The first Great Wolf Lodge water park resort in Illinois has an opening date: July 1.
That’s when Great Wolf Lodge Illinois — the 17th North American location for Chicago-based Great Wolf Resorts — will debut its 80,000-square-foot indoor water park and 414 guest suites in north suburban Gurnee, near Six Flags Great America.
Company officials said Great Wolf officially began booking reservations Wednesday, and it’s offering a grand-opening discount of up to 30 percent off standard rates for stays through Dec. 30.
Standard rates start at $199.99 a night and include water park access for up to four guests. The grand-opening deal doesn’t apply to certain blackout periods and is available for a limited number of rooms each date. Customers must make their reservation before March 9 by visiting greatwolf.com or calling 1-888-960-9653 and use the promo code “GRAND.”
The Northwoods-themed property is on the site of the former KeyLime Cove, a tropical-styled indoor water park resort that Great Wolf bought last year. The company is pumping more than $60 million into transforming the previous aquatic playground, nearly doubling the size of the old water park and adding a lazy river, more slides and an outdoor pool, among other things.
Family-focused entertainment that doesn’t involve getting wet will include the Great Wolf Adventure Park, featuring an arcade, ropes course, bowling, mini-golf and a rock-climbing wall, as well as MaqiQuest, a live-action adventure game in which guests search the resort to uncover tools needed to take down dragons and goblins.
Guests will have several options when it comes to food too. Campfire Kitchen will be a buffet-style breakfast and dinner joint, while Barnwood is a more upscale alternative with “farm-to-fork creations and craft cocktails.” Hungry as a Wolf will serve handmade pizza and pasta, and poolside fare can be had from Buckets Incredible Craveables.
Great Wolf got its start 20 years ago in the water park mecca of the Wisconsin Dells. It’s been growing at an impressive clip. The Gurnee property at 1700 Nations Drive is one of two new resorts being added to the portfolio this year. The other is near Atlanta and is slated to open in late spring of this year. Another Great Wolf Lodge is headed for Scottsdale, Ariz., in late 2019.
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