Wisconsin Dells..can this be done on a budget?

[Jenny-momof3]

I know nothing about Wisconsin Dells other than looking at it looks like SO much fun! We are go go go people when we vacation and it looks like there would be lots to do here!

I need some recommendations on places to stay for a family of 6..one under 3 yrs. old. Are some hotels more fun then others? What else is there to do besides the awesome water parks?

TIA for any info you can send my way! Trying to see if this is something that might be in the budget to do this year in addition to our Disney trips!

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

I've been to the Dells a bazillion times, so hopefully I can be of some help!

First of all, I highly recommend the Wilderness resort. We've stayed in both the regular resort and in the Wilderness On The Lake section. I much prefer the On The Lake section, as the rooms are all 2-3 bedroom condos with full kitchens, and huge sun rooms with a fireplace, TV, and hot tub. All the rooms look out on to the lake (can't remember the name, sorry) and over to the regular resort. The rates aren't bad at all, considering how large the room is.

There is a small water park area in the On The Lakes section, but you will have to drive over to the main Wilderness resort area for the huge water parks. It is less than a 5 minute drive, and parking is readily available right outside the water park. There are two or three huge indoor water parks right in the main building, as well as a large outdoor one for the summer. You can easily spend all day in the water parks, and admission is included with your room.

I've also stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and the Kalahari. The GWL is very nice, with tons of stuff to do indoors. We used to go there three or four weekends of every winter when you couldn't go outside. The rooms aren't as large at the GWL, but they are all nice, and again, there is just so much to do.

I wouldn't recommend the Kalahari. There are always tons of high school groups there, and it can get rowdy pretty fast. The rooms are not the nicest, and the hotel overall is kinda old and dingy.

As far as other things to do, I haven't been to the Dells in over a year, so I'm not sure if anything has really changed. I know there's a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum and some sort of upside down White House thing. Downtown Dells is so tacky...

There are multiple casinos near by if you're interested in gambling, and of course there are tons of water parks. If you go in summer, I recommend Noah's Ark. It's huge and really fun, but just for one day.

 

[erincon23]

Find the websites for Wilderness Lodge, Dells Visitors Bureau, and the Wisconsin Visitors Bureau, and for any other hotels you might be interested in, and register. You 'll get discount offers -- some can be significant. Look through the Dells website -- you can see all the hotels and resorts and get an idea. Some of the bigger resorts, like Great Wolf and Wilderness, limit their water parks to resort guests only, but others (Treasure Island?) offer day passes to their waterparks, so you could stay at a cheaper place and go to a nice water park. We haven't been for a couple of years, but not much changes. The sight-seeing boat trips are fun, you can usually find 2-for-1 for the mini-golf courses, there's an attraction called Wizard Quest (you have to find the answers to clues -- interactive displays, mirror mazes, slides, all kinds of things) and may be able to find discounts, the Ducks boat rides are fun.

For 6 of you, if you want to go cheaper than the Wilderness or Great Wolf (which are all pretty expensive, but what's expensive is in the eye of the beholder), you may want to consider a cabin in one of the cabin resorts -- you'll have a kitchen, there may be a beach -- and then you can just do day stuff. We've never done this -- we have a smaller family that fits in one hotel room -- but some of them look nice.

You can drive from the Dells to Baraboo and go to the Circus Museum -- they actually have a circus performance, a museum,and some other things -- I enjoyed it.

Have fun! The Dells is one of our favorite places to go (outside of Disney, of course)!

 

[Poohbug]

IF you are bringing a bunch of people with you, I would recommend Wilderness Lodge-Glacier Canyon. They are one, two and three bedroom units with kitchen and washer/dryer. Check out ebay-you can find some good deals.

Food is expensive-especially the food booths around the pool areas. You will spend the same or less money by going to a decent sit down restaurant. I like the Moose Jaw, Culvers, Famous Dave's and Monks for casual dining. If you want a really nice meal, the Del Bar has nice steak and the best prime rib I have ever had.

Sometimes you can find discounted tickets to water parks at certain gas stations. Research the internet before hand to find deals. There is also a visitor coupon/discount book released every spring you can receive by mail or pick up when you get there.

 

[daughtersrus]

We have a lake house about an hour north of there. We visit often but we've never stayed in a hotel there. There is a radio shopping show out of a western Chicago suburb that offers discount certificates. If you order from them, they will mail it to you for an extra charge (I think it's $1.00). Here is the link if you would like to see what offers they have. In the search field, click on Wisconsin Dells. http://www.wbig1280.com/catalog/index.asp

Ho Chunk casino is right down the street if you gamble. They do have child care (Kid's Quest). Casinos in WI are NOT smoke free like they are here in IL. That's a plus for some but a negative for me.

