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Our girls were so excited to stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Minnesota they were counting down the minutes on the GPS until we arrived.
The Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota in Bloomington is well known for being America’s largest indoor water park resort and hotel, and has enough attractions to keep you so busy you wouldn’t even dream of leaving the hotel.
When we told our girls we were going, of course they were excited, but for us adults, we’re always thinking about “will this be worth it? is it worth the price?”
For those on the fence about staying at The Great Wolf Lodge in Minnesota, this review is for you.
We’ve shared our honest and personal experience of staying here so you can decide whether it’s the right place to stay for you!
Disclaimer: Our stay in Bloomington was hosted by Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota in partnership with Bloomington CVB and Mall of America, though all thoughts, ideas and opinions in this guide are our own.
Reasons We Loved Staying at Great Wolf Lodge, Minnesota
The Great Wolf Resorts are our girls’ favorite family-friendly hotel chain.
When they found out we were staying at the Great Wolf Lodge Bloomington MN for our trip to Mall of America they screamed and cartwheeled for five minutes.
This hotel in Bloomington MN only opened in December in 2017, so everything is new and fun.
The only problem is the girls never want to leave as they have so much fun there.
The good news is, Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota is a short 10-minute walk, or a free two-minute shuttle bus ride from Mall of America®, which is one of the best things to do in Bloomington!
Here are all the things we loved about staying at The Great Wolf Lodge:
1. Great Wolf Lodge Takes Care of The Entertainment
The Great Wolf Lodge is for those who want to also have their hotel filled with attractions and amenities to delight their children. They have a packed daily entertainment schedule so you can do just that.
What I love the most about staying at a Great Wolf Lodge Resort (this is our third one so far on our American Unplugged road trip) is that the girls are always entertained, and I can sit down and have time for myself.
They even have kids events and special features for toddlers, so every member of the family can enjoy the family vacation.
Yes. I can even read a book by the side of the water park (or catch up on blogging).
Literally unheard of for any parent with kids.
We let them run around the resort of an evening (yes careful running is allowed at Great Wolf Lodge Resorts) waving their wands on their MagiQuest missions, attending a Pajama party and listening to a bed time story.
We’re either relaxing by the bar, or with a wine down service in our room.
I would like to tell you I’m binge watching Suits on Netflix, but to be honest I’m usually catching up on work.
But that’s okay, because you won’t be me. You can binge watch Netflix and know that your children are safe and having a ball.
2. The Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Water Park
One of the reasons the Great Wolf Lodge Bloomington MN is an excellent choice for a hotel near Mall of America is its famous indoor water park.
It complements the fun attractions at the Mall. Your fun doesn’t have to end at Mall of America, it can continue once you get back to your resort.
Even after you check out, you can stay for the whole day and still gain access to the Great Wolf Lodge indoor pool, water slides and activities.
Plus, the water is heated to 84-degrees year-round, so you’ll be nice and toasty, even in the winter.
The Great Wolf Lodge Minneapolis didn’t have our family favorite water slide – The Tornado, but they have the River Canyon Run, which we felt was just as good!
We weren’t expecting it to be so. You choose a movie theme as you race through the slide, lights are projected onto the slide and music is played as you fly up the sides of the water slide wall.
I felt like I was going to fall out every single time we went down. Kalyra and I screamed and giggled.
There is a kid’s water playground with the tipping buckets and smaller slides.
After several hours working up the courage, Savannah finally went on her first waterslide and loved it.
Seeing her face light up as she conquered her fear was a memory I won’t forget.
We could not get her off it after that.
My favorite was possibly Wolf Rider Wipeout the surf simulator.
I may have grown up by the beach but I’m not a great surfer. I had visions of me messing up my entry and completely wiping out, or worse having my costume bottoms get stripped.
I was going to chicken out but Kalyra coaxed me out of it.
I listened carefully to the lifeguard’s instructions and then executed my leap into the wave brilliantly. I had a blast riding the wave with no wipe outs or moons!
See how long you can ride the wave for and if you can manage a tricky 360 maneuver.
The Great Wolf adventures don’t end in a tube floating on the lazy river, although you’d be quite happy for it to end there!
3. Interactive MagiQuest Adventure
MagiQuest is our girl’s favorite activity at Great Wolf Lodge. It’s the best magical adventure designed for kids, ever.
I love how creative and engaging it is!
They can channel their inner wizard and use a special magic wand to cast spells and unlock new challenges and secrets as they explore the Great Wolf Adventure Park facility.
Because we had a longer stay at the Bloomington Great Wolf Lodge than normal, they were able to complete their MagiQuest immersive game experience and move onto the next level.
Not only do they have to solve riddles and find hidden treasures, the quest sends them walking up and do down two levels and across the length of the resort so it’s fantastic exercise.
What is MagiQuest?
MagiQuest is one of the most memorable vacation experiences we’ve had on our trip to Minnesota. It’s a fame that takes children into the fantastical world of magic and invites them into a world of play.
You purchase a wand at the MagiQuest Marketplace, choose a Magi name, and top it with special powers, receive instructions for your quest and get busy completing it.
Wave your wand at treasure chests, portals, crystals and other treasures you find within the halls of the Great Wolf Lodge.
You’ll be protecting realm portals, battling evil dragons, fighting goblin kings and collecting totems and crystals to earn the title of Master Magi.
Each quest takes 15 – 30 minutes to complete.
