It is FINALLY Fall Break and we are all needing not just the down time but the family time as well. I swear we are ALWAYS going non-stop and from sun up to sun down (and then some). Our alarms go off at 4:30AM and we are literally at work and working hard before 6AM. We needed this break and I am SO GRATEFUL that our district sees this need and has a working calendar that supports this break.
Unfortunately, our kids are SO INVOLVED in their sports and band commitments that this break does not allow a fancy cruise, trip or getaway since the kids have a game, practice or something bookending the break itself. BUT we do have 2-3 days in the middle of the break that allow us to get away and this time we opted to go to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX.
We have been to Great Wolf Lodge before and we have LOVED it. In fact, Natalie took a friend for her 13th birthday in August. Unfortunately, that trip was not very good at all. In fact, so bad that I had asked to speak to management about the hotel room issues and waterpark incidents. Once I finally was able to talk to a manager in Grapevine, they offered us a free night for the future. This Fall Break seemed to be the perfect time to use this certificate.
We booked the Family Suite room on Sunday, October 9th as a last minute booking for Tuesday, October 11th. Over the phone, GWL would charge me $100 to hold the room as it was an overall comped room. Usually GWL charges $100 for incidentals and the customer service representative said this was going to be the incidental charge.
Tuesday
We left the house on Tuesday morning and HAD to make a pit-stop at Buc-cee's in Madisonville because no good "road trip" doesn't include Buc-cee's. $50 later... and we were back on I-45 headed towards DFW. Once we arrive in Grapevine we made a lunch stop at In-n-Out burger near Grapevine Mills Mall. This is another MUST-DO anytime we are in the metroplex or California. (Eventually, there will be an In-n-Out in Houston... or so they say! But until then, we will stop in DFW).
Animal Style... The ONLY way to go!
After lunch we went to check-in at Great Wolf Lodge so we could access the waterpark at 1PM. Once on site, they state that the room would not be comped but would be $100. They then charged me an additional $100 for the incidentals. I was nice but explained that is not a "comped" room at all and the $100 should be for the incidentals that I paid for on Sunday. About 10-15 minutes passed but eventually Ashton, a front desk supervisor, opted to charge us $1 for the incidentals. The $101 total that was charged to my card would be used for anything charged to the room; like drinks, snacks, pizza or ice cream. It seemed as if the left hand and the right hand at Great Wolf Lodge did not know what was going on. This is so typical these days and it is what it is. Overall, I was a little dissatisfied with what happened but I really just wanted to get to the waterpark and have a great getaway with the kids.
Through all of that, we learned our room was ready and we were able to change into our swim attire and go to the waterpark shortly after 1pm.
They have their swimsuits on and are READY to go!
A quick picture at the entrance and they are OFF...
The kids were SO EXCITED as it had been nearly 2 years since Luke had been to GWL. The park was fairly crowded for a Tuesday afternoon but the wait times for the big waterslides were not too long (10-20 minutes). However, not all attractions were open, mainly due to be short staffed.
The obstacle course, basketball area and medium pool.
Closed... Due to lack of lifeguards. It opened around 6PM.
The kids rode the slides for about an hour before getting in the Lazy River. This is Luke, Chris and mine favorite thing. The GWL Lazy River is not long but it keeps you moving and we all enjoy it. We also spent some time in the Wave Pool. The GWL Wave Pool is very large, heated and has "waves" about every 20 minutes. Chris and I also spent some time in the Adults Only Hot-Tub. This is EASILY my favorite part of GWL and it was close in October 2020 when we came last (due to Covid) so this was a pleasant surprise.
Luke LOVES the obstacle course!
Luke having fun on the LOGS at the medium pool!
Lazy River time... OUR FAVORITE!
We shut this place down... 8PM!
We all played in the waterpark until about 8PM and then opted to get out and go to dinner. (GWL is open 9AM-8PM on most weekdays). We got changed and went to dinner at Cracker Barrel in Grapevine Mills. We figured it would be very crowded but at 8:30PM on a Tuesday, there were only 5 tables being used. We all ordered and got settled then our waitress came over and said the single (older) gentleman behind us had paid for ours and 2 other tables tickets. This seemed crazy to me as the other 3 tables he paid for were LARGE tables with large orders. Chris ran to the cashier to thank him and he was very friendly and said "enjoy your family time". This was such a neat experience and we "paid it forward" and paid for the ONLY OTHER TABLE in the restaurant, who happened to be a salesman from South Carolina who was here on work. This was a really neat experience and made our night. Thank you Mr. Stranger!
While I paid for the salesman dinner, the kids went and changed all the Saxet stuff to UPSIDE DOWN HORNS! Hahaha... I raised them right!
We went back to the hotel and took another shower as Luke and I were a little itchy having been in the chlorine water all day. The shower within our room was not clean and the bathroom floor also looked as if it had not been mopped. This was a little disappointing as we expected very clean as we have experienced in the past.
Good morning... From Great Wolf Lodge!
Happy Howl-oween!
It's been real... Time to go home!
The kids enjoyed all of the slides multiple times before the crowded got bigger around 10:30AM. Our only complaint was that the Lazy River was closed on this day due to lifeguards not showing up for work. The management told me that this is a DAILY thing and they never know who will show up and who will not show up. This seems crazy to me and had we paid $349/night I would be FURIOUS (as I was in August). But be forewarned that if going to GWL, you will never know if all of the attractions will be open due to lack of staff.
I think next time, we are going to try Kalahari in Round Rock. This is a new indoors waterpark resort and with this being the 2nd trip in a row that Great Wolf Lodge did not have enough workers or attractions open and the nightly rate is the same (or HIGHER) than Kalahari, we are going to give it a try and see!
Great Wolf Lodge Cost Summary
Nightly Hotel Rate $349 (comped from August 2022)
Resort Fees- $39.48
Buc-cee's Stop- $43.61
In-n-Out Lunch- $37.40
Cracker Barrell (Paid it forward)- $22.54
Chick-fil-A Breakfast- $33.38
Braum's (en route to home)- $33.80
Gas- $57.59
TOTAL WE PAID THIS TIME- $267.80
Typical GWL Stay (when not comped, which is NEVER)- $600+
We left GWL around 12:30PM so we could be home in time for Natalie's French Horn lesson and Luke's baseball practice. It was a very quick getaway but just want we all needed. Thank you Great Wolf Lodge for the comped night and a good time this Fall Break!
Happy Fall Break!
We only have 5 weeks/ 24 school days until Thanksgiving Break... But who's counting!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
No comments:
Post a Comment