This, the second piece, in my 3-part series about the Great Wolf Lodge, discusses ways to make your stay everything you hope it to be. For tips on how to save when booking, visit my previous post. The final post in the series discusses packing tips and even provides a free packing checklist!

I have learned something new every time we have stayed at Great Wolf Lodge. In hopes of making someone else’s stay truly incredible, I have compiled all of my tips in this post. I hope you are able to use them to maximize your GWL experience!

1. Ask about upgrades when you get there.

When you are checking in, ask if there are any deals on upgrades. If the resort is slow and hasn’t booked as many rooms, they may allow you to upgrade your room to a den or a cabin. You will often find big discounts, and sometimes repeat guests may even be upgraded for free. The dens and cabins have adorable separate areas for the children. These are great if you want a little separation from the kids!

2. Arrive early, leave late.

You can start to enjoy the water park as soon as it opens on the day of your reservation. You can officially check in at one, and head to the water park until your room is ready. Rooms are supposed to be ready by 4, but we have had many visits where our room is ready at check-in.

Even after checking out the next morning, you can continue to enjoy the waterpark for the rest of the day. Check-out is at 11. We usually load up the car and stay at the park until early evening. You can also pay to get late checkout. This gives you until 2 p.m in the room.

3. Don’t spend a lot of money on the pup passes or any extra stuff unless you plan to stay a few nights.

When visiting the website, you will find that they offer a lot of package deals to save on extra amenities. These are certainly a big savings on individually priced items. However, you will likely find that you stay so busy at the water park, you don’t have time to do anything else! Even when we stay for 2 nights, we find it hard to get around to anything else. These packages would be great to utilize when staying multiple nights though.

4. Bring your own food, or go out for dinner.

There are no shortages of places to eat at the Great Wolf Lodge. However, we have found that the food on site is expensive, and doesn’t really live up to the price. When we visit we generally call in somewhere at a near-by restaurant and eat in the room. I also try to pack easy lunch and dinner options, as there is a small fridge and microwave in the room. Every now and then our deals will come with food credits, and we do take advantage of those. However, we typically avoid eating on-site otherwise. We do make an exception and splurge on ice cream, or another sweet treat, when we visit. If you do wish to eat on site, you may wish to book a meal package.

5. Decide on a budget before and stick to it.

There are tons of things to do at Great Wolf Lodge. In addition to the waterpark, most locations offer an arcade, Magic Quest games, theater, bowling alley, mini-golf and more. There are also lots of little shops throughout the resort. This is in addition to the multiple restaurants and vending machines. These things are not free, nor cheap. They add up FAST. Before your visit, decide on a budget for the trip and STICK to it. Otherwise your short vacation can leave your wallet hurting.

6. If you want to do Magic Quest, borrow a wand.

If you decide you would like to play the Magic Quest game, you will quickly learn that the wands are expensive. There is a whole store devoted to the wands and accessories. It would be easy to spend $100 on the wand and styling it. Instead of spending all that extra money, we borrow a friends. Should we decide to get a wand, we would then take advantage of one of the Pup Pass deals offered through the site.

7. Check out the free activities throughout the day.

There are tons of free things to do in addition to swimming. One of our favorite things to do is visit storytime at night. They have a cute, short, program with interactive puppets and catchy songs. After, they do a character read-aloud where a character comes out and stands in front while a staff member reads aloud a book. Afterwards, the character sticks around for photos with guests. They also offer this program in the morning. Throughout the day you will find other free activites as well. Arts and Crafts and games are often offered. You can also interact with characters at other times during the day.

8. Get to the park first thing in the morning.

Depending on when you booked, the water park can fill up fast. Beat all the others that are sleeping in, and enjoy a less crowded park by getting there when they open. This is great if you have kids that eager to ride the rides, but not so great at waiting in lines!

9. Keep your kids away from the gift shops!

They are pretty and full of all sorts of shiny, over-priced crap that your child is going to want to buy. Trust me on this one. Our first few trips, I made the mistake of taking them. Now our house has a ton of Great Wolf Lodge stuff that cost us a small fortune and never gets played with. Your gift to your kids is the trip itself. Take pictures, they will last longer, and be more meaningful than pricey souvenirs. Plus you already got a couple pairs of sweet wolf ears!

10. If you are celebrating, bring your own decorations.

We like to take our children around their birthday (their birthdays are only a few days apart). It is fun for them, as they get special wolf ears with birthday hats, and a band to wear so staff members acknowlegde their birthday. There are birthday packages you can buy on the site as well. These include things like having a cake delivered to your room, and having the door decorated for your child’s birthday. We found it much cheaper to bring our own decorations and cake. They still felt just as special, without us having to drop another $100.

These are just a few of the things I have learned in our adventures at Great Wolf Lodge. As I learn new things I will update this post and share them with you. If you have visited and have your own tips and tricks please be sure to share in the comments. Additionally, if you have any questions I can answer, please leave them as well!