Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee IL Review with Tips

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Waterpark activities at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee.
The Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee has an 80,000-square-foot indoor water park. Photo credit: Danielle Braff

Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee IL Review with Tips

Just a few weeks after it opened, I checked out Gurnee’s Great Wolf Lodge with my 6-year-old, 9-year-old, my husband and my parents. Gotta see if this place is good for everyone, right? We’re waterpark resort aficionados, thinking nothing of the 3-hour drive to the Wisconsin Dells because we have a Kalahari craving. So we were so relieved when Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee opened just an hour outside of Chicago. It offers everything we need — an 80,000-square-foot waterpark and more.

Splish Splash: Kiddie Areas at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee

There's plenty for little kids at the Gurnee Great Wolf Lodge
Splash pads, sprinklers and zero-depth pools are everywhere at the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee, Illinois. Photo: Danielle Braff

They truly thought of everyone with Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee. While the former waterpark’s age range maxed out around the 8-year-old mark (let’s face it, bigger kids need bigger water slides), this one has something for everyone. There are plenty of baby, toddler and preschool areas, complete with cute sprinklers, tiny wading spots and mini-slides. But you expected that, right?

Wet and Wild: Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee for Bigger Kids

In the middle of the indoor waterpark, there are a handful of medium-size slides with plenty of water features including that one that adults dread (and I think kids do too?): the gigantic bucket of water that will randomly spill on your head at any moment. If the center of the waterpark and all those slides look familiar to anyone who has ever been to the Wisconsin Dells water parks, you’re not going crazy. It was actually made by the same people who made all those fancy Dells waterparks (so no need to go there).

We Wanna Play Too: The Biggest Kids at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee

Scary slides at the Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee
Scary slides are some of the newest additions at the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee, Illinois. Photo by Danielle Braff

The resort has the coveted toilet slide – you know, the one where you feel like you’re being flushed down the toilet . . . backwards. My 9-year-old was too scared to try it, and my 6-year-old was too short. So I did it. It starts with a scary drop just like a roller coaster, before you go spinning down the toilet. Best. Ride. Ever!

There also is a family version of this. Up to five people can sit on a tube. We did this one about 10 times. There are other slides for the older set that aren’t as scary, and these kept my tweens occupied for a full day. Another fun area was the wave pool, which we all loved.

Beyond the Lazy River: Grandparents at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee

The lazy river is great for grandparents at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee
My mother didn’t leave her tube on the lazy river all day. Photo by Danielle Braff

My father became a daredevil here, and ditched us all to go on the crazy high water slides (who knew?). But my mother spent the entire weekend on the lazy river. She met another grandmother on it, and the two of them discussed life as they floated around and around again.

Other Activities at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee

Mining for rocks will keep you dry at Gurnee Great Wolf Lodge
Mining for rocks was just one of a dozen activities my kids loved to do outside the water. Photo: Danielle Braff

If you don’t purchase the Paw Pass or the Wolf Pass, you’re going to miss out on many of the best activities that Great Wolf Lodge offers. For about $50 (the Wolf Pass), you’ll get access to the ropes course, mini golf course, mini-bowling, a $20 voucher for the arcades game room, rock climbing, a Harry Potter-like game and mining for jewels. The Paw Pass is slightly less expensive, and gives you a little less access. If you decide to do each activity individually, it’s ridiculously expensive, but the packages are totally worth it.

My older daughter did the ropes course nine times, and even my parents tried it once. It was a little tricky for my 6-year-old, but she made it. For her, the best land-activity was MagiQuest, which was essentially a scavenger hunt throughout Great Wolf Lodge, complete with wands and a little magic, Harry Potter-style. The 24-hour arcade is always a draw, and we loved the mini-bowling alley.

There’s also an outdoor pool (in addition to the indoor pool) and a fitness center, but it seems to me that guests can get all of the family fun and exercise they need at the water park.

Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee Food Choices

The yogurt parfait at the Grand Wolf Lodge Gurnee
The granola parfait was my favorite meal here. Photo by Danielle Braff

Surrounding the resort is just about every fast-food spot you could imagine, from Culver’s to Burger King. But if you want to stay in the resort, there are plenty of dining options – and we tried them all. Let’s face it: Great Wolf Lodge was designed for kids, so the meals revolve around pizza, chicken tenders and mac & cheese. But they added an adorable permanent taco food truck, along with a farm to fork restaurant (I had breakfast there and loved the yogurt parfait) that’s good enough to attract outsiders. Those with a sweet tooth will be pleased to find a candy store, ice-cream and donuts.

If the kids are too tired to sit through dinner in a restaurant, retire to your room, call the front desk and order room service.

Rooms at Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee

One of my favorite things about Great Wolf Lodge resorts is the themed family suites with bunk beds for the kids. It’s brilliant. The kids love the novelty of sleeping in the bunk beds in the cozy cove — it feels like a built-in fort. In most resorts, it’s those two tiny double beds (or queens if you’re lucky). We either make the kids sleep in the same bed and they end up wrestling all night, or we split up and each take a kid. Either way, it’s less than fabulous.

But bunk beds works for everyone.

Wolf Den family suites at the Gurnee resort come with a free wifi, flat screen TV, hair dryer, coffer maker and mini fridge so you can bring your own snacks to save a couple of bucks on food. The Gurnee resort also offers free parking.

Room rates are for four people and include the water park access. There’s a sleeper sofa that accommodates 2 more, but the room rate increases.

What Else to See and Do in Gurnee IL

The waterpark resort, at 1700 Nations Drive, is located just across the street from Six Flags Great America, a huge outdoor amusement park and just minutes from Gurnee Mills, an outlet shopping mall. So if you can convince dad to shepherd the kids in the water park, you can sneak out to do a little shopping.

Is this your first visit? Ultimate First-Timers Guide to Great Wolf Lodge

One response


  1. Un professional un organized rude staff never going back PERIODDD

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