Wisconsin Dells?

[FloraFauna]

We were thinking about Wisconsin Dells as part of our family summer vacation this year. Any advice on this area?

I've never been to this part of the country before. We were thinking about starting in Chicago and then driving to Wisconsin Dells. We have two children, ages 12 and 10, and it looked like a lot of fun things for us to do there. I'm just not sure where to start. The hotels look nice, but pictures on the internet are sometimes deceiving.

Please, please give me some pointers.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The WD is a long time summer mecca for folks in this area. It can sure be perceived as a bit 'tacky', but then what vacation destination is not. If you are familiar at all with Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in TN, it is similar. The water parks are great, the water trip on the DUCKS are akin to the Jungle Cruise at Disney, corny but fun-filed, and VERY scenic. LOTS of hotels, resorts, go-cart tracks, great place for a family with kids your ages. The place can be like a vacuum cleaner on your wallets, so plan carefully. It's a competitive place, looking for your bucks, so see what 'deals' are out there. Get the free/discount coupons online for many things. Summer WILL be crowded.

It is a fun place, my first trip there, as a kid, was probably over 50 years ago. But MUCH has been added, and still is, every year. Enjoy.

 

[ckmommy]

If oyu are planning a trip to the midwest for the summer, the Dells are a must! Your kids will have a ball! The only downside the the Dells is that it is a resort town--meaning sky high prices. Things to do: Water parks, mini-golf, go-carts, boat or duck ride, Tommy Bartlett Show...
The hotels are really very good. We have stayed at the Wildreness Hotel & Raintree Resort (whenm we lived in WI, we would camp there all of the time). The Raintree Resort has an indoor and outdoor water park, but it may get a little boring for your kids being 10 and 12. The Wildreness has, I think, 3 indoor waterparks and a large outdoor water park. Tons to do at this hotel! But it is pricey!!

A few websites:


www.ratethedells.com (a good website with lots of pictures and other thoughts of hotels and attractions plus coupons)
www.dells.com

Have Fun!

 

[wahoo2]

Well, Dan sumed it up well! Tacky is a good word for it LOL!, but we go there every year and we always have a great time! It can get really expensive - one year before we had our daughter, my dh and I went for a 3 day weekend and we managed to spend $1000! (we did go gambling though!) If you call 1(800)22-DELLS or visit wisdells.com they will send you a free catalog type book with all the info on attractions and hotels - lots of good pictures and descriptions, and they send it out pretty quick! LOL!!

 

[leahannpen]

I have been there a few times, but I'm no expert. As Dan said, it can be perceived as tacky, but that's part of the charm. There are some great water parks, and with your kids being that age, they should love it! Noah's Arc and Family Land and the most popular. There are more than water parks, though. Family Land has other things to do as well.

There are some other "tourist" traps as well. There the Tommy Bartlett Show, which is great, there are shops and a drive in theater, which is rare these days. The "Ducks" are pretty neat too.

I know there is a web site, and you can order a brochure. There are some awsome hotels, and some of them have their own water parks, which may help you decide. Some of the hotels remind me of WDW with their theming.

I hope this helped somehwhat....

 

[KiminChicago]

There's also the Rick Wilcox Magic Theater in the Dells. We went there and had a great time. Be sure to get there early as the gift shop personnel will demonstrate some of the tricks you can purchase, kind of like a mini-magic show before the big show. The theater is not super large so all the seats are pretty good. My kids enjoyed it a lot. He has a web site at http://www.rickwilcox.com/.

Another place to go near the Dells area is the Circus World museum in Baraboo Wisconsin. They have a large collection of circus wagons there and the tour was very interesting. Baraboo at one time was the winter home of the Ringling Bros. Circus and several of the buildings are still standing.

 

[wahoo2]

Yes, Baraboo is a great place to check out! The state park has a lake and it is beautiful!!!

 

[newmousecateer]

A really fun place to go. Check out Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resort. Fun waterpark hotels.

 

[FloraFauna]

Thank you for all the information. We are trying to decide where to go in our "off" year from Disneyworld.

