Great Wolf Lodge

It’s officially Howl-O-Ween season and our Pack Members are excited to welcome guests to the lodges! Some of our favorite annual traditions are underway—like the giant spider balloon that suspends from the rafters of the three-story Grand Lobby in our Gurnee, IL lodge. At eight feet tall and 30 feet wide, this creepy crawler will be greeting families throughout the month. Be sure to check out the other amazing festivities at all our locations.

This year, we’re partnering with Ferrara Candy Company in order to make our annual Howl-O-Ween celebration even more amazing. With delicious candy like Laffy Taffy, Nerds, SweeTarts, and more being handed out, the Trick-Or-Treat Trails at our lodges will be filled with tasty treats for everyone. We’ve even added a candy-corn-inspired stop along the path, where visitors will get to enjoy Brach’s Candy Corn. A big thank-you to Ferrara for helping to make an unforgettable Halloween adventure for our guests.

Want to advance your career in Human Resources? Great Wolf Lodge is looking for talented individuals to join our Human Resources Leadership Development Program—an accelerated pipeline for future HR leaders at our U.S.-based lodges. We spoke with two of the program’s recent participants: “What’s been unique about Great Wolf’s HRLDP is the breadth of opportunities,” says Madelyn Brassler (MBA), HRLDP for our Perryville, MD lodge. “I’ve been able to learn the intricacies involved in running an efficient kitchen in a high-volume restaurant, the safety regulations required to maintain a water park, and how to implement technology changes for a large-scale brand. It’s been so much more than just an HR Manager job—it’s been an amazing experience.” Jessica Burch, another HRLDP in Colorado Springs, agrees: “With experiences tailored to push us to think outside the box, test our knowledge, and grow with some of the best in the industry, being a part of the HRLDP program has been unmatched in providing unique hands-on experiences. I am so lucky to be running with the Pack!” Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be ready to assume an HR Director role at one of our lodges. Ready to follow the HRLDP trail and take your future to the next level? Run With The Pack & Grow Your Career: https://lnkd.in/gP_XcrJW

Love Your Lodge is our way of celebrating Pack Members who have made a career at Great Wolf Lodge. Today, we’re featuring Tami Hayes, Director of Guest Services at Great Wolf Lodge Concord. 1. What do you love about working at Great Wolf Lodge?  Without a doubt, my “Pack”: This includes the hundreds of guests that walk through our doors every day, but most of all, the many Pack Members that I enjoy working with in the lodge. 2. What’s a way that you get to help out other Packs or other Pack Members working at Great Wolf?    I absolutely love the mentoring that I get to do with the pack all around, but especially with the intern and Management Development Programs. Watching them grow into leadership roles is extremely rewarding. 3. What’s a personal or unique aspect of your lodge that makes it fun to work at?  I love that we still have the original “log cabin” look and feel to the lodge—and our guests love it, too! Plus, all of us at the Concord lodge have so much fun with our annual Lip Sync competition!

In college and looking to jumpstart your career? Great Wolf Lodge offers two internship options for undergraduate and graduate students. The Summer Hospitality Internship Program is for students interested in gaining hands-on experience at one of our 20+ lodges. Students focus on one key discipline—Guest Services, Food & Beverage, Retail &Entertainment, or Rooms & Housekeeping—but will shadow numerous disciplines and jobs during their program. Interns who join our pack also embark on a valuable team project to learn managerial skills and boost their industry knowledge for future opportunities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gtaSMVgV The Corporate Internship Program is held at our corporate headquarters in Chicago. Interns engage directly with teams in their fields of interest, and receive hands-on experience through real-life projects and work tied to Great Wolf's purpose: Bringing joy to families. Upon completion of the program, students will be considered for both future internships and full-time positions within our pack. Learn More: https://lnkd.in/gRfdzvXY

Great Wolf is continually growing. And to support this growth, we’re searching for accomplished college students to grow their careers with us. Our two-year Management Development Program (MDP) is designed to equip graduating college students with the experience and training to assume high-level positions within our company. Beginning in a managerial role and rotating through different disciplines and lodges across the country, MDP Associates get invaluable, one-of-a-kind experience that leaves them ready to step into director-level roles throughout the business. We’re on campus for the next few weeks to recruit students for this program. Check out our website to see which career fairs we’ll be at and learn more about how you can grow along with us: https://bit.ly/48r2ChY

Calling all college and graduate students: Great Wolf Lodge is looking for talented individuals interested in kick-starting their careers. We have four programs to help enterprising students gain a long-term advantage in the hospitality and entertainment industry. We’ll be visiting numerous colleges and universities over the next month, so keep an eye out for us at your next campus Hospitality Career Fair. In the meantime, learn more about each program below.   Management Development Program: https://bit.ly/48r2ChY HR Leadership Development Program: https://bit.ly/48f1Qo0 Summer Hospitality Internship Program: https://bit.ly/467B6E8 Corporate Internship Program: https://bit.ly/3EE1D05

We’re welcoming families and friends across the U.S. and Canada today to kick off the LuMind IDSC Family Weekend! Our partnership with LuMind IDSC Foundation ,a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with Down syndrome through research and education, has brought joy to the Down syndrome community for over 10 years. We look forward to connecting—and creating even more lasting memories this weekend. #DownSyndrome #GreatWolfLodge

Happy fifth anniversary to our Arizona lodge! To celebrate, we held a “slide-a-thon” hosted by Olympic gold medal gymnast Jade Carey. For every guest who slid down our Diamondback Drop attraction, we donated $5 to Phoenix Children’s, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, raising a total of $10,000. Thanks to everyone who attended—here’s to the next five years of families and fun.

Last month, we announced the winners of the 2024 Great Wolf Scholarship Program. We distributed more than $250,000 to Pack Members and their children. Below, we’re highlighting Parnika Shankar, the daughter of Yamini J. Shankar, a Pack Member in our Chicago office. Parnika offers a testimonial on what winning the Great Wolf Scholarship means to her: