Who hasn't seen one of those extreme makeover shows? You know, the kind where the host takes on a complete makeover of a person. Or a complete home renovation. Consider this article a recap of an extreme makeover of a community -- Wisconsin Dells. The Dells has a knack for reinventing itself every year, racking up big changes and well-thought-out enhancements -- making itself over, if you will -- by keeping the best and bringing on the new. So get ready to enjoy the tour of all that's new in 2009.
Waterparks & Amusement Parks
When cataloging what's new in Wisconsin Dells, it pays to start with the water parks. After all, the Dells is "The Waterpark Capital of the World!®" In a twist this year, things are jumping on dry land at the Dells water parks. The colossal news is that Kalahari Waterpark Resort Convention Center has opened a 110,000 square foot indoor amusement park, Kalahari Indoor Theme Park, with a dizzying array of activities and rides including a six-story Ferris wheel, laser tag, a ropes course, go-karts, mini-golf, golf simulators, 24 lanes of bowling, DJ booth and dance floor, and arcade. A walkway connects the indoor theme park to the rest of the resort complex. Lest one forget about Kalahari's 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor water parks, it's worth noting that owner Todd Nelson was recently inducted into the World Waterpark Association's Hall of Fame.
Over at Noah's Ark Waterpark, they're debuting Curse of the Crypt, a haunted house scary enough to be recommended for tweens through adults. Those brave enough to enter will search for lost treasures inside an ancient crypt, with a word of advice to watch out for the ghost of the king that haunts the cavern.
At the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort, you guessed it, more dry-land magic. They’ve opened two indoor, 3-D, black-light mini-golf courses. That's a lot of hyphens! The first is called The Wild Abyss and features aquariums with live eels, jelly fish, sea horses and sharks. There's even a stingray touch tank. The second course is pirate-themed and is appropriately called Wild Buccaneer.
Why break the streak? Riverview Park & Waterworld is bringing back family amusement park favorites like the tilt-a-whirl, scrambler, a carousel, train, super loop and a glass house.
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Water Ski Show
When Lake Delton drained last summer due to torrential rain that caused the lake to breach its shoreline and spill into the Wisconsin River, the Tommy Bartlett Show carried on with its acrobatic performances and comedy routines. But boy, did visitors miss the skiers. This year, the ski show is back with a whole new production built around the concept of "Camp Bartlett," a ski club lost in time that makes its home in the hills of Wisconsin Dells. Here, the sing-along songs of the '70s still survive and the club members still think of themselves as the coolest skiers on the lake. But, it's not long before the Camp Bartlett ski team encounters a group of water-frat-rats who are out to spoil the fun. The skiing promises to be ramped up, with the Bartlett team taking back the water with wild abandon, showcasing classics like adagio and ballet, along with the intensity of hydrofoil and freestyle jumping. Now that's the way to stage a comeback.
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Restaurants & A Hip New Coffee Shop
Let's get right to the new, as in a new Italian restaurant, Carvelli's Pizza & Pasta House in downtown Wisconsin Dells. This taste of Italy is authentic -- we recommend the bruschetta and Caesar salad for starters -- and the space has a nice open-air feel to it. Also new to downtown Dells is Tug's Kitchen, part of the Showboat Saloon enterprise. The culinary team there has assembled a mighty spicy menu that goes great with people watching from their indoor or outdoor dining areas.
Wisconsin Dells is also home to a brand new coffee shop -- pause -- which has quickly distinguished itself for serving fair trade organic coffee and espresso drinks. Created by one of the Dells' own, Bianca Richards, the evening menu adds regional microbrews, specialty wines, light appetizers, live music and an open mic.