 

[dgr1973]

We have also been to the Dells more times then I can count and I agree with pp's about the Wilderness, it's a great place but can be very expensive. My dh and I joke about going to the dells for a few days costs almost as much as a disney vacation(well not really but it can be alot) I will suggest NOT staying are going to Mt Olympus! I cannot stress this enough because it is horrible and everyone that works there is from eastern europe! They offer all kinds of great deals and the smaller hotels sometimes offer free tickets if you stay with them but dont go for it. We made that mistake twice thinking the first time was just a fluke so we gave it another go - well never again! I am not a fussy person at all and I LOVE a good bargain but I will gladly spend the money to stay at Wilderness or Kalahari. I will say the giant wave pool is pretty cool and just about the only good thing there.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

Hi Jenny: It really depends on the kind of trip you are looking for. We have gone tons of times. Before we were married, hubby and I would stay at "motels" that are everywhere and pay to go to Noah's Arc waterpark followed by string margaritas at Mexicali Rose. Then we had kids and used to frequesnt the Grand Marquis. They have such a cute indoor waterpark for little kids (6 or under would LOVE it) plus outdoor pool. Rooms were not fancy but super clean and had fridge and microwave, etc.

That said, the kids are older and want cooler waterparks and I like a resort-feel as well. We usually stay at Chula Vista. It is a resort with a spa, huge indoor and outdoor waterparks, rooms, condos or golf villas, etc. They have bars and restaurants too. It is a bit off the beaten path. We were disappointed last summer that they now seel wristbands to the waterpark, so it is not just resort guests. It was PACKED. We probably won't return.

We tried The Wilderness too. It was nice, more expensive than Chula, but not by much. We will probably go there this summer or try Great Wolf.

One thing that is NOT TO MISS is Big Sky Drive-In. It is a bit outside of town (10 minute drive at most) and is a throw-back to old drive-in movie theaters. SO clean, great consessions, family-run. We love it and go every time we are in The Dells.

Sign up for on-line coupons through Dells sites for discounts. Marley's is a great restaurant for kids and adults...brand new location and super cute. Great menu too. Have fun!

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Thanks so much for the suggestions!! Since my kids are soo far apart in age ( 17,13,7,2) I really like the idea of staying someplace that my girls could walk around and do a few things while were still on property. After looking at the Wilderness I think that may be the place for us! And honestly it looks alot less expensive than I thought it would be!

We have annual passes to Disney and go 3-4 times a year. It works well for us because we can go go go and my girls can go off by themselves sometimes as well. But the 15 hour drive makes it hard to go for just a few days. The Dells are only 8 hours from us so we could definitely go for a long weekend!

 

[tinkmom2]

We rented a two bedroom condo at Chula Vista and loved it. It had room to fit up to 10 people I believe and had a kitchen. I would subcribet to the websites email and you will be sent deals. We went to a time share presentation and got a third night for free. It was near a super Walmart so we bought food and cooked it ourselves.

 

[Coll0610]

We've stayed at the Wilderness a few times. They have some regular hotel rooms that sleep 6 - like two double or queen beds plus a pullout couch. If you can stand sharing one bathroom, that could work. Our room had a frig and microwave so you could do some meals in the room (food is pretty expensive on the property).

Weekends can get expensive, but if your kids have a Monday off that most other schools don't have, you can sometimes get a good price on a Sunday night. One year we went right before Memorial Day and the rates weren't bad because although we were out of school, most area schools weren't out yet.

 

[budafam]

We've been to the Wilderness for the past 2 winters and stayed at Glacier Canyon both times. Our first time was a 3 bedroom and last year we stayed in a 4 bedroom presidential... it was AMAZING! Our rate ended up being under $300 for 2 nights and 10 people (free wristbands for the waterparks and whatnot)... I think it's very affordable and I'm hoping to talk DH into a summer trip so we can take advantage of more to do... winter is a bit boring there Although with 3 trips to Disney in one year, I'm not so sure he'll be okay with a Dells trip

 

[sarahbug79]

We went November 2010 and stayed at wilderness lodge in one of the golf course cabins. It was really nice. It was listed as 3 bedrooms but there was also a loft with an additional bed. We went with another family and had a great time there was plenty of room for 9 of us. I think we paid about $450/ family for 3 nights. I didn't think that was bad considering it included all the water park passes.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We don't mind sharing one hotel room for the 6 of us as long as it's allowed. We've done it at Port Orleans several times..although most people think we're crazy! But it doesn't bother us! I was thinking it would be better to be in the actual hotel where the indoor water parks are so the girls could come and go a bit and I wouldn't worry as much as if they had to walk outside. Thoughts?

Is there a place onsite at Wilderness where we can order pizzas? We would definitely go out for dinners..but it would be nice to order a few pizzas for lunch, put my little one down for a nap, then DH or I take turns taking the other 3 to go do something.

 

[MickeyMickey]

All buildings are connected except Wilderness on the Lake and Cabins. Glacier Canyon via ebay is by far the nicest and most economical lodging choice.

 

[dgr1973]

We don't mind sharing one hotel room for the 6 of us as long as it's allowed. We've done it at Port Orleans several times..although most people think we're crazy! But it doesn't bother us! I was thinking it would be better to be in the actual hotel where the indoor water parks are so the girls could come and go a bit and I wouldn't worry as much as if they had to walk outside. Thoughts?

Is there a place onsite at Wilderness where we can order pizzas? We would definitely go out for dinners..but it would be nice to order a few pizzas for lunch, put my little one down for a nap, then DH or I take turns taking the other 3 to go do something.

There is a dominoes pizza across the street for the hotel and you must go to Monk's for an awesome burger - also on site or a location in downtown Dells!