My family recently spent 1 night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, CA (aka Anaheim/Orange County/Southern California). The overall experience was fantastic from start to finish.
Arrival: We parked our car in the huge self-park lot and worked our way to the hotel lobby. Since we had used the Great Wolf Lodge app to pre-check in, we were able to bypass the front desk and go to the little kiosks to complete the check-in procedure. The employee that helped us was very friendly and helpful. She was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions. She also noticed that we had been over-billed because of the way I entered the reservation and was able to deduct the over-payment from the amount we had left to pay at the counter. The entire process took us about 10 minutes.
Hotel: After check-in, we took the elevator up to our floor and turned into what looked like the world's longest hallway. The room itself was surprisingly spacious and very clean. The standard room included two comfortable beds, plus one pull-out sofa bed, which my 7-year-old son was super excited to use. The room also included a TV, refrigerator, microwave and a safe. The AC unit for the room was relatively quiet and easy to use through the thermostat. The shower provided ample pressure, but sprayed everywhere.
Waterpark: The park provided enough entertainment for our 7-year-old son and 15-month-old daughter. My son enjoyed all of the different offerings the park offered, but spent a majority of his time at Chinook Cove, Big Foot Pass and Slap Tail Pond (Wave Pool). He also enjoyed going on the waterslides and told me his favorites were Howlin' Tornado and Coyote Canyon. Our 15-month-old daughter spent most of her time in the kiddie pool section that provided plenty of fun activities for her, including pint sized water slides! She also went into the wave pool and lazy rivers with us. Maybe it was due to the time of year we went, but the waterpark wasn't very crowded. The longest we waited for a slide was about 10 minutes, of which 5 minutes was spent waiting for the tubes.
Breakfast Buffet: We added the Breakfast Buffet to our stay, which was a great decision. The food was excellent and the characters interacted well with all of the guests. Our daughter started off a little afraid, but ended up with a big smile on her face. The food options offered something for kids, as well as adults.
Activities: While not in our room or the waterpark, the hotel offers several activities for the kids to enjoy. We watched the animals show in the lobby and participated in some craft activity where the kids made bracelets/necklaces. There was also a pajama dance party in the lobby where my daughter went crazy for the Baby Shark song!
Overall: All of the staff members that we interacted with were friendly and helpful. They also seemed to be very good at working with younger kids. We had a wonderful experience and we can't wait to go back!
