Family Fun for the Whole Pack at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA

by Micaela Williamson

My kids have been wanting to go to Great Wolf Lodge for years, and I have to admit that I was intrigued and excited to check it out too. When Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg invited us to discover what's new, we happily took them up on the offer and made the drive down to one of our favorite places in Virginia, the Williamsburg area. 

The Suites

There are rooms for all types of families and budgets at Great Wolf Lodge.  We stayed in a family suite and loved the woodland theme. The comfortable, clean room included tasteful woodland decor, two queen beds, a separate sitting area with a sofa, dining table and gas fireplace, a spacious bathroom, and a mini-refrigerator. Find out about all the rooms at Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg by visiting the official website.

Family Suite, Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, VA

Things to do at Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg:

The Water Park:

For good reason, the water park at Great Wolf Lodge is its most famous attraction. I was a bit nervous to visit an indoor water park with my family. Would it be clean? Would the staff be attentive?  Would there be enough for my children to do? As soon as I stepped into facility at Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, my worries were put at ease.  My kids had the time of their lives (and us adults had a blast too!) We were there during a very rainy and stormy weekend, but our attitudes were sunny inside the warm, 84 degree water park.

The facility was very clean and well maintained. We were impressed with the amount of larger waterslides. Even though we were there on a Saturday, we never had to wait in line too long. A number of the attractions had tubes and rafts for multiple riders so the whole family or parent/kid combinations could enjoy the slide together.  Besides waterslides, there was a wave pool, lazy river, area for younger children, floating logs for balancing and a surfing ride called Wolf Rider Wipeout. We let our third grader who is a decent swimmer try the Wolf Rider Wipeout but felt the waves were too strong for our kindergarten child, even though he did meet the height requirement.

The focal point of the water park is the Fort Mackenzie® Treehouse. With soaking buckets, climbing bridges, interactive spray fixtures and water slides, the whole family couldn't stop smiling!

Water Park at Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg (front view)

New this year to the water park is slideboarding.   Slideboarding is the world’s first interactive video game waterslide. Using rafts that double as video game controllers, riders score points by touching flashing lights as they zoom down the slide.  Once they reach the bottom, they can see their score on the master scoreboard.

Slideboarding at Great Wolf Lodge

More Family Fun:

Great Wolf Lodge is known for its intricate MagiQuest fantasy scavenger hunt game. For those unfamiliar with this, it includes magic wands, dragon battles and enchanted missions.  For younger kids that are not ready for MagiQuest, I love lodge has just instituted a new interactive game called Clubhouse Crew. It starts similar to a build a bear workshop where children can pick a stuffed animal and customize it with a special outfit.  Inside each stuffed animal is a computer chip for the game. You are then then sent on a treasure hunt to Clubhouse Crew kiosks in the resort to check in and perform simple touch screen tasks. At the end of the journey, your child gets a picture with their stuffed animal that is emailed to the provided email address. My kids enjoyed searching for all the Clubhouse Crew stations and especially liked the keepsake of a new stuffed animal remember their trip to Great Wolf Lodge. The entire game takes about 30 minutes to play. Not only is it a memorable experience, but it is also the perfect length of time for young attention spans.

Other fun indoor entertainment options include 4D movie experience, video games, Scoops Kid Spa (an ice-cream-themed spa designed just for kids) and a bowling alley. In nice weather, head outside for mini golf and the brand new Howlers Peak Ropes Course. (Find out more about attractions here)

Howlers Peak Ropes Course:

New this year to Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg is the family-friendly Howlers Peak Ropes Course (extra fees apply.) The ropes course features tightropes, zip-lines, traverse bridges and reaches heights up to 50 feet. At the 40 foot mark, there is a pulse-pounding “quick jump,” which allows braver souls to walk off a platform into thin air and sail down to a landing pad directly below. Be sure to bring safe closed-toe shoes (such as sneakers) for climbing as open heel shoes or flip-flops are not permitted on the course.  Also, kids must be at least 48 inches tall to participate on the main course, but there is a dedicated smaller course for little ones or those not up for the challenging heights. Safety is always taken into consideration and the ropes course is closed in inclement weather.

