Mt Olympus questions

Is it possible to do the main theme park & the Parthenon in one day? I know this may be a hard question to answer since the Parthenon is so new, but even if someone can tell me about the main theme park, that'd be great.

We wanted to do the "4 for 1" deal at Treasure Island but even with the cheapest room available it would be over $800 for three days. Not feasible for our budget. The waterparks at TI do not mean so much since we plan to do Noah's Ark while were there.

Question #2 - Can anyone suggest any good hotels, motels, or resorts they they've stayed at up there?

Question #3 - Any suggestions about restaurants you like?

Thanks for your time!

I would suspect it will be very possible. The Parthenon only has a few rides in it ( I beleive). I went over 4th of July weekend last year on a Saturday and did all the coasters many times and four of the go-cart tracks and the waterpark. We still left to go back to the camper to eat and went back in after supper.

Craig

Honestly, I wish I had spent two days in Mt. Olympus. Sure we did about everything once and Hades 6 times but I didn't get all the Go Kart Tracks or the waterpark and now theirs the indoor park as well.

The restaurant behind Timberfalls seems to be popular with enthusiast.

Tips from my trip would be to do the evening only at Timberfalls. You could probably squeeze a game of Putt Putt or two and still get 50 rides on Avalanche, Spend the other half of that day at Little Amerricka or something else you wanna do.

If you wanna see what the Dells are about, Take a Duck Boat ride

Chuck, who thinks he could have done a lot more if he's not have given one full day to Little A and One full day for Timberfalls but enjoyed Mt. O and all of them greatly reguardless.

Spend an evening at Timber Falls (great POP deal) and at least a full-day at Mt. Olympus.

I rode Avalanche about 35 times in two hours on a Friday night over Labor Day weekend last year. While the lines may get a bit long for Hades and the karts at the big park, Timber Falls never seems to be crowded.

Can't wait to get back to Avalanche and see how Hades is doing. :)

Ok, whats busier on a Sunday vs. Wednessday? Noah's Ark, or Mt. O? I was thinking of doing the Ark on Wed. and Mt. O on Sun.

IMHO the Dells isn't a weekend only experience. It might be busier on Saturday (All parks are) but it just seems steady with several attractions to choose from.

Id avoid the waterpark on weekends.

Chuck, who found it still gets chilly at night up there in mid august. The pool water was cold also.

Seriously for some reason, every Sunday I have ever gone to Noah's Ark the place has been dead. Dont go Friday if you can help it and avoid Saturday like the plague!

As for cheap hotels, the dells has its share of dives at dirt cheap prices, but you can find good hotels at a reasonable price, they just wont have a waterpark attached to them (get the Dells tourism office to send you their book, it has a listing of every hotel in the area.) Sorry I cant be more specific, but as a Wisconsinite Im only 2 hours away from the Dells and ergo its allways a day trip unless we decide to stay at one of the indoor waterpark places ($$$) which it appears is out of your price range.

na, I'll be camping near Madison. Much cheaper, I also need to consider travel distance. Will be at SFGA? Chicago the previous day and hope to be in the Madison area by 10pm. 6 hours at the Ark until traveling to twin cities, and then camping near Le Sueur MN for a "reunion". Can I get all that done in a day, or do I need to shorten the 6 hours? lol this is going to be a fun vacation. Glad to have my sister help drive.

There are several hotels there with varying qualities and prices. With a little research you can usually find a good deal on a halfway decent place.

For me, I like to find something that is a little out of the way or unique. I did Treasure Island twice and it's just too big, too expensive, and a nightmare to get in and out of to do things in the rest of the Dells.

That said, one of the best resorts I have stayed at is Chula Vista. It is about 4 miles outside of the Downtown Dells and right on the Upper Dells part of the Wisconsin River. In fact, the tour boats go right by. It is out of the way, very quiet, and they even have a small indoor and outdoor waterpark. They also have a really nice restaurant and bar.

If you want something really quaint, try a bed and breakfast, like the Bennett House. This one is a block off of downtown, and while staying there, you are always assured of a good parking spot downtown. Its within walking distance of Timber Falls. The family there is a retired couple and they were really helpful in giving advice in what to see and especially what not to see (like the Top Secret house). On top of it, the house is a registered U.S. landmark and has a ton of history in it. (for those that dont know, Bennett was the one that made the Dells famous with his early photographs of the place)

As far as restaurants, there are many good choices. Many enthusiasts seem to like Pedros over by Timber Falls and that is an excellent option. Even though there is a Pedros about three miles from my house, I always stop at the one in the Dells. The outdoor seating is nice because you can watch the people going on the SkyScraper.

