Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help! UPDATED

UPDATE________
We booked Great Wolf for 2 nights.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and opinions!!!!



So..I need a vacation...like..NOW. with everyone being sick..cold weather etc I am losing it and need a brief change in scenary like ASAP!

I priced Great Wolf for 2 nights on the sale with 3 kids and one breakfest it is like $650...plus tolls..gas...addtional food..magi quest I'm sure...shopping..maybe a spa service ( cause I need something for ME...LOL)...IT WILL easily be $1000+ for only 2 nights and I just can't find it in me to spend that.

Is this what people pay to go there? Is it worth it?

So where can we go NOW...that has something for a 3 yr old..two toddlers and adults for just 2 nights that doesn't cost a fortune?
Its so hard with the ages the girls are to do anything...cause they are a LOT of work...

Coco key didn't seem to get any great raves..we considered Great Escapes Lodge ...but not really sure bout the area.

Any suggestions? Or suck it up and have a good time? We can afford it...but in my mind I will always find something better to spend money on..that's what I do?!

TIA!!

Message edited 1/26/2011 10:48:04 AM.

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

what about just going one night??? great wolf is alot of fun!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

IMO it is way too much money for 2 nights. We did Disney last year for one week for that amount.....There has got to be some other place to go or maybe find a discount code for them...

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

I agree with just doing 1 night - you get to stay the whole 2nd day at the water park anyway you just have to be out of your room - so basically you load up your car and then go back and play for the rest of the day... It really is not a long drive at all so even if you leave at like 4:00, grab a quick dinner and head home you'll be home in time for bedtime...

I agree there isn't much out there even in the $1k price range - we are planning on doing Sesame but that is a warm weather thing...

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

we went for 1 night

No magi quest. That stuff is $25 per kid. We did NOT do that

Food: we went to Friendly's, subways, etc.. at the other highway exit. 10 minutes. The other exit is only about 1/2- 1 mile away from Great Wolf Lodge. We brought our cereals for breaksfast. Our water bottles, sodas, snacks. It all add up very fast.

We brought toys, the DVD player but we spent most time in the water/pool.

The spa is $$$$$

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

I just booked GWL today with the 48HOUR code. $219 for one night. Two nights would have been $440.

They have a fridge and microwave in each room. I would bring food for either the first night or for lunch the next day. Breakfast is a good deal, I think, for $10. If you book on the phone, they will tell you it's $10 for children over a certain age (maybe 4? I forget). Bring water or soda/juice to keep in the fridge. My friend said the drinks are so expensive, so you can save a lot that way.

I think you can do it for less than $1K for 2 nights. Choose different dates. If you've been before, you can get it as low as $199 per night. If it's your first time (like me), it's $219 at the lowest end. We're going during the week. The weekend days were over $330+ per night.

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

We just did a 3 day/2 night trip to the PA area. One night we stayed in a cheaper hotel (Courtyard Marriott) and did the Crayola Factory, and then we did GWL for 2 days/1 night. It was a great little trip and didn't cost too much at all!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

We recently did a weekend in Mystic, CT. Since it's the off-season the Hilton Mystic (with AAA discount) was around $96 a night! They had a great indoor pool which is where we spent a lot of our weekend, lol! We also did the Mystic Aquarium (overpriced but the kids had fun, was surprised how busy it was in the dead of winter), the Providence Children's Museum (well worth the 45 min drive to Providence, we spent a whole afternoon there), the little shopping village in Mystic, etc. Ate at Friendly's, pizza, etc. It was a really relaxing weekend that didn't break the bank at all.

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

Woodloch Pines in Pennslyvania is an amazing place for families. It's extremely costly in the summer but during the winter you can get some really good deals. We were just there in December. We went M-F all meals and entertainment included for $1,000 so Great Wolf seems like a ripoff for 2 nights! Woodloch has an indoor pool with large kiddie area, an indoor plaground, indoor go carts, game rooms, story time and so much more and kids under 2 are free!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

Message edited 1/26/2011 9:17:59 AM.

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

Go to WOODLOCH!! I'm going in two weeks.. you won't regret it! call up the hotel though.. I was able to get some things thrown in and an upgrade in room!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

How old are your kids? Bc I think you don't pay for them under 4 IIRC. Maybe it was under 3 but I'm pretty sure it's under 4. They would have to charge you for the base occupancy, usually 2 adults 2 kids but not over that.

That said, last time we went my kids were 7, 5 & 3. We did not do Magiquest, brought cereal, yogurts & such for the room for breakfast, brought snacks, ate lunch there, they have a Pizza Hut so we got a pizza & we ate dinner outside the hotel, at Friendlys. We set a limit on how much we would spend in the arcade at night, $20 total I think. My kids were all about the water park so they were happy to do that all day with a break in the middle for lunch. Splurge was Starbucks in the AM, we deserved it

I would not bother with their spa, Cub club or extra stuff. It doesn't have to be ultra expensive - I would never do it if it was $1000. Never!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help!

Posted by LoveyQ

Posted by dm24angel
Just double checked..
The cheapest room rate i get is $259.99
Because of the 5 people, because it changes when I put 2 vs 3 kids.

And then...they add $80 for an extra person charge ( $40 a night)

$600 right there...Plus taxes

Then The breakfest...


I'm the worst decision maker in the world...seriously...lol

ETA- and the one night thing is too much work. With 2 one yr olds etc to pack us all up , one night is not enough for the effort.

looking into some other places though...Woodloch like someone mentioned.


Mystic CT we did 2 yrs ago.

No, please call them. For children under 2, you don't pay for them!!! So you only pay for 2 adults, 1 child. And the room is already priced for 4 people, so you're under that and don't have to pay extra. The kids don't pay for breakfast either.

The family suite (2 double beds or 2 queen beds? plus a sleeper sofa) should be big enough for you. That's the room we booked and it's $219 for the date we're going.

I would call them and double check everything. I think you can do it a bit cheaper.

Message edited 1/26/2011 10:47:05 AM.

Re: Great Wolf lodge cost/ vacation idea help! UPDATED

Posted by dm24angel
I did...and your right.....

It was just the $219 rate and the kids all eat breakfest free.

I booked it for 2 nights in 2 weeks

Still more then I wanted to spend but whatever, we NEED a change of scenary soon!