The History Of Great Wolf Lodge Mascots 

Update: The new 2019 costumes were designed by the company International Mascots, not sure if they did the older versions too

The 2022 designs of Wiley and Violet debuted at the movie screening Aug. 14th - and I can say, they are a HUGE improvement over the 2019s. OGs are still better, though.

I personally greatly adore the The Great Wolf Pack designs; the style is gorgeous and unique, plus each of the characters actually look like their respective species unlike their costumed counterparts I look forward to when the movie comes out 😊

I only went to Great Wolf Lodge once in 2014, and the only character I saw was Rachel, so it makes me more sad that she’s gone. #justice4rachelraccoon

15:05 "He is forever 10yrs old. Ash Ketchum: Hold my Pikachu. Timmy Turner: Hold my faires

The Great Wolf Kids 2010-2018 designs were cuter than anything I have ever seen! Sadly I never got to meet them, and now they are gone. But seeing photos and videos of them blowing kisses, dancing with and hugging little children, and making friends with them is so extremely adorable.

I don't understand why the Great Wolf Kids mascots had to get makeovers in the first place. You know what they say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I'm also disappointed they retired Rachel. She's so cute! All the Great Wolf Kids characters are!

I’ve only been to a Great Wolf Lodge once. I prefer Kalahari myself. Also thanks for including my interview with Violet.

I apparently got this big scar on my foot in great wolf lodge in the pool, everyone minded their own business. I investigated into this, and saw articles saying Great wolf is Haunted. I think I must've got attacked by a soul.

I’ve honestly never been to a Great Wolf Lodge but I remember seeing their commercials a lot when I was little!

Good video. Regarding the characters in Niagara Falls - only Wiley, Violet and Sammy use their 2019 versions here. Until about late last year or so, the 2013 version was still rotated around when the 2019 one was being cleaned - that is no longer done, as we've gone to the 2019 Wiley full time. Because of Oliver and Brinley's oversized heads on the 2019 versions, Niagara Falls chose to keep the original 2012-13 versions of both characters, likely due to safety risk. Rachel Raccoon is still used here likely to avoid wasting the costume (we received it in 2018.) Another thing to mention - the Niagara Falls location is separately owned by Ripley's, a company owned by the conglomerate and billboard owner The Jim Pattison Group. Many of the activities done in the US locations that are corporate owned do not apply in Niagara.

Hi! I’m the head Administrator from Great Wolf Lodge Wiki. I’m glad you found our photos and information useful.

I’m depressed that Scoops and cub club is gone. Any one else?

The vintage ones are my favorite! Went to the Cincinnati one every year since 2012. Update: as of 2024 we have not been back since January of 2022.

Tbh I'm surprised you think that The Great Wolf Pack designs are worse than the current mascot designs. They aren't like the previous incarnation but at least they're not that one bean mouth Toucan Sam design level of awful and at least look better than the current costumes in my opinion.

Personally, I think the new costumes are fine. Sure, they seem very clunky to perform in, but personally I don’t mind their designs. Of course, the older ones will ALWAYS be superior, but these new ones aren’t bad. I’m glad not all of them are used at Niagara Falls. Great video.

I actually like the designs of the characters for the cartoon. Especially Wily and Violet. Also, they've always been furries.

When I saw this video I was generally so happy- I've been looking for some kind of history video on Great Wolf and I haven't found any- I've been really interested in this place's history so I wanna say a big thank you for making this high-quality video talking about it! I definitely learned A TON of information from this- I didn't even know they had a reindeer mascot! ALSO Im so glad that there's other people who think the new mascot costume look so awful and cheap. I've been going to Great Wolf every year for doing good in school so the old mascots are really a big thing in my childhood, so seeing these-uh- Abominations really sucks. I feel that the old mascot costumes give the whole place a charm, idk just the fact that the whole place is designed to be a wooden lodge and having forest animal mascots just top it off. Also the movie designs-look SO generic-And if those become the new mascots- well ig we're just gonna have some furry ocs as the mascots now lol. Sorry for the long comment! 😅

