Recent Experiences At Great Wolf Lodge?

[Anonymous]

Looking to stay for two nights over Xmas break. Has anyone been recently? How bad (or good?) was it? We are a family of 5. Any tips on rooms. I am surprised by how expensive this place is. The rooms alone are $500+/night and that doesn't include food or entertainment other than water park passes.

Can anyone give advise? Will it be a zoo during Xmas break weeks?

[Anonymous]

Went earlier this month. We had a blast. We enjoyed bowling, story time, arcade. Rooms are fine. Nothing special.

[Anonymous]

We went in April and the hotel was nicer than I expected though the on-site dining choices are poor.

You can get the passes for the pool as soon as you show up which I mention because we also went for 2 nights and arrived late morning and by the end of day 2 the kids had had enough of the pool and didn't even want to go in the water the 3rd day. So we could have had the same amount of pool time and only stayed 1 night you'd just need to use the pools locker room rather than having access to your room at the end of the last day.

If you still want to go for 2 nights you could find a cheaper place to stay in downtown Williamsburg and have better dining options nearby and get to the lodge even earlier in the morning.

My kids loved it and crammed a lot in but 2 days was enough time for everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the info. My kids who are 5 and 7 are real water kids and actually can spend a whole day at someplace as basic as Great Waves, so it wouldn't surprise me if they want to spend two full days there. Three may be pushing it, though. I was also thinking about visiting Colonial Williamsburg that third day.

[Anonymous]

I hate the place it has bed bugs

[Anonymous]

Just a warning that they have you use towels provided by the lodge, and after my daughter got invited to go with a friend's family, she came back and within no time at all developed a type of viral wart on her arm called molloscum contagiosum. As it can spread and is contagious, her doctor recommended treatment and it took 12 excruciating weeks to go away – and I had to resort to using treatments I heard from other moms, because the way the doctor suggested would have taken even longer (I conferred with the doctor before I went ahead with the other treatments though). It truly sucked, but my daughter was lucky it didn't spread and didn't leave a scar. The doctor was pretty convinced it came from the towels from the lodge, and no one else in our family contracted it, and she was the only one who went on the trip.

[Anonymous]

bedbugs and warts? Oh my!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a warning that they have you use towels provided by the lodge, and after my daughter got invited to go with a friend's family, she came back and within no time at all developed a type of viral wart on her arm called molloscum contagiosum. As it can spread and is contagious, her doctor recommended treatment and it took 12 excruciating weeks to go away – and I had to resort to using treatments I heard from other moms, because the way the doctor suggested would have taken even longer (I conferred with the doctor before I went ahead with the other treatments though). It truly sucked, but my daughter was lucky it didn't spread and didn't leave a scar. The doctor was pretty convinced it came from the towels from the lodge, and no one else in our family contracted it, and she was the only one who went on the trip.

Molluscum is very common. It can be spread by towels, pool toys, or seats at pool facilities. I wouldn't blame Great Wolf Lodge if your dd caught molluscum there. She could catch it at almost any pool in the country.

http://bmctoday.net/practicaldermatologypeds/2010/06/article.asp?f=separating-fact-from-fiction-in-molluscum-contagiosum

[Anonymous]

We are going to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days over Christmas, and on the day we are leaving, we are stopping by Busch Garden for a few hours for Christmas town and to see Santa. Sounds like a fun trip. I am going to check the mattresses for bed bugs though jic.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you already have a reservation? If not, I think it's already sold out Christmas to New Years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you already have a reservation? If not, I think it's already sold out Christmas to New Years.

We got a reservation for 12/27 - 12/30 today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a warning that they have you use towels provided by the lodge, and after my daughter got invited to go with a friend's family, she came back and within no time at all developed a type of viral wart on her arm called molloscum contagiosum. As it can spread and is contagious, her doctor recommended treatment and it took 12 excruciating weeks to go away – and I had to resort to using treatments I heard from other moms, because the way the doctor suggested would have taken even longer (I conferred with the doctor before I went ahead with the other treatments though). It truly sucked, but my daughter was lucky it didn't spread and didn't leave a scar. The doctor was pretty convinced it came from the towels from the lodge, and no one else in our family contracted it, and she was the only one who went on the trip.

Almost all kids get molluscum at some point. Get over it.

[Anonymous]

That place is gross.

[Anonymous]

Why even bother- stay in a cardboard box down by the river or a tent somewhere in the woods... I bet you'll come out healthier than you would from GWL. It's a cesspool.

[Anonymous]

We always bring our own towels. The pool towels are terrible / small and they often run out. Eat off sight and have fun.