Our Weekend at Great Wolf Lodge

Happy Monday friends! We spent the weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia at Great Wolf Lodge and had the absolute best time. Yesterday was my niece's 5th birthday so my whole family made the 3 hour trek for a fun birthday weekend. If you've never heard of Great Wolf Lodge, it's basically a big indoor water park. The perfect place to spend a cold weekend and we all know how much kids love swimming indoors. I was somewhat hesitant about taking an 8 month old but she absolutely loved it and I'm pretty sure she had the most fun out of everyone. She is a total water baby and was fearless, constantly putting her face right in the water spouts. Motherhood definitely changes your idea of a "fun" vacation! Watching her squeal and laugh and smile melted my heart. Here are a few random thoughts about our stay:

Pros:

-The kiddy area was much better than I was expecting. There were water tables, small water slides, lots of spouts and fun colorful buckets. It was about knee deep but was a "zero entry pool" so we could sit her in just a few inches of water so she could splash around.

-The lazy river was a huge hit. Vivi absolutely loved floating around and it was a fun way to "relax".

-The "grown up" slides were so fun! And scary! I was seriously impressed with how intimidating they were to be at a kids water park. There are two slides that fit 4-5 people on a huge round float and you go so dang fast! Then there are two other slides that sit 2 people in a float that are a little less intimidating but still so much fun. My mom happily volunteered to watch Vivi so we could ride all the slides a few times. (p.s. motherhood has made me a chicken! I used to not be scared of anything!)

-There is a bar inside the water park. I guess they knew parents needed alcohol to be able to handle a day at an indoor water park full of screaming kids.

Cons:

-The food and drinks were ridiculously expensive. A beer at the bar mentioned above was like $7.50! We were smart and packed tons of food and drinks. We brought bagels, fruit, deli meat, tons of snacks, and lots of alcohol. Instead of paying a million dollars for a few beers, take a yeti cup and fill that sucker with some cold wine or a beer. Also, we ate dinner off the property. There are lots of restaurants just a few miles away.

-Was this resort the cleanest place I've ever been? No. I didn't necessarily feel dirty staying there but it's definitely no Ritz.

Tips:

-Eat off the property and bring your own food and drinks

-When you check in get a list of activities going on during your stay and plan your day accordingly. There are lots of fun activities for kids during the day like bracelet making, story time, etc.

-Plan to spend a day at Busch Gardens while you're there. We didn't have time this trip but if we ever go back we'd definitely spend a day there since it's right around the corner.