The Best Waterpark Tips: Kalahari, Great Wolf Lodge, and More

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My guys really enjoy waterparks like Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge, and we’re lucky enough to have family friends in different parts of the country who also enjoy them, so we’ve been to a bunch of places so far. We’ve talked about Walt Disney World and Universal Studios (Orlando) — and today I thought we’d share a few tips for waterparks, in case you’ve been thinking about going but haven’t yet taken the plunge (ha).

To me, Kalahari and GWL are a bit fungible in terms of experience, but they vary a bit depending on where exactly you are (e.g., Kalahari in the Poconos is a bit different than Kalahari in Sandusky), so these will be general tips.

Note: We realize that a lot of readers still may not feel comfortable going to an indoor waterpark, or even on any vacation right now (especially with kids who are too young to be vaccinated) — but most of our tips work just as well for outdoor waterparks and for day trips.

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Kat’s Waterpark Tips

General Advice

• There are often Groupons! We always check to see if dates align.
• If you’re worried your child isn’t a strong enough swimmer, don’t be. There are very few pools that are deep enough even allow swimming; most waterparks require young kids to wear life vests in the deeper areas like lazy rivers and wave pools; and there are also lifeguards all over the place. (There are lots of bigger life vests to be had also; at some waterparks like Volcano Bay at Universal they require even adults to wear them.) 
• Waterparks make great 1.5- to 3-day trips — perfect for a long weekend if you’re close enough to drive to one. They can be totally exhausting, though — the loud, whooshing sounds; the humidity; the constant chlorine smell — so I wouldn’t begin or end another trip with one. (Despite this, they’re somehow very sensory friendly — if you have a little one with sensitivities I’d give it a try.)
• Great Wolf Lodge is better for younger kids, IMHO (ages 2–12, maybe); there are more self-contained areas for easier supervision, whereas Kalahari is better for slightly older kids (maybe 5–15,). If your brand of parenting involves stiff drinks, Kalahari is much more liquor focused, with bartenders and full drinks. 
• Your kids will have an absolute BLAST, and as adults you’ll have more fun if you can go with family friends who also have kids. I would generally suggest 1:1 adult/kid supervision until your kids get much older — I think moms who go by themselves with, say, kids aged 2 and 7, don’t have a great time.
• If there’s a cabana option in the waterpark — particularly if you’re there with 5+ people and the option includes a mini-fridge and an easier way to order food — I would recommend it. (Some even have televisions!)  
• If you have color-treated (or keratin-treated) hair, get it wet and coat it with conditioner at the start of the day. After that, as often as needed, re-wet it in the shower with non-chlorinated water. (Hair is like a sponge; if it’s full of regular water it can’t hold on to chlorinated water.)

Best Tip I’ve Gotten: If your waterpark has “early admission” if you’re staying on resort property, as opposed to day-pass admission, use the early admission to go on the rides. The lazy river can wait until later; climb those seven flights of steps and get on those raft rides when it’s less busy!

Where We Stay: We always stay on resort property, but mostly because we’re completely exhausted. Food on property depends heavily on which area you’re in. 

What To Bring

• If your kids are still small enough for it to make sense, use our strategy — we always bring a stroller to “anchor” our spot in the waterpark, as well as to hold various goggles, thermoses, snacks we’ve sneaked in from outside, and more.
• You don’t need your own towels, but I always bring my Turkish towel (affiliate link) because it dries super fast and I can wrap it around my whole body really easily compared to the little towels they give you for free. (N.B. If sand is part of your resort, they also make these large microfiber towels that dry quickly and don’t get sand stuck to them.)  
• We go the super-dork route and consider our rashguards part of our swimming outfits, even if we’re inside; I often wear quick-drying shorts if I’m walking around the park (which I remove if I’m getting in the water).
• I’d also recommend flip flops, Crocs, or other water-friendly shoes for the kids, if only for hotel hallways.

General Advice

• Here’s something that didn’t even occur to me when we went to GWL in November one time instead of August: The waterpark itself will not be as warm as it is in summertime! Oops. We all thought it felt chilly in there, especially as we were walking around and standing on the stairs in the waterslide lines. Unlike in summer, we couldn’t dry our towels and swimsuits on our room’s balcony, either. I wouldn’t choose fall/winter again. (Note from Kat: We’ve been near December breaks and it’s been totally fine — it’s super humid inside!) 
• Your kids will probably find many things to covet at the gift shop, but we had a nice strategy this time — my parents gave my son a $25 gift card ahead of time. (Speaking of gift cards, my parents often give us GWL gift cards for Christmas and then we use them to pay for part of the cost of the room, so if your relatives ask you for holiday gift ideas, that’s a nice option!)
• GWL celebrates some holidays, e.g., Halloween and Christmas, and it’s fun to see the lodge all decorated. For our 2019 trip, we arrived a week before Thanksgiving, and almost everything was already up — Christmas wreaths, a huge Christmas tree, and so on. Employees started building and painting a big, wooden gingerbread house while we there, too.
• I suggest buying the full meal package — breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all family members every day (depending on the age of your kids and how much they’ll eat, that is). It’s expensive, but it’s a better value than buying meals separately, and breakfast and dinner are buffet-style. (Mmm, hot cinnamon rolls…) Kat wasn’t hugely impressed by the food at the GWL locations she’s been to, but at the Niagara Falls location, they do a great job! (I do wish the vegetarian choices were a bit more creative and more plentiful.) 
• One package that we DON’T buy is the Paw Pass, which includes activities, fun items, and goodies. We haven’t actually calculated whether it’s a good deal or not, but because we’re not interested in everything that’s included, we give it a miss. YMMV. (Kat’s note: LOL — we just got the Paw Pass for the first time recently, and it was definitely worth it just for the stupid MagiQuest plus other stuff; if people in your party will appreciate both a MagiQuest and Build-a-Bear, or whatever other major thing your pass is bundled with, it’s definitely worth it.)
• If your kid shows interest, I DO recommend MagiQuest. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt combined with a video game — you use a “magic” wand (yes, you have to buy one) to go on quests to collect virtual runes, which allow you to choose different “adventures” to go on. Wear comfortable shoes, because you will be walking A LOT (a nice counterpoint to the huge buffet meals!). Completing the entire game would take hours and hours, so each time you return to GWL, you and your kids can do more of it.

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Where We Stay

Great Wolf Lodge has started offering day passes for its U.S. locations — as of a few years ago, only resort guests could use the attached waterpark. Even if that choice was an option at their Canadian location, I’m pretty sure we’ll always stay right at GWL. If you can, I recommend forking over the extra money for a “special” room, like the ones with a “wolf den” or log cabin beds. Our son always loves the novelty of it. Niagara Falls also has cottages, which fit 6–10 guests, and they would be great for two or three families or an extended family. (Kat’s note: We go for the wolf den also!) 

What To Bring

• Beach towels, plus extra if yours don’t dry overnight
• A bathrobe or hooded towel for your kid
• A coverup for you 
• Water shoes like this (affiliate link)
• A big mesh beach bag like this or this or this (affiliate links)

Readers, what are your thoughts? Are waterparks part of your family vacation life? What are your best tips, and what are the best waterparks you’ve been to? Are you comfortable going to waterparks at this point?