In July 2009, at the almost-end of a very long roadtrip, I added an out-of-the-way stop in Grapevine, Texas to visit The Great Wolf Lodge, as I had heard about its indoor/ outdoor waterpark and wand-wielding adventures.
My husband flew home from Little Rock before this part of the trip, so I drove this leg solo and picked up our high school-age babysitter, Sarah, at the airport along the way. She was more than willing to accompany us and I knew that managing 3 children ages 3, 5 and 7 would not be a vacation by myself. But with her, it would.
As soon as we drove up to the hotel, we knew were in for a treat:
And it was even more impressive inside:
The hotel does not have bellmen to help with your luggage, but they do have several carts available for your use.
I unloaded the car and asked Sarah to stay with the kids while I parked and then checked us in to the hotel.
At check-in we were issued bracelets which would also serve as our admission tickets into the waterpark area. For Sarah and me, though, our bracelets had a microchip in them, allowing them also to serve as room-charging devices and as our room keys. (How cool is that?!)
Walking to our room we saw tons of kids racing through the halls with magic wands, activating lights and sounds along walls and in displays. My crew was in love already.
But more on that later.
First I have to tell you about our room.
We decided to go for the Wolf Den Suite and the kids were in awe right when they stepped through the door.
The room has a kid themed ‘cabin’ within the hotel room, complete with bunk beds and an additional twin bed, TV and Nintendo (neither of which we used—the hotel has plenty of action-oriented fun!) Adorable paintings on the wall complete the camping theme.
Quickly the kids declared the cabin a “kids-only zone.” After checking it out our ourselves, Sarah and I were happy to comply.
We were just excited to each have our own bed (one regular queen-size bed, one fold out mattress) and tons of room to spread out all our gear.
We donned our swimsuits and hit the waterpark:
The park was just big enough to feel like an adventure, yet small enough to not be over paranoid about the kids. (And I can be a bit on the paranoid, over-protective side.)
We just checked out part of the park our first evening, but spent more time there the next day.
After splashing about, we had dinner and then went back to the room. At this point, Sarah took over the youngest and I took the boys to get their wands and see what MagiQuest was all about.
We went and purchased wands, wand toppers, had them activated and got a crash course in the whole wand-wielding adventure.
Basically, you get a clue book that lists several adventure paths you can take with your wands. You watch a quick training video and then take off through the hotel (on all 7 floors) searching out clues and using your wand to ‘wake’ mythical objects and enchanted items throughout the hotel.
Each item you correctly find (in order) adds points to your score, which you can check all through out the hotel.
At times I will admit we got a little frustrated by the puzzles, but the boys loved it and none of us minded walking up and down the many stairs to all the levels of the hotel solving the mysteries.
Before going to bed on our first night, the boys said this was there “most favorite hotel ever.”
The next day, as I mentioned, we explored the waterpark some more and then left the hotel to visit some friends nearby.
The next morning, which was our last, I took the boys back for more splashing and swimming and Sarah took our youngest to a play place for the not-as-active set complete with reading nook and craft supplies galore.
Many of the activities in this area were complimentary and there were a few that required a small fee. They were thrilled to just do all the complimentary activities.
While I loaded the cart and car with all our luggage, Sarah took the kids to the lobby for very animated mechanical puppet show of sorts, as almost all the animals in the lobby came ‘alive.’
There were a few more waves of the wands by my boys and then we were off for our final leg of the drive home.
Here’s where I must point out that a trip to The Great Wolf Lodge is, in no way, a frugal vacation. If you got there, you will have lots of opportunities to spend lots of money… and many more than we took part in. You can design your own Crocs, make a special souvenir Build-a-Bear and lots more.
And the food is good, but it will cost you.
At check-in our hostess gave us a quick run-down of the dining options at the hotel… as well as a few off-site options. Plus, the hotel room had a nice sized refrigerator in the room and a microwave. We took advantage of both.
If you are looking for a very memorable splurge for about two nights, The Great Wolf Lodge just might be your answer. And with 12 locations across North America, I bet you could build it in to lots of destinations… or let it be the destination all in itself.
Check the hotel website for specials… we were able to take advantage of a promotion when we stayed.
Like I said, my kids still stick to the story that this is their ‘most favorite hotel ever.’ Was it the magic wands? The water park? The totally kid-oriented hotel room? The fantastic friends we got to visit with mid-way through our stay? That Sarah was there, too? Or the fact that Mom even relaxed and had a good time, too?
I don’t know… but I know we’ll be back for more!
Or maybe we’ll try out a different location. Have you been to a different Great Wolf Lodge? If so, please do tell!
And if you have any questions about this one, please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer from a mom of three’s perspective.
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