The Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington has become a favorite “staycation” destination for our family. It opened last December, and I got a sneak peek of the hotel and adventure park which I shared here. Then I stayed with my family in January, and had the most amazing weekend.
CLICK HERE TO SAVE UP TO 25% ON YOUR STAY!
Then this summer we returned for a 2-night stay. We stayed during the week, since of course the kids were off for summer vacation. We had such a great visit, and I’m excited to share our experience with you – along with a few changes and improvements that we noticed during our stay!
We arrived on a Sunday evening and checked into our Deluxe Bunk Bed Suite overlooking the water park. We were on the 3rd floor (there are 8 floors total!). We followed the wolf paw prints on the floor to our room, walked in and were so impressed with what we saw! It actually was the same layout of the room we stayed at when it was the Water Park of America, but was so much nicer! I loved the north woods theme of the room and all the amenities.
There was a queen bed, plus two bunk beds in the wall. My kids literally could not agree on who was going to get the top bunk – they both wanted it! So eventually I made them agree to each take a turn, since we were staying two nights. We flipped a coin to see who would be first (my daughter won).
The room also has a vanity sink, a bathroom with a tub/shower, a sofa sleeper, a table with chairs, a beautiful flat screen TV, a microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, and a balcony.
Here was our view overlooking the waterpark from the balcony. What was really neat is how soundproof the balcony door was – you could barely hear anything from the waterpark when it was closed!
The thing about having a waterpark view from our room was that we could watch people having fun all day long, which of course made us want to join in right away! We knew we had to hit the water park soon, but first had to have dinner.
We ate in the hotel at Hungry as a Wolf, located in the Great Wolf Adventure Park. We had a pizza, salad and soda. They also have pasta and subs. The food definitely got smiles from my kids! And our family ate every piece.
Water Park Fun!
We then headed back to our room to get ready for the water park! I did a Facebook LIVE video from our room as we were about to go!
The water park was sooo much fun. We stayed until closing time. My kids especially enjoyed Fort Mackenzie, the water fort tree house with slides. My favorite was the lazy river called Crooked Creek – my kids and I went around this countless times. They also liked Chinook Cove which was an activity pool with basketball hoops and floats.
I really liked that the water was WARM (in some water parks it’s not). Actually, the whole place was the perfect warm temperature. We felt like we were on an all-inclusive vacation somewhere far away!
The next morning we went down to the Campfire Kitchen for breakfast. They have a breakfast buffet and dinner buffet. The breakfast buffet is $14.99 for ages 11 and up, and $9.99 for children ages 4 to 10. It includes scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage, muffins, pastries, potatoes, cereals, oatmeal, and fruit. It was so good and filling!
The dinner buffet is $19.99 for ages 11 and up, and $12.99 for ages 4 to 10. I wrote about it in my previous review here.
Overall, I think the Campfire Kitchen meals are delicious, but a bit pricey. Thankfully though there are meal packages you can add on to your stay which will save you money.
Otherwise, it’s worth going to the Campfire Kitchen for one meal (breakfast of course is cheaper) but there are cheaper ways to eat during your stay.
Dry Land Fun!
After breakfast it was time for some fun around the hotel!
My kids each received a Paw Pass from Great Wolf Lodge during our stay, which includes a variety of activities and take-home items from around the Great Wolf Lodge. The Paw Passes are $69.99 each. There’s also a Wolf Pass for $79.99 and a Pup Pass for younger kids, for $44.99.
I think these passes are a great way to get a sampling of the Great Wolf Adventure Park.
We spent the morning crossing off items from the Paw Passes, which was so fun. It was like a treasure hunt around the place, with experiences they enjoyed and goodies they got to bring home, like the stuffable character toys (like Build-a-Bear) and personalized bracelets.
My son’s favorite activity is the Gemstone Mining. He could do this over and over again. Your child is given a bag filled with sand and gemstones inside, and they get to sift through it all, discovering all kinds of fun gemstones. They then get a bag to bring home the gemstones.
