Mom & Dad Guide: Great Wolf Lodge - Kid-Friendly Travel on a Budget

I never knew what the Great Wolf Lodge was when I was a kid. The closest one was a state away, so the great water park was something I didn't know I needed! My Mister and I took his two sweet angels this weekend for our first family trip together. The second best part of our family adventure (after their smiles and fun) was being able to save some money along the way!

We went to the GWL in the Poconos and really lucked out with a great rate. Our Family Suite was $310 a night, normally $600, for a total of about $930 for our Fri-Mon weekend stay! That's my first tip for cutting costs with kids (or any travel in general). If you have any flexibility with your dates, shop around to see if there are better rates!

We opted not to add on the meal plan, for an additional $370!, because I was CERTAIN we could do it cheaper, and I was absolutely right. I spent about $20 in groceries total from Aldi (the best) for our Wolfpack of 4 and packed enough healthy food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks with our plan to eat dinner out 3 nights.

 Our Food Plan

Breakfast: 

• Homemade blueberry muffins, bananas
  
• Bagel and egg sandwich (cooked the eggs at home first and heated them up there)
• Cereal (pack a cooler with milk!)

Snacks:

• Aldi brand Goldfish, aka cute little sea turtles
• String cheese
• Apple Straws
• Fresh cut apples and peaches

Lunch:

• Turkey deli sandwich with mozzarella cheese slices and mustard on brioche rolls (kids)
  
• Chicken deli sandwich like the above with caprese pasta salad on the side (Byrdie and Daddy)

Dinner at the Lodge:

• Loose Moose Family Kitchen had a great buffet! I normally hate buffets, but I was very pleased with this one, and everyone loved the options. Highly recommend! - $100 (Drinks and tip)
• $25 per adult (plus ~$10 a drink)
• $10 for kids (plus ~$2 for a juice, milk, etc.)
  
• $0 kids under 3
  
• Hungry As a Wolf pizza and wings. Wings were really tasty, pizza was average - $80
• Loose Moose buffet again: $109 (drinks and tip)

 Other Kid-Friendly Activities

Outside of the FANTASTIC water park that has all kinds of slides, a wave pool, adults-only area, and a toddler/kid area (free towel rentals!), there are plenty of other fun activities to do if you need a break from the water. 

• Small bowling - bowling balls are about the size of croquet balls: $7 per person
  
• Mini golf: $7 per person
  
• Arcade: As much as you want to spend
  
• MagiQuest (a scavenger hunt with wands): ~$40 for game and wand (upgrades available)
  
• Build-A-Bear: ~$50
  
• Morning yoga: Free
  
• Story time: Free
  
• Dance party: Free
• Much more! You and your littles will never be bored!

 

Staying within Budget: Our Totals

Room: $930
Food plus dinner out: $290
MagiQuest: $100
Arcade: $90
Bowling: $28
Build-A-Bear: $100
Grand Total: ~$1590 (a savings of $960)

 Money Saving Tips

1. Shop around if you have flexible dates
2. Pack your own food for certain meals
3. Bring your own water, bottle to refill, and extra drinks!
4. Plan ahead for the activities you want to do so you aren't tempted to do all the things. MagiQuest will fill TONS of time and can be continued at subsequent visits.
5. Pre-load a cash card to stick to your set amount!

For more details and how to book, check out Great Wolf Lodge here!