There is a new resort in town with plenty of family activities, entertainment, and dining all in one spot- and it’s not Disney! The Great Wolf lodge has recently opened in Garden Grove, just two miles south of Disneyland on Harbor Blvd. The Great Wolf Lodge franchise has 14 resorts in North America, however this is the first on the west coast. It is a family friendly hotel centered around an indoor water park and offering plenty of entertainment, dining, and activities to keep everyone in the family happy.
The main attraction is the 105,000 square foot indoor water park with 14 slides, 4 pools, a wave pool, lazy river, flow jet for body surfing, and a 1,000 gallon tipping bucket! There are slides for every age level with plenty of lifejackets and life guards positioned around the water park. Toddlers have their own area with slides and activities just for them.
We recently stayed there for two nights and our FireMouse Vacations “test kid”, Gavin, gave it a thorough exploration and rated it two thumbs up! Gavin enjoyed the wave pool, lounging in the lazy river, climbing through the Fort Mackenzie tree house, and the River Canyon Run. He would have tried the Howlin’ Tornado water slide, but he didn’t meet the height requirements.
After soaking up the water park, he tested some of the “dry” activities in the lodge. They have a large arcade, with each game distributing tickets as a reward which you can exchange for prizes. The lodge also offers glow in the dark mini golf, mini bowling, motion simulators, and their own “MagiQuest” interactive adventure game. The “MagiQuest” game requires a magic wand - purchased separately - which activates several game kiosks located throughout the resort. Each kiosk also has several adventures for you to complete before you can advance in the game, meaning it can take several hours to complete a full game!
The Great Wolf Lodge has plenty of Dinning options to choose from within their resort, which made it easy to please any type of eater in our party. The Lodge Wood Fire Grill is a table service style restaurant which serves freshly made entrees such as hamburgers, fish, smoked meats, and steaks. The Loose Moose family kitchen is a buffet layout serving breakfast and dinner. They also have a pizza place, quick service meal locations, Dunkin’ Donuts, and a coffee house. While there isn’t room service, we found it easy to order from the Wood Fire Grill and have our meals packed to-go, and the pizza place will deliver to your room in
The resort has three types of rooms all with the ability to sleep 5 or 6 people, and also include a small kitchenette space. The standard room is a basic room and offered at $249 per night. A themed room is available with bunk beds and decorated in a very “woodsy” style and start at $349 per night. Premium suites are available, with two bedrooms and a large common room, starting at $549 per night. Specials are available throughout the year, and a standard room is often available for $174. All prices include admission to the water park, beginning on your check in day until your check out day. WiFi, a fitness center, the kid’s center, and story time are all included in your room price.
We found The Great Wolf Lodge to be very clean and offered plenty of resources to entertain and feed our entire group without ever having to leave the property. Gavin’s favorite was by far the water park, and being able to have such a wide variety of ways to play with water. Personally, I enjoyed being able to explore the resort and the many types of restaurants available each day. The Great Wolf Lodge is a fantastic family resort with plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. While the resort is located just two miles from Disneyland, you will find it hard to break away from all the activities offered at the Great Wolf Lodge!
The main attraction is the 105,000 square foot indoor water park with 14 slides, 4 pools, a wave pool, lazy river, flow jet for body surfing, and a 1,000 gallon tipping bucket! There are slides for every age level with plenty of lifejackets and life guards positioned around the water park. Toddlers have their own area with slides and activities just for them.
We recently stayed there for two nights and our FireMouse Vacations “test kid”, Gavin, gave it a thorough exploration and rated it two thumbs up! Gavin enjoyed the wave pool, lounging in the lazy river, climbing through the Fort Mackenzie tree house, and the River Canyon Run. He would have tried the Howlin’ Tornado water slide, but he didn’t meet the height requirements.
After soaking up the water park, he tested some of the “dry” activities in the lodge. They have a large arcade, with each game distributing tickets as a reward which you can exchange for prizes. The lodge also offers glow in the dark mini golf, mini bowling, motion simulators, and their own “MagiQuest” interactive adventure game. The “MagiQuest” game requires a magic wand - purchased separately - which activates several game kiosks located throughout the resort. Each kiosk also has several adventures for you to complete before you can advance in the game, meaning it can take several hours to complete a full game!
The Great Wolf Lodge has plenty of Dinning options to choose from within their resort, which made it easy to please any type of eater in our party. The Lodge Wood Fire Grill is a table service style restaurant which serves freshly made entrees such as hamburgers, fish, smoked meats, and steaks. The Loose Moose family kitchen is a buffet layout serving breakfast and dinner. They also have a pizza place, quick service meal locations, Dunkin’ Donuts, and a coffee house. While there isn’t room service, we found it easy to order from the Wood Fire Grill and have our meals packed to-go, and the pizza place will deliver to your room in
The resort has three types of rooms all with the ability to sleep 5 or 6 people, and also include a small kitchenette space. The standard room is a basic room and offered at $249 per night. A themed room is available with bunk beds and decorated in a very “woodsy” style and start at $349 per night. Premium suites are available, with two bedrooms and a large common room, starting at $549 per night. Specials are available throughout the year, and a standard room is often available for $174. All prices include admission to the water park, beginning on your check in day until your check out day. WiFi, a fitness center, the kid’s center, and story time are all included in your room price.
We found The Great Wolf Lodge to be very clean and offered plenty of resources to entertain and feed our entire group without ever having to leave the property. Gavin’s favorite was by far the water park, and being able to have such a wide variety of ways to play with water. Personally, I enjoyed being able to explore the resort and the many types of restaurants available each day. The Great Wolf Lodge is a fantastic family resort with plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. While the resort is located just two miles from Disneyland, you will find it hard to break away from all the activities offered at the Great Wolf Lodge!