Any advice on Wisconsin Dells?

[kmkaull]

We're an hour away, in Madison. I avoid the Dells, but many people around here (with older kids) go up on winter weekends. I have been to Chula Vista, and it is nice . . . recently renovated. Though I didn't stay there, the grounds were nicely kept up and the indoor water park seemed clean.

The outlet mall is average for Wisconsin, lol. There's a Carter's, Gap, Polo, Eddie Bauer, etc. Next door there is a great indoor activity place called Knuckleheads with bowling, go carts, and rides.

If you want to get away for the day, Sundara Spa is wonderful.

The food is nothing special . . . all chains. Though there is a Starbucks in town! LOL.

There really is not a lot to do in winter. Though the water parks are enough to keep you busy for a few days.

Have fun!

[Simon]

Hi. I’m new here so I’m sorry for starting off with such a novel, but we have been to the Dells countless times, starting pre-kids. We have mostly stayed at Wilderness (hotel and condos) and Great Wolf Lodge (hotel only). We have also stayed at Chula Vista and Kalahari with friends. Here is my take on four of the resorts. We have 2 Ds (1yo and nearly 5 yo).

Chula Vista is our least favorite. It is further out of town compared to the others and we do like to eat off site so the extra driving time can be annoying. The younger kids slide/swim area is okay but it was quite loud (bothered my Ds) and that made it difficult to carry on a conversation. The lazy river is too cold for the hours (literally!) that Ds1 likes to spend in it. I don’t recall anything special about their adult slides. The rooms were fine. Good size, clean. Nice view of the river and we loved the riverwalk but it was very short. We only ate there once, at the buffet, and it was awful. Food was cold and area was quite messy. We won’t pay to stay there any more but do occasionally buy a day pass. They run $9.99/person specials in the winter.

Kalahari: We enjoyed our stay but were surprised by the size of the room (small!) and weak decor. I’m not usually big into themes but we expected a bit more. We love the lobby and ate in that restaurant and had good service and food. The waterpark is fine for little kids but has the most for older kids. Their Flowrider simulates a surfing experience, they have a lot of basketball hoops and basic pool areas. The little kids areas were okay but our kids (we went with friends) were actually bored surprisingly quickly. They kept wanting to leave while the adults wanted to warm up! No kids were allowed in any of the hot tubs and there were big signs in front of every one of them saying so. Another drawback, my Ds1 hates water in his eyes and many of the age/size appropriate slides for him have water spraying from above onto the slide, sort of like it is raining on the kid as they go down. So, after one try he often refused. The BEST part of the Kalahari is that they have a few (3 or 4?) slides that you can ride down as a family in a shared tube. Ds1 is a very cautious kid but he really enjoyed riding with us on the tube rides and they were good enough that the adults enjoyed them too. So, at this waterpark, we had the most opportunity to ride as a family on slides that were pretty good by my standards. Last, we were not overly impressed with the lifeguards and their ability to see everywhere. There seemed to be some blind spots.

Wilderness: We *love* staying in the condos here. Love them. Nice kitchen, washer and dryer, love the tub in the “master” bedroom. Ah! The food in the restaurants is okay but not great. I find the menus rather narrow. The indoor parks are HUGE and a bit spread out. We needed a stroller here, and we never use strollers anywhere. The lazy river is great! Warm enough and they have nice double tubes where one side has a solid bottom so a kid can sit in there and not fall through. We also find the river long enough and interesting. The kid play area near the wave pool is Ds1’s favorite so we usually start there and then move over to the Klondike Kavern using the skywalk. We are also really big fans of the indoor climbing area. There is an infant/toddler section and then 2-3 stories of "tree house" so along with an adult they can really climb/slide to their hearts content. We use it A LOT because Ds1 gets cold fast and he doesn’t really care much for the water slides at Wilderness. Dh and I get a good workout following the kids around. It is at the back of the arcade. Socks are required! Wilderness has the same water spraying at kids on the smaller slides as the Kalahari and that really turns off Ds1. There isn’t as much in the way of family tube rides (vs. Kalahari). Wilderness is close to some of our favorite restaurants. I’m happy to share the names if anyone cares.

Great Wolf Lodge: This is the first place we ever stayed (pre-kids) and we quite enjoy the adult level slides. It also has the best combination for our particular family. The water park is three connected rooms (Kalahari and CV are more like one big room; Wilderness is 3 rooms but more distant). Each room has its own kiddie area and in one there are 3-5 small kid slides that don’t spray water from above and Ds1 likes those a lot! Adults can stand at the bottom to catch kids and the water isn’t too cold. There is one tube ride that you can go on holding your child (Ds1 started at 10 mo). This is the only park with a *family* hot tub that is quite large and a nice place to warm up. There is a separate, more private adult hot tub. It is HOT and I have never seen kids up there. The down side is that there is only one pool for basketball hoops (vs. many at Kalahari) and it is rather cold. The lazy river is an OK temp but not as long/interesting as some of the other parks. We feel very comfortable with the level of supervision and visibility of life guards. Ds1 likes the giant clock and story time in the evening/morning in the lobby. We enjoy the Camp Critter buffet and the Moose Something restaurant is okay. Prices on kids meals there are high but included wolf ears that Ds1 loves. Again, we often eat off site, but at GWL (and Kalahari) we at least don’t feel like we have to leave.

So, if you made it this far and want any more information, I'd be happy to share if I can help.

[DrSally]

Yeah, I was thinking just 2, maybe 3 days. Kmkaull, have you heard anything about bedbugs? Thanks for the tip about Knuckleheads.

[Kindra178]

Our plan was to drive up Thursday afternoon, during nap time. It's about a four hour drive for us. Check in, eat dinner and then start with the water parks Friday am.

Regarding bed bugs, I know it's a big deal for all hotels across the country, but I wonder if the Dells didn't deal with it fast enough or aggressively and that's why it's a bigger issue there.

Up there, I think all you would have to do is leave the windows open for a few nights.

[hellokitty]

We're about 5 hours away, so we'd drive. I realize we'll be going just for the indoor water parks, but I'm hoping the rates will be lower and it will be less crowded in March.
I didn't realize the food was so expensive. They do have rooms with kitchens, so it would be nice to do breakfast/lunch in our room. I didn't realize the outlet mall is nothing special. Too bad!

About the bedbugs. Yes, I'm worried about that too. Friends of friends came back from Wisc dells with them and had to have their house treated. Makes me wonder if it's worth the risk.

Hmmm, maybe I should look around for something closer. Seems like either we'd end up at a local place (seems strange to stay at a hotel only an hour away) or the Dells.

To save $, we did bkfst in the room, I brought frozen dinners for lunch (went back to room, which was fine, b/c it's so loud inside the waterpark, you kind of need to get away from it) and then we ate out for dinner. So, that helped. Plus, I brought snacks in our swim bag, even though I don't think you're supposed to.