Tips for Visiting Great Wolf Lodge Traverse City

Our family recently visited Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City {my kids are 5, 3 and 1.5} and we had a great time. The stay was a gift from the grandparents in lieu of Christmas presents, which was amazing! While there, I made some mental notes since I often get questions about which hotels in Michigan are best for kids.

Let me start by saying this is the mother of cool resorts for families in Michigan — but with an expensive price tag to match. With that said, there’s TONS to do there, so it makes it an ideal destination for kids who aren’t going to spend the entire time at the pool.

For our family, trips like Disney are out of the question…We just don’t have the budget for it, and it’s not a priority to us to save for. I’m thankful for Great Wolf since it’s just a few hours away, but still has that magical feel kids love. Two nights in a hotel with 3 kids is MUCH more manageable for my sanity than a whole week somewhere with air travel involved!

We learned a ton during our stay, and I wanted to share with other families hoping to visit.

Tips for visiting Great Wolf Lodge Traverse City:

• Bring your own food. We ate breakfast and lunch in our room to save money, and frankly time. There is a Dunkin Donuts on the premises, so we did grab some treats and delicious coffee. There was a mini fridge and a microwave in the room, which was great. We brought pre-packaged sandwiches – Uncrustables {my kid’s favorite special vacation food}, fruit in small containers, granola bars, etc. Next time I think I’d bring microwave popcorn and cut-up veggies, too.
• Skip the restaurant and just order pizza. If you do eat inside the resort, there’s a spot called Hungry As A Wolf where you can order/pick-up pizza. We got a large one with 8 big slices for $15.89…Not too bad, and it tasted pretty good! We chose to go out to eat our second night since there are TONS of amazing restaurants in Traverse City.
• Consider ‘extras’ before going. In addition to the massive water park, there’s an arcade, a bowling alley, a spa just for kids, a sweet treats place and more. Determine how much extra you want to spend because these places will add up quick. My 5-year-old loved the bowling alley with 5-pound balls and a shorter lane with bumpers. It was $5/person/game, and no special shoes required.
• MagiQuest is a cool, but better off left to bigger kids. This interactive game is perfect for kids that would like to run around the hotel to different spots and reveal a mystery at the end. Our girls were super curious about it, but with a $25+ price tag, we opted out since we knew they wouldn’t stick with it long enough to get our money’s worth {a game can last up to 3 hours}. We will likely do it next time we visit, especially if we go with another family. Parent tip: Pack a mini cooler with beer to travel with during this activity 😉
• Hit up the FREE scheduled activities. These include a cute story time at 8 p.m. at the Clock Tower in the lobby, select crafts, a morning Wolf Walk at 9 a.m., free fun at the Kid’s Club {including balloon animals and face painting}, a lifeguard class for ages 6+ and more. I recommend spending some time upon arrival with the list of activities to plan out what you’d like to do. My girls loved the story time, though my 1.5-year-old didn’t quite have the skills to sit and listen.
• Nab the best rates. I spoke with the hotel staff and they said their rates are best mid-week {of course}. They mentioned summer is their busiest time, and the first two weeks of November are the slowest. We had a Groupon, but another mom mentioned she nabbed the best rates just on their website. They also offer discounts periodically on Facebook, so be sure to check there as well. FYI – We had an additional room fee/tax bill of $100 for two nights, so beware when booking.
• Consider check-in timing. For starters, check-in isn’t until 4 p.m. We tried to check in early on a Sunday and our room wasn’t ready. If you travel mid-week, you have a much better chance of getting in earlier and making the most of your stay, especially if you are just going for one night. Plan accordingly.
• Bring extra activities to keep kids busy during dead time. The water park doesn’t open until 10 a.m., so if you have early risers, bring stuff to keep them occupied. Our kids slept until 8 a.m., so we ate in our room and went to the morning Wolf Walk to kill time. They were sooooo ready to get into the pool as soon as it opened.
• Check out Traverse City. TC is one of the most beautiful places in Michigan. Take a drive up Old Mission Peninsula while getting the kids to rest and enjoy the gorgeous views…and if you’re feeling frisky, hit up a few wineries while one parent hangs in the car 😉 We also walked around downtown a little bit. Cherry Republic has a fantastic mini cherry tree play area my kids adored! Mission Point Lighthouse {shown below} is just gorgeous anytime of year, too. Careful to check that places are really open since many close in winter.
• Extra packing tips: If you have more than one bathing suit, I recommend bringing them. With our little ones, we spent time at the water park in 2 hour chunks a few times each day, so it was nice to have a dry suit. Also, you may have a long walk to the water park from your room, so bring flip-flops and a suit cover-up, too. Another item I wish we’d pack was a plastic bag for poopy diapers. {Ours got quarantined to our balcony outside for our stay – LOL!} Also, bring cute PJ’s! Lots of kids wandered around in their jammies.
• With little ones, stick to your bedtime routine while there. We brought our nightlight and a fan for the room and books to read before bed. This helped with bedtime TREMENDOUSLY since it was close to our typical routine.

If you go, ENJOY your stay! It truly is an awesome place and my kids are already asking when we can go back.

If you’ve been to Great Wolf Lodge, what else would you recommend?