While not a foreign destination, I know many kid’s happy place is a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge. Our family has been to Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg twice now during their Halloween season, and here are some of our tricks and lessons learned. We first went with a group of families for two nights, and next went as just a family of four for one night. The one night option worked better for our family from a sleep and healthy eating perspective, and we cannot wait to return with another family for one night later this year!
Why Great Wolf Lodge?
The kids love having two days at a water park riding all of the slides and enjoying the additional holiday activities Great Wolf Lodge has to offer families. Also, if you book during holiday sales, then the cost of a single night stay at Great Wolf Lodge is comparable to enrolling two kids in day camps on one of the many days the local public schools are closed.
Planning for Great Wolf Lodge:
I will start looking for deals on rooms, and tracking prices of school holiday dates leading up to the annual Thanksgiving sale so I know what is considered a decent price for the room. One time a family invited us to go to Great Wolf Lodge last minute over MLK weekend, and the $500+ nightly rate was not palatable to me knowing you can get a room in the low $200’s or better if you book in advance on certain Sunday nights.
We learned that the themed rooms with a bunk bed and single bed are slightly nicer than the single bunk bed option in Williamsburg for only a few dollars more so we booked that room type for our second stay. We also planned to drive down early on the day of check-in, and then planned to leave in the afternoon of the second day when the kids had their fill of the water park.
Experience at Great Wolf Lodge:
For our second visit to Great Wolf Lodge we packed breakfast and lunch for the family to-go, and made sure everyone ate healthy and filling food before we entered the park around 11AM. Our room was not available until late afternoon so we locked the car key, wallets and phones to a chair using our travel safe, and then enjoyed the water park for a few hours.
If you have kids who need an adult to ride slides with them due to height restrictions, be prepared to do a lot of steps during your trip. We counted the steps to the big family slide at the Williamsburg location both of my children loved, and it’s over 100 steps to the top. Water shoes with a sturdy base came in handy, and made riding the slides on repeat a lot more comfortable. The themed Great Wolf Lodge holiday beverages also made the slides even more enjoyable for us parents.
After check-in, the kids wanted to experience Great Wolf Lodge trick-or-treating so we took a break from the water park so the kids could change into their Halloween costumes and get some candy. This was actually a great way for them to practice walking around in their costumes in a new location, and they were able to make changes to their costumes before having to wear them to school on Halloween.
The kids partook in the other free Halloween activities at the lodge like coloring and story time before we ate dinner in the main buffet restaurant. The quality of the food leaves a lot to be desired, but it is only one night, and it meant we were not eating pizza from the restaurant closer to the pool for two meals in a row. After dinner this year my kids did not want to go back to the park so instead we enjoyed some of the other Halloween themed activities the resort offers like a dance party before the kids went to bed.
The next morning we ate breakfast that we brought from home since the line for Dunkin Donuts can get quite long. If you plan to eat there during your stay I would suggest placing your order the night before so you beat the rush.
We packed up our car prior to the opening of the water park so we could get to it around opening time. After a few more hours at the park, including a break for pizza lunch from the basement restaurant, we packed up and headed home. The kids were already asking to go back during our car ride home.
Lessons Learned:
- Pack healthy snacks and lunch since the food options are very limited. This year the adults ate salads during the drive or in the parking lot before we went into the lodge so we were fueled up for the day ahead.
- Unplug the alarm clock next to the adult bed. Ours went off at 6am on our second visit, and forced everyone awake for the day. From now on I will always unplug the black alarm clocks with a dial on top since I have twice been woken up by alarms I have not set with that style of alarm.
- Bring soap, shampoo and shower shoes if you want to rinse off in the pool area prior to departure. During our last visit the dispensers were out of soap.
- Have a plan and potential budget for the arcade and additional activities Great Wolf Lodge has to offer. (or in our case prepare to say No to a lot of requests) Great Wolf Lodge has so many add-on activities in addition to the water park. So far we have had a great time just enjoying the water park and free Holiday activities, but plan to pick one new activity for our third visit.
- Pack breakfast or plan to place your order in advance through the app to avoid long wait times. If your kids wake up hangry then you need to plan ahead!
- If you are interested in booking a cabana, pay attention to the booking description to differentiate between indoor and outdoor options. The outdoor pool may be too cold to use for the season, but the outdoor cabanas will still be available for booking.
- There is no gym at the Williamsburg location, and I have always chosen to work out before our morning departure. I would love to hear from somebody who has found a safe 3+ mile running route near the lodge.
Travel Gear:
- Our travel safe has more than paid for itself during the four days (and counting) we have spent at Great Wolf Lodge. It’s big enough for a phone, small wallet and car key.
- Water shoes help adults with all of the steps, and kids get a slight height advantage for the height restricted slides.
- White noise machines: the halls can be loud so having one for both the kid and adult sleeping areas is a must.
- Portable night lights help in the kid sleeping area.
- I brought our standard travel toy bag, and it gave the kids some quiet play time between the noise of the parks, and the sounds of their tablets during our car rides.
- Check out my travel gear page for a full list of my recommendations. Please know I can make a commission from products that help offset the cost of maintaining this blog.
Final Thoughts:
We already have our third and fourth visits to Great Wolf Lodge booked because the kids have so much fun at the water park. The holiday themed events provide an extra festive experience at a place that is already incredibly kid friendly. I would love to see the addition of a gym or higher quality food options so we could plan longer stays at Great Wolf Lodge during snowy weather. While it’s not the same break as a Disney Cruise, a fall or winter trip to Great Wolf Lodge does let kids have fun when outdoor play is more limited.
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