Yes, the price of Great Wolf Lodge is worth it for taking your toddler. After taking Maverick to Great Wolf Lodge at 19 months old, 3 years old and again at 5 years old, I can confidently say YES! Book it!
Great Wolf Lodge is the perfect place to create memories for your toddler. Since our last visit (he was a new 5 year old), he hasn’t stopped asking when we’re going back to Great Wolf Lodge, and this time, he’s hoping to stay there for 10 days, ha!
Overall, we had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge with a toddler in tow and would recommend it, but would advise you to go with another family with slightly older kids to break up some of the monotony of watching a tot continually.
It was nice to be able to share the mental load of water safety with a toddler who isn’t yet a strong swimmer while switching with another mom while I played with her swim-confident kids.
Here’s a few considerations in deciding if Great Wolf Lodge is appropriate for your tot or preschooler.
XO,
East Valley Moms
Is Great Wolf Lodge water park safe for toddlers?
Yes, Great Wolf Lodge Scottsdale creates a safe environment with a fully gated section just for babies and tots!
The epic splash pad area is a favorite for the littlest of guests, but there’s a whole baby pool area (with lifeguards) that includes a zero-depth walk-in pool.
In this section of the water park there’s three “tot water slides” that littles can confidently do themselves (with parents waiting at the bottom to catch them).
We usually use this area as our “homebase” for water park time. It’s a little less busy than the rest of the water park, and it’s where we end up spending most of our time.
Mom Hack: Every 10-15 minutes a wolf howl alerts swimmers that waves are coming to the wave pool. My son has loved the wave pool since his first visit at 19 months old. It feels very safe, even holding a little one in the waves.
If your tot is a busy body like mine was, just go on a lazy river float for the best snuggles. Seriously, I floated around (and around, and around) the lazy river for 30+ minutes while he snuggled on me in the tube. It was a nice break from chasing him in the wave pool when I needed a breather.
Are there lifeguards on duty at Great Wolf Lodge?
There are so many lifeguards everywhere! Our whole party was pleasantly surprised with just how many guards were focused on water safety during our stay.
Dry land activities for tots at Great Wolf Lodge
For tots and preschoolers, plan to spend most of your time at the water park.
The land-section of the resort (called Adventure Park) is offers a few parts that are great for littles, including:
Roller ball: like a mini bowling alley, this was so much fun for my little guy when we went at 19 months old and at 3 years old and even at age 5- Arcade: good for kids of all ages, the arcade has a big variety of games that even the littlest will have fun playing
- Mini golf: Great for tots and preschoolers, the mini golf course was geared towards littles and bigs. Plus, if you have older kids as well, the golf is under the ropes course so you can keep an eye on a large age gap.
How can you save money on a Great Wolf Lodge Scottsdale visit?
Take advantage of all the free programming offered for families daily at the resort. Great Wolf Lodge does a nice job of offering other programming throughout the mornings and evenings to break up the day.
We did coloring at the arts/crafts pop-up, story time before bed one night, and even the dance party another night.. One piece of advice: let your usual time schedule go for your time at Great Wolf Lodge to take advantage of all it’s offerings.
Other budget hacks for Great Wolf Lodge: Get the maximum number of waterpark wristbands per room! You can invite another family to come play for the day, which is fun! (Don’t forget to get the wolf ears!)
Keep an eye out for annual sales and deals; we recently scored a one-night stay including taxes/fees for $135 for May 2025.
If you want to save on food while staying on property, plan hotel room picnic type foods for a few of the meals during your stay.
Thinking about heading there this fall? Check out our guide to staying at Great Wolf Lodge over fall break/spooky season! For more Arizona travel guides with toddlers, check out our family travel guides here.
