Family Vacation Recommendation
So many people have asked me about our little family vacation that I thought I’d finally get it onto my blog! This was actually our second trip to The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas - we got to go last year with my mom, step-dad, and my brother and his family, courtesy of my mom and step-dad, and had such a great time that we take our little crew back this summer!
Though some may say the place is expensive, you have to consider what you might pay to stay in a hotel and for entrance to a waterpark for the entire family. At Great Wolf, everything is right there! All of your entertainment and food (though food prices are a little high). We took a step-up in our room selection since this was our only get-a-way this summer. The boys loved having their “own den.”
Great Wolf is open year-round since the majority of their “fun stuff” is all indoors. But during the summer, the outside pool and slides are also open. This year, Drew was tall enough to ride all but 2 slides (with an adult)!
And these are the steps that it takes to get to those slides - steps Ryan and I took over and over…and over…and over again!
But his excitement was worth it!
Not having a water-proof camera, it was difficult to take pics - most of these I took on our last day there and Cooper was off trying to become a Magi (tell ya about that in a minute) - but this was some of Cooper’s favorite things:
Floating lily-pads and animals - Coop loved climbing all over these! And don’t ask me about it, but I gave these lily pads a try - not a pretty sight!
This water fort is a blast to climb through! Plus, every 10 minutes or so, a large bucket dumps 1,000 gallons of water on top of it - and everyone in there! Drew did not like this area! 
The other activity my boys loved was the MagiQuest - “a one-of-a-kind, live-action adventure game. Armed with high-tech wands, your family must solve magical challenges throughout the resort to gain powers (and points) and move to higher levels of the game.”
The quests take you all over the lodge (8 floors) so yes, this also required lots of stairs!!
This activity is an extra charge (buy the wand and pay to play) but one cool thing to note is that once you buy a wand, you can re-use it each time you come back. Cooper got one last year so all we had to pay for him was the $10 fee to re-activate it. Our entire family had so much fun solving these quests - and we saw many more parents getting involved with their kids!
Magi Drew and his wand
The biggest and most difficult task is defeating the dragon!! We talked to lots of kids and parents who had tried over and over again to defeat it so we were uncertain as to how things we go for us. As a matter of fact, when we were standing in line to give it a try, the family behind us was in line for their tenth try! But, behold, Magi Cooper DEFEATED the dragon in…how many tries??? ONE!!! And when you do, you get a special “badge” that says “I am a Quest Master at Great Wolf Lodge”. He was sooo excited!!
Defeating the Dragon
Dad pinning on his badge
We left the lodge proud, happy, and tired! Several times since we have been home, one of us has stated “I miss Great Wolf Lodge!” We highly recommend it!
A few other tips: every room has a microwave and small fridge so take food for breakfast and lunch. Then go to downtown Grapevine to eat dinner. Also, as for length of stay - we stayed 3 nights last summer and 2 nights this summer. Though room check-in is at 4pm, you can start using the water park and activities at 1pm. And though check-out is at 11am, you can use the water park and do the activities all day! And get up and go - it is way less crowded on the slides if you get there when doors open at 9am! So chomp down some powdered sugar donuts, forgo the shower, throw on your swim suit and go!
Any other recommendations for family vacations?
