10 tips for Great Wolf Lodge on a budget

If you’re lucky enough to live near one of the 20 Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) locations in North America, or happen to be traveling through, a stay here is one of the easiest getaways you will ever take with kids. With its exclusive waterpark, themed activities, and magical adventures (literally), there is something for kids of all ages.

A stay at GWL can be pricey. With various premium room options, packages, dining, and add-on activities, a weekend trip can easily push 1 grand for a family of 4. If you are considering a visit to Great Wolf Lodge, be sure to read on for a stay that won’t break the bank, without missing any of the fun. We are Canadians, so our experience is with Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls, but the tips are applicable to all Great Wolf stays.

Don’t forget to check out our Great Wolf Lodge Niagara hotel spotlight for everything you need to know to have a great stay!

1. Book your stay for off peak times

Booking Great Wolf Lodge is a little bit like booking a resort – you are not only reserving rooms, but also waterpark access for everyone in your group. Think resort-level prices.

You will be able to stay for significantly less if you book off-peak times. For GWL, weekends are way pricier than weekdays. Holidays and long weekends are the most expensive. For example, we usually stay Thursday – Saturday, and might pay around ~$350 CAD per night (with discounts, as we’ll get into below). If we move our stay to Friday – Sunday, the cost jumps to ~ $550 CAD per night. For holidays, you may be looking at $600 CAD or more.

We have not found a huge seasonal difference. While more kids may be off during summer, GWL is a popular destination for a quick winter getaway.

2. ALWAYS book GWL with a discount

There are a lot of corporate rates for GWL. CAA also has a GWL deal. Between our extended family of 4 adults, 3 of us have access to GWL discounts, generally around 25%.

If you are not booking with a corporate rate, be sure to take advantage of the special deals through the GWL website. Great Wolf Lodge has all kids of deals – for early bookings, seasonal bookings, 2 night bookings, etc, etc. These can get you 25% – 40% off your reservation. There are blackout dates for these, but unless you are planning a celebration or reunion that must happen on a specific date, there is *no* reason not to book GWL on a discount.

3. Stay in a standard room

Great Wolf Lodge offers a variety of rooms, from standard rooms to “cottages”.

For a family (parents with kids), you will be choosing between a standard room or a themed room. Standard rooms have 2 double beds and a partially partitioned sitting area. Themed rooms are called “cabins” or “camps” or “dens”. These are basically standard rooms but have a sleeping area for kids with bunk beds and a kids TV. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 CAD – $100 CAD more for these rooms.

Themed rooms are a nice touch, but with the entire hotel and waterpark already following the wilderness theme, we always found there is more than enough to get the kids into the mood without staying in a themed room.

4. Visit with extended family or close friends

Standard rooms can fit up to 6 (2 double beds and a sofa bed). Premium suites include a loft area or separate bedroom, and can sleep up to 8. These generally run between $600 – $800 CAD/night. Visiting with grandparents or extended family is a great way to take advantage of all the sleeping space. You can split the cost, and everyone gets access to the waterpark. We once booked a premium suite with an extra bedroom with some family friends (total 7 people). Because of the extra room, we still felt we had some privacy, and the cost only came out to around $650/night.

Cottages have 2-3 bedrooms and a communal living/dining space. These run up to $1000 CAD/night, but is a good option if you are visiting with multiple families so everyone can have plenty of space.

5. Bring your own food to GWL

Great Wolf Lodge allows you to bring in your own food and drinks. This is a *huge* budget friendly tip when staying at GWL. It’s a great way to cut costs, while sneaking in some healthier food options/

We usually bring food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and our own drinks as well. All rooms come with a kitchenette, which includes a generously sized “mini” fridge and a microwave.

For breakfast, we’ll usually bring fruit like bananas and berries, yogurt, and pastries like croissants or muffins. Cereal and granola is also a staple. Because there is a microwave, you can even bring frozen breakfast items like burritos or egg bites.

