After not traveling or even getting out of the house much during the past year and a half, my family visited Great Wolf Lodge a couple of weeks ago. I was nervous. 1. Would they be taking safety seriously? 2. Would those safety precautions hinder the experience? I shared about our trip on my Instagram Stories, and so many people commented many of the same questions I had! (Now, every state is still a bit different, so my comments and experience are only based on the Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs.) We love Great Wolf Lodge and were so ready for some family fun, so we dove right in! Here’s what we found out.

Current Precautions

As we’ve learned over the past several months, “current” can change quickly, so make sure to check the Great Wolf Lodge website before your stay for the most up to date information.

At this time, masks are required for all guests 5-years-old and older in any public spaces, except when dining or enjoying the water park. Details for which type of masks are accepted and more information about their Paw Pledge can be found in the link above.

Activities

Let’s get right into why you’re here–do the current precautions hinder the fun? Heck, no!

Wiley’s Waterpark

We will start with everyone’s favorite, the water park. Not much has changed inside the wet and wild walls of Wiley’s Waterpark. Tables are spaced out a little more, and life-jackets must be picked up with towels so that they are able to properly sanitize between guests. At close I watched the team members meticulously clean each table, chair and surface to prepare for the next day’s fun. My kids didn’t miss any of their usual splashtastic time and as a mom, I felt a little better seeing how clean it was.

TIP: Ask about the Day Bed reserved seating. Much cheaper than the Cabana options, but still gives your family a designated “home base” for the day.

MagiQuest

What trip would be complete without fighting dragons and magical wands? Still open, still fun, still a great way to wear out those kiddos before bed time!

TIP: Kids too young to understand how to play the game? Ask at the MagiQuest desk about only activating the wands to “trigger” the effects, but not to play the actual game.

Adventure Park

Throughout the indoor “dry” attraction area, hand sanitizer stations were readily available. My kids still loved climbing the rock wall and making their way through the High Ropes Course. Once they came back down, we enjoyed mining and mini-golf.

Northern Lights Arcade

Again, hand sanitizer is available throughout the arcade. Many of the games that are closer together have plexi-glass dividers between them. I noticed team members wiping down games between guests and picking up trash during busier times.

Build-A-Bear

Always a family favorite and still open for fun! There’s even a larger selection of your favorite, furry pals!

TIP: You can get matching leather bracelet’s engraved for your kiddo and their new stuffed friend at Buckhorn Exchange!

Group Activities

While the above attractions are amazing, my family also loves the good ol’ Story Time or Epic Dance parties vivid in our Great Wolf Lodge vacation memories. Are those still happening? You Bet!

Story Time, Wolfercise, Character Appearances & Dance Parties

You’ll still find all the family fun in each of these. Much like I remember when my kiddos went to Kindergarten, you now find your spot on the carpet and enjoy the activity/show! It was great having a place to sit with my kiddos and watch/interact together.

Arts & Crafts

This has long been one of my daughter’s favorites. She is happy to take a break from the waterpark for craft time every visit. During our trip we were able to complete crafts with the group or to pick up and take our craft kit with us.

Dining

This category is really the only place where we noticed large changes to our usual Great Wolf Lodge vacation. Again, these observations are only for the Colorado Springs location. Let’s go through by restaurant.

Hungry As A Wolf

Delicious pizza, pasta, salads and such. Super convenient that you can now order on the mobile app and have it ready for when you walk downstairs. Not much different for this restaurant. Hoping one day they’ll deliver it to the rooms. (I’d pay extra for that!)

Buckets Incredible Craveables

Again, not much different. Great food (I really like the buffalo chicken strips), easy to order from inside or out of the waterpark. 

TIP: For a real sweet family treat, check out the Tipping Bucket!

Ben & Jerry’s and Dunkin’ Donuts

Still open! Seating has been removed from inside of the small places to allow for better social distancing, but plenty of tables only a few steps away in the Adventure Park.

TIP: Plan a visit to Dunkin’ shortly before they close for 1/2 off donuts!

Barnwood

This is where dining begins to change a little and we noticed quite the change when visiting Great WOlf Lodge during Covid. Barnwood has long been my favorite Great Wolf Lodge restaurant. In fact, I wrote a whole story about how it was one of my favorite farm to fork options in Colorado Springs. Currently, they are still offering local brews and delicious cocktails, but their only menu items are “Barnwood Boxes” you can enjoy seated or to-go. They include salads, snack boxes, personal pizza or cookies. I am hoping that this is a limited time for this and Barnwood will be back to its gloriousness very soon.

Loose Moose Family Kitchen

You’ll find another big change here. Currently, gone are the days of buffet serving as Loose Moose Family Kitchen is now a sit down and be served restaurant. For those that love the endless choices of a buffet or have children that are always hungry (like my teen) it’s tough. The good news is that the food options are incredible (perhaps trying to make up for Barnwood’s absence?) and very large. Both myself and my hubby were only able to finish half of our meals.

The Outpost

The only other change to dining I noticed is that the Outpost bar is no lot currently operating. It’s not a huge loss, but I have mentioned it in my posts a few times as it was in a very convenient location to sit and enjoy a drink while the kids were busy in the Adventure Park.

Overall

My family had an incredible time. It was great to get out and enjoy some family fun together. As a mom I felt good knowing that visiting Great Wolf Lodge during Covid was amazing because they were taking precautions, but that those safety measures didn’t hinder our experience. (Other than Barnwood…just putting it out there hoping it will return.) Even without my favorite green chile glazed chicken wings, we had an incredible time and made memories we will cherish. Now is a great time to book a quick-trip for your family and enjoy all the fun!