Great Wolf Lodge plans early fall launch of water park resort in Naples

Great Wolf Lodge expects to make a big splash with the launch of its first Florida indoor water park resort on or before Sept. 25 in the Naples area.  

“Anything can happen with construction, but we feel really strongly about that date being open and welcoming our first families,” said Jason Bays, general manager of Great Wolf Lodge South Florida, which is the name the company has given its Collier County location.

It has been under construction on 20 acres between Paradise Coast Sports Complex and the Uline distribution center in the City Gate industrial park east of Collier Boulevard and north of Interstate 75’s Alligator Alley.  

Jason Lasecki, vice president of corporate communications for Chicago-based Great Wolf Resorts Inc., says Sept. 25 is the latest date the company’s 21st resort will launch. 

“We’re still hoping that maybe there’s some wiggle so we can move things up ahead, but there are a couple of construction milestones we still need to reach before we feel comfortable in shifting it,” Lasecki said.  

The $250 million resort is expected to bring more than 600 jobs to the area with 500 themed suites, a 92,000-square-foot indoor water park and 62,000 square feet of family-friendly attractions and restaurants, as well as a convention center and other amenities. With slides, pools and water features for every age and thrill level, the indoor water park is the marquee attraction at every Great Wolf location.  

The Naples water park will debut a new design and theme for Great Wolf Lodge with immersive and interactive storytelling elements to enhance the overall experience. The next-generation experience will reflect the whimsical adventures encountered by the Great Wolf Pack, the resort’s cast of character friends and stars of an animated film and series created by Great Wolf Entertainment and shown in-lodge and on the company’s YouTube channel.   

The water park’s centerpiece attraction is Otter Cave Waterworks, a multilevel, interactive water play structure with intertwined “leaking” water pipes, spray jets, four twisting body slides and Great Wolf Lodge’s signature, 1,000-gallon tipping bucket. In total, the new indoor water park will feature 12 slides, three pools and two interactive water play zones.  

A year before the resort broke ground in July 2022, the Collier County Commission approved a $15 million economic development agreement with Great Wolf Resorts. Still, the company says landing in Naples is a strategic move positioned between many of the state’s major population centers.  

“Most of our guests are coming within a four-hour drive radius of the resort, so Naples sort of strategically is in between. Miami, Fort Lauderdale obviously can come across the parkway and be right there on I-75. And, north we have Fort Myers, we have Tampa, Orlando area, too, that are able to come over for the carefree escape,” Bays said.  

“We are just excited to be in Naples. It’s a great location with a beach and shopping and things to do, so that’s why we’re here.”  

While most guests stay overnight for an average of two to four days to enjoy the full experience, Great Wolf Lodge also offers day passes on a limited basis starting at $50 or $60 per person.  

“While we do offer day passes, it probably isn’t something we’ll offer right out of the gate, right when it opens, because one of the things we’re very conscious of is that we want to make sure the water park experience is a great experience for guests that are spending the night and overnighting at the resort,” Lasecki said. “So, we’ll probably take a couple of months to understand what the usage of the water park is for our resort guests before we think about opening up any inventory for any day passes. So, if you’re thinking that on Day 1 you’re going to get a day pass when we open, it’s probably not going to be until maybe even early 2025 before we start opening up day passes.”  

Great Wolf Lodge also will expand local dining options.   

“Our restaurants will be open to the public. We’ll have a couple of different options,” Bays said. “We’ll have upscale fine dining in the Fireside restaurant. We’ll have Timbers, a more family-style, buffet-style. Then, we’ll have traditional water park fare. We’ll have pizzas, high-quality burgers, and we also have our own premium ice cream brand, Wood’s End Creamery, as well. We’ll have a Dunkin’ Donuts, so we’ll have a bunch of options.”  

The adventure park area of the resort also is open to the public. “We have a ropes course. We have miniature golf. We’ve got an arcade, family bowling there,” Lasecki said. “So, everything in the adventure park is also open to the general public. Really the only part of the resort that is ticketed or gated is the water park.”  

For those who have questioned having an indoor water park in the Sunshine State, Bays said guests can count on Great Wolf Lodge to provide a climate-controlled experience every day of the year. Applying sunscreen is not necessary, of course.  

“It’s 84 degrees, so it’s never too hot; it’s never too cold. It doesn’t rain,” he said. “It’s a fully immersive experience like nothing else anywhere around the entire state of Florida in terms of being able to do that.”  

In addition, the new Great Wolf Lodge will have an outdoor pool area with a bar, hot tub and cabanas. “It will be a really nice setup out there. We’ll have some outdoor dining, too,” Bays said. “That will be open year-round. Most of our lodges, that’s only open the summer months.”  

An overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge South Florida allows guests the opportunity to enjoy two days of indoor water park fun—with access starting after 1 p.m. on the day of check-in, and the ability to play in the water park until it closes on check-out day. Standard rates start at $199.99 per night.  

To celebrate the revealing of the water park’s details and revised opening date, Great Wolf Lodge is offering a special discount of 25% off standard rates for a single-night stay and 30% off multiple-night stays.  To get this special discount, guests must book before March 1.  This discount is valid for stay dates through Dec. 31. Guests can book by visiting greatwolf.com or by calling 1-888-983-WOLF (9653) and using the promo code, SLIDES.  

Water park features

Highlights of Great Wolf Lodge South Florida indoor water park will include:  

• Breakaway Bay: Making its Great Wolf Lodge debut, this exhilarating family raft adventure accommodates up to five riders. Rafts quickly accelerate before dropped into a cone shaped “tornado” where they slosh up one side and down another before exiting into a 360-degree loop. They head down a long straightway before entering a giant bowl that will spin them around before freefalling down into the splash channel.  
• High Paw Holler: A body slide filled with constant excitement has riders surging through enclosed flumes, racing along the outer wall of open-air saucers, and experiencing a few more twists and turns before splashing down into a water-filled runout.  
• Forest Flume: This open-flume body slide accelerates riders through 360-degree loops, high-banking turns and quick acceleration drops to provide an exhilarating ride.  
• Rapid Racer: Riders can race side by side down a course featuring drops, chutes and serpentine curves. Adding to the excitement of this winding tube ride, there are two sections of the course with only a low wall separating riders to help spur that competitive racing spirit.   
• River Canyon Run: A rollicking family raft ride that sends up to five riders on a whitewater adventure down one of the park’s longest slides. As you slide down, you’ll pass enchanted hieroglyphics with no steep drops.  
• Slap Tail Pond: A family favorite, the audio cue of a howling wolf brings this gigantic wave pool to life with waves reaching up to 3 feet. The active surf rolls through every 5 minutes.   
• Crooked Creek: A reprieve from the more active attractions in the waterpark, guests can relax and float on tubes down this winding lazy river that encircles the Otter Cave Waterworks play structure.   
• Otter Springs: A special section of the water park designed exclusively for toddlers and younger guests. This play pool is filled with small water slides featuring gentle slopes and tiny turns, making them the go-to attractions for the “under 42 inches” set.  
• Chinook Cove: Activity pool featuring basketball hoops, floating obstacles and other action-oriented elements for children.  
• Big Foot Pass: Unique water obstacle challenge where kids and adults alike balance on floating logs and lily pads while traversing the pool. Cargo netting hangs down to help guests cross from one side to the other.  

To read more at Gulfshore Business, click here.