Hi there! I’m Emily Zei—Corporate Social Media Manager for Great Wolf Resorts. I am a self-proclaimed social media nerd. When I’m not blogging, posting or tweeting on behalf of Great Wolf, I’m blogging, posting or tweeting for myself. I’m addicted to my smart phone. Fascinated by the psychology of social media. And constantly trying to wrap my arms around the ever changing medium.
Stick with me and you’ll get to peak at the social side of Great Wolf Lodge.
You’ve done our famous “Stomp, Stomp, Clap, Clap, Howl” before, but have you ever done the Reindeer Romp? Now is your chance.
All season long, we are bringing the fun of Snowland to you. We’ve got photos from the lodges, YouTube videos from your favorite holiday movies and printable PDFs for you and your family to enjoy at home.
We’ve already given you a template to build your very own Great Wolf Lodge gingerbread house. Now we will teach you the Reindeer Romp. Just print the PDF and follow along at home. Be sure to take some videos and photos of your pack doing the Reindeer Romp and post them on our Facebook page.
Stay tuned for more fun, interactive ways to enjoy Snowland in and out of the lodge.
Great Wolf Lodge is all about family traditions. And there are so many traditions that surround the holiday season. Whatever you celebrate, traditions abound.
Growing up, everything about the holidays was the same, year after year. Same cookies. Same decorations. We even watch the same movie on Christmas Eve. But my favorite of all the traditions is the letter to Santa.
Each year we would break out the craft supplies and end up with impressive creations that only a child can make. Once complete, we set them by the fireplace and waited for Santa’s magic to carry them up the chimney to the North Pole.
A curious little tradition that led me to Santa Claus’ impressive Wikipedia page. According to Wikipedia, kids in Britain actually burn their letters in the fireplace so that the wind can whisk them off to the North Pole. In Mexico, some children even send them via balloon. So many ways to send one man a letter.
During Snowland, Great Wolf Lodge offers more than just the fun of an indoor waterpark resort, we also make it easy for little ones to get their letters to Kris Kringle. At our writing depots, children can write a note to Santa on a special postcard and slip it into the official mailbox located in the lobby. Santa will even write back if you include your name and address.
This year, we decided to share our postcards for everybody to use. Just click to download, and start writing.
What are you asking for this year?
I love the holidays. I love the sights, the sounds, the smells—I love it all. Most of all, I love the baking. With Pinterest now in our lives it’s incredibly easy to find fun, new recipes (thank you Pinterest). But I’m a traditionalist. I want my holidays to taste exactly like they did in my childhood. So every year I make one of my mom’s recipes and one from my mother-in-law. Usually it’s the old stand-by—the sugar cookie—but this year I’m going to tackle my very first gingerbread house.
Since I’m a gingerbread novice, I did a lot of researching. How do I make the best gingerbread ever? How do I make sure it’s going to hold up? And not taste like cardboard? How do I find a template for my gingerbread masterpiece? With all these questions swirling in my head, I almost gave up. Then I thought of the gingerbread house specialists, our Food & Beverage team. Of course! They do this every year. They bake and prepare for weeks and create the biggest, prettiest gingerbread houses I’ve ever seen. That's the gingerbread house I want to build.
It all starts with a good template. And since I wanted mine to look just like a Great Wolf Lodge gingerbread house, why not use the same design. Our Food & Beverage team was nice enough to help me with a template, and of course I couldn’t keep it to myself. So if you are stuck on where to start with your own gingerbread houses, I’ve got just the thing. Download your very own Great Wolf Lodge inspired gingerbread house template here. And when you’re done, share a photo of your masterpiece on our Facebook page.
Now I just need to figure out how to decorate mine. I think I know where I might be able to get some inspiration. 
And yes, that's HGTV's Carter Oosterhouse helping decorate our life-size gingerbread house in Traverse City. More on him in a future post.
In September, we hosted our Back to School Contest. After reading through all the great entries we received, we have our winners!
Congratulations to our Grand Prize winner, Larry Sullivan with his story entitled “Daddy, Take Me to the Cub Club”. Second Place goes to Leyla Stuckey with her story “Great Memories”. Taking Third Place is Lori Zeaman with “Great Wolf Zeaman Style.”
Stay tuned next week as we share their winning stories.