Howlers Peak Ropes Course courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg

On Site Eating:

Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg has a number of on-site eating options. We enjoyed lunch before heading to the water park at the adjacent Hungry as a Wolf Café. The pizza was good quality and there are many varieties as well as a menu of sandwiches, subs, and salads. 

Although we did not eat dinner at Great Wolf, the Loose Moose Bar and Grill offers a lunch and dinner buffet.  We did visit the restaurant for the breakfast buffet which had a great mix of hot and cold items including kids' favorites such as fresh fruit, eggs, breakfast meats, French toast, pancakes, pastries and more.  For those looking to grab breakfast on the go, the Dunkin' Donuts in the lobby was also a popular option for many guests.

Other Tips for Visiting Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg:

Dining Room at the Loose Moose Bar and Grill Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, VA

• Bring flip-flops or water shoes. Although you will probably want to be barefoot in the water park, the walk back to the room can be a bit a bit of a trek, and it's safer to keep little toes protected and hallway floors dry for the protection of all the guests. 

• No need to pack towels. Towels provided inside the water park for guests to use. Each room also comes with plenty of towels for showers and bathroom needs.

• Plan to arrive early.  Although the check-in is not until 4 PM, you can start using the water park at 1 PM. Pack a small bag with swim suits and make the most of your time.  We were fortunate that our room was actually available for early check in but if it was not we fully intended to get dressed in the water park changing rooms. Doing the water park early also allowed us to enjoy some more fun such as Clubhouse Crew, MagiQuest and a 4D movie before the evening rush. We noticed that a lot of the indoor attractions were very crowded after dinner time, and we were glad that we got them in beforehand.
  

• Check the great Wolf calendar for special events and deals. We attended during their month for their  Howl-o-ween celebration. The lobby is decked out in "spooktacular" decor which made for some fun photo opportunities. The kids also brought their costumes to wear in the evening and trick or treated through the resort. It was a lot of fun and included in our stay. There is always something special going on at Great Wolf and their website is a great place to find out about happenings and deals.

• Visit the website to preview the attractions. I made the mistake of going in blind and wound up on a waterslide called the Howlin’ Tornado, which my family absolutely loved but it took me for surprise. It is definitely a thrill ride and your raft goes 30-feet up the sides of a funnel before making its way to the bottom.  After riding the other slides, I did not expect the vortex in the middle, but I would definitely ride it again.
  


• Your room key is a bracelet. Upon check in,  we were given a bracelet that allowed us access to the room. Some guests chose to also hook up their bracelets to their credit card for a cashless payment system. We did not do this option but it was great to not have to bring a room key into the water park. Based on the ages of our children, only the adults had room key access on their bracelets. The kids wore different braceltes without computer chips.

• Bring your own beverages and snacks. The team at Great Wolf Lodge knows that travel is an expensive luxury for most families. Each room is stacked with a mini fridge where it is easy to store items such as water bottles, fresh fruit and other food.  You can eat some meals in and splurge on others. 

• Don't miss the clock tower show and the nightly storytime (free in the lobby!) Each night the clock tower in the main lobby comes to life with animated characters, cute stories and fun songs. It is really a sweet show, especially for young ones. We also noticed many parents taking advantage of the selection of draft beer at the Loose Moose Bar and bringing their beverages to watch the show (Of course my husband followed suit here.)

• Wear your wolf ears and have a howling good time!  Yes, you are given a headband of wolf ears at check in and staff members wear them throughout the resort.  It's all about family fun, and Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg has something for everyone!

Cool Balloon Spider decor for Howl-O-Ween at Great Wolf Lodge

Nightly Clock tower show and Storytime

Have you visited Great Wolf Lodge before?  Share your tips in the comments below!

Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg
549 E Rochambeau Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23188
(757) 229-9700

Disclosure: I was invited with my family to come and experience what's new at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. We received a complimentary stay, breakfast, and were able to take part in attractions throughout the resort. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and reflect my experiences.  Unless otherwise noted, all images are property of Kid Trips LLC and may not be used without written permission.