Today I’m sharing how we enjoyed Great Wolf Lodge on a tight budget. I’m including my money saving tips and our minimalist packing list.

A few weeks ago we sold our home after completely remodeling it. We spent the last three years of living in between random rentals + being squeezed financially. I couldn’t remember the last time we went on a vacation just the four of us.

I decided to treat the kids to a mini-vacation at Great Wolf Lodge. They host spooky fun activities during October. Originally I wanted to go Halloween weekend, however, the price was out of our budget. So I started looking at the weekdays during fall break. I searched my emails for their latest discount code and to my surprise the weekday rates were significantly cheaper. Here is a round up of the best tips I found to save money while staying at Great Wolf Lodge. After you’ll find my packing list and opinion on the pup passes.

Money Saving Tips:

I signed up for their email service to stay informed on the promotions & deals
We went during the week, it was quiet and cheaper. I picked a day during one of my son’s school breaks. It wasn’t a true holiday break so we enjoyed a less chaotic stay.
Bring snacks, drinks and quick breakfast options. There’s a mini fridge and microwave in the room. We ate all meals in our room except dinner.
We chose to eat dinner at a local restaurant. There are a few restaurants inside GWL that looked good. However, after comparing menus I noticed their convenience made them more expensive. We decided to go back to a restaurant close by that we know is delicious.
Arrive early + leave late! We took advantage of the full time we had access to the water park. At the Colorado Springs location you can arrive at 1 pm the day of check in + then play until the water park closes on the day of checkout! (8 pm)
We packed a small pool bag with all the swim gear + change of clothes to enjoy the water park before and after we had the hotel room. Make sure you bring a plastic bag for wet swimmies on the way home!
Another option is to share a multi-room suite with another family. On our first trip to GWL Grapevine we split a suite with my sister in law. It makes the sleeping quarters a little tighter but you save more money. Also, everyone was so pooped from the water park that we crashed hard after dinner and didn’t need a big room to play in.

My Packing List:

two swimmies per person
misc pool supplies: swim diapers, floaties, goggles, water shoes.
one outfit for driving in
pajamas
one extra outfit for dinner + exploring
bathroom supplies
snacks, breakfast items, canned iced coffee, juice, etc.
Halloween costumes + candy buckets for the trick or treating

Pup Passes:

They have an option to purchase a pup pass when booking. They are a little pricey, however, if you have older children I think it’s worth it. Full disclosure: our room still wasn’t ready forty five minutes after check in began. To make up for that inconvenience they gave each of the kids a pup pass. They’re valued at $50 each. I didn’t plan to buy them originally but I am very glad we were comped them. They paid for themselves in products, fun and excitement. Carson was the perfect age for the pass (3.5 yrs) while Mila was a little young to fully enjoy it (16 months) The passes also come with discounts for extra activities.