For our third Disneyland trip, we decided to stay local for three nights locally at Great Wolf Lodge.
Although we live in LA, just 45min away from the park, it turns out to be 1hour and 30min drive each way due to traffic in the morning and evening, so it makes the whole experience much more enjoyable, especially now, that Sofia only does one nap and she can't nap on the way there like we did when she was a baby (at 9 and 12 months).
It was INCREDIBLE to wake up and just be 10min away from the park. And be in bed just 10min after leaving the park after a 12hour day!
So we stayed for three nights, three days. We arrived at 9pm on Wednesday evening, checked in and went straight to bed. Then we did two full park days, and went to bed as soon as we got back. But the third morning, Saturday, when we woke up, we had the whole day to enjoy the hotel: so much to do!!
It's such a kid-friendly hotel and makes the trip very fun and entertaining. I feel like we did not have to "look for things to do" like we do on trips and hotels, because it's purposely set up for kids to enjoy. I would say, anyone from toddlers to older kids in their early teens can enjoy. But especially 2-12! Sofia was 3 months away from 2 and she had a BLAST!
What we liked about this hotel?
1. 10min away from Disneyland.
2. They offer a free shuttle service to the park, which makes it more hassle-free, just make sure to call to reserve your spot in advanced.
3. They offer breakfast buffet with tons of healthy options (hey, unhealthy ones too if you are interested hehe) and their Characters come to take photos with you. Sofia was scared when they came up close, but she loved them from far away, and for older kids it is ADORABLE.
4. They have an indoor water park with 14 slides and 4 pools where we had a blast, they have an area for toddlers with three slides for them and tons of water toys! She was obsessed. And if you have older kids, they will love the wave pool, lazy river, and the big slides... even for adults they are pretty intense! They offer towels, have a pool bar, and, it's all indoors so you don't have to worry about the time of the year you go!
5. They have a build-a-bear shop, Sofia did Violet, so cute!
6. They have a HUGE arcade with tons of games, a mini golf glow at night course and a bowling alley!
7. They had a scavenger hunt around the whole hotel, they gave you a magic wand and they had surprises and secrets all around. Even Sofia knew how to do it and all the kids were having a blast.
8. They have a big on-site parking lot and valet.
9. Rooms are around $200 so it's pretty reasonable priced based on the fact that it's pretty much at Disneyland and offers so much entertainment.
10. All rooms have microwave and empty fridge, which makes it easy if you are coming with babies and toddlers to Disneyland for a few days.
PS: We got the Paw Pass which included access to so much: a build a bear, points at the arcade, goggles at the water park, etc. There are other passes that include more and less. This was a good mid point.
And I would even recommend this spot to enjoy for a day if you live nearby and have kids!
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