I used to absolutely love the old Great Wolf Lodge characters (especially Violet, she is my fav). Every time I would visit, I would see as much GWL characters as possible and got to meet 5 out of the 6 characters (I could never find Sammy though even though I went to 3 separate locations). When I came back last year to a GWL, and I saw Violet, I said: "What is that?" All of the 6 main characters looked fantastic before the change in 2019. I felt like some of the childhood I once had when I went to GWL was gone. Last year, I didn't even bother to see any characters because I was just so frustrated. Most of the time I was at GWL, I just played Magi Quest, because I always have loved the game (and I was a helper to other people who needed help playing the game and i love doing that so other people can enjoy the game and have fun). I did play in the arcade a tiny bit as well, along with taking a picture with Sprinkles the bear statue, and spent the littlest time in the Waterpark since the water was constantly cold for some reason and the hot tub was litterally how a pool should feel like. Rarely did I spend time doing anything else besides playing Magi Quest. With all of these changes, my GWL childhood is just fading away slowly and it's just not the same anymore as it used to. Some spark faded away, but other than the characters being for some reason changed, I still think it's a good hotel to go to and its a good tradition for me and my family, especially with birthdays.

I would love to see a mascot character for the water park at great wolf lodge. Perhaps an Otter would be fitting 😉 Edit: I would like to see a mascot that doesn’t look like the 2019 costumes. Also as of now the great wolf pack is free to watch on RU-vid. I’ve seen it and it’s pretty good. Though it has a made for tv quality to it, and the animation is somewhat cheap looking but pleasing to look at.

Current long standing employee here - just wanna throw out some information here. 1. Scoops Spa and Oliver’s Time Challenge have pretty much been removed from lodges (at least my location). So no character use there. 2. If you haven’t seen current Brinley in person, pictures don’t do it justice. That head is MASSIVE. Also apparently his shorts were supposed to be swim trunks this whole time, so I guess he’s tied to the pools? 3. The characters that don’t have costumes are all pretty much dead. All have been or are currently being phased out slowly along with any other whimsical touches featuring characters. Scoops the Bear no longer exists and his statue is long gone at mine. The only one not being slowly taken out is Waymb, our lamest character, as one day they completely scrubbed anything of him clean as if he never existed. There is nothing left in my building even suggesting he was there. Pretty much only the main crew appearing at the end of this video lives on, but the beavers still get used for lore.

26:14 It's like if disney wants to phase out daisy because having two duck charaters in a company with two mouses isn't neccesary,I mean disney haves two mouses and two ducks mickey and minnie and donald and daisy Why not great wolf lodge have two wolves and two racoons

Just came back from the Niagara Falls location - and I saw 4 of the 5 Great Wolf Pack characters - Wiley, Violet, Sammy and Oliver - only missing Brinley due to him being not in rotation at the time of my stay (but they do have him). And trust me - they are miles better than the 2019s, but still not as good as the 2010s.

My favorite characters are all of the great wolf gang and I prefer the old designs

This video is kind of nostalgic. four years my family has been going to great Wolf Lodge. it used to be kind of like a tradition that every three years we go to great Wolf Lodge. I never knew that wildly had a completely different design back then, it looks like a Knock off adventure Chuck lol

I actually think brinley’s new design adorable

This was a very fun and informative video history of the Great Wolf Lodge mascots! :D I personally loved the mascots from the 2099 era the most. They were so gosh darn adorable! XD The downgrade was hilariously sad. XD But I do love the current movie mascot/character designs too. The wolves being teenagers and the rest of the pack as lil kids fit well. I especially love Brimley's new current design. X3 Speaking of which, will you be making a review of the movie? It's free on RU-vid :D

I went to Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls in 2008 for my 10th Birthday trip and they still had the original mascots Wiley and Biko! It was pretty fun going down the water slides playing mini golf you name it!

As someone who never heard of the Great wolf lodge until the animated movie came out, I honestly like the cartoon designs better, they are cute and fun to watch

Movie designs remind me of how how modern sonic looks different compared to the original movie sonic design and why does Wiley look like Mr. Wolf from the bad guys

Great Video from a viewer in Paducah. I did see the Great Wolf episode of Undercover Boss and the deleted scene with Wiley and it became one of my favorites. When I first saw the newer 2019 version, I thought they looked weird in the beginning, the Gurnee, IL location didn't have the 2013 version for long since it opened in 2018. Keep up the good work though.