Do you have a story of your favorite trip to Great Wolf Lodge? Share it at http://blog.greatwolf.com/blog/landing-pages/share-your-story
In 2009 we created our Great Wolf Lodge Ask-A-Mom panel. We chose 23 super fans—both moms and dads—to help guests plan their vacations at our lodges. They answer guest questions through our online trip planning forum, askamom.greatwolf.com. The “parent-to-parent” format lets guests ask questions about amenities, activities, events and attractions at the resorts, and gives them answers from moms and dads, just like them.
This year we decided to take our panel to the next level. We are searching for new Ask-A-Moms (and Dads) who can answer questions, but can also write blog posts for Behind the Howl. Create videos for our guests offering advice and answering frequently asked questions. Host Twitter parties and Facebook Q&A sessions. And attend regular lodge events acting as ambassadors for Great Wolf Lodge.
We will accept applications for our 2013 Ask-A-Mom panel until Noon CDT on November 2nd. The application process includes submitting a 300-500 word writing sample and a video submission, with a brief phone interview for our final selection.
If you love our lodges as much as we do and want to help spread the Great Wolf love, visit www.greatwolf.com/AAMsearch to apply for next year’s panel.
Fall is officially upon us, and that can only mean one thing — Howl-O-Ween! Today officially marks the first day of our Howl-O-Ween celebration.
We were recently mentioned in a CBS News article because of our Howl-O-Ween event, and I can’t blame them. So much to do and see at the lodges. We have our nightly costume parades — nothing cuter than wolf pups in costume. There’s also pumpkin painting, our Trick-or-Treat Trail, Spooktacular Story Time and Monster Bash Dance Party. Not to mention all the decorations.
This year we are adding to the family fun with our Howl-O-Ween Mobile Scavenger Hunt. All you need is your mobile phone and your thinking cap.
Once you get to the lodge you will find a QR code on our Howl-O-Ween posters and Trick-or-Treat Trail maps. Scan the code, and you’re ready to go. A mobile landing page will load along with your first clue. Five clues will take you throughout the lodge to collect codes. Enter the code in the box below the clue on your mobile phone and the next clue will open. Once you’ve solved all five clues you will unlock a prize.
Another fun way to get your whole family in on the Howl-O-Ween fun.
I come from a family of memory keepers—whatever the event; you better believe they are going to capture it. First day of kindergarten? Grab the camera. Just got back from vacation? Time to post a few albums on Facebook. We have hundreds of memories hanging on our walls and nestled in perfectly labeled photo albums. And I know I’m not alone. Guests post dozens of photos to our Facebook page every day. Families smiling and splashing. Babies in wolf ears. Kids asleep on the ride home. They love to capture their entire trip and share the memories with us.
That’s why our new partnership with Shutterfly is so exciting. We are giving guests the opportunity to take all the great memories they collect from their trip and keep them in one place—a Great Wolf Lodge Photo Book. Did I mention it’s free? (yes free!)
Starting today, guests at our lodges will find a card in their room with a special code. After your stay you can visit www.shutterfly.com/greatwolf, enter the code and upload photos. You can even add captions so you won’t forget a thing. Shutterfly lays them out in a Great Wolf Lodge themed photo book and sends it to you. Perfect for my fellow memory keepers. Display it proudly on your coffee table for friends and family to see. Tuck it on the shelf with your photo albums and bring it out to show the kids as they grow up. The perfect souvenir to capture the memories you made with us. Whether it’s your first trip or your 20th—we are giving you the perfect plays to keep your memories.
So next time you stay at the lodge get your code and start making memories.
How well do you know the Great Wolf Kids characters? Did you know that Wiley the Wolf’s favorite color is green? Or that Violet loves gardening?
You may have met our friends Wiley, Violet and Oliver, but did you know that there are even more Great Wolf Kids characters to love?
Good thing we put them all in one place for you to enjoy—the new www.greatwolfkids.com!
The new site introduces you to all of our friends, like Oliver’s sister Rachel and little Brinley Bear. You can even find the story of how the Beaver Brothers built the entire waterpark.
We also have a ton of new games like River Canyon Run where you explore the lazy river and try to navigate Wiley around the rapids. Or Nab the Nails featuring the builders of our waterpark, Tooth & Nail. Just watch out for the wrenches and hammers, those hurt.
Looking for fun kids activities like coloring sheets, printable games, recipes and stuff to do in the car? You guessed it—all on www.greatwolfkids.com.
