How to have a great trip to Great Wolf

This last week we took the kids to Great Wolf and drug my Mom along for good measure. Kevin was giddy with excitement and Patrick could barely contain himself in the car. They swam hard, played hard, enjoyed lots of cookies and ice cream before dinner, watched lots of TV, still woke up early, and spend the last 48 hours recovering from the stress by being little punks. Patrick loved all the big rides, Fiona liked the hot tub best, us grown ups hit all the big rides, and we can't wait to do it again. They were decorating for Christmas while we were there, and I think we might try to do a holiday trip next year. Mid week the first or second week of December perhaps. And we'd love some friends to join the fun and share our wine...

For your education: My Seven Friendly Tips for a Fantastic Great Wolf Experience

1. Pick the right time to go. We are those parents who pull our kids out of school without a care for a vacation. We rarely get to go anywhere that's not owned by somebody's in-law that we are going to make the most of it. And that means minimized crowds. By the time it's a Big Deal to pull your kid out of school, they will be old enough to handle the park without a hovering parent. At that time I'll sit down with my magazine and contraband cocktail and set them loose. But since we are still in hard core hovering mode, mid week vacations are it. We went Monday through Wednesday, by Monday night they were at 10% capacity. I don't think we waited for a ride longer than 2 minutes.

2. Get the biggest room you can afford. My kids need their downtime, and so do I. For me, a hotel room is not just a place to sleep. It's my retreat from the busyness and noise of the resort. Since our kids are small, it was also nice to put them to bed and still have space to enjoy our evening. I've known people who hung out in the bathroom once their kids were in bed while in a hotel. Not a chance. We splurged on the Grizzly Bear Suite with two separate bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a nice sized living space. Worth every penny.

3. Take my mother. Not your mother. My mother. Because she is amazing, super fun, and gave Kevin and I a chance to go on rides together. Plus, I got to take her on the Howlin' Tornado (aka the toilet ride) for the first time and it was AWESOME! She's a worrywart yet a closet adrenaline junkie. Her first ride was certainly not her last. We were so lucky to have her with us. Yeah retired Grammas!

4. Bring all your own food. We were warned before our first trip that the food is super expensive and not yummy. The one exception is the pizza, which is decently priced and good enough for kiddos. The rooms come with fridges and microwaves, and the sinks now have food drains in the kitchenette. We have tons of food (and wine) so we can eat as we wish. We allow for a treat or two, usually ice cream, and save a load of money.

5. Pick your length of time carefully. We like doing two nights. This allows us to relax and enjoy the space without worried about "getting our money's worth" out of the park. The kids have time to explore but I don't feel guilty if they want to take a break after an hour of swimming. But I have kids that need that downtime and perhaps a nap for good measure. Plus I want a break! A fast and furious one night trip might be fun for the right kids, but some mom has gone into production management overdrive making that appear easy. Why spend money if you, the parent, is not also having a good time? We enjoy the park just as much as our kids, and we want to have fun on our vacation as well.

6. Budget for the wands. MagicQuest is a riot, the kids love it, and quite a few adults are roaming the hallway figuring out the clues. Patrick's wand actually lasted a year of hard play and he could use it again this year. As long as you don't get roped into the money drains connected to the wands (wand holders, fancy attachments) they are a ton of fun for a small investment. And you can use them at every visit. It's also more active than you'd think. We watch kids run up and down five flights of stairs for hours to find all the clues.

and finally

7. Have your friends go at the same time. Then you can all party together, the kids can entertain each other, and us parents can take turns sneaking off to the big rides! If you are very coordinated, you can get rooms next to each other. We intended to invite others, then got lazy. But God took care of us and our good friends just happened to be going there the exact same time. Fantastic. I really hope we can make it happen next year as well.

ps. We had so much fun we didn't get pictures. And I didn't want to take my phone into the park. Here are the only pictures I took (I think Kevin also took two).