We took the kids on vacation as part of their Christmas present. We hit the Wisconsin Dells for some indoor waterpark fun!
**Comments on our irresponsibility and how dumb we are for going somewhere in a pandemic will be deleted. We practiced social distancing, masks, and all the good stuff you're supposed to do😉**
We booked Great Wolf Lodge because several of our friends have had great experiences there. We planned to stay Sunday through Wednesday, but as fate would have it, Winter Storm Ivy gave us an extra day in Wisconsin. Our extra night gave us the chance to stay at Kalahari Resort as Great Wolf was full. The consecutive stays gave me an opportunity to really compare the two resorts.
Great Wolf started out rough for us. Check in was a 4pm. We arrived shortly after 4 and was told that our room was not available and they'd send a text when it was ready. After traveling six hours, I was a little frustrated, but dug the kids' swimming suits out and went to the water park. Since we couldn't unload our bags yet, I was still in street clothes; after over an hour of still not receiving a text (I was hot both literally and figuratively), I went to the front desk to inquire. Initially I was told that there still wasn't a room available. When I inquired about what my options were since I was still being charged for the time, there was suddenly a room available. There was no real orientation of the premises given, just here's your room key and if you need anything in your room use the text app.
The lack of orientation left me going back to the front desk multiple times with questions. Each time I was left underwhelmed with the lack of hospitality and helpfulness of the staff. Throughout our stay I would say that a total of five staff were kind and helpful. I don't mind paying more for a trip, but as part of it, I expect hospitality to be top notch...I think that's part of why as parents Diseny is a little more palatable, as we get raked over the coals, they make it enjoyable and are trained to be appreciative; that was not the case at Great Wolf.
Wins for Great Wolf:
*The kids enjoyed the waterpark, though as a parent, I didn't love the layout and there didn't seem to be enough tables or chairs to store our belongings.
*The kids loved having their "own room" with bunk beds. It was a huge plus having their own area and a separate television for them to watch as we wound down for the night. They also loved the balcony view from our room.
*Room keys were part of wristbands and you have the option to link your payments through there as well for any additional purchases made through out the resort. This is super convenient as you don't have to carry your room key and payment and try to keep track of those in the waterpark.
*The wet bar area had a nice size refrigerator so we brought lunch meat for sandwiches for a few meals.
Great Wolf misses:
*Hospitality was definitely lacking. Almost any question asked was more of an irritation to the staff as opposed to being an opportunity for them to be helpful and share information (like where's a great place to get coffee or dinner, or where do I use this part of the Wolf Pass?).
*Wolf pass: We splurged on this. It included MagiQuest which only one of the four enjoyed. She got her money's worth on that part, but it was a waste for the other three. Build-A-Bear was included, but not outfits. The oldest didn't really have excitement over it (not that I expected much due to her age), but the experience wasn't quite the same as an actual Build-A-Bear shop. The arcade pass only had $5 it and we ended up purchasing more for each card. Really we'd have been better off just buying the arcade cards. The bracelets that the girls got with their names engraved they loved.
*The beds and pillows were not comfortable. Definitely bring your own pillows.
*The app that they encourage you to download for activities is only compatible with iPhone and has poor reviews. I couldn't even find it in the PlayStore for android
*The hot tub was closed which didn't make much sense considering the pools and wave pool were open.
As I mentioned we moved resorts on Wednesday due to the storm impacting travel. Our check-in time at Kalahari was 4 pm, but you can arrive at noon and access the waterpark. Since we had to check out of the other by 11am, we decided to grab lunch and then hit Kalahari. When I went to get the park passes, at the front desk (which had 12 registars available as opposed to 3 at the other so my wait time was significantly less), I was advised that they had a room available right then. Major points on my scorecard! The lady also gave me info on where everything was and any additional services that were available, it's a big place, so I appreciated the orientation and it kept me from having to come back repeatedly.
Kalahari wins:
*The waterpark was awesome! I loved the layout and it was great for all ages. They had accommodations from baby on up. The indoor/outdoor hot tub was a major hit with the kids. Lots of slides and the staff was very interactive at all stations.
*The hospitality was great. Everyone was helpful and friendly -- To me, that's worth a lot.
*I absolutely loved the decore. The African theme ran throughout, but not in an overly commercial way. The halls had actual pictures taken in Africa and facts about each picture next to it. African history was in rich throughout and I loved that.
*The rooms didn't have a separate location for the kids, but they were large rooms and the beds and pillows were miles above the other place in comfort. We also just booked the first room available, we likely would have had more options had we booked in advance.
*Only one slide required me lugging a raft to it. The others were all sent up via conveyor belts!
*The sweet shops were delish and they had a huge selection!
We didn't get to experience Tom Foolery's that's attached since we only stayed one day so I can't review that part of the resort.
Kalahari misses:
Honestly, not much.
*Room keys were not part of the wristband and payment wasn't linked, so we had to carry both to the water park.
*When entering the cafeteria area, it smelled like a zoo. Really. It truly gave the outdoor zoo smell, but it was short lived and everywhere else smelled normal.
If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for a great local coffee shop. So I found one just a few short miles from the resorts. If you like coffee, check out Bella Goose Coffee, great coffee, awesome views and though I didn't try any, the food and desserts looked scrumptious.
Also a hit with the family was B-Lux Grill and Bar. The burgers were great as were the cheese curds. They had delicious shakes on the menu and the kids loved the Oreo and the strawberry shortcake ones. For a treat out, it's worth a stop.
Overall, we really enjoyed our trip. Our main goal was to hit the waterpark and let the girls have some fun. Both places did that. Should we venture back, we'll land at Kalahari (prices are comparable if you book in advance). We'll definitely hit the coffee shop again if we return. Something tells me that we will as the girls are already plotting our return which tells me that it was a success! Mom and Dad also learned an important lesson about traveling North in December (not recommended 🤪)!
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