Have a Howling Good Time at @GreatWolfLodge in PA

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Great Wolf Lodge is a terrific place to take your kids to year round, not in the least because your hotel was also your waterpark, restaurant, activity center, and more. All I had to do was park the car and bring in the luggage and we were good to go.
The  huge indoor waterpark is reserved for guests only, guaranteeing that you will never have to wait on a long line.

Making it “snow” from the decorated ceilings at Great Wolf Lodge

Once you arrive, you are greeted and checked in by friendly staff, and you make your way to your room.  It is decorated for the season right now, and so pretty.  From the minute you walk in, the ceiling to the floors are decked out for the season. Even the characters are wearing their holiday best as they meet the kids and walk around the resort.

Great Wolf hosts its annual Snowland celebration for guests from November 28^th to January 3^rd, where they turn the resort into a winter wonderland complete with indoor snow showers, spectacular decorations, visits from Santa Clause, “Polar Wolf” Walks, North Pole Letter Depot, a Great Clock Tower Howl-iday Show, and more.

New this year, Great Wolf Lodge will introduce special Snowland Suites complete with twinkling garland, decorated tree, oversized snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and a plush blanket and Great Wold Lodge book to take home with you. To up the holiday ante, Wiley and Violet the Wolf will also be hand delivering cookies to each suite booked.  My boy got a milk and cookie delivery from Oliver, and he was so excited.  We’ve never met Oliver before, and my son couldn’t have been happier to see him. He stayed for some hugs, too, and let mom take a few photos- what a nice holiday critter.

Families are also invited to celebrate the magic of the season by dining inside the world’s only life-size, dine-in gingerbread house. Featuring more than 5,000 candies, 600 pounds of gingerbread dough and 1,320 pounds of sugar, each house will be baked, iced and candied to perfection, providing the setting for a memorable holiday feast. The appetizing walls of the lodge-baked abode have as much heart as taste as the proceeds for each meal go to charity.  I’m not sure how much this costs, but give them a call and see- you for sure need an RSVP to do this one.

In addition, your family can try the all-new interactive game, Clubhouse Crew, partake in various Snowland-themed activities, and enjoy a $50 credit to explore the lodge at your leisure.

Mailing his letter to Santa

There are fun activities that take place daily as well- make sure you get a schedule (and take a good look, you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun!)  We were able to watch a holiday parade that included Santa arriving on a firetruck, visiting Santa and taking photos, a holiday meet and greet with many of the Great Wolf Characters, storytime, a Howl-iday show, and more.  We had a fantastic time- and that’s all without the water park being added in!  You can also participate in a “Peeps” treasure hunt- find all the Peeps, and you can enter to win a prize every evening.

My son really enjoys the whole “Lodge” look and feel of the hotel- like a fun place in the woods, but modern with technology, conveniences, and comforts. There were multiple restaurants, a dessert shop, where you can grab ice cream, fudge, pastries- you know, all the “good” vacation foods, and a Starbucks, of course.  What would life be without one? Ha.

The dinner and breakfast buffets were both good, and easy.  Just head over, sit down, and eat.  It’s what you really want after a fun and busy day- just easy and good food.

Now- onto Great Wolf Lodge’s main attraction- the heated indoor waterpark!
At 84 degrees year round, the temperature was perfect. The water was both warm and refreshing, and the room was not so cold that you felt chilly out of the water, yet not warm enough that you felt sticky-muggy-hot. With over 200,000 gallons of water rushing around you, there is sure to be some family fun taking place! Can’t swim, or not a strong swimmer? Great Wolf Lodge provides life vests at various sizes for all children. This not only gives parents peace of mind, but lets your whole family have fun, and stay safe.

What do you dislike most about taking your kids to a water park? Long lines? Paying for parking? How expensive the tickets are? (Times how many people there are in your family….) Paying for parking, besides paying for all your tickets? (Which is SUCH a scam, and honestly is the thing I hate most.) Oh yeah, and having to rent a locker for 10-15$ to store your sunblock, towels, etc in? Getting burned from being out in the sun all day? Long lines? Wait, I said that already…..Can you tell that I “love” long lines? With a whiny kid, to boot, since kids also can’t stand waiting, LOL. Plus, if you are also staying in a hotel, that is an ADDITIONAL expense, right.  At Great Wolf Lodge, it’s all in one price- you know what you are paying, and it’s all up front.  (And no parking fees or long lines, ha.)

Here is a little hint- staying at the Great Wolf Lodge will seriously decrease both your spending and your time spent in lines, while increasing the amount of time you have to spend actually enjoying yourself.  More rides, since there are very short lines, no driving to the waterpark and back again.  Just walk down the hall, take the elevator down, and BAM! There you go. No need to pay for parking, because, oh yeah, you are there already….You are inside, so no sunburn- and if you go to the outdoor water park, you can always go back inside if you are feeling over-exposed and take a break. You can’t do that at most places.  No to mention, it’s really fun to be at a waterpark in your swimsuit in the middle of winter.  A fun break in the weather while not traveling off the East Coast.

Storytime with Santa’s elf and Great Wolf Characters

The slides, multiple pools, lazy river, water basketball, lilypad hop-across pond, and so much more-  you will never, ever be bored.

There is more to see and do at Great Wolf Lodge- storytime, build a stuffed animal, put on a puppet show- don’t you want to go see for yourself? Check out their website and book your next stay. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Disclosure- I received a stay at Great Wolf Lodge in order to facilitate this review. All reviews are mine.