There are certain experiences in life that come with bragging rights. Like landing the big promotion. Purchasing the Porsche of your dreams. Completing a marathon. And vacationing in Wisconsin Dells. That’s right, a trip to the Dells comes with bragging rights. Why? Because it means you can finally tell all your friends you visited the place where the indoor waterpark was invented, where the world’s largest looping slide stands tall and proud, and where the country’s biggest indoor/outdoor waterpark combo beckons visitors from coast to coast. The waterpark accomplishments in this central Wisconsin burg - it measures a mere 19.5 square miles - are gargantuan. Adding to the enormity of those accomplishments is the fact that nearly all the businesses in town are locally owned, some with three generations on staff.
Take a look at what is arguably a highly abbreviated timeline of milestones and you’ll understand why you can’t fault anyone for doing a little bragging when they get home from the Dells.
1978 Family Land, now Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, opens
1979 Noah’s Ark Waterpark opens with bumper boats and a go-kart track
1980 The first waterslide attraction is added at Noah’s Ark Waterpark - it’s the three-slide
“Jungle Rapids” ride
1982 The Dells’ first wave pool is built at Family Land
1985 The area’s first lazy river is completed at Noah’s Ark Waterpark
1989 The Polynesian Resort Hotel & Suites opens the country’s first indoor waterpark
1993 Chula Vista Resort opens its outdoor waterpark
1995 Treasure Island, now part of Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, opens its
indoor wave pool, and the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort opens with both
indoor and outdoor waterparks
1997 Great Wolf Lodge waterpark resort opens
2000 Kalahari Waterpark Resort Convention Center opens
2001 Noah’s Ark Waterpark's thrilling plunge slide “Point of No Return” opens
2004 The first-ever indoor surfing ride, the “FlowRider” opens at the Kalahari Waterpark
Resort Convention Center
2005 America’s longest water roller coaster, “Black Anaconda,” opens at Noah’s Ark
Waterpark
2006 The nation’s largest indoor wave pool is built under a high-tech dome at the
Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort and Chula Vista opens its indoor waterpark
2007 Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park debuts its massive outdoor surf pool,
“Poseidon’s Rage”
2010 “Scorpion’s Tail,” America’s first and the world’s tallest looping waterslide,
opens at Noah’s Ark Waterpark and at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
adds a sand beach
2011 Chula Vista Resort adds a sand beach to its outdoor waterpark
2012 Noah’s Ark Waterpark adds a $1 million waterslide called The Quadzilla,
Kalahari Waterpark Resort Convention Center adds looping water tube
slide to its indoor waterpark and Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort adds tube
slides outdoors