With water in the pools and lifeguards in training, Great Wolf Lodge Arizona is moving up its opening date. The family-friendly resort known for its indoor water parks will now open its 18th location Sept. 18.

General Manager Brian Johnson said the hotel hired more than 650 employees through its job fair and held its first orientation last week with training continuing this week, reports The Arizona Republic, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.

Johnson said more than 2,000 people applied for jobs to come work at the resort on the Salt River Reservation near Scottsdale, Arizona.

"From our standpoint, we were able to select the best of the best," Johnson said.

Great Wolf Lodge coupon code

The resort is offering a discount on bookings at the new location in honor of the grand opening.

If you go to greatwolf.com and use the code GRAND you can get 30% off a one-night stay, 40% off a two-night stay and 50% off a stay of three or more nights.

The calendar is filling up, though. A representative said bookings have surpassed expectations both in number and how far in advance people are booking.

"It's definitely exceeded expectations," said Jason Lasecki, director of corporate communications for Great Wolf Lodge.

He said the best opportunities are between Sept. 18 and 27 and in January and February 2020.

The chain had a nationwide sale earlier this month, with some rooms starting as low as $84 a night. The price mirrored the 84-degree temperature to which the chain's signature indoor water parks are climate controlled.

Great Wolf day passes in testing

In other parts of the country, Great Wolf Lodge has been testing day passes, but those will not be coming to Arizona anytime soon.

Lasecki said the resort wants to make sure it can handle the guests who are staying at the resort before it opens up the water park to day users.

You can connect with Arizona Republic Consumer Travel Reporter Melissa Yeager at melissa.yeager@azcentral.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.