Great Wolf Lodge opens new park, its largest. When will it debut in Florida? What we know.
A reader identifying as Deb Bie asked: "Isn't Naples (going) to have a Great Wolf Lodge in its future?"
Indeed, one of the higher national profile enterprises Southwest Florida has bagged continues to move closer to completion. Hundreds of you have shared thoughts and questions after reading my columns on the rising of the $250 million endeavor.
That's understandable, considering this is Florida's first. And you've also been buzzing about the chain's 20th and biggest location officially debuting on 48 acres in Perryville, Maryland in advance of the July 4th holiday.
But hang onto those swim trunks. We've got something else for you. For the first time, Great Wolf leaders said Tuesday that Florida appears on track for a second site, although they haven't started developing that yet or naming a potential destination.
"This would likely be our only resort in South Florida, but we do feel there’s opportunity for another Great Wolf Lodge in the state," Jason Lasecki, a Great Wolf vice-president, told me Tuesday afternoon, as I also asked what new is planned for the Collier County location. "As for first-time features, we do have a few surprises up our sleeves as this will be our next generation Great Wolf Lodge resort. (We) also have some newer slides coming to the Naples resort."
Here are 15 things to know.
1. What is Great Wolf Lodge, and is it more than a water park and hotel?
Collier County's growth management and community development head has described the enormity of Great Wolf Lodge construction that includes 500 rooms and an indoor water colossus this way: "It's 535,000 square feet under air with six swimming pools," Jamie French said. "There's nothing been built like that in the state of Florida."
And it goes beyond just frolicking around inside.
"We do have an outdoor resort pool," said Steve Jacobsen, executive vice president of the Chicago-based company. "There's much more for the families to do, (like a) family entertainment center. What that is, is all the dry play elements. It's the ropes, it's the bowling, it's the MagiQuest (virtual reality treasure hunt) and all the other food and beverages. We'll have anywhere between six to eight different food venues, everything from grab and go to a really nice sit-down restaurant."
2. Where is Great Wolf Lodge constructing its first Florida spot?
It's on 20 acres adjacent to Paradise Coast Sports Complex off I-75 and Collier Boulevard outside the city of Naples, and Great Wolf tasked Peninsula Engineering, established in 1983 and known as PE, to help shape it: "PE was challenged to fit what Great Wolf normally constructs on 40 acre-campuses in North America, into a 20-acre box," the Southwest Florida firm said in a statement.
While it is turning out smaller than the newest spot's 128,000 square feet of water park and 700 rooms in the Baltimore area, "the resort we’re building in Naples is a little bigger than our average Great Wolf Lodge," Lasecki said. "The water park is a little over 90,000 square feet, and our Great Wolf Adventure Park, with all the fun-filled attractions outside of the water park, is 60,000 square feet. I would say the size of the resort is more similar to our resort in Northern California.
"As for slides and pools, the indoor water park will have some beloved Great Wolf Lodge favorites like the Crooked Creek lazy river, Slap Tail Pond wave pool and River Canyon Run family raft ride, (We) plan to share all the exciting details and renderings about the water park in early 2024."
3. With Ian's impact, when will Great Wolf open in Southwest Florida?
Beyond the spring/summer 2024 goal, "I can’t spoil any surprises here as we plan to provide some of these updates at the 'Topping Out,'" Lasecki said, as he explained an upcoming August event. "Basically, it means we’re finishing exterior construction and starting to focus efforts on all the incredible guest experiences inside of the resort. (What) I can tell you is that the timeline was not affected by Hurricane Ian. We were fortunate that when the hurricane struck, we didn’t have much vertical construction completed."
Collier building commenced July 2022, and the Florida Concrete & Products Association, which advocates for industry businesses involved in the construction, pegs the local finish line at April 2024. Note that the new Maryland wonderland, where limited bookings launched in the second half of 2022, premiered about a month ahead of schedule.
"Great Wolf Lodge is making great progress in their construction," Collier County Commission Chairman Rick LoCastro said, just before the July 4 holiday. "Great Wolf Lodge is as big of an advantage for us as we know the sports complex is going to be for them. And that we can have a symbiotic relationship, and we're working together to have that project next to the sports complex actually do more than just bring more tourism but actually feed the sports complex in whatever ways we can be creative."
4. Why in the world would Great Wolf Lodge want to build so far south?
Or as reader Taj Steven Meholick put it: "Isn't this like putting a Wet 'n Wild park in Minneapolis?" As we've talked about before, climate change has become a game changer for outfits like the quarter-century-old Great Wolf, which had mostly focused its initial 20 locations in cooler climes, allowing patrons to plunge into pools in the winter.
