If you want a fun family getaway or an unforgettable birthday, staying at the Great Wolf Lodge is the perfect place to be together for a stay-cation in the DFW area!
When my daughter’s birthday was coming up we were planning and trying to figure out what to do. We were really good at having park birthday parties but she wanted something different and I didn’t blame her. My husband and I decided to make it really big by surprising her with a fun getaway to Great Wolf Lodge after a soccer game on her actual birthday.
We had been able to find an awesome deal online (which I highly recommend!!) and we were able to take a day off from work and school since it was in October.
The look on her face when she finally figured out where we were going was priceless. Something I’ll never forget as a Mom. I finally did something right 🙂
If you are considering taking a trip to Great Wolf Lodge here are some reasons you should go and things to know.
All About Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas
Fun for the Whole Family
If you didn’t know it, Great Wolf Lodge is a family-friendly resort. I didn’t see anybody there without kids. If you don’t have kids I really wouldn’t recommend it because it is pretty loud 🙂 But really, with kids- it’s awesome. There is something for everyone. There is just so much to do. The waterpark area is great, the hotel area is great, and the staff is wonderful. It’s all for the family.
Safe
I felt very safe there. Maybe it’s because there were so many kids around and kids equal other parents? I’m not sure but I feel like they have so many staff members on property helping out all day/night. Around the pools, there are lifeguards and even safety equipment. You do not need to bring life jackets or puddle jumpers for smaller kids. I didn’t know this and I brought ours but they have tons! The staff members are always watching around the water. It’s a very safe environment.
Entertainment
You can be entertained the entire time if you want. Not only do they have the waterpark (which is the reason we went) but they have a great game center, they also have MagiQuest which is open every day until 11 pm at night. This is great for swimmers who get tired or kids that need a change. We did not do this during our stay but it did look like a lot of fun!
The hotel also has so many nightly things happening from story time to character meetings. They also have an XD theater, laser frenzy, and a ropes course. So many things to name. I can tell you we just liked the water park and to relax in the room but if your family likes non-stop action you can have that too!
Dining/Shopping
What’s awesome is that you don’t have to leave the hotel to find great food now. They have wonderful restaurants on site that can order from or even sit down and eat at. There’s even a special character breakfast to make things extra special.
We chose to bring some food/snacks because we were only there 1 night and this was just fine for us. Each room had a mini fridge and we did bring a cooler to keep drinks cold for our room. We did order from the snack bar at the pool several times and had great food.
My kids loved shopping at the gift shop, of course!
My Tips for Staying at Great Wolf Lodge
I did learn a few tips and tricks to use for next time as we do play to go again. The kids had an amazing time and still talk about it!
- Bring as many snacks as you can into the room. The snack bar and other food on site is pretty expensive. Swimming makes kids hungry so stock up before and even though it’s a pain, bring food (and drinks) for your room.
- Bring extra swimsuits. There’s nothing worse than walking around in a wet suit, right? Even if you are only staying 1 night bring extra suits to have a backup or for your other suits when they are wet.
- Bring extra grocery bags to store wet clothes in.
- They will provide towels but they are not very good. (my opinion!). I like my own towels.
- Have kids bring goggles if they don’t like water in their eyes!!
- Bring cute PJs for the kids for the story time!
- Make sure you have a cover-up or something comfy to walk around in too.
- The water park does have a great locker room area you can change and shower in if needed the day you have to check out.
- Your wristband is good the next day (after checking out) so pack a small bag just for the pool and a change of clothes to ride home in.
- Plan on getting wet Mom, and having fun! This is one place to make memories with your kids and have a blast!!
The best part was, we made the best memories as a family. My kids still talk about this fun day. Even though my daughter didn’t have a big party with friends, we made her special day memorable for her and extra special. I feel like we even saved money by not having a huge birthday bash at one the expensive places around town. We celebrated just us, and it was awesome!
Have you been to Great Wolf Lodge? What tips do you have? Do you have any other Stay-cation ideas in for Dallas?
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Linda says
Does the hotel accept shizu in a room
Shannon says
I’m not sure about that! You would have to call and check to make sure!
Harvey Webb says
The best part was, we made the best memories as a family. My kids still talk about this fun day. Even though my daughter didn’t have a big party with friends, we made her special day memorable for her and extra special. Nice post thank you!