First time to the Dells... 7/31/06 (olympus, timber falls, and riverside)

On my way from Minneapolis to Milwaukee I decided to take a day to enjoy the coasters of Wisconsin Dells, considering I have somehow never been there. I stayed at the Park Plaza in Baraboo, which I would highly recommend. It's a little bit south of the dells, maybe a 10-15 minute drive from mt. olympus, but it's a very nice hotel and is quite cheap considering the high quality. I paid $52 for the night, plus tax.

First stop: Mt.Olympus:

Zeus: A nice out and back, a little bit rough, and a bit too short, but front seat rides were great. I had one night right as well, which was excellent. The double down and last hill have some perfect airtime.

Hades: Excellent ride! I love the underground sections, and there's some pretty good airtime in general. Unfortunately, the last few turns are extremely rough. There's one in particular that gave me a nasty bruise on my side. I hope The Voyage doesn't get like this. Overall an exceptional ride though, probably in my top 5 wood (with Phoenix, Voyage, Raven, Shivering Timbers, and... well... another surprise dells coaster... details later in this TR...)

Cyclops: Good ride, but I wasn't as impressed with "the drop" as most people seemed to be. Still, some good moments of airtime. A little bit rough too.

Pegasus: it's a credit, and a wood coaster. good enough for me!

Dive to Atlantis: What were they thinking? I guess everything that needs to be said about this ride has already been said. I clocked it, and from the time we left the "station" to the time we were allowed to get out of the boats was 8 and a half minutes. They should market this thing as the longest ride on earth!

Opa: This didn't really spin at all. I second the opinion someone else posted a couple of days ago. Perhaps this is a recent development?

overall, Mt.Olympus has some good coasters; Hades really makes the park a coaster destination. If only they could smooth out some of the rough parts. I also enjoyed the go-karts, particularly the go-kart AIRTIME! Disk-o was a new experience for me, and quite enjoyable. Not letting adults ride the kiddie coaster left me mildly peeved.

Riverview Park: Well, I upped my coaster count by three... thats about all I really have to say about this place. They let you ride the kiddie coasters.

Timber Falls: Avalanche was the surprise of the trip, and my favorite coaster in the dells... probably my third favorite wooden coaster after Phoenix and The Voyage. What a ride! The airtime is perfect! It's like aggressive floater airtime, if that makes sense. Not quite ejector air, and not quite gentle float air, but somewhere inbetween. Just sustained intense but comfortable air over every hill! The turns are fast and have just the right amount of laterals, plus airtime in the middle of some of the turns (how do they do that?). It's all about the front seat on this ride. Near the back it's actually a fairly rough ride, but in the front it's all smooth air. I can't believe how many people overlook this when they visit the dells, because it is an absolute gem of a ride! The park also has an excellent policy that you dont' have to get off and go around to ride again. So if nobody is in line, you don't have to even release your lapbar. amen to that!

Overall the dells are a great wooden coaster destination, and you can up your coaster count by 10 in just one day. And one day is really all you need, considering the somewhat small crowds and that all of the parks are open late (10PM on weekdays, and I think riverview was actually open until 11 or 12). It can get a little pricy, about $35 for olympus, $15 for all day on avalanche, and it costs $10.50 to ride each of the coasters at riverside once using tickets. So about $60... I guess it's on par with an orlando theme park.