{"id":8855,"date":"2017-09-27T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/?p=8855"},"modified":"2017-11-23T23:22:31","modified_gmt":"2017-11-24T07:22:31","slug":"great-wolf-lodge-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/great-wolf-lodge-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Wolf Lodge is like Vegas for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last weekend, my family and I spent a fantastic weekend at\u00a0Great Wolf Lodge<\/strong><\/a> in Orange County. We were invited as media guests to attend their week-long celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the “Harvest Moon Festival”) and experience everything this high-quality resort has to offer.<\/p>\n

This was our first visit. With a driving time of 1 – 2 hours from Los Angeles (depending on traffic), it’s the perfect “stay-cation” for Angelenos or extended vacation for visitors to SoCal.<\/p>\n

I highly recommend a visit to\u00a0Great Wolf Lodge<\/strong><\/a> for families with children of any age! It’s also a great place to celebrate birthdays, events, and have reunions or conferences (their conference spaces are huge!). We saw a few child-less couples having fun, who were there celebrating a niece or nephew’s birthday. The customer service and staff is extremely helpful and friendly, and the hotel is kept extremely clean. When kids are happy, parents are happy. Activities and entertainment all under one roof!<\/p>\n

Our two-night, three-day experience was like Vegas for kids (and the kid in all of us)!<\/p>\n

It’s all about the pool<\/h2>\n

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Any good vacation is built around pool-time, and\u00a0Great Wolf Lodge<\/strong><\/a> has it all. The 105,000 square foot indoor water park’s centerpiece is “Fort Mackenzie” – a multi-level tree house water fort with bridges, slides of all heights and multiple spray stations. Every four minutes, a giant bucket tips over, dumping water on everyone below.<\/p>\n

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Surrounding it is a wave pool, a lazy river, raft rides, water playground, and surf simulator. My 4-year old preferred the Cub Paw Pool<\/em>, to swim and slide. My husband and I switched off kid-duties to experience the more thrilling slides such as the “Wolf Tail” – 360-degree thrill ride with vertical plunge and trapdoor.<\/p>\n

There’s also a small outdoor area, with a walk-in pool and comfortable lounge chairs where my kid (surprisingly) took a nap.<\/p>\n

Well-trained lifeguards are located throughout the water park, but it is still the parent or guardian’s responsibility to supervise their children. Kids are assigned colored wristbands, based on height, which also helps them access certain slides and pool areas.<\/p>\n

Note: only hotel guests have access to the water park. Hotel guests may purchase additional wristbands under certain conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Themed Rooms<\/h2>\n
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photo provided by Great Wolf Lodge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Great Wolf Lodge<\/strong><\/a> offers a variety of family-friendly rooms, some suites sleeping up to 8 guests! If you want an extra-themed room, choose the Wolf Den Suite<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, or\u00a0Kid Cabin<\/em> Suite<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>when booking your room – each has a separate kid-sleeping area with bunk beds.<\/p>\n

Bowling<\/h2>\n

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My daughter’s favorite activity besides the water park was bowling! “Ten Paw Alley” is cosmic-style mini-bowling, where everything is scaled down – perfect for tiny hands! Guardrail options are available too, for those who need it. I was tickled to see my kid have so much fun. She even did the whole “lean, wait for it” move.<\/p>\n