 

[KimRaye]

We just spent 4 days there, Sat - Tues!!! We stayed at Pleasure Island, which is part of Family Land (outdoor water park) and Bay of Dreams (indoor). It was really fun! Our last day also turned really nice weather-wise so, we went mini-golfing and, rode the go-karts! My brother & family stayed 2 of the 4 days but at Great Wolf Lodge which we went to for a day. The indoor water parks at those 2 places each had their own 'signature' but, all in all, they were equally as much fun. We're looking at returning over the summer and, I'm checking into Kalahari (altho I don't like the location) and, Wilderness (altho this place looks HUGE).

Definately look for any deals you can find. Money flows in the Dells just like at WDW, imo. You can sign up at some of the resort websites (and wisdells.com) for emails alerting you to some specials.

I'm not a big fan of all-you-can-eats but, we tried Paul Bunyun's for breakfast one day and, it was decent, hot food for $8/adult. I forget the young kids price.

I think your kids' ages are perfect for the activites up there. We had my 16yo DS, 6yo DD and, my 2yo niece. They ALL enjoyed themselves to SLEEP everynight!

And, jmo, I don't think you need a full week there but, 4-5 days should be plenty. And, if you go that route, avoid the weekends if you can since they are definately busier.

Enjoy!

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by KimRaye
We're looking at returning over the summer and, I'm checking into Kalahari (altho I don't like the location) and, Wilderness (altho this place looks HUGE).

Enjoy!

I think I feel a Wisconsin Dells DIS meet coming on. I wonder if we can get a group rate at the Kalahari????

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by jfulcer
I think I feel a Wisconsin Dells DIS meet coming on. I wonder if we can get a group rate at the Kalahari????

I know we could get a HUGE room or, several of them! Man, those suites are BIG!

 

[jfulcer]

I'll make sure to bring along my CPAP so i don't keep you all awake with my snoring.

Seriously - we were considering an alternative vacation destination this year and this is one of the places. We should put our heads together to see what we can't come up with. I know Brittany would LOVE to have someone to play with.

 

[KimRaye]

Sounds FABULOUS Jeff!! Kelly would love that, too!

 

[Big V]

A Wisconsin Dells Dis meet sounds fun to me!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

We are going there this year! I love the DELLS! The Ducks are a must for the first timer! Lots and lots of fun stuff to do. And the Paul bunyon breakfast! YUMMY! We are going camping there again this year. And take a day to do the water parks. You will have a great time!!!!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Did I hear a Dells meet????

 

[Amy]

I've never been there, but last night's Travel Channel special on the best water parks said there are a lot of water parks in the Wisconsin Dells. Looked like a lot of fun!

 

[BabyTigger99]

The Wilderness is a wonderful resort to stay in at the Dells. We go every year in the winter overnight to get away with the kids. Three waterparks indoors, plus outdoors, and a really cool dry play area. We love it. You could also get a cheap hotel without a waterpark, and use the money you save for admission to waterparks.

 

[Jeafl]

We've been to the Dells lots of times. In fact, we were just there for a hockey tournament a few weeks ago. Our favorite places to stay are the Wilderness, Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge. If you go in the summer, the Polynesian also has a decent outdoor water park, and it's a little cheaper than the others. It's indoor water park is rather lame though. The best outdoor water park is Wilderness. The best indoor is Kalahari. You can expect to pay about $200-$250/night for any of these.

Another option for summer though would be to stay in a hotel that doesn't have the water parks and spend a couple of days at Noah's Ark. It's the world's largest outdoor water park. It's not themed as well as Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach, but it's got dozens of slides. Definitely a lot of fun. You can get a nice room at a Comfort Inn type place for about $89.

The duck rides are fun. You can do the lower or upper Dells, or a combination tour. My kids' absolute favorite is the Trojan horse go karts. It is unlike any go-kart track you have ever seen. It has to be seen to be believed. There is also a great mini golf place called Pirate's Cove which is really fun.

Expect to spend big bucks though, everything is way over-priced.