Great Wolf Lodge Southern California Seasonal Celebrations

Great Wolf Lodge Southern California dazzles families with its waterpark, arcade, Magiquest electronic scavenger hunt, spa especially for kids, and much more. Add seasonal celebrations to the mix, and this hotel in Orange County becomes even more enchanting. Discover Snowland for Christmas and Hanukkah, the New Year’s Eve Snowball, Spring-A-Palooza, and Howl-O-Ween each fall.

Indoor snow thrills children at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California during the winter holidays
Indoor snow thrills children at Great Wolf Lodge during the winter holidays (Photo credit: Great Wolf Lodge)

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Snowland Christmas and Hanukkah

From Thanksgiving weekend through January, Great Wolf Lodge Southern California hosts Snowland. This holiday bonanza is replete with fun activities and eye-popping decorations. Indoor snow that melts into the warm indoor waterpark, anyone?

At this magical winter wonderland, expect an annual tree lighting ceremony and visits with Santa Claus. Guests can even dine inside a life-sized gingerbread house! What’s more, children can enroll in North Pole University to complete holiday-themed activities and receive their official “Snowploma” plus a special-edition Rowdy the Reindeer trading card.

Make your Christmas or Hanukkah stay even more memorable by booking a Snowland Suites as an upgrade. These special suites come decked out with garlands, twinkling lights, and a fully decorated holiday tree. Guests will receive a free copy of their winter storybook, Unique as a Snowflake. As a special surprise, a Great Wolf Kids character will bring young guests an evening milk and cookies delivery.

Upgrade to a Great Wolf Lodge suite all decked out for the holidays with a full-sized tree and more
Upgrade to a Great Wolf Lodge suite all decked out for the holidays with a full-sized tree and more (Photo credit: Great Wolf Lodge)

New Year’s Eve Snowball

New Year’s Eve is traditionally a grown-up holiday, leaving parents struggling to come up with something special to do together as a family on the year’s final night. Thankfully, Great Wolf Lodge Southern California hosts a kid-friendly celebration called Snowball.

This party features an impressive buffet and celebration in the hotel’s Conference Center. There’s also music, a ball drop and more to help families ring in the New Year.

Spring-A-Palooza is a colorful celebration of all things spring at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California
Spring-A-Palooza is a colorful celebration of all things spring at Great Wolf Lodge (Photo credit: Great Wolf Lodge)

Spring-A-Palooza

Welcome warmer weather and budding flowers with Spring-a-Palooza at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California from mid-March to mid-April. This spring celebration includes colorful decorations and hand-made gardens in full bloom around the Grand Lobby.

Families can take part in crafts, scavenger hunts, Grand Lobby picnics, and more. Kids especially love seeking the Easter Peeps hidden throughout the property.

A giant balloon spider greets guests at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California during Howl-O-Ween
A giant balloon spider greets guests at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California during Howl-O-Ween (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)

Howl-O-Ween

A giant smiling spider made of balloons welcomes guests to the Grand Lobby during Howl-O-Ween at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California. Kids and adults alike dress up for trick-or-treating along an indoor trail to collect treats.

Children love showing off their ensembles in nightly costume parades for a chance to win a cool prize. Didn’t pack your costume? No worries! Guests all receive a set of Halloween-themed wolf ears at check-in.

Round off each evening with Spooktacular Story Time with the Great Wolf Kids characters in the lobby. As though that weren’t enough, on weekends guests can enjoy Monster Bash Dance Parties where they can dance and play games.

My kids trick-or-treating at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California
My kids trick-or-treating at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)

Why Celebrate Holidays at Great Wolf Lodge

My family was lucky to get a chance to experience Halloween at Great Wolf Lodge Southern California in Garden Grove, California. The party was so hoppin’ — my family considered foregoing presents in favor of booking a stay at this hotel for Christmas instead of exchanging gifts.

Normally my kids would balk at the idea of giving up a pile of presents. But when presented with the lure of Great Wolf Lodge Southern California over the holidays, they jumped up and down and said, “Yesssss!” Now that’s a hotel that understands how to make families happy.

Great Wolf Lodge Holiday Happenings Year-Round

Learn More

Read more about Great Wolf Lodge Southern California on TripAdvisor. You may also want to check out tips for visiting Great Wolf Lodge from our friends at Trekaroo. If you love Great Wolf Lodge’s indoor water park, then you’ll love this list of the best indoor hotel pools for kids!

Have you ever stayed at a Great Wolf Lodge? Let us know in the comments below!

A Note from The Travel Mama: My family and I were hosted by Great Wolf Lodge Southern California. All opinions are my own, as always. This story includes affiliate links. Your purchases and clicks help to keep TravelMamas.com a free resource for readers like you.

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26 Comments

  1. I haven’t stayed here nor at any place near Southern California but seeing this nice place just makes me want to come up with an excuse to stay there for a week. The rooms look cozy, the halls and entertainment areas all look awesome!

    1. It’s the full-sized holiday tree that really wows me! I hope you can go over the holidays someday!

  2. We have not stayed at one. None are close but I am going to see about staying one for a holiday… looks like a blast and a great place for a vacation.

    1. I hope you can visit Great Wolf Lodge Southern California soon…especially during the holidays!