Lunch is typically a “cold” meal. We’ll bring cut up veggies, deli meats, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs and can make wraps or sandwiches.

Great Wolf Lodge doesn’t have a lot in the way of snack options, so we recommended bringing lots of munchies regardless of whether you are eating “out” or not.

Don’t forget to bring utensils and plates/cups, and maybe some dish detergent as well! GWL does not supply these.

6. The buffet is pricey, but the other restaurants are not

GWL restaurants have a bit of a mixed reputation, but we feel this largely comes from the hotel’s buffet restaurant (at GWL Niagara, this is called Antler Shanty). Antler Shanty is open for breakfast and dinner, and for our family of 4, costs us around $120 CAD per meal (without drinks). The food and selection is decent, but it’s quite expensive for what you’re getting.

However, the other restaurants on site are all standard grill/fast food options, and we are always surprised to find the prices are comparable to fast food anywhere else. (Be sure to check our our GWL Niagara Hotel Spotlight for the different restaurants available.) We particularly like the pizzeria. The pizza is great, and a large size pizza feeds our family of 4 with enough to spare at $25 CAD.

7. Take advantage of free scheduled activities

There is *a lot* to do at Great Wolf Lodge. You will very quickly find yourself throwing money at every “mommy, can I get/do this?”

There are *some* things we always buy at GWL. We always do the Magiquest, and will always take a spin around the arcade. We’ve done most of the other activities at one time or another, such as bowling, laser tag, and stuff your own GWL animal.

However, there are a ton of free activities for kids throughout the day that don’t cost anything at all. The talking animatronic bear/moose/tree display in the atrium is a hit all on its own. There’s story time, character meet times, a ton of kid-friendly shows including the popular magic show. There’s almost always an activity happening in the atrium, such as kids yoga, games like Twister, or colouring and crafts. The daily schedule is posted all over the hotel, and you can also view it from the website by scanning a QR code.

8. Buy activities and souvenirs a-la-cart, but save the receipts

As we just mentioned, there are a *ton* of activities you can purchase. The gift shop is also extensive, and some popular souvenirs include stuffing your own GWL critter, and wolf ear headbands.

You can buy an activity pass for your kiddo (a Pup Pass, Paw Pass, or Wolf Pass) that bundles purchases together. We don’t usually recommend this, as it comes with things we don’t need (eg. fudge, or a waterslide photo), but not enough of what we need. For example, we usually find ourselves buying extra arcade tokens, or having to pay for the adults if we all want to go bowling.

We recommend buying activities and souvenirs a-la-cart, but be sure to save the receipts. The staff can convert this into a pass later during your stay if it ends up being worth it.

9. Magiquest – save your wand and toppers for return trips

Magiquest is possibly our favourite part of GWL, and that includes the waterpark! Kids (and young-at-heart adults) can buy wands and go on role-playing/adventure quests through the hotel’s public spaces.

Purchasing a wand and a game cost around $20 CAD each. Your “game” is activated for your entire GWL stay including check-out day, so make sure to purchase this on the day of your arrival. You can also buy a topper for your wand for another $20, which not only looks cool but gives you special powers on some of your quests. Make sure to save your wand (remember to take the batteries out) and topper for any return visits in the future!

Some people also buy used wands online, but wands are registered to their purchaser’s name. It’s also an *event* for your kid to select their own wand for the first time (like Harry Potter).

10. Bring your own bubble wand for the dance party

This might sound like a trivial thing, but our kids have had almost-fits on multiple occasions because I wouldn’t buy them a light up bubble wand for the GWL evening dance party. GWL hosts a dance party every evening (usually after story time), and kids show up in their pyjamas and dance to popular beats and songs. Kids love this, and GWL adds to the excitement by selling bubble wands for $25 CAD. It’s not the end of the world, but that’s still an extra $25 per kid that adds to our pile of broken plastic toys after the trip. You can buy and bring these for much cheaper through Amazon, Target, or even the dollar store. We happen to have ones left over from Disney on Ice that look almost the same.