Mt. Olympus Hotel Rome

Waterpark Essentials: Must-Haves To Make The Most Of Your Day In The Dells

We want your waterpark experience in “The Waterpark Capital of the World!®” to be a great one, so we thought it might be helpful to put together a refresher on Waterpark Essentials. Here’s a list of what to bring, what to leave home and how to make the most of your day at the waterparks in Wisconsin Dells.

Remember to Bring 

• A swimsuit or two
• Waterproof sunscreen 
• Sunglasses – bonus if they’re polarized to cut down on glare from the water
• Cell phone to stay in touch and waterproof bag for safe stowing
• Footwear – flip flops or water shoes are both good choices to protect your feet as you walk from one waterslide to the next to the next
• Biggest, thirstiest beach towel you have
• Swimsuit cover-up for the stroll back to your room or the car
• Swim goggles - great for the wave pools
• Quarters for storage lockers
• Waterproof camera 
• Don’t Ignore This One
• Two sets of car keys – keep them in separate places in case you lose one
• Leave at Home
• Jewelry – you don’t want to lose it and you can’t wear it on extreme waterslides anyway

Important Safety Rules

• Follow the directions of the lifeguards.
• Read and obey all the precaution signs posted at the rides, slides and pools.
• Know your limits, especially if you don’t know how to swim. Ask for a life jacket as you enter the park.  Children under a certain age may be required to wear a life jacket.
• Keep an eye out for little ones, always. (Speaking of little ones, swim diapers required.)
• Stay hydrated.
• Walk, don’t run.
• Arrange a meeting time and place (be specific – next to the wave pool won’t cut it) to occasionally check in with the rest of your group.

Now have fun!

Sizing Up the Waterparks

‘Tis the Season: Best Places to Spend Christmas

‘Tis the Season: Best Places to Spend Christmas

Wisconsin Dells specializes in the fine art of fa-la-la-ing and ho-ho-ho-ing.

Meaning, the local business owners here revel in the opportunity to each December transform the Dells into holiday cheer central. Looking for holiday travel ideas? The list below is a good starting point. Now break out that Christmas sweater!

Indoor Snowfall, Life-size Gingerbread House Great Wolf Lodge gets the gold star for its indoor Snowland®. Snow machines create real snowflakes, how cool is that! Plus there’s a life-size gingerbread house you can reserve for breakfast, lunch or dinner; it seats up to six.
 

Disney Musical, Overnight Stay The new Palace Theater is staging the beloved Disney musical, “Mary Poppins,” through January 3. There’s just something about getting dressed up for a dinner theater production that says holiday to us.Spend the night at the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort right across the street and save on tickets. For little boys and girls who have been extra good, the resort will even arrange for “elves” to make special deliveries. 

Waterslides and Snow Slides Mt. Olympus Hotel Rome brings you the winter versionof the waterslide with free tickets to Christmas Mountain Village Ski, Snowboard & Tube for overnight guests of their resort. Plus you’ll get free passes to all the indoor fun at Mt. Olympus Theme Park & Water Park. That should keep everyone plenty busy and plenty happy.
 

Busy Elves Chula Vista Resort clearly loves the holiday season, as evidenced by their line-up of December activities, including photo ops with Santa and Mrs. Claus, wagon rides, crafts, sing-alongs, holiday movies, story time, even an elf tuck-in.
 

The Big Day Enjoy a scrumptious holiday buffet at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions when you stay December 24-25. Then head to the waterpark for some festive family fun. Hmmm, do you still need to wait an hour before you swim?  Might be difficult to enforce given all the incredible slides and rides here.


Five Ways to Add to the Holiday Fun

Sleigh Ride There’s nothing that says “classic holiday” quite like a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow at Red Ridge Ranch Riding Stable. Woodside Ranch in nearby Mauston also offers wagon and sleigh rides, plus snow tubing, sledding and cross-country skiing for day visitors.

Train Ride For an experience that says “Christmas past,” hop aboard the 20th annual Santa Express, a train ride with the Jolly Old Elf himself aboard a historic train at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom. There are departure times throughout the day on November 29 and 30. Oh, and you’re guaranteed to be toasty warm because they use the century-old tradition of steam heating or coal-fired stove heating on the train. Come to think of it, isn’t that what they use at the North Pole too?

New Pair of Slipper Moccasins What’s the holiday season without a new pair of snuggly slippers. Pick up your favorite moccasin-style slip-ons at Winnebago Fine Goods & Gift Shop, Aunt Jenny’s Got-It-All Store, and Parson’s Indian Trading Post.

Create Your Own Holiday Treasure Paint It! Pottery Shop in downtown Dells is for all ages and all artistic abilities, plus they have specials all December-long. Create an ornament or chip ‘n dip tray that is uniquely yours.  

Christmas Candy Sweet tooths unite! There’s something called the “Tower of Temptation” at Swiss Maid Fudge that seems tailor made for gifting or enjoying with those who made it to your “nice” list. The trio includes turtles, fudge and cashew crunch. The chocolate crème de menthe fudge at Goody Goody Gum Drop sounds goody goody good to us. Maybe pick up some champagne truffles while you’re there to tuck away for New Year’s Eve.