Wisconsin Dells 2012 Part 1

We went to the Dells in April. We drove there in my new car, a 2012 Jeep Compass. We paid extra for a feature I highly recommend to anyone with kids: dual DVD players on the back of each head rest. Each kid can watch his own movie. That said, they are always curious what the other is doing, so sometimes they end up craning their necks and watching each other’s movie.




This time, we stayed at Mt. Olympus. I thought the boys were ready for a more “older kid” theme/water park.



The room was nice. It had two queen beds and bunk beds for the kids, although the kids always ended up in our bed at some point in the night. All the furniture had smooth edges, nothing sharp for someone to crack their head open. It also had the typical amenities of a fridge, microwave and coffee maker that makes that crappy tea bag-type coffee. There was a Starbucks in the lobby, so we usually went there for our morning coffee. There wasn’t a restaurant on site, but there were overpriced snacks available at the indoor water park and overpriced pastries, fruit and sandwiches at the Starbucks. The food counters had fairly short hours as well. The coffee shop was closed by about 3 or 4 and the snack bar closed around 9 and you had to go into the water park to get food there. I was glad I brought extra food to keep in the room.



The water park was nice for my boys. Sean (7) enjoyed every water slide he was tall enough to go on. Todd (5) was happy to just splash in the baby area. He liked getting out of the water, walking to the fence that bordered the water area, then walk backwards to step backwards into about 6 inches of water. He did this over and over for hours. It drove my husband nuts, but the kid was happy. There was a man in dress clothes and dress shoes sitting by the baby area who became very annoyed when Todd splashed a few drops of water on his shoes. You’re complaining about getting a little wet at a water park? Todd also got some strange looks, but the people giving the strange looks were actually quite strange looking themselves.



The indoor theme park was disappointing. It was very small and the boys were too short for most of the rides. There was a ball pit area that they were very happy staying in for hours. Sean ran all over the place on every level and Todd collected balls, lining them up according to color. I had to really watch him because if another kid inadvertently disturbed his line pattern, he flipped out.



The only off-site attraction we went to was Top Secret, as we were given half-off coupons at our hotel. Half price was about $5 or $6 each, so for that price, it was fine. It’s a replica of the White House that has allegedly been attacked by aliens. The set design is very good. The problem was, my 7-year-old screamed every time there was a loud noise or the lights went out, so it was not good for him. Door to door the tour takes less than a half hour. I would recommend this for older kids and only if your tickets are discounted.



We had a great meal at the Chula Vista resort, which I will discuss in another blog post. School friends of my boys went there recently and prefer that resort. I think Chula Vista is where we will stay on our next visit to the Dells.