Mt. Olympus Wisconsin Dells 11/28-11/30

[onyxhotel08]

So, after many years of not going anywhere for the holidays I finally went somewhere. My brother, his fiance & son, our cousin and her husband/kids went to Mt. Olympus this past weekend and it was a blast. Though not as fun as summer probably is, there is still lots to see and do. The indoor theme park has a Ragin Cajun-type "Opa" roller coaster at just over 1,200 feet long. Now I can say I don't NEED to go on Cajun next year. Plenty of stuff for kids to do with a play area and tons of games/small rides. One is like a Giant Drop for the little guys.

There are plenty of games for the adults too like Deal or No Deal and though the prizes for the tickets you get for each game kinda suck, it is still worthwhile going. It is not a place I would want to be more than 1-2 hours but probably a blast for the kids.

The indoor water park has an awesome slide count as 2 are for single riders with one open and one closed. The other 2 are for singles or doubles going down a "raft" thingy that I forgot the name for. It is more fun when your entire group goes but it was OK even when my brother and fiancee were the only ones that went with me. My cousin and her hubby were kind of chickens. To not even go ONCE on a regular slide is ridiculous but oh well. Not too many people and for that amount of space they fit a lot to do!

I saw tons of outside attractions that are probably top notch during the summer. The rooms are average but perfectly livable. There is good cable reception with every channel I usually watch. The lights are kind of dark so you need to put them all on to really get "good lighting". There is another pool-only area with jacuzzi just like the water park but has 80% fewer people and is closer to the rooms. It is a bit rough going with the kids but if you bring them a toy or two and they have something to do/friends to play with they will be fine.

The gift shop is kind of boring with high prices and not enough "gifts". I got a key chain, a cup & swim pants from my brother a fridge magnet and a slinky from theme park arcade. They have a HUGE lobby with plenty of food/coffee and games right when you walk in. Plenty of good shops/restaurants nearby and an awesome HUGE Walmart with a Subway, Bank and so much more (Can't think at the top of my head). An overall perfect experience with a drive that is 75% more than I thought it would be. A worthy 9/10.

[BP317]

Thats cool you went there for the holidays, id highly recommend going there when the great attractions are actually open . Cyclops and Hades at Mt Olympus are great wooden coasters then you can go down the street and ride Avalanch and Skyscraper, and mix in some SCAD tower action in there somewhere.

[tp41190]

If it wasn't for the snow, the outdoor go carts and some coasters would have been open. Mt Olympus is a (weather permitting park). So until the first snow fall or insanely low temps, some of the coasters and go-carts will still be open. Heck, we were able to ride Zues and a go cart track in March. And we also got to ride Cyclops, Pegasus, and 2 go cart tracks in late November.

Also, its too bad they sold the Disk-O and the RoboCoaster. Because they Disk-O is usually inside for the winter to ride.

[onyxhotel08]

There was already a good inch of snow by the time we got there Friday late afternoon. Quite a scene. The Theme Park is a bit weak in that it really does not offer you that much to do for a long period of time. The water park I could be at all day especially with a friend or two that actually GO on the slides. I chickened out on the closed one but would have probably gone had we stayed an extra day. Those double riders "raft thingys" are scary as one actually reaches the top of the building, soaks you twice while on the inside and turns you sideways a bit before falling in the water. One bonus is that the taller double rider slide (Again, forgot name) does NOT throw you off the "raft" while the shorter one does & it sucks to hit someone or be hit.

[tp41190]

The enclosed slide is the best one there. It very fast and I swear you pull about 4 Gs or so and has nice quick transitions and goes under scenery...very fun.

[onyxhotel08]

Yeah, I should have gone. My take is you should always try everything once. Just like Dare Devil Dive. That proved my theory. Oh well. Expect to check out Kalahari Resort or Grey Wolf Lodge in summer 2009. Noah's Ark is awesome too.

[tp41190]

They really need to add something to the Kalahari...its been a long time. We go up there a lot since we live pretty close. I'm going to try and get some wooden coaster rides as early as possible this year...if they weather is right the goal will be March 20th.

[RagingBull15]

Kalahari is opening up a new indoor theme park. It only has a ferris wheel, carousel, go karts, and lazer tag but its still something new.

[tp41190]

^Oh yeah..totally forgot about that.

I'm pissed they didn't get a new credit though

[Andy aka Tidalwave17]

Kalahari is opening up a new indoor theme park. It only has a ferris wheel, carousel, go karts, and lazer tag but its still something new.

Yes, they have all of those things,but they also have more. The laser tag is two floors, either 12 or 24 lanes of bowling, and 18 holes of miniature golf. I'm going there on the 17th, the first night it opens to workers only (my sister works there) so expect a trip report sometime soon after that.

[onyxhotel08]

How do they get a Ferris wheel inside? Must be kinda small...

[RagingBull15]

Its about 6 stories tall.

[onyxhotel08]

Man, that is not bad!

[tp41190]

I hope that there is actually scenery to look at on the ferris wheel.

[Andy aka Tidalwave17]

I hope that there is actually scenery to look at on the ferris wheel.

Haha, not really. Depending on which way the ferris wheel is (I know it is perpendicular to Wisconsin Dells parkway, but it is just a matter if it is facing downtown dells or towards baraboo) the best view you are going to get is The Wilderness Resort, Wisconsin Dells Parkway, and Great Wolf Lodge. Possibly some farmlands. The view will be good, if you have something to look at.

[tp41190]

If anything the parking lot

But I really meant like the room...is the wheel going to be next to windows or just inside a room?

But yeah, the only thing you can see around there are trees, rooms, and the parking lot. I remember we would sneak out of our windows and sit on the roof.

[ben_the_bear]

I did a little bit of research about the Kalahari theme park.

Click here for the Kalahari indoor theme park site.

It opens up on December 19th, 2008. It's $20 for hotel guests and $30 for non-hotel guests. They also have pay-per ride (so it's probably a wristband/ ticket setup). They have a ferris wheel, go carts, mini golf, merry go round, climbing wall, arcade, golf simulator , and lazer tag.

I think that they're probably just experimenting with the idea of an indoor theme park and seeing where it goes from there. They'll probably invest in some sort of roller coaster if the indoor theme park idea is a success. If Kalahari and Mt. Olympus start getting into competition with indoor theme parks, I could definitely see a small/medium sized coaster coming to both indoor theme parks. It'll be a few years though.

[tp41190]

Yeah, I wast upset when I did see a new kiddie coaster

I'm going there though late March/early April and Ill have to see whats its like.