You can take your wand home as a souvenir and bring it back to use on your next Great Wolf Lodge stay. It was the first thing the girls packed for our trip to Bloomington.
If you want to drag your kids out of Mall of America, just tell them they can go home to your Great Wolf accommodation and play MagiQuest.
They’ll play it for hours!
4. Other Great Wolf Lodge Attractions
With our Wolf Attraction Passes, we were able to get glitter tattoos from Scooops Boutique, create our own Great Wolf Lodge kids character, play games at the Northern Lights Arcade and mine for gems at Oliver’s Mining Co.
We had a fun time playing Ten Paw Bowling as we always do.
And the girls scaled up the Rustic Ridge Climbing Wall. It’s their favorite thing to do and have attended rock climbing camp a couple of times so are quite the pros.
The Howler’s Peak Ropes Course was probably the most challenging indoor obstacle course I have done.
There’s a lot of breath catching when you look down from three stories above with only a tight rope between your feet. The most challenging was the log you had to walk across that rolled slightly under your feet.
Savannah and I were going to skip it until one of the guides took us yup to show us how to get across.
It was actually quite easy to cross and showed us just how much imagined fears get in the way of doing things.
And the secret obstacle was a short plank jutting out from the side. When you stepped on the edge it actually bounced down like a sea saw which gave you quite the shock!
5. The Iron Horse Fitness Center
I also loved the fitness center, which I’d visit at 6am every morning and had views over the water park.
It had all the equipment I needed, and plenty of space for me to complete my HIIT training.
Truly, order the wine down service.
Wine and chocolates delivered to your suite door! That’s the kind of memories we want to make – fun for the kids, time out for the parents.
A perfectly balanced life paired with a perfectly balanced red.
6. The Service at Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota
I’m writing a separate section about the service at the Great Wolf Lodge. I don’t usually do that, but it was a standout.
I mentioned it in this post about sharing my thoughts on being a foreigner in a strange land.
I’m not sure if it’s because we were Australian and sounded so different and exotic – well that could be part of the reason – but the staff were wonderful.
They were so friendly, energetic and helpful to us and the girls on every store and every attraction we visited.
I was really impressed.
That kind of service helps parents create those memorable moments. They feel safe knowing their children are being looked after and treated kindly and joyfully by all those they come in contact with.
I also loved how there was a free Great Wolf Lodge mobile app you can use for easy mobile check-in, food ordering, and quick communication.
Dining at Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota
You don’t have to wander too far from your activity to find food at the Great Wolf Lodge Minneapolis.
The Barnwood is an on-site restaurant that offers farm to table food choices with a diverse menu for kids, as well as tasty snacks and light meals.
Our favorite meal of the day was the wild mushroom risotto. The chicken wings are also delicious as an appetizer.
While there are a couple of gluten free options, I’d love to see a few more. It’s okay if you are staying one or two nights, but if you stay longer, you want a bit more variety.
Campfire Kitchen offers morning buffets and evening buffets on selected nights of the week. On other nights, it offers the Barnwood menu.
Hungry as a Wolf offers shareable pizzas, pastas and salads.
Buckets Incredible Craveables in the water park have family favorites, including delicious burgers.
Don’t forget to stop by Dunkin Donuts for a sweet treat and a good latte or across from it is your favorite cup of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey.
Great Wolf Lodge Rooms
There are a variety of rooms available at the Great Wolf Lodge. They offer themed suites with a living room area, which provides ample room for families.
Premium suites can host up to 13 people, whereas a standard suite can host up to 6 people. We had a Queen Cabin Suite, which could host 6 people.
It features a queen bed and a Great Wolf kids-themed suite KidCabin with two sets of bunk beds.
I loved how the kids had a separate room, which they were more than happy to play and bunk in.
Our room also had a balcony, flat-screen TV, air conditioning, refrigerator, and a comfortable space to sit and recharge with enough room for the entire family.
It was the perfect suite for our family of four. Check rates and availability here.
Grab the Wolf Pass for Discounts
If you’re staying at the Great Wolf Lodge for a few nights, it’s a great idea to consider grabbing a Wolf Pass (starting at $89.99 per package).
It gives you access to many of the Great Wolf Lodge activities and numerous attractions for a discounted price.
Wolf Pass Package Includes:
- One MagiQuest or ShadowQuest game
- One Compass Quest game
- Classic or color wand, standard topper or Magi belt
- One animal at Creation Station (outfit not included)
- One 12 oz. candy cup
- One pair of Great Wolf Lodge goggles
- One Glitz Glitter Tattoo
- One game at Howl at the Moon Glow Golf
- One Leather Treaty wristband
- One movie at Howly Wood XD Theater
- One game at Oliver’s Time Challenge
- One $5.00 Paw Points game card
- One game of bowling at Ten Paw Alley
You can also get a day pass if you don’t stay at the hotel and just want to enjoy the facilities.
The Verdict: Would We Recommend The Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota?
We loved our family getaway to The Great Wolf Lodge, it was the perfect combination of fun for the whole family, and a much-needed family’s rest.
While Bloomington might not have much to do in the way of attractions, a stay at The Great Wolf Lodge is the only place you need to visit for the ultimate family getaway, and because it’s indoors, it’s the best year-round family destination. Remember to book in advance as it’s popular!
See the Great Wolf Lodge in action in our video:
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Have you stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Minnesota? Or what would you most like to do on your first visit? Let us know in the comments.