So the next time you are looking for a fun way to get your kids excited for a trip to the lodge, or if they’re just looking for some fun, send them to www.greatwolfkids.com.
And check out our Facebook and Twitter pages in November. We’ve got a fun contest planned using some of the activities on the new website.
Enjoy!
Earlier this summer we set out to give our Facebook fans the ultimate Summer Bucket List. Each week we posted 10 must-do items on our Timeline and asked fans to contribute their ideas. And contribute they did.
We had so much fun on Facebook that we took to Twitter to get even more Great Wolf Lodge fans involved. It was a great summer filled with great ideas. To say farewell and thank everybody for participating, here is a peek at some of the good times we had this summer.
It’s that time of year again. Most of you have probably purchased school supplies and helped pick out the official “first day outfit”. Some of you have even laced up shoes, helped strap on backpacks and walked your little one to the bus stop.
Back to school means a lot of things—the end of summer, new friends and new adventures. It also means that homework is once again part of the daily routine. And no matter where you live, or what grade your child is in, everyone is united by that first proverbial assignment, “How did you spend your summer break?” Whether it’s drawing pictures, writing essays, giving speeches—the topic is one that schools across America love to kickoff each new year with. All of us at Great Wolf Lodge want to get in on the fun with our version of this time honored assignment. We invite you to take part in our Back to School Contest.
We want to hear your favorite Great Wolf Lodge memory. Maybe your family visited this summer, and you can actually write about how you spent your summer break. Or you can write about the very first time you met Wiley or Violet. Does your family spend every Christmas with us for our Snowland celebration? Whatever the memory, whatever the story, we want to hear it.
Your assignment is to write a 300 – 500 word story about your all-time favorite Great Wolf Lodge memory. Get creative, because our judges will be picking three winners based on creativity, originality and of course, sticking to the assigned topic.
This contest is open to Great Wolf Lodge fans in the US (including DC) and Canada (excluding Quebec), age 13 and up. Your assignment is due Noon CT on September 18th. And don’t forget the photos of your stay, not only do we love seeing them, but at least one photo is needed to enter. Entering is easy, just visit the Contest section of our blog.
So pull out those spiral-bound notebooks and #2 pencils and start writing!
For official rules visit gwld.gs/fbContest
Summer is officially upon us. That means lots of family time—BBQs, picnics, tee ball games, pool time. And then everybody’s favorite, the family vacation.
I don’t know about you, but my summer filled up fast this year. So fast that my summer to-do list is packed to the brim—and I know I’m not alone. In honor of crazy summer schedules everywhere, we’ve put together our very own Great Wolf Lodge Summer Bucket List. Each Wednesday for ten weeks we will post our Top 10 Summer Bucket List on our Facebook page. Our lists will include fun items that you and your family can do together to maximize family fun this summer. That’s 100 ideas for a summer’s worth of fun.
But it doesn’t stop there, we’ve got a Summer Bucket List tab on our Facebook page where you can post your own must-do items. Is there one activity that you and your family have to do this summer? Some place that you and your family have to visit or the summer wouldn’t be complete? Add it on our Summer Bucket List tab and just click “Create topic”.
You can also vote on topics posted by us and other fans. Did someone post an idea that you love? Click “love it”. Every vote and every topic will earn you points. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a fun contest announcement, so start posting and voting to earn those points.
What’s on your Summer Bucket List?
Have you ever taken part in one of our 48 Hour Sales? Here are a few tips for how to take advantage of our big sale.
For those who don’t know, we only have a few 48 Hour Sales throughout the year. The lodges will have discounts of up to 20% off on their most popular suites. Each lodge’s sale will start and end on a different day/time but they all last for, you guessed it, 48 hours.
48 hours goes by quickly, so here are a few tips for getting the most out of a Great Wolf Lodge 48 Hour Sale.
Tip 1: Sign up for our ePack!
Shameless self promotion, but also the best way to hear about our 48 Hour Sales. It’s simple to sign up—visit www.greatwolf.com/esignup and enter your information. Simple.
Our ePack members get regular emails—usually 1 or 2 a month— that include updates like new attractions at the lodges, new social media contests and new events like Oliver Raccoon’s Big Day. ePack emails also include limited time offers and sales alerts. ePack members will actually hear about the 48 Hour Sale the day before it starts—that’s three days of access to our biggest sale.
