We decided to surprise the kids with a weekend at the great wolf lodge in Williamsburg. On Thursday (June 25th) we told the kids we were picking dad up at work so we could go out for a special dinner. Mark and I had secretly loaded the car the night before, but we told them all the extra stuff was for the upcoming scout camp. We picked Mark up about 3pm. By 4:30, as we were circling the DC beltway, the kids clued in that this was a LONG way to go for dinner. We finally spilled the beans at 6pm, when we stopped at a not so exciting 5 guys to eat.
The Great Wolf Lodge is a huge "log" hotel with a waterpark inside. We checked in at 8pm and were in our swimsuits and into the park by 8:20. The waterpark has a huge climbing structure, 9 water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, a surf ride, and two themed pools plus one more outside (in warm weather). The temperature in the water park is 84 degrees year round, and the water is also comfortably warm. Our kids were the perfect age for this, since our toddler was able to enjoy the climbing structure and kiddie pool while the older girls went on all the slides. We also spent a LOT of time as a family in the wave pool (I felt slightly seasick after the second day).
The Lodge has regular family "suites" plus lots of themed rooms. We stayed in the kid cabin suite, which featured a log cabin with bunk beds for our kids to sleep in, plus an extra queen bed for Mark and I . The kids loved the room, but I thought the bed was a little saggy, and I would appreciated dishes in the mini-kitchen.
GWL is loaded with additional activities, but we only signed up for two. One was tie-dyed t-shirt making in the kids club. This was really fun, at at $15 a kid not a terrible price for a shirt (the shirts also had the great wolf logo on them). The other was Magic Quest, which is basically a scavenger hunt; you buy a magic wand, then point it at a tree, which comes alive and tells you to go to a treasure chest, where you are told to go to a painting, etc. My kids LOVED this and spent hours on it, and I kind of enjoyed the exercise- who needs a treadmill when you are running all over the lodge? We also watched the nightly show in the lobby, where the clock tower comes alive and animatronic characters sing a very cheesy song.
We chose to bring our own food to the lodge, since the restaurants are pricey. I bought one snow globe in the gift shop. Overall, we loved the great wolf lodge. Two nights was plenty (we were all exhausted, but I wish we had more time to spend in Williamsburg. (Mark had camp the next Monday)