This was such an awesome series! Thank you so much for sharing this episode with us today!

I haven't been to great wolf Lodge for a long time, maybe I'll go there with you

I wouldn’t say it was a part of EVERYONE’S childhood but definitely was a part of most peoples childhoods

The high quality Wiley the Wolf mascot is only for sale. Why can't all of the Great Wolf Lodge mascots be for sale in high quality?

I remember watching this last year and also Happy birthday Nathan! (also Rachel too lol)

To be honest, The Great Wolf Pack was how I heard of this resort, and I loved the movie!

Back around 2012 through 2018, my husband and i took our toddlers there every year on vacation. As they aged, we changed vacation location to the beach. This year, we decided to take them back since they hadnt been there for awhile. Safe to say, we all were surprised at the change in costume design. They were excited for the meeting in the lobby and would watch the time to not miss the characters. Well, that was until they saw what they now look like. It was a disappointment; I thought they were cute the way they were and didn't need to change. But, it's still a fun place to take kids.

Oh wow I rewatched this almost a year later and forgot how much different versions there were! I actually might do something similar to do someday about the entire history!

The new designs look alright, but too bubbly in my opinion (though the wolves look awful)

UPDATE MARCH 2023: And it looks like Rachel has been retired in Niagara(not confirmed - just haven't seen a new pic with her since January). That location has replaced all the OG and 2019 versions of the characters with the Great Wolf Pack(2022) versions of the characters - including Oliver and Brinley, meaning the Great Wolf Kids are now officially retired chain-wide.

In my opinion, I actually really like the designs of the Great Wolf Pack characters. I mean, it's kinda out of left feild for a kids resort chain to be make a fully fledged film, but then again, stuff like Sneak King exist, so I guess its not that weird. But yeah, overall, I think they're light-years better than the new mascots, and I'm curious to see how good the movie is. Edit: Since the plot is about them traveling to different "worlds", I can't help but imagine the Great Wolf Pack characters going to the Dark world from Deltarune, as unlikely as that is. But hey, it would still be cool to meet Ralsei and Spamton. ;)

In my day the characters of 2009-2010 were more kid friendly and were all loved by the children. That's what the kids want

Specs the owl is an animatronic

Happy birthday Sammy for a late birthday. And happy birthday bico and happy brithday Wiley happy birthday Wiley sister

I've seen many ads on The Great Wolf Lodge but I have never stepped foot in there yet. I'm sure it's nice. :)

I really love these costume characters! I wish they brought Rachel Back as a costume back.

It’s a darn shame never got to go to Great Wolf Lodge in my childhood. I’ve seen building and the commercials, but I’ve never been there. 😔

When I went to that place I don’t see the mascots

Happy Belated Birthday Nathan!

I believe the costumes were made by international mascots.

I wish they could make a skunk character that’s shy and timid And he should have the same birthday as me

My Local is Garden Grove, CA. I love your mascot videos!

Hi Nathan! I was thinking, could you possibly make a video about the history of the Showbiz and Chuck E Cheese animatronics? Like starting from 1977 to the present day?

Yet another update from Niagara Falls: The Great Wolf Pack versions of WIley and Violet are now in Canada. So all the locations have retired the 2019 Wiley and VIolet - hopefully our location doesn't hold onto them for a year or two like they did after 2019 Wiley debuted.. a version as mentioned that was so awful, Niagara actually kept the 2013 suit in rotation all the way until late 2021 - and never updated Oliver and Brinley, deciding to wait until the Great Wolf Pack versions come. And I can say - the new 2022 versions of Wiley and Violet are a HUGE improvement - they can actually move their necks like the 2010-13 versions, unlike the 2019 ones. Rachel Raccoon is still in Niagara Falls as of early 2023 - she was at the New Year's party.

