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Colorado Family Travel

Great Wolf Lodge’s Snowland Magic!

Great Wolf Lodge’s Snowland Magic!

Before we left for Great Wolf Lodge, my five-year-old son kept calling it, “Fox.” He helped me pack  by providing twelves pairs of underwear and relentless questions.

“Does Fox have pillows? Does Fox have forks and spoons? Does Fox have water?”

Does it ever! By the way, little man, it is called Great Wolf Lodge and they have bunches of water. That’s what I genuinely believed. Great Wolf Lodge is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. It’s a hotel with a water park, or maybe a water park with a hotel? It turns out it is more than any of us expected. It has forks and spoons plus, oh, all this:

Snowland and other seasonal fun means any time of year is a good time to go. Because Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs is less than a year old, this is their first Snowland and it was a joy to experience! The lobby is decorated with beautiful trees and hanging snowflakes. The centerpiece, however, is a real life-sized Gingerbread House made of hundreds of pounds of gingerbread, decorated with real candies and treats, and held together with dozens of pounds of frosting. It gets better: For only $20, you can reserve the table inside and eat your meal from one of the restaurants (cost not included) inside. The $20 reservation fee goes to the Ronald McDonald House.

The winter wonderland effect is heightened by daily indoor snow showers and special appearances by Santa Claus. He has a beautiful nook in the Adventure Park where your kids can visit with him and leave a letter in a mailbox. Snowland runs from now until December 31st, 2017. What a fantastic family winter surprise gift!

50,000 square foot perpetually-84 degrees indoor water park with play features, slides, rafts, a wave pool, and more. Our kids adored Fort Mackenzie©, a towering tree house style play area with cascading water and multiple little kid-friendly slides. Another favorite spot to get water logged is Slap Tail Pond©, a wave pool that unleashes every five minutes when the Great Wolf himself howls.

This water park is exclusively for resort guests and admission is included in the price of your suite. When you arrive the day of your stay, they’ll store your luggage until your room is ready so you can start splashing immediately. Then, when you checkout, you can play until the water park closes. It is open from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Great Wolf Adventure Park packed with eight diverse dry play activities. For kids and grown kids, they offer the physically challenging Howler’s Peak Ropes Course©, where adventurers navigate a series of suspended boards and tight ropes while harnessed two stories above the ground. Conquer Rustic Ridge Climbing Wall while you are busy going full Colorado with your outdoorsy (but indoors) prowess.

If your kids aren’t into dangling from heights (or you aren’t into seeing them dangle from heights) you can purchase a magic wand from MagiQuest© and then embark on your own. This is a cool interactive scavenger hunt spread all over the Great Wolf Lodge’s property. You choose one of three quests, load it onto your wand, and begin hunting for certain objects you need to defeat a villain, like a Dragon! When you vanquish one bad guy, do another! For little ones who want to quest, but would rather snuggle, try the Clubhouse Crew. They get to choose a Great Wolf Lodge character, help stuff it, dress it in an outfit, and then hunt around for stations to check in through a sensor in the paw.

If you want some old school entertainment diversions, try Howl in One Mini Golf, Ten Paw Alley™ (bowling!), Northern Lights™ Arcade, and Oliver’s Mining Company. Obviously, there is no reason to be bored.

The Great Wolf Kids© Program runs year-round. From morning until night, you and your kids can participate in group activities with old and new friends. Start your day with yoga and wrap it up with a night time dance parties or a pajama story time. In between, do afternoon crafts, balloon animals, face painting. Seasonal activities abound as well.

Dining options are plenty and innovative! Did you know Great Wolf Lodge is a nut-free facility? As a mom with several peanut and tree nut allergic kids, this made me grateful. You can relax knowing that the kitchens are committed to maintaining the highest allergy aware standards. If you have other food allergies, let the chefs know! They are happy to provide personal attention to your needs.

Eight dining options await, ranging from familiar and fast Dunkin’ Donuts to Barnwood, a gorgeous restaurant with seasonal offerings, locally-sourced. It would be a great date night spot. The Loose Moose Family Kitchen is a breakfast and lunch buffet stocked with plenty of options for adventurous and not-so adventurous eaters. For mid-day bites, Hungry As a Wolf© serves pizza, pasta, and salad options. Or, if you are busy in the pool, walk right up to Buckets Incredible Craveables™ for burgers, fries, and ice cream. You don’t have to go to the pool for your ice cream fix, however. There is a Ben & Jerry’s on site!

Scooop’s© Kid Spa is a little slice of indulgence. It’s adorably ice cream themed with kid-sized mani and pedi stations. There are two adult pedicure chair with massage and you better believe they are comfortable. I wish I was sitting in one right now. My daughter got her first mini manicure with deliciously scented lotion, hair scent as a bonus, and other treats like a scoop of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and a tiara in case there is any doubt she’s a princess.

What about accommodations? We’ve established there is no way the word “bored” could and should be said under Great Wolf Lodge’s soaring, occasionally snowing, ceiling. But, there comes a time in everyone’s life when sleep is a must! Handily, thousands of comfortable beds are an elevator ride away. The suites can accommodate from four to nine guests and every group in between. With eleven different types of suites available, you’ll find the perfect place to settle in for a night, or much-needed afternoon nap. For you.

Imagine stowing your little sleepyheads in a Wolf Pup Den Suite. They’ll have their own built in cubby with a bunk bed and TV, decorated to look like they’re relaxing in the woods wolf-style. The Junior Wolf Pup Den Suite sleeps four with its queen-sized bed. The Wolf Pup Den Suite sleeps five, with the addition of a twin sofa sleeper. These suite types are reserved quickly, so guests need to pounce quickly to snag their stay in one of these innovative spaces.

Another can’t-go-wrong suite type perfect for a larger family or family reunion is the Royal Wolf Suite. It sleeps up to seven, with private bedroom with a king-sized bed and twin sleeper sofa. The main area has two queen-sized beds. It’s super roomy, so you can spread out after your day of togetherness and enjoy a slice of privacy.

The Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs, Colorado

9494 Federal Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921. For reservations, visit greatwolf.com/colorado-springs or call 844.553.9653.

Remember, Snowland runs from now until December 31, 2018.

Great Wolf Lodge hosted our family for purposes of review. The opinions expressed are based solely on our experiences.

gretchen
Author: gretchen

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