Hansel and Gretel Rejoice: Great Wolf Resorts Unwraps Real-life, Giant Gingerbread Houses for Families to Dine Inside

MADISON, Wis., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The howl-idays at Great Wolf Lodge®, will taste a touch sweeter when guests dine inside enormous, edible Gingerbread Houses on display during the company's annual Snowland celebration. After a day of splashing and sliding at the waterpark, guests can take part in holiday happenings, meet Santa and even make memories with Great Wolf Lodge characters, Wiley and Violet. But when it's time to dine, the real fun begins. For the first time at all 11 locations, families and friends staying at Great Wolf Lodge will have the chance to marvel during meals served inside a huge Gingerbread home.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111201/CG15305)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110628/CG27475LOGO)

Each abode can accommodate up to six awe-struck guests for a fairytale meal that will raise much-needed funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The non-profit organization is the largest provider of one-to-one youth mentoring services in the United States and is the official philanthropic partner of Great Wolf Lodge.

Measuring approximately 10 feet by 12 feet, each colossal creation took more than 400 hours to complete and was assembled using impressive amounts of some of these irresistible ingredients:

• 5,000 candies
• 4,900 pretzel rods
• 3,240 eggs
• 2,000 Blue Chocolate Wafers
• 2,000 Green Chocolate Wafers
• 1,320 pounds sugar
• 1,000 candy canes
• 750 cookies
• 750 candy wreaths
• 600 pounds of Gingerbread dough
• 500 holly leaves
• 100 pounds of chocolate

"Each holiday season, we strive to surprise and delight our guests with all that Snowland has to offer," said Tim Black, Executive VP of Operations at Great Wolf Resorts. "Bringing the magic and whimsy of a life-sized Gingerbread House to life is an unforgettable experience and a first for our popular Snowland tradition. Supporting Big Brothers, Big Sisters means the impact of these larger-than-life installments will reach far beyond the doors of our resorts."

Features of each Gingerbread House were painstakingly baked, iced, candied and sugared on the grandest of scales to please patrons as they sit down to breakfast, lunch or dinner. Guests can even gather their families outside of the home for unforgettable family photos capturing the true magic of the season.

Every December since 2005, Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark resorts across the country transform into a winter wonderland complete with hourly snowfall inside the Grand Lobby and loads of entertaining activities. Snowland festivities begin with the official tree lighting ceremony in the Grand Lobby on Saturday, December 3, and include a special appearance by Santa. Great Wolf Lodge guests who visit Snowland can soak up the splendor of the season with caroling, holiday-themed Cub Club activities and gorgeous decorations – all within the warm confines of an 84-degree, indoor waterpark.

Snowland opens December 3, and continues through December 25. Guests of Great Wolf Lodge resorts will enjoy these family-friendly activities:

• Writing letters to Santa Claus at the Writing Depot
• Participating in holiday-themed crafts in the Cub Club
• Caroling and a special Snowland Clock Tower show
• Nightly story reading in the Grand Lobby with Rowdy the Reindeer
• Photo opportunities with the Gingerbread House and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus

Before guests arrive at the lodge, they can also enjoy the magic of Snowland virtually. With the use of augmented reality technology, families can create a Snowland scene of their own home by visiting www.greatwolf.com/snow. There is no need to wait on Mother Nature to bring snow this year.

About Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.® (NASDAQ: WOLF), Madison, Wis., is North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, and, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns, licenses  and/or operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge® brand. Great Wolf Resorts is a fully integrated resort company with Great Wolf Lodge locations in: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Sandusky, Ohio; Traverse City, Mich.; Kansas City, Kan.; Williamsburg, Va.; the Pocono Mountains, Pa.; Niagara Falls, Ontario; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; and Concord, N.C.

The company's resorts are family-oriented destination facilities that generally feature 300 to 600 rooms and a large indoor entertainment area measuring 40,000 to 100,000 square feet. The all-suite properties offer a variety of room styles, arcade/game rooms, fitness rooms, themed restaurants, spas, supervised children's activities and other amenities. The company's consolidated subsidiary, Creative Kingdoms, LLC, is a developer and operator of technology-based, interactive quest adventure experiences such as MagiQuest®.

Additional information may be found on the company's website at www.greatwolf.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:                                                                                                                                      

Amanda Roark, Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
608-662-4754 | [email protected]

Angie Amberg, Fleishman-Hillard
314-982-8646 | [email protected]

SOURCE Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.