Taking the grandkids to the Wisconsin Dells: Multigeneration getaway reveals what’s changed in the ‘Waterpark Capital of the World’

The last time my family vacationed in Wisconsin Dells my son was 12 and my daughter was 9. That was 1992.

Wouldn’t it be fun, I thought, if my husband and I took our grandsons to the place their mother and uncle loved so much? In the process, I’d learn how Wisconsin Dells has changed in those 33 years.

Certainly, we’d changed. We feel the aches and pains of age. A knee replacement was a month away. Were we crazy to attempt three nights in the Dells with very active 8- and 10-year-old boys? Perhaps, but while we came home weary, we also made happy memories that will last a lifetime — theirs and ours.

A string of superlatives

First thought on arriving in Wisconsin Dells: It’s huge, much bigger than I remember. The area covers nearly 20 square miles, including the community of Lake Delton. While its population hovers around 6,600, it draws more than 5 million visitors a year, 40% during the summer.

Tip: Stay during the week. We arrived on a Monday in July. By the time we left, Thursday afternoon attractions and restaurants were crowded.

Waterparks are the big deal. The area has more of these aquatic playgrounds per capita than anywhere on the planet. After visitors began calling it the “Waterpark Capital of the World” the tourism bureau adopted the slogan, trademarking it in 2006. It boasts the nation’s largest waterpark, largest indoor waterpark, largest indoor/outdoor waterpark complex and largest floating waterpark. The area has more than 200 waterslides, the first opening in the 1970s. By the time our family arrived 20 years later, the parks added wave pools, lazy rivers and other creative ways to get wet.

But there’s more to Wisconsin Dells than waterparks. The area strikes me as Las Vegas for kids with loads of agreeably kitschy amusements: miniature golf, zip lines, wildlife parks, boat rides, wacky museums, and theme parks with roller coasters and go-kart tracks. Adults play, too: spas, supper clubs, golf and shops including an outlet mall. There are venues for business meetings and weddings as well.

Where to begin

As I was planning our trip, I asked our 44-year-old son what he liked best about Wisconsin Dells when he was a boy. He was quick to reply: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum. What? With all those waterslides and roller coasters? Yes, he insisted. It was cool.

Hearing their uncle’s favorite, our grandsons wanted to go there first. After lunch at Huckleberry’s Ice Cream & Bakery in downtown Wisconsin Dells, we crossed the street to this emporium of the world’s oddities. New owners took over in 2003 and expanded in this location in 2022. The boys loved the statue of the world’s tallest man, the hall of mirrors and the mechanical candy contraption from the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” The odd artwork intrigued me: A portrait of Elvis Presley made from butterflies and another of Bill Gates using keys from computer keyboards.

Mythical resort

We checked in to Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort whose owners have operated Dells businesses since the 1970s. The massive property has 1,650 rooms in a variety of accommodation types scattered along “The Strip”: U.S. Route 12/Wisconsin Dells Parkway. All have access to the resort’s ever-growing outdoor and indoor waterpark and theme park where attractions take names from Greek mythology.

We had just enough time for a few circuits of The River Troy lazy river before dinner at nearby Pizza Pub, a local favorite that was dishing up pizza, pasta and sandwiches even before our Dells visit decades ago.

Our guest room at Mt. Olympus had two queen beds and a bunk bed for the boys. I worried how we would all sleep with our adorable rascals sharing our room. Not a problem. They were so exhausted their eyes shut within minutes of their heads hitting the pillows. So did ours.

For our full day at Mt. Olympus, we strategized how to navigate the massive waterpark, first walking around together to get our bearings, then allowing the boys to roam on their own. Tasting freedom, they lobbed their sandals at me and took off toward the water. My plea “No running!” only slowed them to a duck walk.

Tip: Pick a meeting place, perhaps splurging on a cabana. Carry a tote bag for those sandals, along with water bottles, sunscreen, towels, hats, sunglasses and a waterproof bag for your phone/camera. No food or glass. Leave your good jewelry at home.

“They’re around here somewhere,” said Barb Hill, sweeping her arm in the air to express the enormity of the waterpark. A grandma from Duluth, Minnesota, she stretched out on a chaise next to me and told me her three grandchildren and their parents were frolicking somewhere in the watery wonderland. Wisconsin Dells made a good meeting spot for their vacation with family members traveling from out of state, she said.

Indeed, during our stay, I spotted license plates from surrounding Midwest states as well as Colorado, Alabama, Texas and other far-flung locations.

The new attraction at Mt. Olympus last summer was The Rise of Icarus, the nation’s tallest waterslide at 145 feet. Four 60-foot waterslides, each a different color, snake around it. While our grandsons loved it, an even bigger hit was Poseidon’s Rage, a pool generating 9-foot waves sending swimmers — including my hefty husband — almost airborne. Sadly, we had to skip Medusa’s Slidewheel, a waterslide that rotates like a Ferris wheel, because the line was too long. We wanted to get to the theme park on the other side of the resort.

