Great Wolf Lodge NC Reviews by Kids, Teens and Mom

For years, I’ve wanted to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge. An indoor water park? Awesome. No sunscreen required! With a seven year age gap between the kids, though, it just didn’t happen. We thought Ellie was too little. Then, we thought Ben was too big. We finally made the trip. If you want Great Wolf Lodge NC Reviews from MOM, and the kids and the teen, then you have come to the right place!

And, to be completely transparent here, my teenager, Ben, was doubtful… “Mom,” he said, “I might be too old for this.” So you’ll be getting a full Great Wolf Lodge Teens review, so you can decide if it’s right for your teen.

Great Wolf Lodge NC Accommodations

We stayed in a KidKamp Suite, but the kids were so excited about exploring I forgot to get a photo of the room. OOPS! The room was just like they showed on the website, though. It has comfortable furniture, a good size refrigerator and space to relax.

One thing nice about Great Wolf Lodge teen travel is the bunk beds. We have definitely reached the age where it’s awkward for the kids to share a bed, so having bunks was a plus. As you can see in the photo below, my son liked not sharing a bed! Our son said the bed is plenty big enough for a couple of nights vacation, but the mattress is hard and the blanket isn’t big enough to really cover a teenager. The dcorations area also not exactly teen cool.

Travel Tip: Check the closet for extra blankets or ask for a larger blanket from housekeeping.

For younger kids and parents, our Great Wolf Lodge reviews of the accommodations are quite similar. We love the space. We loved the bunk beds for the kids. We loved the overall comfort of the KidKamp Suite.

Great Wolf Lodge NC Reviews of the Waterpark

As a mom, I was looking forward to the indoor waterpark. No need to deal with sand and sticky sunscreen. But, I was not expecting it to be as loud as it was. I also found the smell of chlorine a little overwhelming at times. But, overall, there’s lots of space, an excellent selection of slides and activities for all ages, and the temperature in the waterpark area was perfect.

When it comes to Great Wolf Lodge teens, what did my son think? So glad you asked.

The first thing my son noticed was the noise. “It’s really loud inside, but you get used to it after a while. It’s quieter on Sunday than Saturday.” (The resort was at 90% capacity on Saturday. Sunday was much less crowded and quieter. We all enjoyed it more.) 

“I didn’t like the smell of the chlorine everywhere or coughing after going through the rides.” (There’s little water evaporation at the water park. It seems that the chlorine hangs in the air, especially in the water tubes. While none of us have asthma, the intense chlorine made everyone in the family cough after a few hours… Ben coughed the most.)

“I wish there were more slides, but these are all pretty cool. They are definitely big enough and fast enough for teens. It would be cool to come here with friends and hang out all day.” (Though I am mom, I choose not to be offended by this commentary! I understand that friends are always more cool than mom.)

His favorite slide, no surprise, is the Howlin’ Tornado. Ben says it’s best to ride it with four people, and if you can figure out how to go sideways, it’s the most fun because you go higher up the wall of the funnel.

For teens who visit, he also recommends Alberta Falls, which is a tube slide four stories tall that carries you outside before you plunge into the pool. In our son’s opinion, the blue slide is faster. And, if you want to go reallly fast, lay back and flatten yourself as much as you can. (We tested his theory many times, and blue always won.)

Alberta Falls? Sure, I’ll gladly go again!

When it comes to Great Wolf Lodge for teens, though, perhaps the best attraction is Fort Mackenzie, the resort’s 4-story tree house complete with “suspension bridges, swinging cargo nets, treetop slides and soaking spray stations.” Ben, and a whole bunch of other teens, ran through the entire fort, dumping water on passers-by and squirting people (especially Dad) with the hoses. They played gleefully like they were kids again, and it was great fun to see.

Fort Mackenzie at Great Wolf Lodge

In the photo below, you can see all the Great Wolf Lodge teens prepared for the giant bucket to dump 1,000 gallons of water on them! Squeals followed.

Our teen having fun in the zero entry spray fountain at Great Wolf Lodge.

Never too old for fun!

Not surprisingly, our daughter had things to say in her Great Wolf Lodge NC reviews, too! Specifically, she wants people to know that there are lots of great things to do at the park. And, if you’re afraid of a slide because it looks too big, go on one that you can share a ride with an adult first. Once you see they aren’t scary, you can go on all the slides.

While we didn’t explore the other activities at the resort, there’s lots more to do at Great Wolf Lodge NC, though we found most of it geared for kids aged 4-10.

Overall, we found Great Wolf Lodge NC to be a good change of pace for the family, and it was fun for our daughter and her teenage brother. We probably wouldn’t choose it for teens, as there are lots more great water parks and theme parks for teens. But, for a quick getaway not too far from home, this was a great choice!

Plan your Trip to Great Wolf Lodge NC

• Address: 10175 Weddington Road, Concord NC
• Book Rooms: We recommend the KidKamp Suites for families with two kids!
• Budget Travel Tip! Book early to save the most. Prices go up as room availability goes down.

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