Great Wolf Lodge Covid-19 Paw Pledge Commitment + Family Activities

I don't think I'm alone when I say that Covid-19 has thrown a wrench in the family trips we'd planned for 2020. Since most summer activities were canceled, we thought it would be fun to visit our kids' favorite place; Great Wolf Lodge! Our Bloomington, Minnesota location is now open and we were thrilled to hear we could enjoy all of the activities with new safety protocols in place. I've partnered with Great Wolf Lodge to share our experience and the new Paw Pledge Commitment for families staying at the resort.

Great Wolf Lodge Paw Pledge

Like most companies during this pandemic, Great Wolf Lodge has had to make some changes for the safety of guests and staff. I was impressed with all of the precautions they have in place and the Paw Pledge they've committed to in order to open and run effectively. Check out some of the changes you can expect to see when visiting Great Wolf Lodge.

Guests are asked to wear masks in all areas of the resort aside from the water park and while eating at the on-site restaurants. If you misplace or forget your mask, the resort provides them for free to all guests. You'll also find sanitizer stations throughout Great Wolf Lodge and signs reminding guests to keep six feet between themselves and other families. We were thrilled that Wiley and Violet still made their appearances in the lobby so the kids could grab photos with them!

In the water park you'll find that the seats are configured in groupings six or more feet apart. There are also six-foot place markers in lines for water slides and other activities. Great Wolf Lodge graciously offers floating devices for kids, but they have a new system in place to allow for disinfecting between users. You also check out and return towels using your room key which has been the standard in the past as well, but ensures towels are getting washed and sanitized between families.

Guests are encouraged to stay six feet apart in the water park. We really had no problem with that and the resort never seemed too busy. We were able to walk on to most water slides with little to no wait time which the kids loved! Both of them were tall enough to try the body slide at this visit and they went on it over and over. They also spent a lot of time in the lazy river, wave pool, and the Fort Mackenzie treehouse.

As you probably remember from our previous stay, Great Wolf Lodge offers passes for the other amazing activities at the resort. When we booked our stay, I was concerned that some of the activities would be restricted or closed because of the virus. We were SO happy to find that wasn't the case; everything was open and running with increased safety protocols.

Our kids had so much fun playing MagiQuest during this stay! With their Wolf Passes they were able to get a wand and a game for free, and we purchased additional toppers for fun. [When you stay at Great Wolf Lodge, be sure to get a pass so your kids can take advantage of all the activities for a discounted rate!] When you need a break from the water park and want to get a great workout in, MagiQuest is the perfect adventure game! We traveled all over the resort, back and forth completing quests. Eventually the kids finished the whole game and became Master Magis, complete with a ceremony and pin! One of the coolest things about MagiQuest is that it's linked directly to your child so you can start and stop your quest at any point and come back later, even during future stays.

Both kids were also tall enough to do the ropes course during this trip! Lincoln needed a chaperone with him so Tyler went along. Usually Great Wolf Lodge has close-toed shoes for guests to wear but that's not an option during this pandemic. Just keep in mind that you'll need close-toed shoes on the ropes course and plan accordingly!

Lincoln spent about half an hour on the ropes course, but Harper was on it for over an hour! There was no wait to get on and the ropes course is fairly spread out so multiple guests can participate at one time as long as they avoid the same platforms.

I was curious how Great Wolf Lodge would handle social distancing in the arcade, but they had it all worked out! In multi-player games (as pictured below) only one of the seats can run at a time. Lincoln was pretending to play while Harper actually was, but his seat wasn't functional. This was the case throughout the arcade to ensure families stayed separate. There were also partitions set up around games to keep players distanced while still allowing for lots of fun!

Along with the paid activities, Great Wolf Lodge is still offering free fun for the kids including story time, bingo, dance parties, and more! In order to help families social distance, they've made squares on the carpet in the lobby. Each family can grab a square to participate in the activities while staying six feet from others.

Great Wolf Lodge has a few restaurants on-site and I've got more details about those in my dining options post. During this trip we ate breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, had pizza at Hungry as a Wolf, supper at Campfire Kitchen, and ice cream at Ben & Jerry's! All of the meals were delicious and convenient since they were on-site.

One of the things our kids love best at Great Wolf Lodge is that the rooms have bunk beds! Our room also had a balcony over the water park and the kids loved watching the lifeguards prep things in the morning before things opened. As always, our room was clean and it was easy to request things like towels and pillows. Great Wolf Lodge has a texting concierge service so there's no need to stop at the desk multiple times during your stay. We were having so much fun that we extended our stay another night and we were able to do that via text!

We had the most amazing time at Great Wolf Lodge during this little stay-cation! I feel like the precautions set up at the resort make it very safe for families to visit right now. Book your stay or find the nearest Great Wolf Lodge location to plan your next trip! And check out my video below showcasing some of our favorite activities!

Disclaimer: We received one complimentary night and wolf passes for our kids to share about our stay. As always, all opinions are my own.