With all the damage to the planet and vanishing green areas and trees, the number of 90-degree plus days are forecast to soar over the next three decades, as the unrelenting summers get longer and longer in our region. For example, many of July's days last year in Southwest Florida averaged 3 to 4 degrees above normal. And for anyone who has dared step outside in recent months, it's been no better.
"It is hot out here," Jacobsen said during a site visit. "As you can tell, I'm standing out here, and I'm sweating. The idea of being inside in an indoor water park where the temperature stays at 84 degrees and have the ability to open a family entertainment center that's air-conditioned, you can see why we believe that an indoor water park will work."
5. How come Great Wolf chose SW Florida to make its debut in the state?
Its known reputation was regarded as one of the strengths in a county study. Familiarity with the product by so many local transplants and northerners doesn't hurt, as a lot of you have shown in your comments: "Literally our favorite place," said Marci Young Gawronski of Buffalo, New York, who plans to book as soon as she can prior to the kickoff. "We went in Canada — 30 minutes from our home."
The Paradise Coast confines was a clincher.
"What we're doing here, is a perfect complement to the sports complex," Jacobsen said. "The sports complex is about families and kids enjoying outdoor sports. We're about families and kids in an indoor water park. We think the synergies between the two are terrific, and that's one reason why we ended up on the western side of Florida versus the eastern side."
6. How can Paradise Coast Sports Complex build on this momentum?
"The type of things that we can bring in there really is interesting. There was a major NFL team that was looking for a preconditioning week of being held out at the sports complex," said Collier tourism director Paul Beirnes, saying he wasn't at liberty to disclose the team. "Unfortunately, the five-star elevated rooms they commanded, there was such compression in that one week, that it just didn't make sense. (But) our conversation is open. And then we also realized, you know what, there are others, MLS soccer and similar. So a lot of those conversations are taking place.
"So it's not just youth sports. This is a great opportunity to bring major NFL, MLS training to the area. In a couple of years we have, just down the street (in Miami), we have the World Cup, and we're engaging in conversations. Can this be a site for ― it might be media. It might be pretraining, maybe conditioning, all of the above. Those are really some interesting conversations that really wasn't even factored in when we originally thought" of the notion.
The facility has 1,300 parking spaces, and can accommodate up to 5,000 spectators, Deputy County Manager Dan Rodriguez said.
7. Why did Collier commission give $15M in incentives to Great Wolf?
This also helps address reader Jeff Preble's wonderment: "I thought they would be located in a city with a younger population and more families," said Preble, who considers Naples, "a more expensive version of The Villages."
And that's just it: This widens the door locally for visitors who haven't generally been as common in Southwest Florida as jet-setting corporate millionaires or retired snowbirds in a congressional district with the nation's third largest share of residents, 65 and over. The idea is to use the water behemoth to draw an often-overlooked segment Collier leaders desire more of to visit and live: Families.
"It is the beginning of long-term economic sustainability for our community because of the tourist revenue to continually come in perpetuity," said Collier County Commissioner Bill McDaniel, who helped pave the way for the agreement two years ago. "This is going to do nothing but enhance the activities we already have in our amateur sports park. I believe it's past time for Collier County to be shifting away from construction-related industry to non-construction-related industry."
8. How many visitors does Great Wolf and the county expect to come?
About 500,000 are projected to flock this way annually. That is more than double Lee County's treasured destination, Edison and Ford Winter Estates, and tops nearly all of the dozen or so Six Flags aqua-related iterations splattered on the continent. It's about 150,000 fewer than Tampa's Adventure Island, the seventh highest attendance for a North American outdoor water park in the year prior to the pandemic.
Around 20 million reside within a six-hour drive, and Jacobsen is confident it will serve as a "draw to the area, attracting families from across the Sunshine State." Numerous guests travel four to six hours or more, and having scrapped earlier consideration of the Broward and Orlando areas, its final selection falls easily within range of Tampa Bay and Central and South Florida, based on studies. In 2019, 16% of the visitors to its LaGrange, Georgia spread journeyed more than 250 miles — similar to the distance between Naples and Ocala or Daytona Beach.
"As soon as booking is available we will plan something," Coral Springs area resident Pamela Cotoia said. Added Lakeland's Jason Brown: "Naples will be a nice weekend getaway."
9. What company was chosen for construction of the Great Wolf Lodge?
Great Wolf splashed a lot of love at the Estero-based division of Suffolk, awarding the prized contract to guide overall building. Suffolk has had its share of ventures including selection last year to erect the 15-story mixed use luxury condo, Aura at Metropolitan Naples, near downtown. And Ben Wilson, its chief operating officer, illustrates the attraction's interest by parents and children.
"I'm (the) father of two young girls, and in my entire career, they have never been able to name a project until this one," Wilson said. "They ask 'When is it going to be completed?' every single day."
