donuts and various
pastries. Donuts are $1.29, and it
is up from there. In
the afternoons and evenings, you can get cupcakes, ice cream and more. You can also buy small cakes, that
looked like they could easily feed 6 to 8 people. This is another place where, when paying cash, it seems like
you get a better deal. My husband
somehow paid $1.99 for an ice cream cone that was supposed to be $2.99. I bought milk here for our
breakfast in the room, and there was a wide selection of juices, chocolate mild
(2% and whole) and white milk (2% and whole). Milk was $2.50 for a pint. Juices were $2.99 for 20 oz.
Booze
That’s right.
Alcohol is readily available.
There is a bar in the water park, but the snack shop sells draft and
bottled beer as well. You can even
get a bucket of beer for$24.99.
Granted, the souvenir bucket is a large red plastic tub with the GWL
logo in white, but, really? For 6 beers? If you want a mixed drink, go to the
bar. The frozen daiquiris tasted
like there was absolutely no rum in them at the snack shack. However, the margarita from the bar had
more than enough alcohol for 2 drinks! The best value, in my opinion, is the
draft beer for $4.99. Better, yet,
they have ZiegenBock on tap (a Texas amber that is hard to find!).
The Room
The room we had was the family suite (one of the smaller
room types). According to GWL the
family suite “features 2 queen beds, a full size sofa sleeper and a
large picture window. Suite comes with microwave, mini fridge, coffee maker,
hair dryer.”
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| Sitting Area |
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| Beds |
The site didn’t mention the sitting area, which was a nice
bonus! This was divided from the sleeping are by a wall about ¾ of the way to
the ceiling (adults could see over it with some effort). The microwave and fridge were in the
sitting area part of the room, and there was enough counter space for the ice
bucket and a few snacks. We ended
up moving the ice bucket to make room for the breakfast and snacks we had
brought.
One negative on the room is that the television was situated in front of the beds, so you had to sit on the bed or lie down to watch. It might have made more sense in the seating area!
The Water Park
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| The view from our room |
One negative on the room is that the television was situated in front of the beds, so you had to sit on the bed or lie down to watch. It might have made more sense in the seating area!
The Water Park
The in room coffee was actually really good. It was a “gourmet blend” made for GWL
by S&D Coffee. They are
apparently a custom roaster.
The bathroom is nice, and there is a vanity both in the
bathroom and in the room, so families can get ready without fighting over
space! Our wet bar/vanity area in
the room was leaking (badly!), but we called housekeeping and someone fixed it
right away. Amenities in the bath included a bath and face bar (with a paw print in it!), "Scoops" body wash for dis - Bubble Gum scented, lotion and shampoo. There is no conditioner, so remember to bring your own!
The Water Park
Let’s face it, this is the big draw to GWL! You enter
through a swim shop, with lots of towels, suits and even sunscreen. Your wristbands are checked (they just
look at them) and you enter the park.
In front of you is the big play area, Fort Mackenzie. The water bucket that dumps every 5
minutes is massive! The play structure is big enough that adults can play with
their kids and not feel like they are going to hit their head and knock
themselves out at any second! There are even body slides that come down from
the top of the structure, and I saw several adults riding.
To the left, you will find private cabanas, restrooms with
showers and an Adults Only hot tub area.
To the right, there is a “family” hot tub area, and the
Cub Paw, a shallow, soft pool with soft slides and toys for the little
ones. Immediately on your right is
the snack bar.
If you walk to your right, you will find the wave
pool. Wave pools are always great,
and this one is nice because it is 5 feet deep at the deepest part, so I didn’t
feel I had to keep Alex in arm’s reach at all times. There are free inner tubes floating in the water, available
for anyone to use.
There is a very short “lazy” river, where it was hard to
be lazy because there were places where people outside of the river could spray
you and dump water in you!
The slides are at the back of the park. There are two family raft slides: the
Howlin’ Tornado and River Canyon Run.
The Tornado is a funnel slide – the first and last one I will ever
ride. I suffer from motion
sickness, and I have never needed medication at a water park – until this trip!
The River Canyon Run was so much fun! I would recommend riding it in the
daytime and at night!
There are also three smaller slides that require tubes
that you can ride double or individually.
You have to bring your own tubes up the stairs for these. They are all tube slides, with one
stopping in a whirlpool type area before you shoot down the slide again (think
spinning around a drain until you are pulled in!). Another is full of twists and turns while the last slide has
more ups and downs.
