Disney’s high prices are driving families to other resorts — and this one may be leading the charge

Once you add up park tickets, hotel costs, airfare, gas and food, a family trip to Disney or Universal can end up being more expensive than it is magical.

But the tradition of an annual adventure to an amusement park seems to be going away, according to the Wall Street Journal, with millennial parents opting for multiple “smaller” trips throughout the year instead.

The trend is seeing people go on more local road trips rather than traveling to big-name theme parks — and the Great Wolf Lodge and its expanding franchise is becoming the destination of choice.

Great Wolf Resorts is known for its indoor water parks that are kept at 84 degrees year-round, and there are more than 20 locations in the US and Canada, with more to come.

Between the currently open spots, two that will debut this year in Houston, Texas, and Naples, Florida, and another on the docket in 2025 as part of the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, about 90% of the US population will live within a four-hour drive of a Great Wolf Lodge, John Murphy, the company’s chief executive, told WSJ.

“Great Wolf has done a really good job of branding themselves as a true destination,” Josh Martin, president and creative director of Martin Aquatic — a design and engineering firm based in Orlando, Florida, that develops water-based attractions — told the outlet.

“With their expansion, it feels like they’re bringing the destination to you.”

One of the main selling points of Great Wolf Lodge is that everything is in one location.

“Not having to drive to get to the next fun thing was really important,” John Shaw, a 39-year-old consultant who aims to make regular trips with his wife and three kids, told WSJ.

Aside from having multiple waterslides, lazy rivers and other water-based activities, the resorts offer ropes courses, mini golf, bowling alleys, mirror mazes and outposts of Build-A-Bear Workshops.

Each resort also has a range of dining options, so families don’t even have to venture outside for food.