Great Wolf Lodge is bringing its indoor water park and resort business to Florida, but not in Orlando as once was considered.
Great Wolf Lodge South Florida, now under construction, will open in Naples on Sept. 25, the company announced Wednesday. It will feature 500 guest suites, a 92,000-square-foot enclosed water park with 12 slides plus three pools, and a 60,000-square-foot family entertainment center.
“All of the fun is under one roof,” said Jason Bays, general manager for the new Great Wolf location.
The company, which originated in Madison, Wisconsin, and now is based in Chicago, already has made forays into the Sun Belt, including locations near Phoenix, near Atlanta and in Southern California. It has a resort under construction near Houston.
“We see that even in the warm-weather climates, the Great Wolf brand resonates just as strongly as it does in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast,” Bays said.
“The product is same. Our signature indoor waterpark is 84 degrees year-round, so it’s never too hot. It’s never too cold,” he said. “The weather’s perfect inside for what we do. It’s perfect on rainy days in the Sun Belt just like it would be perfect for snowy days in the Northeast.”
Unlimited use of the water park is included with stays at Great Wolf.
Although the company owned property in Orlando, it chose a Collier County location near Interstate 75 for its Florida debut.
In 2016, Great Wolf purchased about 50 acres near Walt Disney World and told Orange County officials it was contemplating its first resort in Florida. The land was across Interstate 4 from Disney Springs, with preliminary plans for a hotel with 800 units. That land is now owned by AIC Hotel Group, which has filed preliminary plans for four hotels with 1,934 rooms.
By 2020, Great Wolf had turned its attention to Southwest Florida, and a groundbreaking was held at the new 20-acre site in 2022.
“This model is more in line with our overall business strategy to kind of draw more from that local population versus having a resort in Orlando, where you’re pulling from basically everywhere around the U.S.,” said Jason Lasecki, vice president of corporate communications.
The company expects to draw customers from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando to the Naples location, he said.
Once the Florida, Houston and Connecticut locations are complete, 90% of the U.S. population will be within four hours of a Great Wolf Lodge, Lasecki said. Great Wolf Lodge South Florida is about 200 miles from downtown Orlando.
It’s a “quick getaway” mindset, he said.
A Great Wolf trip “isn’t something you need to plan six months in advance like some of the bigger Orlando attractions,” he said. “We are more of that kind of two- to three-nights [stay]. You’re unlikely to spend like an entire week at Great Wolf.”
Brandon Parks, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, has visited four Great Wolf Lodge locations and posted video reviews of them on YouTube.
“Usually two days is about the golden time for us,” Parks said.
Being indoors was not a minus, Parks said.
“The nice thing about being indoors is when you book it, you’re not going to care about what the weather is that day,” he said. “There’s no loss of enjoyment because you’re inside.”
The noise level isn’t bad in the enclosed spaces, he said.
“It’s nothing overpowering where I can’t talk to the person next to me,” he said. “You just hear water crashing.”
The company provided details about the Naples water slide lineup on Wednesday. The indoor park will include a tube-racing slide called Rapid Racer, two body slides, and an area named Otter Cave Waterworks with a 1,000-gallon bucket that dumps water onto patrons waiting below.
Making its Great Wolf debut will be Breakaway Bay, a family raft ride.
“They go into a big tornado bowl, they get sloshed around, they go through a straightaway, get turned around to 360 degrees and dropped back into a splash pool,” Bays said.
The family entertainment center will have bowling alleys, a ropes course, miniature golf and an arcade. Great Wolf also features MagiQuest, a resort-wide activity in which visitors use wands to produce special effects.
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Parks, whose YouTube account is named Life on Video, said he liked the variety inside the resorts, including food. There’s a fireside restaurant for upscale dining, and the resort has its own ice cream brand.
“It’s really for people of all ages from whether you’re a baby to a small toddler to grown adults. Everybody can enjoy and find something that’s fun for them to do,” Parks said.
dbevil@orlandosentinel.com