That's the enthusiasm county officials anticipate: "The economic impacts that are created by this opportunity for our residents are off the chart," McDaniel said. "The little, relatively speaking, incentive process we put together in order to actually entice Great Wolf to come here is going to be paying dividends. (The) billions of dollars that are going to be reinvested back into our community."
10. Can SWFL locals use attraction without staying overnight at lodge?
Great Wolf began selling day passes more than three years ago, although many reported that it was tough to get into the newer compounds partly due to capacity, which plays a role on availability.
The firm has heard the complaints before, and according to its website: "Rates always vary based on seasonality and demand. We suggest booking ahead of time or during the week. You can also find special promotions on our website under 'Deals.'"
When In the Know checked this week for brand new Perryville, a July 25 day pass was available for $80, but it was $120 for that following Saturday or Sunday.
11. How much does it cost to stay in the hotel rooms at the Great Wolf?
Reader Nick Lawton described it this way: "A lot of fun for the little ones but prepare to spend about as much as a used Honda."
Without the use of special codes, we studied the Baltimore newbie for that July 25, and found the least expensive digs for $459 per room, double occupancy, including taxes and a resort fee. That gets you two queen beds, a sofa sleeper and water park admission. For the subsequent Saturday: $717.
Our research found that participating in clubs like AAA can save you up to $100 or so, depending on the day, and your membership number from those is required for reservations.
12. How do you get a deal to stay more cheaply at Great Wolf Lodge?
Deals can be had, said Ashley Meyer, a former Floridian and department head at the public library in West Lafayette, Indiana, home to my Purdue Boilermakers. "Check for promo codes, which they almost always seem to have," Meyer said. "We've gone to the one in Chicago twice and for only $99 a night. Not too bad for four people including water park."
Reader Amy Howard said you "gotta keep an eye on Groupon," but they go quick. When In the Know checked, we did find discount enticements on a Groupon landing page for Great Wolfs across the U.S., but when we clicked on three different offerings of $99 a night, they didn't work or indicated the options were no longer available.
Great Wolf touts other specials including Howling Heroes savings of up to 25% off for first responders.
13. How many jobs created in Naples, and when does hiring begin?
Job creation also made McDaniel a backer, with the potential spinoff for added employment opportunities: "In excess of 600 employees that are going to be here, service in the community, running the rooms, running the swimming pool and the indoor resort and that sort of thing. Literally thousands of jobs that are going to come to our community in perpetuity," he said. "The complexity of operating a water park and resort will require a number of skilled, higher-paying technical and management roles, offering opportunities for Collier County.”
The company plans to initiate recruiting in the winter. In a market where there's more jobs than potential workers, it has been looking at ways to address the challenge, including meeting with representatives from Florida Gulf Coast University, Lorenzo Walker Technical College and other entities.
"We committed $500,000 over the next 10 years to support hospitality focused educational programs and help strengthen the hospitality industry across Collier County," Lasecki said. "We’ll be using a number of tools at our disposal, including traditional job fairs to find the talent."
In the Know: Want to be only inhabitant of a SW Florida island? Here's your chance. 13 things to know
14. Where is closest Great Wolf Lodge to Southwest Florida right now?
A nine-hour drive away, the nearest location to the Naples aquatic wonder can be found in Georgia, its furthest south, east of the Mississippi, since 2018.
Nearly 70 miles from Atlanta, it has been serving as a prototype for the latest locales, allowing for increased efficiency and cost savings.
Many of you have already told me you've made the road trip to the Peach State's second most visited resort, casino or hotel.
Growth: What are expansion plans for GCTC and Pink Shell? Median home prices sink in SW Florida
15. What are the 20 locations for Great Wolf Lodge in North America?
After Naples, additional U.S. ones are targeted for the Houston area later in 2024 and Mashantucket, Connecticut in 2025. Work for a Jackson, Tennessee venue was delayed at the end of last year, with the masses there hopeful it can start by 2024.
► Wisconsin Dells;
► Sandusky, Ohio;
► Traverse City, Mich.;
► Kansas City, Kan.;
► Williamsburg, Va.;
► Pocono Mountains, Pa.;
► Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada;
► Mason, Ohio;
► Grapevine, Texas;
► Grand Mound, Wash.;
► Fitchburg, Mass.
► Charlotte, N.C.;
► Garden Grove, Calif.;
►Colorado Springs;
► Bloomington, Minn.;
► LaGrange, Ga.;
► Gurnee, Ill.;
►Perryville, Md.;
► Scottsdale, Ariz.; and
► Manteca, Calif.
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com), who grew up in Southwest Florida, writes In the Know as part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Support Democracy and subscribe to a newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Great Wolf Lodge in Florida: 15 things to know