Roller coasters rule here, five of them. Twice the boys waited in line to ride Hades. The wooden-track coaster has an upside-down 360-degree roll and 65-foot drop that shoots underneath a parking lot before emerging along Wisconsin Dells Parkway to the surprise of passing motorists. The 10-year-old became a go-kart fanatic, especially on one track spiraling inside a 65-foot-tall wooden replica of a Trojan Horse. His younger brother came up short of the 55-inch height requirement, so Grandpa took him to Manticore, a 140-foot-tall swing for riders over 48 inches.

Tip: No. 1 item to pack: Patience. No. 1 rule: Have fun. Number of times I heard “Grandma look”: A million.

By the time we all dressed for dinner, several restaurants were packed. Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co. suggested we wait for a table at its downstairs bar and arcade. The boys hit up Grandpa for money and disappeared into the cacophony while he had a craft beer and I sipped a classic Wisconsin cocktail, a brandy old-fashioned. Once seated at the table, Grandpa good-naturally bore the indignity of wearing the restaurant’s signature antler hat throughout our entire meal.

Riding a duck

After I told the boys we would be riding on a duck, I refused to address their quizzical looks. “You’ll see.”

These ducks, of course, are World War II-era amphibious vehicles. General Motors made 21,000 of them; more than 2,000 participated in D-Day. In Wisconsin Dells, they’ve long been an iconic attraction, one I well remember from days past. Today two duck operators compete for business. We chose the oldest, the Original Wisconsin Ducks, which began tours in 1946 with one duck. Now it has 93 and eight mechanics to keep them running.

Our one-hour tour took us through part of a 5-mile gorge on the Wisconsin River where sandstone cliffs and rock formations were carved by an Ice Age flood. Our guide John, a college student, interspersed bits of geology and history with corny jokes that made the boys laugh while we groaned.

Traveling 45 mph on land and 6-8 knots on water, we passed through a fern dell, a narrow gorge and a forest where we spotted deer and wild turkeys. A high point came when our duck dipped into Lake Delton with a mighty splash sending a wave pouring over the bow and tickling our feet. John pointed out the spot where a torrential rain in 2008 created a breach in the shoreline causing Lake Delton to empty into the Wisconsin River in less than two hours. No one was injured, but the deluge destroyed five lakefront homes and sidelined the water skiers of the famed Tommy Bartlett Show, a must-see attraction when our family visited years ago. The breach was repaired in 2009 and the lake refilled. The show resumed but went out of business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hands-on science

The Tommy Bartlett Exploratory began as a sister attraction to the water-ski show when it opened as Tommy Bartlett’s Robot World in 1982. It made a big impression on us this time.

The robots have been phased out to make way for more than 175 hands-on activities from the worlds of science, space and technology. We saw a core module from the Russian MIR Space Station and a replica of a Mercury Space Capsule. Outside, we took turns lifting a 5,000-pound car using the Giant Lever. The 10-year-old proved a daredevil by pedaling the High Wire SkyCycle bike across a 1-inch-diameter cable 12 feet in the air.

Tip: Budget plenty of time at the Exploratory. We spent two hours. Both pouting boys begged for more time.

There wasn’t much science involved in our time at Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf, but we had lots of fun trying to make a hole-in-one. Five mini-golf courses are set on a rocky cliff threaded with streams, waterfalls and flower beds. We played the uppermost course — fewer stairs for arthritic knees — and were rewarded with a view of the Dells.

We also loved the scenery from one of three patios at Lake House Grill & Bar, overlooking Lake Delton. We started with fried cheese curds, a Wisconsin classic, and I had some of the best walleye I’ve tasted.

One last dip

We checked out of our room but couldn’t go home without experiencing one more waterpark. Noah’s Ark Waterpark opened in 1979. While I remember it from my visit in 1992, it, like almost everything in the Dells, is much bigger.

The largest outdoor waterpark in the U.S. now covers more than 70 acres and has more than 80 activities such as Tadpole Bay Kiddie Play Area, Noah’s 4-D Dive-In Theater and the country’s first looping waterslide, The Scorpions Tail. It has the most waterslides in Wisconsin Dells. If you could line them up, you’d have a watery tube more than 3 miles long.

We spent most of our short time there at The Wave, one of two wave pools, Paradise Lagoon where swimmers drop from zip lines into a pool, and the Black Anaconda combo waterslide and roller coaster that’s a quarter-mile long.

Then it was time for our three-hour drive home to the Chicago suburbs. On the way we chatted about what we’d do on our next visit. More time at Noah’s Ark. The indoor waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge; Wilderness Resort, the nation’s largest waterpark resort; or the state’s largest indoor waterpark at Kalahari. The inflatable waterpark Land of Natura. A Jet Boat and Ghost Boat ride. Dinner at Buffalo Phil’s Pizza & Grille where a train delivers your food and MACS because what kid doesn’t love macaroni and cheese?

Then the big question for the boys: What was your favorite activity? The 10-year-old said the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. And the 8-year-old? Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Some things never change.

• Information for this article was gathered on a research trip sponsored by the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau.