When the Great Wolf Lodge Anaheim first opened, I didn’t see how an indoor waterpark could survive in Southern California. Who would want to leave the sunshine for a bunch of indoor waterslides? I learned there were 23 of these indoor water parks spread across the US and Canada.
So when the Great Wolf Lodge, technically in Garden Grove, invited us to see what they had, I was pretty confident we’d have a great time. Any weekend that doesn’t involve rushing from sport to sport, cooking, or cleaning is a good weekend. Plus, we’re all water people, and we love having a good family adventure, so naturally, this place drew us in. However, I feared the weird smells and gross germs that could fester in an indoor environment. Still….we were excited to get away.
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Arriving At The Great Wolf Lodge Anaheim
After fighting Friday evening 405-freeway traffic, we checked in at the reception area and opted to splurge on a Wolf Pass, which bundles dry attractions at this family resort with the wet ones. Apparently, the Great Wolf Lodge in Anaheim has a lot more to offer than just the water park.
Great Wolf Lodge Optional Package Options
Our Wolf Pass included:
- MagiQuest: A full game played around the resort that uses clues and wands to activate and complete a quest. Players can stop and start the game, which can take hours, as they desire. Plus, it includes a choice of many Vellara wand options, a wand topper (mod), or a belt.
- Activities: One round of Howl-in-One Mini Golf, one admission to the Howler’s Peak Ropes Course, one round on the Adventure Trail, and one individual game of Virtual Frontier.
- Souvenirs & Treats: One Build-A-Bear furry friend (exclusive plush), one Leather Treaty waistband, one pair of swim goggles, one candy cup, and one kid’s scoop of ice cream.
- Arcade: Credits for three games at the Northern Lights Arcade.
Other packages are the Paw Pass and Pup Pass. The Paw Pass includes the MagiQuest game with the wand or belt, one Leather Treaty waistband, one pair of swim goggles, one candy cup, and one kid’s scoop of ice cream. It also offers three game credits for the Northern Lights Arcade. While the Pup Pass, geared for the youngest visitors, includes one Build-A-Bear furry friend (select characters only), one candy cup, and one kid’s scoop of ice cream. It also allows for three games at the Northern Lights Arcade. We also got these cute little pink wristbands with RFID chips embedded, so they acted like room keys and waterpark passes, and let us buy anything at the resort by waving our hands. Who wouldn’t like that?
The boys loved their room, which included their own private little Wolf Den. ©Rina Nehdar
Room Types At The Great Wolf Lodge Anaheim
We stayed in the Wolf Den room, which was almost like a one-bedroom with the parents’ king-sized bed separated by a cave-like compartment that included bunk beds for the boys and a ton of hidden surprises that the boys used their magic wands to find.
Don’t forget to knock! ©Rina Nehdar
Other room options are the Family Suite, which is spacious but doesn’t have the themed layouts, the Kid Cabin, with three twin beds, which is perfect for a family of five, and the Grizzly Den, which is ideal for multi-generational trips since there are two bedrooms (a king and two queens) and a pull-out double sofa.
Great Wolf Lodge Water Park Attractions
Here we go! ©Howard Nehdar
The 105,000 sq. ft. indoor park was much bigger than I imagined. There were 12 slides, some of which were large enough to accommodate several raft sizes. There is even a surf simulator called the Wolf Rider Wipeout. The temperature was a cozy 84 degrees….and at my age, I also appreciated not having to hide from the sun as my baby oil slathering days are long gone. No hats to keep track of, no chasing the kids around with sunscreen……I started to see the benefits of this crazy indoor water park idea…especially as we were experiencing a rare SoCal rainy day outside (imagine if we had planned this extensive outdoor weekend only to be thwarted by the rain…).
Coyote Canyon and River Canyon Run
We started with the sorta-scary-looking Coyote Canyon ride, where riders can choose between a single- or double-raft. There are a few tubes to select from in this area, and we hopped into the River Canyon Run next. The rides are long enough for guests to wonder and that’s never a good thing. The tubes are enclosed for much of the ride but translucent enough for light to distill through the colored plastic. There’s no fear of falling out of anything.
Send me down! ©Rina Nehdar
Fort Mackenzie
At four-story Fort Mackenzie, young explorers could find adventure crossing suspended cargo nets and aiming water cannons at unsuspecting passersby.
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Got em!!! ©Rina Nehdar
Fort Mackenzie also has tree-top slides to barrel down. And, of course, the perfunctory giant bucket that dumps 1000 gallons of water after a sequenced crescendo of beeps alerting those below to watch out!
Surprise! (sort of). ©Rina Nehdar
Mountain Edge Raceway
For families with a competitive spirit, like ours, riders line up at the top with their matts and all plunge down the Mountain Edge Raceway at the same time to see who can get to the bottom first. Partly enclosed, until the very end when it drops, this was exhilarating as we went face-first, and that was a thrill.
