WILLIAMSBURG — Great Wolf Lodge is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and to commemorate the special occasion it’s selling limited-edition wolf ears at its properties nationwide with 100% of the proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“One of our signature items is our wolf ears,” said the General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge’s Williamsburg property, Nick Licastro, in an interview with WYDaily. “The wolf ears for much of our brand history have been included with your stay. One thing that we have added recently has been these specialty ears. Sometimes we call them glam ears, and there’s all sorts of fun creative designs.”
Great Wolf Lodge has partnered with celebrity fashion designer Whitney Port to design the anniversary item. Port’s wolf ears are being sold for a limited time in the resort’s gift shop for $17.99.
“The additional special benefit of these ears is that 100% of the proceeds are going to St. Jude Children’s research hospital,” said Licastro. “That organization is committed to ending childhood cancer and other life-threatening pediatric diseases. So we’re really excited that not only do those special wolf ears help to create that fun, emotional connection to our property, and our brand, but they have the wonderful cause that they support as well.”
The Great Wolf Lodge chain of properties combines an indoor waterpark with a family-friendly resort — all under one roof. The brand opened its Williamsburg location in 2005. When it arrived in the Historic Triangle, the property was considered the largest in the brand’s history, offering 400 rooms to families and guests traveling to the area. According to Licastro, it’s since been one of the brand’s most popular properties in this part of the country.
Recently, Great Wolf Lodge offered a free complimentary one-night stay to 100 families whose planned Fourth of July holiday weekends were disrupted due to flight cancellations. The offer was valid at any of the 18 resort locations across the United States, including Williamsburg.
“The submission window just wrapped up in the last day or so, but we do recognize that one of the challenges that a lot of families have, when they’re planning their summer vacation, is that it’s a challenging time for the airline industry,” Licastro said.
2022 marks the 25th birthday of Great Wolf Lodge, however, the Williamsburg location won’t reach that milestone until 2030. In the meantime, the Williamsburg resort continues to refine and add improvements.
“Here at Great Wolf Lodge, we bring joy to families. That’s our brand purpose,” said Licastro. “We are making some significant property improvements. Over the last couple of years, we’ve made significant investments in guest rooms, and we’ve added new attractions including our new laser trail. We’re actually in the process, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, of opening a new Ten-Paw bowling alley. We’re doing some refurbishment to the exterior of our property as well. So we’re really excited about the continuous development and improvement of the Williamsburg Lodge.”
For more information on Great Wolf Lodge, visit the brand’s official website.