I have to mention a big change at Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington. The Scooops Kids Spa closed and the candy store moved to where the spa used to be. This means the candy store is now twice as big as it was. We’re sad the spa is gone but I felt it was too expensive anyway. The candy store is definitely a better fit for the space.
We didn’t even get to everything on the Paw Passes, because we ended up going back to the water park later in the day. We also headed over to the Mall of America briefly for dinner (it’s only a few minutes away!).
But if we wanted more to do, there was no shortage of things including crafts, character appearances and evening story times, which are all free with your reservation.
Cool Room Feature
I was impressed with a feature in the room that I didn’t even notice right away. The TV is personalized! My name is on the screen when we turned it on. And the Great Wolf Lodge had several channels. One featured activities in the hotel, and another had exclusive Great Wolf Lodge cartoons! I thought this was such a neat touch.
Our Overall Thoughts
Overall we had such a great time at the Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington! As usual, we didn’t want to leave.
I definitely recommend staying at Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington with your family if you can! But if you’re concerned about price, know that there are ways to save! For example, you can save up to 25% via my exclusive link, if you stay at least 2 nights (updated: April 2019):
CLICK HERE TO SAVE UP TO 25% ON YOUR STAY!
I also listed 10 ways in my earlier post this year. In addition, Groupon has offered some great deals, which I will share if they return. If there aren’t any current deals though, be sure to visit the Great Wolf Lodge’s DEALS page!
One other change I noticed at the Great Wolf Lodge since our last stay was the convenience store located by the elevators. I can’t even find it on their website but when we visited earlier this year, it was just a place to grab a quick but pricey and fancy snack. I didn’t recommend it, but now they’ve changed it so there are more kid-friendly and budget-friendly selections. I still think it’s probably best to bring your own snacks and store them in your room, but at least now there are better options available for a quick stop in the hotel.
Planning your own stay this summer?
I just got word that the Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington is hosting a Star-Powered Howl N’ Splash Summer Bash! The celebration kicks off July 15 and runs through August 25, 2018. For six weeks the Great Wolf Lodge will feature celebrity visits and daily activities for the entire family including movie nights, DJ dance parties, outdoor camp outs, and more. All Howl N’ Splash Summer Bash activities are complimentary and included as part of an overnight stay. How cool is that!
Guests will enjoy exclusive events and programming during the inaugural summer bash—the celebration begins with a special appearance by actress Bailee Madison, star of the Hallmark Channel’s Good Witch, who will lead Story Time on Monday, July 16. Other notable celebrity guests scheduled to appear throughout the summer include Olympic gold medal gymnast,Laurie Hernandez, who will teach a Yoga Tails class on Wednesday, August 1 and star of the Nickelodeon show Game Shaker, Madisyn Shipman, who will also lead Story Time on Tuesday, August 14. Additional celebrity appearances and exact appearance schedule will be announced soon. All appearances are subject to change.
Weekly special Howl N’ Splash Summer Bash activities include:
· Dive-In Movie Mondays: Kids don’t want to leave the water park? Enjoy family-friendly, water-themed movies on an oversized screen by the wave pool after the water park closes.
· Toddler Tuesdays: Fort Mackenzie will be open an hour before the rest of the water park exclusively for families with pre-school children.
· Wacky Pizza Wednesdays: Put culinary imaginations to the test during the ultimate dessert pizza making class.
· Dance and Splash Thursdays: Water park hours will be extended for kids and parents alike to dance the night away on the pool deck, with a live DJ
· S’more Fun Fridays: The outdoor porte-cochere turns into a “camp out” open to families to enjoy pop-up tents, games, s’mores and more!
All activities are subject to change. A complete listing of daily activities and times can be found in the Lodge Life event schedule provided to guests upon check-in, verified in advance at GreatWolf.com or by calling the Minnesota location directly at (844) 561-9653.
(Disclosure: My family was provided with a complimentary stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington in exchange for my honest review. This post also contains affiliate links that help support this site at no cost to you. All opinions are 100% mine.)