Watch out below! ©Rina Nehdar
Eating At The Great Wolf Lodge
Much too quickly, it was time for dinner, but the kids were okay leaving since they knew there would be some forbidden food at the Loose Moose Family Kitchen buffet to look forward to, and by forbidden, I mean tons of sugary desserts, which is a no-go in our house. I was already cringing on the inside, anticipating a fried food fiesta and an oasis of sugary hell. But the dinner buffet was actually very impressive. It included vegetarian and gluten-free options, as well as many exotic vegetable preparations, along with succulent cuts of meat, seafood, and original chicken preparations.
A healthy variety. ©Rina Nehdar
We found out GWL makes a huge effort to cater to people with food allergies. As a result, Chris Hammond, who served as the Corporate Food & Beverage Director and Executive Chef for Great Wolf Lodge, removed corn syrup from all their food products, including ketchup, and many of their food items are organic. They use non-GMO foods (hooray!), offer many gluten-free options (including the fried chicken!), and seek out locally sourced, sustainable ingredients. They understand that 1 out of 4 guests have allergies to tree nuts (!) so they don’t serve any products that contain them on their premises. Also, a chef will walk any guest with concerns about allergies through the food menu and address specific ingredient concerns. Now that is thoughtful! And what’s more thoughtful is they know not every guest cares about eating organic or non GMO so they kept the menu prices the same even though their source costs had increased! Knowing all that, I felt much better about the promised dessert.
So many choices. ©Rina Nehdar
I let the boys each choose one, and they both went for a cupcake that looked very tempting, actually.
Yummmm. ©Rina Nehdar
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I approve, Knox says. (in his jammies prepared for storytime!). ©Rina Nehdar
In addition to the Loose Moose Family Kitchen, the resort has four other restaurants. Lodge Wood Fired Grill is a little fancier and offers gourmet-style options, but is still casual, after all, it’s an indoor water park resort. Another is a grab-and-go, of the pizza and burgers variety, called Hungry As A Wolf, and smartly situated by the arcade. Finally, two are located inside the waterpark, Grizzly Jack’s Bar and Grill, a full-service restaurant in the small outdoor section of the resort, and a more limited fast food joint, Bucket’s Incredible Craveables. There’s also a Dunkin Donuts, which some, like me, might find essential for staying caffeinated to keep up with the kids, and a wicked little shop called Bear Paw Sweets and Eats for those planning to do extra Boot Camp classes the following week.
Things To Do At The Great Wolf Lodge Anaheim
The GWL offers kids a daily roster of activities, depending on the season. Daily, there is yoga and arts and crafts. Seasonally, there is Howl-O-Ween in October and Snowland in December.
Namaste. ©Rina Nehdar
You can also find furry little pals, Wiley Wolf and Violet Wolf, roaming around the hotel.
Wiley the Wolf and his pals. ©Rina Nehdar
Storytime
The kids gathered in the lobby after dinner to enjoy a tale where the fuzzy creatures were part of the action, which always makes a story more enjoyable. (This is a nightly event).
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One more, one more! ©Rina Nehdar
MagiQuest
We decided to start our MagiQuest journey after storytime fired our imagination. MagiQuest is a digital, fairytale-themed scavenger hunt around the hotel. You start at the MagiQuest gift shop and select a magic wand that is programmed with your player name and vital stats. Then you find a kiosk and play the game using its prompts.
Have bathing suit, will travel. ©Rina Nehdar
Before the adventure. ©Rina Nehdar
Then you pick one of the many available quests and off you go to fight monsters, find magic crystals, and save pixies. Deposit your goodies at one of the video portals scattered all around the hotel and fight virtual battles as you progress through your journey.
I can slay dragons in my board shorts! ©Rina Nehdar
Clubhouse Crew
There’s also an option for younger guests to try their hand at these quests. These mini adventures with the Clubhouse Crew are shorter scavenger hunts created for the littles. Just as with Build-a-Bear, they start by picking pieces to put together a stuffed-animal character that serves as their guiding spirit.
Balloon Art
This happens too. Kids love seeing strings of balloons transformed into swords and puffy animals.
Arming for the battle. ©Rina Nehdar
Abracadabra (ribbit). ©Rina Nehdar
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Everyone really did actually enjoy the surprise. Although I bet, if our kids were any younger, we might not enjoy that surprise, say at 3 am, if they decided to see if the animals would wake up then.
Day Passes and Season Passes
Our friends, Morgan and Justin, who live nearby, also joined us. Although the water park is open to hotel guests, people can buy a Day Pass for $50-$100, depending on the optional activities a family might want to add. Starting in 2026, GWL offers various options for Season Passes.
More Water Park Action (with videos!)
https://youtu.be/rxmh7yzo4p8 I swear all that screaming equals fun! The next day, all they wanted was to wolf down their breakfast and get back to the water park. After riding Howlin’ Tornado, Alberta Falls, and River Canyon Run, my brave boys decided to try out the Wolf Rider Wipeout, which is an artificial endless wave where people can surf or boogie board until their little muscles give out….or as long as they can stay balanced!
