My mom saw a commercial. That’s it, that is how we ended up in Grand Mound, WA. I am pretty sure before that commercial, I had never even heard of Grand Mound, and I certainly had not heard of Great Wolf Lodge. My mom saw a commercial and 3 weeks later, there we were. We are not normally so quick to jump on family vacations, but as soon as we went to the site, we found a weekend with deep discounts, looked at our schedules, and decided, why not?

I am so glad we did! Everything from the first step inside the building had our family completely entertained. Listen, I was sure that I was going to HATE being around so many kids, but there is just something about this place that makes having kids running and playing and laughing seriously relaxing. Stay with me now…

We arrived a bit before normal check-in, no problem for them. We were able to handle all of the paperwork and be assigned our room, even though it was not quite ready yet. Each family member received an RFID bracelet that tied them to the room and served as a room key. They were not removable and for the adults, they included the ability to charge to the room. This was one of the greatest hotel inventions I think I have ever seen. It made me feel comfortable that my little guys could get back to a room if they were separated for any reason and it allowed us to not have to carry a key and a wallet around, freeing us up to run and play and have fun with the kids.

We had purchased the Paw Pass Package for the kids in advance. This turned out to be a pretty great deal. Each Paw Pass was $45 and included the MagiQuest Game and wand to participate, a trip to the ice cream shop, the candy shop, the rock mining experience, a leather bracelet with name engraving, and a stuffed animal and wolf ears that my youngest was VERY excited to wear. We got this and access to the entire facility as soon as we checked in; well, with the exception of our room, and they texted us as soon as it was ready and held our luggage for us while we explored. Talk about great service.

Of course, our first stop had to be the water park. Indoor water park. Heated, indoor water park with a bar. I am not even sure what else I have to say. My kids were in heaven and I finally felt like we were really on vacation. The water park was great with Ninja Warrior type courses, incredible slides that even the adults had a great time on, a wave pool, and even a little tots area that dumped huge buckets of water on your head so of course we all had to try it. We spent many hours here over the two days we were at Great Wolf Lodge.

Once we had some fun at the water park, selected and stuffed the animals, and ate an incredible dinner, we settled into the room. The kids were beside themselves with the bunk cabin in the room. It was one bunk bed and another twin, perfect for the boys and Granny. This “cabin” within the room allowed the boys to feel like they were really camping out without mom and dad and since most of our travels include Mom, Dad, Granny and both boys somehow getting into 2 queen beds with a sofa bed if we are lucky, this was quite the step up. Mike and I had a king size bed, sofa, TV and fireplace in the area next to the cabin which was complimented by the adult room service of wine and a fruit and cheese platter. The hotel has a PJ party right before lights out which all patrons, except teenagers abide by. The teenagers are allowed another hour to hang out in the arcade and be teenagers after putting up with their “annoying” siblings all day.

The PJ party was so much fun even the parents were dancing and blowing bubbles and enjoying the adult beverages from the mobile bar that is brought into the lobby. They play music, got the kids up and moving, and dancing and laughing. This all happens in the lobby, so as not to wake up anyone who may have turned in early. Not that I think it matters, because even during the day, when kids are running up and down the hallways with reckless abandoned, we never had any issues with noise.

One of the most exciting things that the kids did while we were here was the MagiQuest game. I must tell you, after my kids played this, I wanted to open a place that just did this locally so they could do it all the time. It is, for lack of a better way to say it, a treasure hunt with the treasure being more clues to the next location. The kids picked out their wands and got the instructions and booklet at the MagiQuest store and off we went. You read your first clue and once you figure out where it is sending you, run (or in my case walk) to the next location to point your wand at the item you have found and get the next clue. This game takes you all over the entire hotel. Up and down the staircases, in the elevators, near the conference rooms, back to the lobby and up and down another 5 or 6 flights of stairs. This was pretty much everything you would normally tell your kids not to do in a hotel and it was encouraged here.

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We travel quite a bit with hockey and just our desire to always run and see something new, but if you ask my kids, even a year later, they will tell you this was the best vacation they ever had and would give up ice cream to go back.  I have to agree, for a family vacation, this was a great choice.  With all the kids running around and playing, not once did I hear anyone crying or screaming and I can honestly say, from a mom that dreads most “kid” places, I really had a great time!  Thanks Great Wolf Lodge!  We hope to visit you again soon.