Disclosure: Thank you to Great Wolf Lodge for hosting our family. Opinions here are all our own.
This year was looking a little different when it came to celebrating my kids birthdays. We wanted to do something special because we couldn’t have our yearly birthday party we have with family and friends. We recently visited Great Wolf Lodge in August and were so impressed by the precautions they took with the pandemic while still being able to have a fun family vacation. So, we decided a little birthday getaway trip to Great Wolf Lodge would be the best way to celebrate! After all they have been asking to go back since we left in August!
With having two birthdays in winter it can be hard to plan any kind of birthday trip. But Great Wolf Lodge keeps the park at 84 degrees year round, making it perfect for birthdays anytime of the year!
Birthday Package Add-ons
Great Wolf absolutely knows how to make your kids feel extra special on their birthday. We spotted our room right away with our Happy Birthday post displayed on the door. When we went inside the room was decorated with balloons, an arcade game card, a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream, and a special birthday card from Wiley and the Great Wolf gang! With the birthday packages you can add on things like cake, pizza, and a 2 liter bottle of pop.
Although we weren’t able to have our big birthday parties this year due to the pandemic, we were still able to have the best birthday getaway ever thanks to Great Wolf Lodge and their Paw Pledge program! The kids felt so special and said it was the best birthday ever! This may just become a yearly birthday tradition. You can read more about their Paw Pledge program and commitment to your safety in our full review below.
The Paw Pledge program is why we were able to have such a fun and still a safe family getaway. Upon reopening the Great Wolf Lodge introduced their new Paw Pledge program, a company-wide initiative focused on keeping families healthy and safe while they play together at the indoor waterpark resort, and was developed based on guidance from health authorities and public officials.
Great Wolf Lodge Paw Pledge
Before you arrive at the resort you’re required to fill out a wellness form. Which is a way for Great Wolf Lodge to make sure that their incoming guests are healthy and have not had any recent symptoms, been quarantined, or around anyone sick.
When you arrive, you’ll see the paw print symbol is utilized throughout the Great Wolf Lodge resort and represents their Paw Pledge Program. You’ll notice an increased availability of hand-sanitizers throughout the resort, markers on the floor ensure social distancing, as well as Plexiglas dividers which separated us from the desk clerk.
When you check in, you’ll have the option to connect your debit card to your room, they’ll provide you with a wristband for contactless purchases throughout the resort. I loved this, because I already have enough things to carry back and forth to the waterpark this was one less thing to worry about!
The last few times we visited we had the standard suite which you can read about here, but this time we had one of the Themed Suites. The Themed Suites will be either a “Wolf Den” or a “Kid Cabin”. These magical rooms add to the experience in my opinion. The rooms have kid friendly bunk beds as well as queen sized beds for mom and dad. The kids loved having their own personal cabin in the room complete with a bunk bed, twin bed and a desk/tv.
All guest rooms are also disinfected and sanitized prior to check-in, with room attendants paying special attention to high touchpoint areas such as door handles, light switches, in-room phone, thermostats, and television remotes.
Dining at Great Wolf lodge
There are plenty of food options inside the resort that you don’t even have to leave. In fact all of the food outlets offer remote ordering with pick-up options so guests can enjoy their meal in the comfort of their rooms. You can get your morning coffee fix from the Dunkin Donuts in the lobby. In the water park itself, you can grab burgers, fries, and drinks at Buckets. We also loved Bear Paw Sweet & Treats, they offered different ice cream and desserts. A favorite for our little wolf pack! Then there’s pizzas and pasta at Hungry As A Wolf.
The food did not disappoint, the kids ate up every single meal. Even our all you can eat breakfast that we enjoyed at the Gitchigoomie Grill. It was the perfect way to wake up to a huge breakfast after enjoying some yoga in the lobby. They also offered lunch and dinner options as well including burgers and fries, steak, and chicken fingers. Something for everyone!
One of our other favorite things to do at Great Wolf Lodge is playing MagiQuest, a live action, fantasy-themed scavenger hunt played throughout the resort. You’ll search for hidden clues, solve puzzles, and fight dragons while working together as a family. The kids love waving their wands around to do magic tricks like opening treasure chest or triggering special effects hidden in the decor around the resort.
When you book your stay, you should consider buying Paw Passes for your children. They have different options that will provide your kids entertainment during your stay, and they also offer different passes that are better with different age groups. Having the Paw Pass was cheaper than actually paying for each activity individually.
Our Paw Pass included:
– One MagiQuest Game
– One MagiQuest wand, standard topper, or Magi belt
– One Great Wolf Lodge Shop candy cup
– One Paw Points game card for Northern Lights Arcade
– One pair of Great Wolf swim goggles
These Paw Passes kept the kids busy and active during the stay along with Build-A-Bear and all of the activities Great Wolf Lodge provides.
Along with the activities included in the Paw Passes, Great Wolf Lodge also offers daily free activities that take place in the lobby. They include story time, dance parties, yoga, and character meet and greets. There was no shortage of fun things to do at Great Wolf Lodge!
To emphasize the Paw Pledge, all events in the lobby like the dance party, yoga, and story time are physically distanced with markers for attendees. The character meet and greets were also distanced but we were still able to get photos and air high fives! Great Wolf also offers a collection of pre-packaged arts and crafts projects that families can complete on their own either in the comfort of their room or at one of the physically distanced tables in the lodge.
Of course the kids absolute favorite attraction at Great Wolf Lodge is the massive indoor water park.It features the best water slides, lazy river, hot tubs (which are closed currently due to Covid), and other various types of pools for kids of all ages. There’s so much space for the kids to splash and play in. They spent most of their time at Fort Mckenzie which has a 1,000 gallon water bucket that dumps water every three to five minutes. They were also tall enough to ride all of the slides as long as they wore a life jacket.
There are so many water slides, pools and play areas within the indoor water parks that there is something for everyone in your party no matter their age or adventure level. Life jackets are available as well as a towel service and lockers.
With 18 Great Wolf Lodge locations around the country, be sure to check out the fun at a location near you! Follow Great Wolf Lodge on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the lastest news and special offers!
Pin it for later:
