Website:Great Wolf Lodge (always check website for latest information)
Season: All year round but with an outdoor pool area only open in warmer weather
Cost: Varies based on room choice. There are additional costs for extras.
Expected Length of Visit: It's up to you. We've done 3 nights and 2 nights. 2 nights is our preferred length since the extras add up the longer you stay. At this price point it really isn't worth combining this activity with too many other Pocono activities.
Recommended for Ages: All ages.
Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos is part of a chain of hotels with indoor water parks. The parks are only available to overnight guests at the lodge (although paying guest can purchase extra wristbands for friends and family who aren't staying overnight for $40/day - one wrist band per paying guest and I think you can only get them for one day during your stay.)
I chose this for my son's first vacation at 3 1/2 years old because it looked like fun and it was convenient. We live only 2 hours away from Great Wolf Lodge, an easy drive (I-81 to I-80 to 611). We only went for three nights. Later, after my second son was born, we went for two nights. In June 2012, after a divorce, I took my two sons, ages 8 1/2 and almost 4 again for 2 nights, our first vacation without dad.
(You can sort of see the waterpark through the window on the left in this picture:)
The waterpark itself is quite nice - there's something for all ages. Younger children enjoyed the small pool which has three different types of slides (five slides in all). They're fun but perfectly suited for little ones. There are life jackets for the kids, handed out on a first come, first serve basis.
There's also a lazy river (a bit too lazy and short for my taste), hot tubs (my favorite! - there's a family one and an adults only hot tub), several larger slides (some of these slides require at least 2 people), three pools - a wave pool, a regular pool with basketball nets, and a pool with a course you try to walk across without falling in, a 'treehouse' with various water toys attached, and a huge bucket that dumps a LOT of water out about every 10 minutes (WARNING: It has the force to pull down the top of a woman's swimsuit - don't ask me how I know and I apologize to the family with small children that was standing right there).
So there's something for everyone. My younger son loves the small slides and all the water features in the tree house. Younger kids, as long as they can sit up and hold on, can ride in front of a double tube down Alberta Falls - one of the large slides. You have to wrap your feet around them to hold them. My younger son loved that slide. He also loved the wave pool.
My older son loved the wave pool on our last visit. He was previously afraid of it. He is still shy of the big slides but will ride them. He is less adventurous but the wave pool and hot tub held his interest on our latest visit.
There's also an outdoor pool and although we've been there in summer months, we never made it to the outdoor pool - it just felt too cold compared to the indoor pool. Frankly, I enjoyed not having to deal with sunscreen and didn't mind that the park is mostly indoors. The water is always warm.
Food is a bit more expensive in the lodge but that's the price you pay for convenience. Some things are more reasonable than others. There are a few different restaurants in the lodge, including right in the waterpark (there is also a bar in the waterpark) and a Starbuck's. The buffet is expensive but younger kids may be free and the food was a step up from Golden Corral or Old Country Buffet (we only tried it on our first visit). This isn't a rural area of the Poconos - right out the lodge on the main road, you'll find several restaurants very close by if you choose to eat outside the lodge and a grocery store right down the road if you wish to use the microwave and refrigerator in your room, which my kids love for some reason. We've eaten several times at a pizza shop down the street - Amici's. We've also eaten at Friendly's, McDonald's, Red Robin - there are plenty of restaurants around.
We chose one of the theme rooms for each visit - a KidKamp or Wolf's Den - both have a bunk bed area. There was also a queen-size bed and a pull-out sofa in each of these. There were two televisions in the room. On our last visit, the boys ignored the bunkbed area and extra television so next time we'll get the most basic room. There was a decent selection of channels. Personally I hate going on vacation and finding a poor selection of channels on the television since that's how I like to wind down at night.
Besides the waterpark and restaurants, there are two spas (adult and children's), an arcade (the highlight for my sons, I think), a craft room, a workout room, and an animated clocktower. There's a show at bedtime followed by a story and one of the lodge's characters. You can play MagiQuest which involves a computerized wand finding clues all around the lodge (about $25 pp but you can keep the wand). For younger kids there is a wand for stories. I just bought both boys Magiquest even though the younger one was too young to actually play, his wand still worked and entertained him. They have some sort of a Tech Center where you can play video games but we haven't checked that out. They've also added a small bowling alley, with small balls. Oh, there's a build-a-bear type of store too.
You can get package deals for some of the extras which might be worth it if you plan on doing several of them.
There's a gift shop and a swim shop but the suits are quite expensive. If you forget your swimsuit, you'd probably be better off going down the road to find one. Crossings Outlets are right next door to the lodge.
Overall, a very nice place to visit. It's a bit pricey but considering it was so conveniently located, it's worth it for us. My kids love it and always want to go back. The service is excellent and they always add new things. There offer discounts all of the time. The best deals are mid-week.
Tip: Know the layout of the hotel and be ready if they give you a room choice. You probably don't want to be too far from the action (but you may not want to be where there is too much action - mainly by the Magiquest activity which can get noisy).
Please add your comments regarding this activity or let me know if you have any questions about it that I might be able to answer.
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