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Friday, Jun 5, 2026

Operator Named for Garden Grove Water Park

Colorado-based hotel developer McWhinney Enterprises LLC has tapped Great Wolf Resorts Inc. to operate the developer’s indoor water park planned for Garden Grove.

Wisconsin-based Great Wolf announced Monday its plans to oversee the water park, which is part of the $300 million, 10.3-acre water park hotel set to go up in Garden Grove.

The Great Wolf Lodge will be part McWhinney’s International West Resort, which in addition to the water park is set to include 600 suites and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

Great Wolf will run the development’s 100,000-square-foot water park and additional indoor entertainment areas.

The indoor water park operator oversees 12 additional resorts in the U.S., including Great Wolf Lodges in Grapevine, Texas, and Pocono Mountains, Pa.

The city of Garden Grove has been pushing the planned water park hotel through the approval stages for a 2012 groundbreaking.

In April, it agreed to pay the Colorado-based developer $42 million when the hotel opens.

Last month, the city paid $1.4 million to buy the last piece of land needed to make way for the water park resort.

Officials estimate the city will get $8.5 million a year in bed tax, property and sales taxes once the hotel opens.

The development has met some opposition from the residents of the Travel Country RV Park who sued the city last August over fair relocation.

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