Great Wolf Lodge - Indoor WaterPark in the Poconos

So we have been to this location twice and the second time we stayed longer so it was def a lot more fun and we saw so much more. It is def nicer to stay here for 2 nights instead of one.

First time around we were just about the water park and that was it. The second time we actually discovered an additional floor, yes I know they didn't just build it but we had never set foot on it during our first stay. They have a lot of the extra activities (like 4d movie and magic quest stops) and more rooms on this level.The fun and easy part about our stays is that you only need your wristband. It is your room key, access to the water park and you can charge items to your room with it too. Don't worry you can select who has charging privileges and room key access.

At GWL they are all about celebration and I love that. You get ears for the kids if you are celebrating a birthday and the ears are super cute but for adult heads hurt after a while so put them on take a pic and remove, you will thank me later. My mini even got a free scoop of ice cream which was a real treat. Check out the spoons they give out with the ice cream, they give you a surprise which is really "cool" for the kids. Please know that little littles like 3 and under do not need a wristband for the park sooooo if they get one for their birthday scoop wait until the end to cash this in because they cut the wristband off. My mini loves to be like her big bros so since they need wristbands this would have cause a BIG upset. Thank GOD we did this cash in right before we left.

Since we are a family of five we are always on a budget. We always book the most economic room, yup people the cheapest one. We don't spend a lot of time in the room so it would be super cute and nice to have a "themed" suite but the cost does not make it worth it. My critters found fun things to do in the "cheap" basic room with 2 queen beds and a pull out sofabed option. Pictured below is our oldest in his favorite place in the room. So if we get a free upgrade to a themed suite I would def take that in a heartbeat but until then we will stick to the basic family room that will hold all of us. Prices for rooms on web are based on 4 people so the room can hold 6 but you will be charged extra.

So in case you are worried about being bored when the water park fun is done and everyone looks like a prune, lol. They have a bunch of other things to do that are actually FREE yes if you know me you know that is my favorite word right next to COMPLIMENTARY. They have daily activities that change so one day you can make your own GWL pin and the next you can decorate your wolf ears. We missed the wolf ear decorating but did get to do the pins which was sooo nice. You can color in your fave GWL character and then the activity person helps to make it into a real big pin. I forgot the girls name but she was so friendly with the critters. She let them help with the button pin making machine, pretty cool even for ME.
They have a bedtime story and show as well. Our big guys have introduced little sis to Five Nights at Freddy's so the robots/animatronics of the GWL gang was not their favorite part of bed time. We nicknamed the Big Bear pictured below Grandpa Five Night's at Freddy's, LOL.  We stayed for some of it and the character reading but it is a busy busy time in the lobby so if you want to skip more crowds and noise go to your room and watch the stories on the TV for free. They are very cute and with any luck your littles will fall asleep in their beds watching. #Goals

Tips before you go:
They have life vest but you want to pack your own water shoes and towels or robes. So they have towels to dry off while you are at the water park but you HAVE to leave them at the water park. Yes they have a guy at the door to let you know. This is not fun at all because the water park is a nice comfortable 84 degrees but the SECOND you leave that comfortable temp you step into 65 below zero, that is what it feels like if you did not dry off a bit before exiting. So pack a cover up, hooded towel or even robe for the kids (and yourself) because it will be a LONG walk back to your room. The room temp you can control so I would recommend leaving the temp a little higher before you go so when you come back in your room you are comfortable not still freezing.
The rooms have microwave, coffee maker and empty mini fridge so bring some stuff. My critters like a lot of different snacks and one is a juice monsters so instead or packing about $5 every time they are hungry or thirsty I hit up the dollar store (my mother ship, lol) for microwave popcorn and box Juicy Juice. It will save you the couple of bucks you need to buy a nice souvenir.

We have not done any other the "other" indoor water parks but I think this one, the original one is pretty awesome. Sign up for the emails and try to book during a good sale. They do exists like unicorns but you have to be patience and quick. So start putting $20 away when you can or paying off some of the credit cards because when you book you have to put a deposit (first night room and tax) down, most of the time.

Have a great time and "everybody in". It is def very nice time like the commercial (TV and Radio) say it is. Bring a water camera so you can catch some fun water park pics.