When Sheri Zielinski’s son Adam was born in 2010, she and her husband, Jonathan, looked forward to him joining big sister, Rachel, where the two would grow up together; they were a year and a half apart. But at 37 weeks into her pregnancy, Zielinski learned that Adam was not growing and she would have to deliver him early.
“When Adam was born, his little head could fit in the palm of my hand,” Zielinski said.
Within hours, she learned that his little head contained a brain not fully developed with its fragments floating in his skull. He was born with a genetic microdeletion. Zielinski said she spent the next six years caring for Adam and giving him as many experiences as she could so that he could live as normal a life as possible, she said. Then in 2014, little brother, Elliot, came along.
Doctors told Zielinski at the time that Adam qualified for Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with critical illnesses, but she declined. “I thought there were people more deserving,” she said. In 2017, when her husband was on a business trip, Zielinski woke up to find that Adam had died sometime during the night.
As the family was getting adjusted to not having Adam around, Zielinski was enjoying a movie night with Elliot when a slight turn of his head revealed a lump on the side of his neck. “I looked on Google and half of the things I read said it could be nothing and the other half said it could be cancer,” she said. It was the latter.
Tests revealed Elliot had Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that normally occurs in older children. After two years of intense chemotherapy and radiation, recent scans show there is no sign of the cancer. Zielinski said he is doing great.
Once again, Zielinski said she qualified for Make-A-Wish Foundation and this time she accepted the offer.
Zielinski and her family were one of nine Make-a-Wish families invited to attend the grand opening of Maryland’s first Great Wolf Lodge, which donates to the organization and invited the families for an overnight stay to celebrate its grand opening.
“I am so grateful to have been invited. I feel great. I feel blessed, like someone was looking out for me,” Zielinski said.
Great Wolf Lodge in Perryville is the 20th resort in North America for the family entertainment and indoor water park resort brand, and its largest, with 700 family-friendly suites and an expansive 128,000 square-foot indoor water park featuring 22 slides for thrill seekers of every age.
“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 the region,” said Great Wolf Resorts Chief Executive Officer John Murphy, who was joined Thursday by Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore-born actor Anna Faris for the grand opening celebration.
“Since we broke ground, we’ve had unprecedented levels of excitement from families throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, who are eager to enjoy a close, convenient and carefree family getaway at our newest resort,” Murphy added. “We’re excited to be a part of this community and help stimulate the local economy by attracting countless new visitors to the area and creating over a thousand new jobs.”
Great Wolf Lodge Maryland represents an investment of more than $250 million from investment firms Blackstone and Centerbridge, with more than 1,000 full and part-time jobs at the resort. The new resort also aims to boost tourism and attract visitors from neighboring states and cities like Philadelphia, Wilmington, Washington D.C. and New York City, who want to get away close to home.
“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,” Moore said. “We are going to make sure that Great Wolf Lodge Maryland is the number one Great Wolf Resort location in the nation.”
“We’re excited to bring Great Wolf Lodge to another location in North America, this time in Perryville, Maryland,” said Maryland native Rob Harper, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Asset Management Americas, in a statement. “This is our largest Great Wolf Lodge to date and we achieved a record level of pre-bookings for the resort. We know the joy that these resorts bring to families, and we are proud of the many jobs they create for communities across the country.”
Grand opening festivities also featured a number of charitable moments, such as Great Wolf Lodge challenging Faris to test ride the water slides as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. Faris conquered all 22 slides at the indoor water park, resulting in a $22,000 donation to Make-A-Wish. Additionally, celebrity chef Duff Goldman showcased new limited-edition Adventure Cakes to benefit The Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins, which will be available at the resort over its first summer, with 100% of the revenue from sales benefiting the Maryland-based organization serving critically ill children from across the United States.
“It’s not often that you get to ride water slides, help a great cause and be a part of a historic grand opening event all in the same day,” Faris said. “As a working mom, I value spending quality time with my family, and my husband, son and I had the best time playing in the water park and exploring everything Great Wolf Lodge has to offer.”
“We are a water slide-loving family, so we’ve been riding slides almost non-stop since we got here,” Goldman said. “This resort is a great addition to the state of Maryland, and we’re excited to bring a taste of Charm City Cakes to the families who visit, while also helping support Children’s House at Johns Hopkins.”
The year-round resort offers attractions and amenities for all ages, with some completely new experiences at the Perryville location, including:
- A 128,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, heated to 84 degrees Fahrenheit and featuring a variety of body slides, tube slides, raft rides, activity pools, and splash areas for every member of the family and level of thrill seeker.
- New High Paw Holler and Forest Flume body slides. High Paw Holler mimics the sensation felt racing down a ski slope, with constant excitement and anticipation for the next turn or drop. Forest Flume sends riders through open flumes into back-to-back turns, twisty curves, 360-degree loops, and into quick acceleration drops and high-banking loops.
- A 57,000-square-foot family entertainment center known as the Great Wolf Adventure Park. Here, families can scale a multi-level ropes course, play a round of miniature golf or step into the fantasy world of MagiQuest – Great Wolf Lodge’s exclusive live-action adventure game where players use interactive magic wands to assist pixies and battle dragons and goblins.
- Every evening just before bedtime, families can gather in the Grand Lobby of Great Wolf Lodge Maryland for a multi-sensory immersive storytelling experience. During The Legend of Luna show, the lobby magically transforms, using projection technology and special effects to tell an enchanting fable about a young wolf who longs to find her place in the world.
- A collection of complimentary family events and activities including Yoga Tails, a program that combines tales of the Northwoods creatures with yoga poses, themed arts and craft projects, and Great Wolf Lodge’s signature nightly dance parties.
- Several dining options that will appeal to a variety of culinary styles ranging from pizza and burgers, to the full-service, elevated dining experience at Barnwood, to the premium ice cream and confectionary treats at Wood’s End Creamery and breakfast delights at Dunkin’.
- 700 family-friendly suites featuring a new, contemporary design and available in a variety of categories and styles including themed suite which feature a separate sleeping quarters for kids complete with bunk beds and Great Wolf Kids character theming. The resort also offers a collection of multiple bedroom suites that can sleep up to 13 people for large families or multi-generational groups. An overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge Maryland includes two days of indoor water park fun – with access to the water park starting after 1pm on check-in day.
More information about the resort is available at 1-888-983-WOLF (9653).
Editor’s note: This article was updated with a statement from Blackstone Real Estate Asset Management Americas, an investor in the Great Wolf Lodge Maryland site.
