The instructors guided us through a series of poses including "downward wolf."

It was a rare moment of Zen during a 24-hour water-soaked stay at a Great Wolf Lodge, the indoor water-park resort chain better known as kidpalooza.

I booked a last-minute stay with my daughter and her twin three-year-olds, Ivy and Isla, at the tail end of winter break, a decision questioned by more than a few friends. The 350-suite hotel on the Salt River Reservation near Scottsdale was so full of vacationing families that we couldn't get a room until Sunday, and it was nearly sold out that night, too.

It was exhausting and expensive, but we're already plotting a return. One family I met called it Las Vegas for children. This Las Vegas doesn't come with a hangover unless you spend too much time at The Watering Hole inside the water park. One mom went viral on Threads just before Christmas for a post questioning the amount of alcohol at Great Wolf Lodge.

"Have you met children?'' was one of the kinder responses.

I didn't see any raucous parties during my visit. But pulling up a bar stool isn't an option when you're dealing with twin toddlers who are still learning to swim. If they were in the pool, we were in the pool. And we were in the pool a lot.

Here's how our 24 hours of controlled chaos unfolded. As always, my stay was anonymous.

Sunday

1 p.m.: Rooms generally aren't ready until 4 p.m., but you can use the water park and other amenities before and after you check out. A check-in kiosk in the lobby spit out our orange water-park passes and saved me from standing in line at the front desk.

But not before asking me -- for the umpteenth time -- whether I wanted to buy any extras. Like many hotel-chains today, Great Wolf is a master upseller. At every turn, you are asked whether you want to buy passes for attractions including a climbing wall and ropes course, dining packages, late checkout ($79) and more.

These upsells can add hundreds of dollars to your bill.

I met an Arizona family of four that spent about $1,000 all-in for their one-night stay. This included the popular MagiQuest interactive game their 7- and 10-year-old daughters played repeatedly. It was the family's second visit to Great Wolf Lodge.

I passed on all of the extras. That doesn't mean the twins weren't tempted by the stores on the promenade leading to the indoor water park and ogling the arcade games. One of them darted into the candy store the second she saw it on our first day. The only souvenirs we bought were $25 "Finding Nemo" bubble blowers that they couldn't put down.

1:55 p.m.: A screeching howl goes off inside the water park. It took me a couple of hours to figure out that this signals a rush of waves at the wave pool. The twins darted from the pool as they heard it and could mimic the howl by the end of the trip.

The water park was crammed, and it took time to find chairs. But the only time I felt claustrophobic was in the lazy river. It was like human bumper boats. The twins loved it. Lifeguards were everywhere, and life vests were complimentary.

Lunch was a platter of french fries, a soft pretzel with cheese and Dippin' Dots.

3:15 p.m.: The twins were too short for all but the kiddie waterslides. But there is one "thrill" ride the whole family can tackle -- and they talked me into it. Twice.

You reach River Canyon Run after an 80-step climb. It was the only place in the park where we encountered a line longer than a few minutes. When it's your turn, everyone gets into an oversize yellow inner tube, and you swish through an enclosed waterslide. I playfully screamed on the first run, scaring the twins, so we all sang "Let it Go" the next time.

6 p.m.: Our Wolf Den Suite, which includes bunk beds, was ready early but we finally made our way up there just before dinner. The girls changed into their princess dresses du jour, and we headed back downstairs. We walked off the elevator into a dance party. They were still playing Christmas music, but the girls loved it.

Much more so than dinner. We waited nearly 30 minutes for a table at Barnwood, and the girls lasted maybe 15 minutes. All they wanted to do was play with Nemo. The servers are used to this and brought over a "just in case" to-go cup for my daughter's margarita.

Next time I'll borrow a page from Great Wolf veterans and BYOP. I saw one family bring in Costco pizza and another head down the elevator for a Domino's delivery.

The water park stayed open until 8 p.m., but our swimming day was over. There's a reason the chain's do-not-disturb sign says "All Splashed Out."

8 p.m.: Lights out for all of us!

Monday

6:40 a.m.: We arrived at the hotel's Dunkin' Donuts about 10 minutes after it opened. We weren't the first ones. One mom was working remotely from her laptop.

The water park doesn't open until 10 a.m., so we had a few hours to fill. Enter some chill time in the room, more bubbles by Nemos and the yoga.

10:30 a.m.: Back in line for the water park. First up: the lazy liver, as one of the girls calls it. Then the wave pool, the basketball pool, the kiddie pool and at least four trips to the bathroom.

12:30 p.m.: One smoothie break later, we got back in line for a final ride on River Canyon Run. I tried to coax the twins outside to warm up in the hot tub, but they were melting down. They were done with Great Wolf.

And so was I. During my stay, the hotel dangled a second night for $149.99 (my first night was $340 before taxes). I didn't consider it for even a second. I'm willing to go back, but two consecutive nights is too much.

I Survived a Night at a Great Wolf Lodge With Twin Toddlers