It's always a pleasure for us to visit Great Wolf Lodge, especially our favorite location in Traverse City. We've been fortunate to visit during Howl-o-ween, and this past week we visited for Snowland, during a blizzard! (Click here for rates and availability at Great Wolf Lodge Traverse City)

Let me tell you - this is ONE fantastic family tradition in the making! From the moment you enter the lobby, the whole experience is incredible. Snow and lit trees and a mailbox to the North Pole, Santa, snowfall during storytime, and Candy Lane - truly something to behold!

We took our daughter (7) and a friend. Lillie has shared her experiences at Snowland here.  It was one huge snowball of fun for the whole family!

I was lucky enough to chat again with Rhonda Hampton, Director of Sales and Marketing at GWL Traverse City. The first thing I wanted to know was all about the trees and decorations in Candy Lane!

When you enter Candy Lane, you'll see an incredible display by the food and beverage department - a HUGE table decorated like the Candyland game! The accompanying tree was a gorgeous confection in pinks, reds, and whites.

After passing by the fire (with a few lounging wolves), you'll enter a walkway that has many trees decorated by the different departments at Great Wolf Lodge. Maintenance had an incredible Tool Tree, while the Spa put together a Disney Princess Tree. The front desk decorated with a New Moon/Twilight tree, and Aquatics had a funny Oscar the Grouch, complete with lights! Retail chose Aliens in the Attic, and Housekeeping chose Disney as well. Our favorite, however, was the one by Admin - it was the Great Wolf Giving Tree, with a bucket of candy, and the tree decorated with wolves! The entire display was SO very creative.

Kids could decorate cookies  and get chocolate milk. At the end, kids were given a craft kit to make a bookmark. This was a very special community event - I could sense the care that the employees of Great Wolf Lodge take with their jobs. Everyone working there is happy to be there.

Another fun thing that happens is the indoor snowfall!! Three times a day, during story time (10am, 8pm, and 9pm), the clock tower has an additional holiday song and then it SNOWS in the lobby! Seeing the joy and magic on the kids' faces was a gift in itself. Kids can also mail a special card to Santa.

Kids can also learn through North Pole University, completing 5 activities/learning tasks to get a prize and a diploma for being a certified elf! Our daughter and her friend loved it. It also helped to get the girls active outside of the waterpark.

Rhonda told me that Snowland is Great Wolf Lodge's most popular event all year. Santa comes on some weekends, and there is a full schedule of performers lined up - this weekend will feature the Disney Dancers! Snowland winds down on New Year's Eve with a Snowball Celebration - there will be a glow party with a DJ, a country and western party, a balloon drop in the Waterpark, karaoke, DJs, prizes, and more. This sounds like a family event not to be missed.

We just love Great Wolf Lodge Traverse City, and are so happy to have had the chance to play at Snowland and Candy Lane. We concur with another guest we overheard in the lobby, saying "I can't wait to come back next year!" It's a magical experience, especially when it is cold outside, and so warm and friendly inside.

Love Great Wolf Lodge? We do, too! Here's our Compendium of Articles on our stays at Great Wolf Lodge:

Great Wolf Lodge Traverse City

Catching up at Great Wolf Lodge, Traverse City

Magical Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge

A Kid's Perspective on Howl-o-Ween at Great Wolf Lodge

Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge: A Kid's Perspective