bring the pack

Great Wolf Lodge breaks ground on massive indoor water park resort in new Texas city

Great Wolf Lodge is coming to Webster.

Photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge

Fans of Grapevine's Great Wolf Lodge will now be able to hit their favorite water park in another Texas city. The popular nationwide family resort and indoor park will break ground in Webster, near Houston, on Thursday, September 22.

It will be Great Wolf Lodge's second Texas location.

Great Wolf Lodge Gulf Coast Texas will boast 532 rooms and — importantly for kids and families — a 95,000-square-foot indoor water park and a 58,000-square-foot family entertainment center known as the Great Wolf Adventure Park. The 27-acre destination, located east of the Gulf Freeway near the Flyway at Clear Creek development, is slated to open in mid-to-late 2024, according to Great Wolf Resorts announcement.

“With millions of families visiting our resort in Grapevine, we know Texas families love the Great Wolf Lodge experience and we’re excited to introduce our second resort to the Lone Star State,” said Murray Hennessy, CEO of Great Wolf Resorts. “A hallmark of Great Wolf Lodge is that we help families strengthen their pack by offering a fun-filled getaway that is close, convenient and carefree, and with this new resort, we will be able to better serve families in the Houston area and southeastern portions of the state.”

Accommodating year-round visitors, Great Wolf Lodge Gulf Coast Texas will feature myriad attractions and amenities for all ages, including:

The resort features a massive indoor entertainment hub.Photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge

● An expansive, 95,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, heated to a comfortable 84 degrees, featuring a variety of body slides, tube slides, raft rides, activity pools and splash areas for every member of the family – from toddlers and teens to parents and grandparents.

● A 58,000-square-foot family entertainment center known as the Great Wolf Adventure Park. This center will offer a variety of family-friendly attractions, including MagiQuest – Great Wolf Lodge’s exclusive live action-adventure game where players use interactive magic wands to battle goblins and dragons.

● A collection of complimentary family events and activities including Yoga Tails, a morning exercise program that combines tales from the creatures found in the Spirit Water Forest with yoga poses, and evening events such as Great Wolf Lodge’s signature Hustle & Howl dance party and Story Time event.

● Several dining options that will appeal to a variety of culinary styles ranging from pizza and burgers to upscale dining and premium ice cream treats at Wood’s End Creamery.

● Family-friendly suites in a variety of categories and styles including Great Wolf-themed suites with separate sleeping quarters for kids designed as either a log cabin or wolf den and outfitted with bunk beds and Great Wolf character theming. The resort will also feature suites with multiple bedrooms for large families or multi-generational groups.

Area businesses can make use of the destination’s more than 11,000 square feet of flexible conference space with breakout rooms, built-in A/V technology, customizable catering options, and a team of dedicated industry professionals to serve visiting conferences and events.

Great Wolf Lodge slide Families can slide into the fun in 2024.Photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge

Aside from a major tourist attraction, Great Wolf Lodge’s new outpost will be a boon for area employment. An estimated 600 construction and trade workers will be on-site each day during the peak of construction. And the resort will fill approximately 500 full and part-time jobs to prepare for the grand opening, with positions including senior management, engineering, IT professionals, lifeguards, guest service agents, housekeepers, and more.

In an effort to seamlessly integrate with the community, the new resort will operate with environmentally friendly practices, including energy usage and water consumption.

The resort’s location in Webster makes the perfect addition to a weekend jaunt to nearby NASA/Johnson Space Center/Space Center Houston — as well as Galveston.

“Tourism is one of Webster’s top economic drivers,” said Donna Rogers, mayor of the City of Webster, in a statement, “and Great Wolf Lodge is a force multiplier that will attract visitors from a super regional and global market.”

Great Wolf Resorts currently operate across the U.S. and in Canada. The company plans more growth: a Great Wolf Lodge in Perryville, Maryland is scheduled to open summer of 2023 and a location in Naples, Florida just broke ground.

Fans of the howlingly fun resort can stay up to date on developments on the company’s social media channels and on www.greatwolf.com.

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Module News

DFW Airport shares peek of pre-fab modules at new Terminal F

DFW Airport

Ooooh nice module, DFW.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has completed its latest construction milestone: what it calls the "historic" move of six prefabricated module structures that will form the framework for the first phase of the airport’s new Terminal F.

The modules, some nearly as large as a football field, were moved overnight during a two-week period using self-propelled modular transporters along one of DFW’s airside taxiways. The structures were then placed onto the foundations constructed at the Terminal F site, where the facility will now proceed to the next stage of construction.

This is DFW’s third project to deploy the innovative module-based method to reconstruct or expand its terminal facilities, with the most recent moves being the largest modules for a terminal expansion at any airport.

The modules for Terminal F are approximately four times larger than the structures moved earlier this year for the ongoing expansion of Terminal C. The largest of the six modules measured 278 feet long by 136 feet wide and weighed 3,320 tons – about as heavy as 12 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody aircraft.

According to DFW CEO Chris McLaughlin, embracing modular construction is faster, with less impact on travelers. He's not the only fan of modular construction and the benefits it brings to airports.

DFW Executive VP of Infrastructure and Development Mohamed Charkas is also a fan of modular construction. ““DFW is at the forefront of innovation in terminal construction, continually redefining what's possible,” Charkas says.

In May, DFW and American Airlines announced the decision to expand the scope and accelerate the phasing of the new Terminal F. With the first phase of construction already underway, DFW has been designing the subsequent phases while concurrently building the modules offsite.

The first phase of the Terminal F expansion program is anticipated to open with 15 gates in 2027.

Terminal F is planned to ultimately deliver a total of 31 gates to be serviced entirely by American Airlines, expand capacity for international operations and widebody aircraft, and include areas to facilitate parking, ticketing, check-in, security screening and baggage operations.

American will return some gates in other areas of the airport, which will help facilitate the growth of other airlines at DFW as well.

In addition to a new centralized Skylink Station, which is included with the first phase of construction, the final configuration will provide a walking connection with Terminal D.

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