When I arrived at the construction site for Great Wolf Lodge Southern California, I had to do a double take. The place is huge. With 603 suites, a 100,000 square foot water park, and a massive parking structure, the new location in Garden Grove will become the flagship Great Wolf Lodge resort when it opens in early 2016.
I was fortunate enough to get invited to a hard hat construction tour (being on the parent panel has its perks), so I booked an early morning flight from Seattle and made it to Southern California in time for the media event.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet Ruben Rodriguez, the incoming CEO, and Kim Schaefer, who has been CEO of Great Wolf Lodge for years. It will be hard to imagine the company without Kim at the helm, but Ruben was incredibly gracious about the transition during his speech. Kim even shed a few tears and gave Ruben a hug before taking the podium. I mention this simply because it shows the “family” approach Great Wolf Lodge takes with its operations. Great Wolf treats their guests and “wolf pack” employees like a big family, which is why their unique style of hospitality will be a welcome addition to Garden Grove.
After the speeches, it was time for the hard hat tour of the construction site. The big thing I noticed was that Great Wolf had cherry picked the best elements from all of its resorts and planned to include them in this new location. Great Wolf Lodge Southern California will get the latest water slides, the newest restaurant concepts (like the Lodge Wood Fired Grill), and will even have the new animatronic show in the lobby.
The water park is the heart of the resort, so I’ll cover that first. Great Wolf will have several thrill rides, like the Wolf Tail water slide which starts with a vertical plunge through a trapdoor. There is a mat racer slide, a surfing simulator, and several other water slides that look like they will be a lot of fun. From Harbor Blvd, you can see the funnel for the Howlin’ Tornado which is one of the iconic attractions at every Great Wolf resort (and my son’s favorite).
Great Wolf is really family friendly, so the water park has several other attractions that are suitable for people of all ages. The four story Fort Mackenzie structure has a couple water slides that are suitable for younger children (my son went on it when he was four-years-old) and it has the iconic 1,000 gallon dumping bucket that you see in the commercials. During the tour, I could also see the foundations for the zero depth entry pool for the toddler play area and the path of the lazy river.
The water park will have a locker room, cabanas (for rental), and a snack bar like other Great Wolf resorts. Unique to this location is the new Grizzly Jacks Bar and Grill which will serve adult beverages and some great looking appetizers. Mom and dad need a vacation too, which is why I’m glad this will be part of the resort.
For those who have never been to a Great Wolf Lodge, it is fair to think of it like a cruise ship. They have entertainment, food, and your hotel room all under one roof. You really don’t need to leave the place. So while the water park is a big part of the resort, the “dry land” activities and restaurants are just as important to the overall experience.
Scoops Kids Spa is one of the most popular amenities at each Great Wolf resort. The spa is tailored for children and offers manicures and pedicures in bubble gum and fruity scents (moms can join too). In addition to the pampering and fluffy pink robes, they give you an ice cream cone at the end of your service. If you have a little princess in your family, this will be the perfect place for a birthday treat or a mom/daughter spa day.
Speaking of sweet treats, Great Wolf will have the Bear Paw Sweets & Eats which has fudge, cookies, ice cream, birthday cakes, caramel apples, and lots of paw shaped desserts. Great Wolf Lodge Southern California will also have Garden Grove’s first Dunkin’ Donuts location. This will be a popular spot for parents who need a little caffeine in the morning.
There is a huge space dedicated to the Hungry as a Wolf pizza restaurant. This is one of the most popular dining options for families who want a quick meal. They offer salads and a few different types of pizza, which is perfect when you just want to grab something for lunch and bring it back to your family in the water park.
Great Wolf will also offer Howl at the Moon Glow Golf, the Northern Lights Arcade (which will be open 24 hours), MagiQuest, and Ten Paw Alley bowling. All of this combined will give your family a lot to do beyond just playing in the water park.
As our tour made its way through the hotel portion of the resort, I saw that work was nearly complete on the rooms. The neat thing about Great Wolf Lodge is that every room is a suite and made to accommodate large families. Most rooms sleep 6, but there are larger sized suites with multiple rooms for bigger groups.
Your water park admission is included in the cost of the room, which makes Great Wolf Lodge one of the best values in the Garden Grove and Anaheim area.
In addition to the standard Family Suites, Great Wolf Lodge has several themed suites, which are my son’s favorite kind of room to stay in. The themed suites have a cabin area and bunk beds that essentially gives your child their own little room. The cabins even have a little flat screen TV on the wall.
The Garden Grove location has a new interactive design elements, which I hope they will eventually add to the other resorts. Your child can wave a MagiQuest wand at these interactive elements to make them light up. In the room we visited, a little frog twirled around, music played, and lights glowed along the ceiling. It was pretty neat.
And because I visit Great Wolf Lodge too often, I noticed that they are using a new design for the kids cabins that incorporates Wiley the Wolf and friends. In other locations, the cabins have a more generic log cabin theme. I really like the addition of the characters and the overall design they went with for these rooms.
When I spoke with some people about the resort, some wondered why an indoor water park was needed when California gets so much sun. But I remember living in California and feeling like it was freezing whenever the temperature dropped below 70 degrees. There is a good reason why all of the outdoor water parks in southern California only operate seasonally.
Great Wolf Lodge keeps the water park heated at 84 degrees year-round (the rest of the resort is at regular temperatures). And the fact that most of the water gets filtered and then reused makes it a good fit with California’s water conservation efforts.
Great Wolf Lodge Southern California is slated to officially open in March 2016, but they are aiming for a soft open in February 2016. You can even make reservations now for stays beginning February 29, 2016.
Thank you to Great Wolf Lodge for the hard hat tour. I am looking forward to visiting the new resort when it opens next year!
