The town of Perryville, Maryland, just across the Susquehanna River from Havre de Grace, officially welcomed a major tourist draw last week. Great Wolf Lodge, a family resort and indoor water park, opened its largest destination in the United States. It boasts 700 family-friendly suites and its water park features 22 different slides, making it a mecca for parents or grandparents with kids.
“Great Wolf Lodge Maryland was built specifically for families and brings a new level of immersive entertainment not only to our brand, but to the entire region,” said the resort’s Chief Executive Officer, John Murphy.
Murphy, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and a special celebrity guest, Baltimore native and actress Anna Faris, took part in the grand opening celebration on Thursday. Faris was tasked with trying out every slide the park had to offer, and for every slide she tried, $1,000 was donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They raised all $22,000.
The resort’s $250 million investment has led to more than 1,000 full and part-time jobs to be created and a vast amount of tourism to Cecil County and the upper Bay region. The park is located an hour away from Baltimore and Philadelphia, also close to Washington D.C. State leaders are counting on the 48-acre property to draw visitors to Maryland.
“Today, we are not just opening an indoor water park resort – but we are creating jobs in our communities and making Maryland a destination for families all across the state, country and world,” said Moore.
The year-round family resort offers attractions and amenities for all ages including some new experiences added to the resort. These include a 128,000-square-foot indoor waterpark with two new slides exclusive to the Maryland location: High Paw Holler and Forest Flume. The park also features a huge family entertainment center known as Great Wolf Adventure Park and a new show is called The Legend of Luna.
An overnight stay at the park includes two days of indoor water park admission, with access to the water park after 1 p.m. on the day of your check-in. The standard rate starts at $199.99 per night.
Danielle Hornberger, Cecil County Executive, said that 61 percent of the jobs at the lodge were filled by Cecil County residents.
To learn more, visit greatwolf.com. The park is offering 50 percent off to those who book before July 9 (stay between June 14, 2023 – April 20, 2024).
-Dorothy Hood