They made new mascots of the great wolf lodge characters from the movie

I’m going to great Wolf Lodge on my birthday

26:58 - that pic I believe was taken in Niagara Falls (we did not get the 2013 Wiley until after the Wolf Your World tour - so we had to use the 2009-10 version at the time).

"Look at how they massacred my boy Wiley" Bad timing to get a Cheetos ad 💀

And that's how the kids turned into flurries

Dang, I loved Rachel, she was my favorite

Bro I’ve never been to the great wolf lounge but i remember seeing commercials for it all the time

The animation is absolute fire

I'll be honest, the Great Wolf Pack redesign Wiley looks like Mr. Wolf from the bad guys movie (or at least a prototype version of him that looks similar to the final version) with the wardrobe of the cookie crisp mascot Chip the wolf.

can you do Specs the Owl from great wolf lodge mascot

23:58 I found out Rachel is Oliver's younger sister on the Great Wolf Lodge wiki

Dude, I Love Duran Duran. Since You Got Their song playing in the end. And, Also, I didn't know Great Wolf Lodge was getting a movie.

Wow that's cool one of the characters visit your room to give some milk and cookies , man i want to go there

heard they are making a set of animated shorts called "the great wolf pack" directed by animation veteran Chris Bailey. Which makes me excited

At Fitchburg Ma they do not have scoops anymore if you wanted to go to scoops there

The Great Wolf Friends Members: Wiley the Wolf Violet the Wolf Oliver Raccoon Brinley Bear Sammy Squirrel Rachel Raccoon Biko the Bear Yellowfeather

i love Violet

You should really do a follow up to this vid talking about the 2022 redesigned characters now that they’re in mascot form now.

I was starting to think I was the only one who didn't like Chris Diamantopolous' Mickey... Also, the animated Wiley and Violet look like the foxes from "Arctic Dogs".

"Great Wolf Lodge isn't as recognizable as something like McDonald's!" -Nathan Spies, 2022

I didn’t ask for this to be a video but he delivered

fun fact: tooth and nail had statues at the wave pool in some locations. for example, there’s one at 29:59 (the pennsylvania location was one i think)

This was a nice video 👏👏

22:49 that version of Sammy the Squirrel mascot is my favorite😍😻💕 I wish I could wear it!😍😻💖

I love the waterpark

Fun fact! I'm actually heading next week! This gives my nostalgia

42:55 leads us with a cool reference to Alpha and omega 1 back in 09/2010

39:11 that text aged like fine milk

Fleegle the beagle; (just starts playing a piano and shows every single bad bluey fanart) avenger chuck; WHY IN THE WORLD WILL MAKE THEM BLUEY FANART!

Dang the new mascot costumes look worse than Rockstar Chuck E.

I seen Rachel before lucky me. I should’ve got a picture it would valuable over time

The old Wiley is nightmare fuel 💀

hi

I hate how they went from Disney quality costumes to absolute shit that company Cowan Costumes also makes the costumes for Chuck E Cheese

We've always laughed for years at the name......Nail the beaver.

Since the great wolf pack movie came out in 2022 The characters look like they grown up For example the Wiley and Violet costumes feel like they were younger in the the great wolf kids for almost 10 years, and the 2019 costumes are the same age as the last costumes and in at the end of 2022 after the movie Wiley and Violet wolf costumes way different so are Brinley, Sammy, Oliver. Wiley and Violet are teenagers.

They have a RU-vid channel with a trailer now! The movie comes out in a few weeks

I've watched the Great Wolf Pack, and I love the plot behind the movie itself and the characters' personalities and roles, but I don't care for their new designs. Why couldn't they use the Great Wolf Kids designs for the movie? They were much cuter.🤦‍♀️

33:08 Would be my reaction too, let's be honest

I never went here actually, it hasnt been my childhood

Is anyone going to acknowledge that Wiley is now voiced by Eugeo?

the great wolf lodge in mason ohio is where i go too

33:33 Murray Cook: my childhood is ruined! 😂😂😂😂

Could you do a history of my Chuck E Cheese in Joliet, IL?

Another update: Oliver's new costume: ru-vid.comFlwKhDbtLAE