There is an activity pool with volleyball and basketball,
and a place to walk from lily pad to lily pad while holding a rope net.
Finally, a place we didn’t get to try in February, the
outdoor pool. I noticed two slides
and a meandering pool. It also
looked like there was a spray pad!
The Negatives
Oh so many negatives! I always judge water
parks by their “ick” factor. On a
scale of 1 to 10 (1 is very little concern over the ickies, 10 is get me out of
this place) is how I like to rate water parks. This park was kept relatively clean, and pools were
occasionally emptied of patrons and checked for chemicals. That said, there was an intense smell
of chlorine. Granted, this is an
indoor park, and the smell will be stronger; however, with a 7-story ceiling, I
would not expect it to be as bad as it was. A note about chlorine: it only makes that smell in water if
it is attacking bacteria. So
always beware pools that smell strongly of chlorine. Especially bad areas were the “family” hot tub and the wave
pool. The ick factor overall
(park, bathrooms, public areas) was a 6, but the family hot tub was a 9. The wave pool was a 7.
Bathrooms in all water parks have an ick factor, and this
one is no exception. I wish they
would have had a “dry” bathroom and a “wet” bathroom, but both were wet with
dirty floors and toilet paper stuck to floors, toilet seats, everywhere! The
other thing I wish is that they would have had a bathroom attendant. There were too many kids, and I found
myself wondering what if someone just scooped up a random kid and took them in
there, changed their hair color and disappeared – or worse! Paranoid, I know,
but there was so little supervision of many kids. It was not unusual to see 4 year olds wondering around
looking lost!
And on the subject on supervision, the hot tubs boast that
there is no lifeguard on duty. The
rules state no alcohol (plenty of alcohol in the hot tubs, but family and
adult) and supervised children, 8 and over only, in the “family” area. These rules were ignored, as if
the “No Lifeguard on Duty” sign was an invitation to ignore the rules. The adult only area often had kids in
it, and that hot tub was VERY hot! There should be better policing of all areas
– a walk-through occasionally would have done wonders.
Finally, we had a bad time with asthma at the water
park. The first day, we spent
about 3 hours in the pool and ended up with a cough. We kind of dismissed this as swallowing too much water. The next day, we had full on asthma
attacks. So, if you have a kid
with asthma, make sure you take plenty of breaks. With the chlorine the way it was, I would do breaks
(completely out of the water park area) every 2 hours. This might be better in the summer,
when the doors to the outdoor park would be open, and we could go outside more.
We spent our last day completely out of the pool, and had
no problems. We went to Grapevine
Mills and walked around a bit, with a little shopping (mainly walking!). We also played in the arcade.
Would we go back?
I say no. Hubby says not
unless we could get him to take the appropriate breaks. It is so hard to get his out of the
water when he is having so much fun – but it is so necessary. And Alex – despite the asthma attacks
(he said he thought he was going to die at two different points) he is begging
to take a friend and return for his birthday. We’ll see…
When you consider the room rate of $373/night (including taxes and resort fees), and all of the negatives, it is hard to imagine returning. Especially when you consider we could stay at the Beach Club Resort at WDW (what we consider an ideal resort) for $400/night. Their pool, although there is only one slide, is much cleaner and nicer, after all! But, if you consider tacking on a water park ticket - $52/person for a one day ticket, the price has just increased to $556. That said, I think we are an "outdoor" water park family (especially considering the medical side of things) and it's time to move on and try something new.
When you consider the room rate of $373/night (including taxes and resort fees), and all of the negatives, it is hard to imagine returning. Especially when you consider we could stay at the Beach Club Resort at WDW (what we consider an ideal resort) for $400/night. Their pool, although there is only one slide, is much cleaner and nicer, after all! But, if you consider tacking on a water park ticket - $52/person for a one day ticket, the price has just increased to $556. That said, I think we are an "outdoor" water park family (especially considering the medical side of things) and it's time to move on and try something new.
Tips
Bring microwave popcorn for snacks!
Bring your own water and drinks and keep in your room
fridge
Bring breakfast (pastries, cereal) and buy milk in the
hotel.
Stay hydrated! Even though you are indoors and in water,
this is ever so important!
The fireplace provides a great future Christmas card photo
op!
Don’t forget your camera! Bring a water camera for the
water park, too!
