Wisconsin Dells

[bjscheel]

Scouting for all the best tips and ideas for a Wisconsin Dells vacation this summer! Will be 4 adults and 4 kids, 11, 8, 7, and 4.

I am leaning towards Great Wolf Lodge with a discount code, but all the waterpark resorts have their good points. I like the bunk bed cabin area in the room at GWL, a little privacy at least. My kids (8 and 11) are not going to be thrill seekers in the water department. The 7yo boy may be more so, but being 7 and small, not too big of stuff for him either.

Thinking about the Ducks rides, horse and carriage through the canyon as well. I have a girl who is into history and explorers, anything like that around there?

Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[themilesfamily]

We go to the Dells every summer. We rent a cabin at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park. They have activities such as hayrides, crafts, singalongs, movies, campfires. They have a great pool area -- an adult pool with waterslide, a hot tub, and a pool for the kids with a small waterpark.

We do a lot of activies at the resort, but our must-do activities at the Dells include:

Wizard Quest
Deer Park
Dell's Boat Tours -- Upper Dells Tour (Witches Gulch and Stand Rock)
Circus World

 

[clh2]

If your DD is into history - one of the "treasures" in that part of the state is in Baraboo - The Circus World Musuem. This museum has many old circus wagons, some in pristine shape, others in the process of being restored. If you go in the summer, it is a little bit more expensinve, but there is an actual circus persomance, and other things to do in addition to looking at the wagons.

http://circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org/

Also - if the OP is coming from Iowa, maybe stop by the cave of the mounds?

cave of the MOunds

Our family has enjoyed both!

 

[erincon23]

I think it's the Upper Dells boat tour that talks about the history of the area and stops at the cliffs (you get off the boat and walk around -- there's a food stand up there too). There's also a history museum along the main street (near the gem mining place) that focuses on the photographer who really made the Dells famous.

For what it's worth, we like The Wilderness Lodge better than Great Wolf, but my kids are older than yours, so maybe that's the difference. Wilderness has an indoor mini-golf, a paint-your-own pottery, and a laser tag place inside, in case it's raining one day.

My kids also like Wizard Quest, but it's really expensive -- there are discount coupons in the hotel lobbies.

Make sure you stop by one of the fudge stores and try the fudge -- it's amazing.

Erin

 

[mrsv98]

With that big of a family, I suggest renting a vacation house from http://sandcounty.com/ We rent a house there every other year and love it. The rent is very reasonable and you get water park passes and discounts to various places through them.

 

[bjscheel]

Cave of the Mounds might be a good stop to stretch legs either on the way there or home. My girls like rocks too. Just got an email from SIL agreeing with choice of Great Wolf Lodge so I guess I will leave that alone and just plan on that resort. Hopefully they will all think it is great.

I will suggest the Ducks too. Not sure how much time we will spend at the resort...how many other ideas we need. DD11 would love to do the new zipline but with the cost I'm not sure I will tell her it exists!