Great Wolf Lodge (Mason)

[rivertowngirl]

My 4 year old son has been asking to go to GWL. Several months ago I started researching how to find the best deal.

Finding the best deal:

GWL offers several deals through the website or through their newsletter (sign up with your email address). Most of the deals I found only applied to a stay or two or more nights. We only wanted to stay one night and wanted the check-in day to be Sunday so that my husband could spend the day with us and hopefully the crowds would be smaller. I used a promo code ("gold pass" because I have a KI Gold Pass) that took 20% off my stay. I plugged in several dates on the calendar until I found the cheapest price with my promo code. We ended up booking a one night stay for $151 ($181 total with taxes and other fees). Usually you will find a better deal if you book it a bit in advance. Some companies get discounts too so ask around before booking.

Checking In:

Check in (to get in your room) is at 4 but you can check in to the hotel as early as 1 and start using the water park at that time. I had read other travel reviews of the check in process being long but I did not experience that. There was a short wait in line and we checked in in just a few minutes. We were given our wristbands and a booklet with information. They take your cell phone number and tell you they will call when your room is ready. We checked in at 2 and received the recorded message at 3, telling us our room number. Your wristband gives you access to the waterpark and also acts as your room key (just wave the wolf logo in front of the scanner until the light turns green).

Accommodations:

Our room was a family suite with fireplace and balcony. The room had two double beds, a sofa, small table with two chairs, gas fireplace, two tvs (with a small selection of cable channels), a small fridge, coffeepot, small microwave, hair dryer, ironing board (I assume an iron in the closet too though I didn't notice), some extra pillows and blankets in the closet, alarm clock, and phone...standard hotel room. The bathroom was very clean (also included small bottles of lotion, shampoo, kids body wash, and two bars of soap). The room was also very clean (and yes, I checked for bed bugs!). There were plenty of towels in the bathroom. They were pretty scratchy though. If you have very young kids, especially babies, I would advise bringing your own bath towels. The shower/tub had decent water pressure and one of those shower rods that curves out so the liner doesn't touch you while you're showering. The hotel was quiet at night but the beds were so uncomfortable! If we go again, we will just drive back home (we live very nearby) to sleep.

Waterpark:

Obviously this is the main draw to the GWL. My family of 3 liked it. I felt there were plenty of activities for all ages to stay entertained. The lifeguards were very attentive. Life jackets are available, free of charge. Plenty of super scratchy towels are also available so you don't need to bring any (depending on how much you value a soft towel). Lockers are available. You pay for the locker in the gift shop. They ask for $20 and give you $10 back (or the option of a plush wolf toy) when you return the key 30 minutes before the waterpark closes. The lockers are bigger than the lockers at KI and you can get in and out of the lockers until you turn the key in. I rented a locker on day one but didn't bother the following day (all of my valuables were in the car except for my car keys). I didn't like that the tubes didn't have a bottom (like at KI) for the younger kids to sit in. It would be nice to see a child sized tube at a place that is geared at young children and families. The water was very comfortable. I didn't find the chlorine to be too strong. Usually after an hour or two of playing in the water at other places my son will shiver but it is so toasty in the waterpark area so that wasn't a worry. Outside toys or other water toys are not permitted in the waterpark. I found everything to be very clean. There are a few restrooms in the water park area. There are several changing rooms and showers for men and women but only one large family changing room/restroom. There are hair dryers in the restrooms and one of those bathing suit spinners to squeeze out the excess water from your suit (bring a plastic bag to put your wet stuff in).

Extras:

There are two gift shops, an arcade, a few eating places, and a spa. Aside from the one day locker rental I didn't spend any extra money at GWL. I can't review the food and I would suggest bringing your own or going elsewhere to eat if you want to save some extra money. You can't bring food/drinks into the waterpark. If you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the hotel you will really be paying more than necessary. Remember there is a small fridge and small microwave in the room. We brought some drinks, popcorn, and granola bars for snacks. I recommend going to one of the restaurants at the Kings Mills exit if you want to go out (there's Skyline, Bob Evans, Perkins, McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, Frisch's, Taco Bell, Outback, Ruby Tuesday's, and Viva Tequila...and Kroger is up there too - Jimmy John's, Chipotle, and Dairy Queen will also be open soon, just a minute drive from GWL). We didn't bother with the arcade but did go in to take a peek (it is LOUD in there!). The clock tower show and story time is at 8 p.m. in the main lobby. Wiley the wolf came out and one of the employees read a story to the kids. The clock tower show reminded me of the singing band at Showbiz Pizza but they sang some little songs about loving nature. My son liked it and it seemed best suited for the under 6 crowd. We did not do the Magi Quest thing (pay extra for it) but it looked like fun for the older kids (maybe ages 6 and up).

Checking Out:

Check out is by 11 a.m. There are a few options for checking out. I just called the desk and that was it. On the day that you check out you can continue to use the waterpark until it closes that day. We moved our belongings from the room to the car when we checked out and just brought a bag with our swimsuits and a change of clothes back in to go swimming more.

Problems we encountered:

Apparently there was some sort of power outage early in the day when we were there. Because of it one of the water slides was not running and some of the sprayers in the kiddie area were not working. They were not fixed until the following day. The rooms did not have hot water because of some problem with the boiler, because of the power issue. Thankfully that problem was fixed but not until 9:30 p.m. The 8 p.m. clock tower show was also not working because of the power issue but they did fix it and at 9 p.m. the show worked.

Overall, I thought it was fun. But for almost $200 for 3 people for one night/two days? It is a bit out of my budget and I wasn't wowed by the hotel. For the three of us it comes out to about $30 per person per day which isn't too bad. I hear it is really pretty during the holidays but I enjoyed being there when it wasn't very crowded. We may go again next year during the winter if I can find a decent deal again.

[jdawg1998]

Love your trip report!

The thing about the power outage - this happened to me a couple of weeks ago, although I'm not sure if it was a power outage. None of the water slides were running and the wave pool waves weren't going. It was so weird!

I agree with you about the pricing of the place. Way too expensive! Many people have suggested to them that they sell daily passes so you don't have to stay the night. That way, it would probably be $25-35 per person to be able to play in the arcade, go to the water park, etc. without staying the night!

[CoasterGeek101]

Thanks for sharing your report! You included a lot of details!