Wolf Rider Wipeout
The thrill runs in the family. ©Rina Nehdar
Then daddy decided to give it a try. Now, he is a regular surfer, but this is not a regular wave.
Finally, Knox couldn’t miss the fun. He just modified it a bit.
I got this! ©Rina Nehdar
Wolf Tail
There is a very thrilling ride at GWL called the Wolf Tail. We passed it on our way to tamer experiences. The rider steps into what appears to be a vertical coffin, and the door shuts automatically. Suddenly, a trap door drops, and the poor sap is released to a straight drop through an enclosed slide.
Well, there was no avoiding it then. I grew up going to amusement parks with my family and riding all the rides by myself or with my little brother while my parents brought a newspaper and read at a nearby bench. It felt lonely, and I always wished for that big person to hold my hand and revel with me as I walked through my fears. I want to give that to my boys, so I do everything with them. So we stood in line. I consoled myself that there were young girls doing it. If they could do it, I could too! The line was long enough for us to really think about what was about to happen.
Someone can’t wait. ©Rina Nehdar
Finally, we were almost at the front of the line! I wanted to go first, but I wouldn’t have been able to film Kaleb if I had, so my warrior son stepped into the chamber of doom. https://youtube.com/shorts/JuqidGuHgUs?feature=share All I can say is I did it too, my hands were shaking, my heart was thumping, but if the line wasn’t so long, I would have done it again!
Big Foot Pass At Chinook Cove
There are definitely calmer rides and sections for younger or less adventurous families. This America Ninja Warrior style obstacle course called Big Foot Pass at Chinook Cove is perfect for adventurous souls to try and navigate.
I can do it! ©Rina Nehdar
There were also cute little animals floating around to swim on.
They’re not as wild as the kids floating on them. ©Rina Nehdar
And for the athletic-minded, there’s a basketball court.
Can’t kill the competition. ©Rina Nehdar
Crooked Creek
This is the lazy river, and families definitely used it. Floating rafts became aquatic jungle gyms and it was a great place to get your heart back down to normal speed.
Not lazy, just chill. ©Rina Nehdar
Cub Paw Pool
There is a toddler area, both indoors and outdoors. The indoors one has a splash pad and shallow pools for thrill-seekers in training.
Wait for me! ©Rina Nehdar
Racoon Lagoon
There is also a small outdoor area suitable for toddlers, with smaller slides and colorful attractions. This is where the outdoor bar and restaurant, Grizzly Jack’s Bar and Grill, serves leaded and unleaded drinks and a variety of food options (even some that aren’t fried). Plus, the GWL offers the free use of floaties and lifejackets, so really, they could go wherever there aren’t height restrictions. In total, about six water attractions are for younger kids, and six are for older daredevils.
Nice on a nice day. ©Rina Nehdar
More Things To Do On Land
Main Street Fun: Glow Golf and Mini Bowling
“Main Street” is the level of the resort where all the other attractions await. Families will find Howl at the Moon Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf here. There is also mini bowling at Ten Paw Alley, which we loved. Perfect for our pint-sized bowlers.
Mini ball for mini peep. ©Rina Nehdar
Scooops Kid Spa
There is also a spa for kids, called Scoops Kid Spa, perfect if you have girls (or boys) who don’t want to get wet or want to celebrate a special occasion. They offer “ice cream” soaks, sherbet scrubs, and kid-friendly nail colors.
A spa for all ages. ©Rina Nehdar
Northern Lights Arcade
Kids can blast their hearts out at the Northern Lights Arcade, where they can win tickets for toys that parents will soon throw away and candy that parents will try to dump when their children aren’t looking.
Always fun. ©Rina Nehdar
Howly Wood XD Theater
There’s also the Howly Wood XD Theater which is like a virtual ride/video game. It’s great because the whole family can play at the same time, and it really is a blast (literally as you’re shooting zombies, etc.).
The boys went back to the water park every night of the two nights we stayed there, since it stayed open until 8 pm. Then mommy and daddy went back to the room for a nightcap and room service snacks while the kids slept in their cozy Wolf Den.
On our last morning, before breakfast, we decided to pack since we wanted to take advantage of the water park perk and didn’t want to return to the room before 11 am to do it. We loaded all our stuff into the car and brought what we’d need to be comfortable at the waterpark, plus a change of clothes for the trip home. There are lockers and showers, and a bathing suit dryer.
Finally, we wrapped it up and reluctantly headed home. The boys kept asking why we couldn’t just live there. Everyone had a great time, and weeks later, they still ask if we could go back. I’d say that’s a big hit, and since the hotel room price includes waterpark passes, it’s actually affordable and convenient. And those are the makings of a great family vacation.
When You Go
Getting To The Great Wolf Lodge From Los Angeles
Families can take the I-5 S or the I-405 S to the CA-22. Check your favorite traffic app before you go, but on a clear day, it’ll take about forty-five minutes to get there from Downtown Los Angeles.
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Staying at the Great Wolf Lodge
Book your best rate for the Great Wolf Lodge in Anaheim/Garden Grove here!
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