Tip 2: Check our social media channels
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We will post alerts to the 48 Hour Sales for each of our lodges. We will post the day the sale starts and even post a reminder letting our fans and followers know there are only 24 hours left.
Just another way we try to let as many of our guest and fans know about the sale as possible.
Tip 3: Check our website
We have a great page dedicated to our 48 Hour Sale. You can see the start and end dates and times of the sale for each lodge. A convenient snapshot of the sale for all of the lodges so you know exactly when your starts and ends.
Each lodge also has their own 48 Hour Sale page with details specific to their sale. These pages have countdown clocks so you can see how much time you have left to save. You can also see calendars of all the dates included in the sale and how much of a savings you get each day.
Three simple tips to help you get the most out of our 48 Hour Sales.
We had a great week in the land of Great Wolf Lodge social media.
We hit the 300,000 fan mark on our Facebook page, we have over 3 million video views on YouTube and we now have over 9,000 followers on Twitter.
To thank all of our Facebook fans and Twitter followers (and those of you who don't follow us but still tweet your love), I put together this video of some of our favorite moments from this week in Great Wolf Lodge social media.
Tweet us @GreatWolfLodge or follow us on Facebook to be a part of the action.
We are happy to announce the Grand Prize Winner of our Spring Surprises Video Contest—Debbie McFadden of Towson, Maryland.
Debbie’s video features her daughter, Haley, and her 9th birthday surprise. Debbie and her husband waited until the night before Haley’s big day to surprise her with a trip to the lodge.
“I’m glad I taped her opening her card. I just figured it would be nice to get her reaction. I never thought she would get so emotional!” Debbie told us, “It showed us how much she appreciated it and how much she must have loved her first trip.”
Staying true to the contest theme, Debbie and her husband surprised Haley when they told her their video had won.
“We waited until Haley got home from school and told her we needed to talk to her. She asked us, ‘Did I do something wrong?’…we made her wait it out a little!”
Once they told her the video was the winning entry, Haley screamed (again) and jumped up and down with excitement.
Debbie and her family will receive a two-night stay, plus meals, at the Great Wolf Lodge of their choice. And in case you were wondering, Haley’s BFF Bridget will be joining the family on their trip back to the Williamsburg, Virginia Lodge.
Visit our YouTube channel to view our top 5 finalists.
Visit YouTube and search “Great Wolf Lodge Surprise”. You will find page after page filled with videos of parents surprising their kids with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge.
What a fun idea. Plan a trip to the lodge. Scheme and brainstorm. Find some fun way to tell the family about it—a fun riddle in a Christmas present or a birthday card. Or wait altogether and tell them about it as you are on your way to the lodge. Then record it. Brilliant.
So brilliant that we decided to make a contest out of it.
For two weeks, we’ve encouraged Facebook fans and Twitter followers to upload their own version of a Great Wolf Lodge surprise video to our contest app on Facebook. And upload they did. We received a ton of great videos (stay tuned, we will highlight some of the top contenders on Facebook and Twitter). A team of Great Wolf Lodge judges gathered together in a room and watched one by one. We laughed. We cried. We laughed some more.
They were all so good. Eventually we narrowed it down to our top 5 finalists. Now it’s your turn. Head to our Video Contest app on our Facebook page. Watch all five videos (I dare you not to laugh or cry). Then vote for your favorite. You can vote once every 24 hours from now until 5:00pm EST on Wednesday, March 21st.
Be sure to share the contest with your friends and family so they can take part in the fun.
Happy voting!
Have you ever wondered what goes into creating the Great Wolf Lodge experience? How do we make it snow during Snowland? What new family fun is being added to the lodges each year? Just where does all that water go?
Enter Behind the Howl—the official blog of Great Wolf Lodge.
This is where we give you a behind-the-howl look at all things Great Wolf. Our Communications and Marketing teams, Kid’s Experience team and others will help tell the story of Great Wolf—from the eyes of a pack member.
Check back often, share with your friends and family and give us feedback by leaving comments. Let us know what you like. Let us know what you want to know. And what we can do as we continue to grow.
We also want to hear your personal stories—your favorite Great Wolf Lodge memory, a story about your favorite slide, what it was like to meet Wiley for the first time. We know you’ve got a great story, and we want to hear it.
We are excited to share our stories with you and look forward to hearing yours!
Howls,
The Great Wolf Lodge Blogger Pack
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