Now for the existing and already popular, here are a few tasty tidbits: Ishnala Supper Club, a restaurant that appears suspended over Mirror Lake, will now be accessible by a bridge from Mirror Lake State Park. In other words, you can walk right into the restaurant from the walking trail. Syno's Café, right next door to the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory, has added an outside deck for 75. House of Embers turns 50 this year, with many a couple getting engaged in one of their romantic movie-themed private dining rooms. And for a taste of the quirky, there’s two to consider: Buffalo Phil's Pizza & Grille is bottling its own spicy BBQ sauces, so now you can grab one for the road. And Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co. claimed a silver medal for its Dells Chief Amber Ale at the country's largest beer competition, the Great American Beer Festival, so you can quaff an award-winning brew.
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Shopping
Somehow with all the water in the Dells, it seems absolutely appropriate that a soap store would open in town. The Dell Prairie Soap Company offers more than 100 varieties of soap made with fragrant essential oils and botanicals. They make all their own soaps on premise.
For those who fill their fashion wardrobe with finds from boutiques, you'll want to check out Burl & Boyd, a high-end apparel store located downtown. The resort wear for women and men is what you'd expect to find in Chicago or New York. Ditto for Artistic Expressions Gift Gallery with jewelry, ceramics and textiles from artists around the country.
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Wineries
We know what you're thinking -- wineries in Wisconsin Dells? Yes, wineries in Wisconsin Dells. Two, in fact. The new kid on the block is Tourdot Winery, a country winery with tasting bar, wine gift items and panoramic views of the countryside from the shade of their wrap-around deck. The senior winery is Wollersheim Winery, built in the 1840s. They recently opened an addition with expanded space for tasting and tours. Their outdoor wine garden offers picturesque views all the way through the fall.
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Spas
Travelers love spas. Especially travelers to Wisconsin Dells. After a day at the water park careening and splashing and plunging, a massage is therapeutic, a facial hydrating and a body treatment cleansing. Eden Therapy Day Spa is the newest member of the spa movement, offering individual spa services and packages for groups.
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Entertainment
Like to be entertained? Then jot a note to get this on your next Dells' itinerary: Rick Wilcox, the acclaimed master illusionist, brings to his Rick Wilcox Magic Theater a pair of new tricks that really are mind-boggling. The first is a new twist on the Houdini jail escape, in which Wilcox not only escapes, he transforms himself into the person holding the keys. The second blends magic with good humor, with wife Suzan foiling her husband's plans to cut down on her wardrobe budget.
Other entertainment venues include the Dells 4D Special FX Theater with a new double feature, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum with new interactive exhibits and the Wizard Quest life-size labyrinth wizard rescue game with new wizard-ing ways. On the most-active end of the entertainment spectrum is Pirate's Cove Family Fun Center, where kids can pedal go-carts on two race tracks, jump up and down on a giant jumping pillow and try their best dunk shot with a game of trampoline basketball.
In the fall, go for some "ag," short for agricultural, entertainment at the Country Bumpkin Farm Market. There will be a new corn maze, a pumpkin slingshot and wagon rides to the pumpkin patch.
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Wildlife
Over at the International Crane Foundation, there's a new exhibit to house the four majestic cranes of Africa -- the Blue, Wattled, Grey Crowned and Black Crowned. The Foundation is a nature preserve located just outside the city limits and it's the only place in the world where you can see all 15 species of cranes. This new exhibit is scheduled to open June 20.
Racing
Remember when your behind-the-wheel instructor told you to drive the speed limit or you'd fail your driving test? Well, throw that out the window with Dells Raceway Park's Driving Experience. You'll get to climb into a ready-to-race super late Model Stock Car and take a lap around their 1/3 mile paved oval.
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Feast Your Eyes on This
Fancy yourself a potter? Then belly up to a potter's wheel at the Paint It! Pottery Shop in downtown Dells. Here's your chance to create your own work of art -- the fun part -- while the staff takes care of firing it in their kilns and having it ready for pick-up or shipping in a day or two. Lessons are available as well.
So there you have it. A makeover of such magnitude that you'll be gasping with delight the next time you're in Wisconsin Dells.
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