If you want a close getaway to Seattle/Tacoma area where you have have an indoor water park and hotel and you are unable to take more time then this is a good option. The highlight is the water park. Many nice options... play pool, wave pool, two
more +main water slides, three inner-tube slides, large small kiddo water area, hot tub, towels a plenty, and locker room.
The hotel room was roomy and decent, although the bathroom could have been cleaner, and the towels were scratchy cheap ones.
There is a good size fridge in the room so I would recommend bringing your own beverages and snacks as that would save you some money and be more easily accessible for the kids to grab whenever they wanted.
The hotel restaurants were expensive and did not offer alot of options. The kids meals were ok, but the adult meals were not much selection and pricey. There is not really a "town" here, but there are maybe three local restaurants that you could do to if you wanted to go outside the resort and save money.
The one other issue is that there are alot of extra "add-ons" that look very appealing to the kids but which add up the price quickly. A magic quest game which is fun for kids but pricey, little girl spa where for example, a little girl manicure is $49, an arcade which I dropped alot of money on. A Wii/Kinect game room, it goes on....
So just be prepared and set your kids expectations ahead of time. If you do this and if your kids are 12 and under. and have not been many other water themed resort places then they should have fun.
No need to stay longer than a day here though.
Date of Stay: 04/07/2011
Children in Party: 1
Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Pool & Water Fun Staff
Giant Snowflakes were the first thing we say, at least 7 feet tall each. A Christmas tree and snow enveloped the lobby. Cheerful greeters lead you to the registration desk. We knew we were in for a treat. A chime sounded and it snowed in the lobby.
more +All the staff sang a Christmas Carol and it began to snow...cold snow fell from the lobby ceiling. Children danced in it and caught it in their mouths. It was beautiful and it snowed two times a day.
Our room was exciting, with a cabin in our room with bunk beads. The fireplace was comfy on the cold day outside. We changed into our swimsuits, and enjoyed the warm tropical feel of the indoor water park. Even the little one had a blast. There were so many things to do. Latter we rented a wand for our magi-quest game. We spent four hours running around the hotel, waving our wand at items that came to life and gave your quests, and adventures. There was so much to do, everyone had a great time. The kids did a scavenger, and earned a free game at Elf Training Camp, the the cub playhouse. The teenager went to the teen club and watched a movie. We checked out of our room, but were able to play at the hotel the whole next day, and left exhausted but very happy.
Date of Stay: 12/17/2009
Children in Party: 4
Kids (7-9) Tweens (10-12) Tweens (13+) Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Pool & Water Fun Staff
We had a wonderful time at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. This is a newer location for GWL, it's only been around a couple of years or so. This trip was DH and I and our DS (2) and my sister and BIL and their son (10).
more +Both families got Wolf Den rooms, which worked great for both of us. The Wolf Den room has a semi-enclosed bunk bed area that looks like a cave made of rocks, with all sorts of stuff painted on the walls (wolves playing in a waterfall with frogs, etc.), and a TV with some kind of video game system attached (there was a video game controller in there). For us, we could put DS's pack'n'play in the little Wolf Den area (there was plenty of room) and then we could sit with the lights on in the main part of the room and read while he was going to sleep. For my sister's family, my nephew could watch Cartoon Network while she and her husband watched something more grown-up. The room also had a microwave and fridge, so you could make food for yourself if you didn't want to eat in the (expensive) on-site restaurant and buffet (the restaurant also has a surprisingly not-too-expensive bar).
One other tip: we stayed 2 nights, but probably should have only stayed one. On the day you arrive, you can start using the water park at 1PM (and the arcade/everything else even earlier than that), and on the day you check out, you can stay in the water park all day. So, for one night's stay, you basically get two days at the water park. We arrived Friday evening and by then it was a bit late to be starting at the water park (it closes at 9PM).
The water park was definitely a big hit with our group. I liked that there were life jackets available for the wee ones, and plenty of towels. My son totally loved the toddler splash area (after getting over his initial "holy cow this place is big and loud and smells like cholorine"; nervousness) and the wave pool. Both are zero-entry so he was able to wade out as far as we'd let him in the wave pool. The toddler splash area is only a foot deep or so at its maximum, and has lots of spraying things (DS especially like the wave runners, he called them motorcycles) and some toddler-sized slides.
There is also a big climbing structure thingy that dumps/squirts water all over, and has a smallish water slide. And of course there's the two big slides, one the locals call the toilet bowl and the other a more traditional slide. And, there's a sports pool where you can play basketball and volleyball. They also just opened up an outdoor pool that has the splashing/dumping thing like inside, plus there's a hot tub that is both indoor and outdoor. Note: this location doesn't have a lazy river ride (although, we didn't miss it, there was plenty to do).
There was also a kids' camp with activities geared to the 5 and up set (arts and crafts, that sort of thing), and a teen center. My nephew wasn't interested in either of those. And an arcade (you pay for tokens), with skeeball and lots of video games--kids get tickets for playing the games to exchange for stuff. And there was also both a kids' spa and an adult spa. We didn't partake of those.
The other big activity was the Magic Quest thingy (extra cost for that)--it involved pointing wands at things like treasure boxes and TV screens. We didn't do that because my nephew thought it was for "little kids" and DS was too young to get into it, but the kids about 6-8 years old seemed to be totally into it.
There was also a big clock tower with audio-animatronic animals and trees and people that do a 10-15 minute show several times a day. At 8PM they also read a story to the kids in front of the clock with a person in a teddy bear suit. DS thought the bear was cool.
There is lots of opportunity to buy stuff at GWL. There's a decent sized gift shop, a swim shop in the water park, a build-a-bear-type place, temporary tattoos, a fudge and candy shop, a donut and pastry shop, and a Starbucks. There is also a snack shop/grill inside the water park. Up the street from this location there are quite a food fast-food places (McDonalds, DQ, Quiznos) plus a decent pizza place, and across the street from the lodge is a taco truck (a lot of locals eating there), and right next door to the lodge is a quickie-mart. It's also not that far from Centralia, which has a small outlet mall and lots more fast food options.
Overall, I would definitely recommend GWL in Grand Mound, and we're already planning to go back for another stay!
Date of Stay: 08/07/2009
Children in Party: 2
Tots (0-2) Tweens (10-12) Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Staff
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Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound
