From the moment we mentioned our visit to weeks afterward, the words Great Wolf Lodge elicit excitement in our household.

Finding a great deal through Amazon Local ^[2] (a daily deal site) for a one-night stay at $199 which included lodging for 6, waterpark wristbands for 6, and a $25 resort credit, I checked our calendar.

Locating a time in our schedule, I ran the option by Paul, and then purchased the deal.

Upon purchasing our voucher, I asked friends who had visited this location about their visit. All the comments I received were general in their evaluation.

Not getting any specifics, I went searching for tips for this location and came up short. So, I am writing this series on our visit to the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte/Concord, NC, to assist those looking for information.

In this series I will share our experiences in the following categories which will each be separate posts:

• Part 1: Reservation

• Part 2: Arrival Procedures

• Part 3: Scheduling Activities

• Part 4: Waterpark Amenities

• Part 5: Additional Activities

• Part 6: Overall Review

Scheduling our Stay

We chose to use our voucher at the beginning of our spring break on Sunday, March 9. As most of the South Carolina schools have spring break the week of Easter (April 14-18, 2014) , we thought a Sunday/Monday option would have a low turnout. We were wrong! The resort was packed.

In fact, one of the Pack Members shared that it was the busiest weekend he had seen in the 7 months he has worked there. Yikes! Though it was busy on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, we found the lines easier to navigate on Sunday evening and Monday afternoon.

It seems that North Carolina schools operate on a year-round schedule. The day we chose to visit was the first week of a 3-week break for one of the districts.

With the year-round schooling, there is always one district that is on break while the other districts are in session. I mention this as there might not be an optimum time to visit because the Great Wolf Lodge stays busy at this location year round.

The Amazon deal allowed more families to enjoy the amenities during their break as most local families do not care to pay for lodging since they live close. However, the waterpark is only available to overnight guests, so to play, one must pay to stay.

The Waterpark

Water EVERYWHERE! Come ready to get wet because there are only a limited number of places to stay dry in the water areas. If you want to come and sit, then any of the table and chair areas are out of the water’s reach.

^[3]Little Ones (ages 0-5)

Since our 4-year-old does not like water in her face, we found a couple spots in the Club Paw Pool, which we found cooler than the other pools.

So, we would go to the wave pool to warm up when she needed a change or when others began to splash in her calm area.

For my 4-year-old, we found one slide that she could ride without getting sprayed or dumped with water. This dark blue slide was in the Club Paw Pool area where Paul or I hung out with her. She was tall enough to ride three other slides, but all of them were for individual riders.

There were no options for an adult to ride with her, and she was too scared to try on her own. This was a bit disappointing as our local waterpark encourages parents to ride with their children.

At this Great Wolf Lodge location, only the inner tube rides seat two or more, but a 4-year-old is not tall enough to ride those slides. Some Great Wolf Lodge locations have a lazy river/crooked river where one can just float in an inner tube, but this location in North Carolina does not have that option.

Older Ones (ages 6 and up)

My older two could ride everything by themselves. They loved going from ride to ride. Paul and I camped out with Miss 4 while Mr. 8 and Miss 6 stayed together or rode with one of us on one of the larger slides.

Some of the lines were long, but they moved pretty well. My children had a great time getting soaked, choosing their next adventure, and enjoying their spring break.

This Great Wolf Lodge location seemed to attract families with children ages 0-12. I did not see many teenagers, and most of the slides were available for elementary-aged students. Only two slides were “big” ones where a younger elementary-age student might forego riding, especially at night in the dark.

These are my overall impressions of the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte/Concord, NC. I will continue this series where I will share what we did, how it worked, and what we will change on our next visit. Happy Howling time!

Question: Have you visited a Great Wolf Lodge location?