Another good choice is Paul Bunyans. They serve their food family style. Their breakfasts are always good, although they try to load you up on doughnuts first so you dont want a lot of the other stuff (saves them money)

If you are looking for upscale dining, I would recommend Fields, which is part of the Wilderness Lodge. It's a five star restuarant with some of the best food in the state. Their steaks are really good as well as their seafood. A block from there they run and Italian Restaurant as well. The name escapes me (which is bad because a friend of the family is a chef there). Their food is pretty good for Italian fare, and makes for a nice diversion from water parks and overly hyped tourist traps.

Question #2 - If you like your hotel a little quieter and secluded, I'll second the Chula Vista. It's really nice and they have specials going quite often.

Question #3 - You can't go wrong with the 3 pound burrito at Pedro's next to Timber Falls. If you like beer (who doesn't?), then check out the Moose Jaw. Good atmosphere and good food, too.

http://www.dellsmoosejaw.com/index3.htm

BTW, I live right off the expressway on the way up to the Dells, so if anyone's planning on a visit and wants to catch up for a brew, drop me a line!

Later,
EV

A place that has excellant food(with a good variety) is MosseJaw which is near the Wilderness/Great Wolf lodge's, also a place for a very good hamburger is Culvers Rest.
If you go to dells.com they have coupons you can print off the internet and offer a book for $25.00 that offers alot of 2 for 1 deals and also hotel deals.
I think you should easily be able to do the whole park in one and get a decent amount of rides on your favorite go carts and coasters and still spend some time in the waterpark.
I hope the rumors are true that they add a second train to Hades, that would make up for the medicore staff they have at the park. *** Edited 5/11/2006 6:35:31 PM UTC by Bob O***

SFGAM is about 2 - 2 1/2 hours away from Madison. Best way from SFGAM is straight up I94 to here via Milwaukee. If you wish, you will pass about 3 miles from Little Amerricka, although they won't be open at Ten PM :)

There are several county parks with hookups around here that are really cheap, one in particular is Token Creek. It's 22.00 a night with hookups, 15 a night without. This is right off of I90/94/39 at the 51N exit (second exit after I94 merges with I90/39).

The dells are about 45 minutes north of there. Depending on when you go, you may be able to do it in a day. If you take a weekday early in the summer, it shouldn't be a problem. If it's around or after the 4th of july, you're probably not going to have the time to do both Mt Olympus and Avalanche, unless you skip everyting but the coasters (--9-- go cart tracks!). If you are coming during the height of the season, you can always do an extra day and squeeze in a few hours at little amerricka to ride the mouse and the train (the train ride is about 3 miles long!), then ride the avalanche and put-put a bit at night. you'd have to spend a night at a dells area campsite, however, unless you wanted to dirve a bit aways.

From the Dells to the Twin Cities area is about 3 hours. Don't forget Valleyfair is there too!

It looks like you also had some questions on travel times.

-From SFGAm to Madison is almost exactly two hours. I live downtown (Madison) and can easily do it in two.
-Madison to the Dells takes about an hour.
-Wisconsin Dells to the Twin Cities takes about three hours, possibly a little more depending on where you're going.

If you're looking for places to camp around the Dells, Devil's Lake is gorgeous. I'll also second Moosejaw as a place for good pizza and beer. Otherwise, if you're looking for stuff in or around Madison, I can help with that also.

-Nate
*** Edited 5/10/2006 10:39:49 PM UTC by coasterdude318***

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I hope the rumors are true that they add a second train to Hades, that would make up for the medicore staff theyh have at the park.

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I'm going up there this weekend... If they have, or are going to, I should see the footers for one, right?

I never quite figured out where they would put one, however. The drop out of the station is a DROP, and there isn't much room between the brakes and the drop to the station either.

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coasterdude318 said:

From SFGAm to Madison is almost exactly two hours. I live downtown (Madison) and can easily do it in two.
-Madison to the Dells takes about an hour.
-Wisconsin Dells to the Twin Cities takes about three hours, possibly a little more depending on where you're going. Otherwise, if you're looking for stuff in or around Madison, I can help with that also.

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Nate,

Are those times going speed limit? For Madison, is their 1. a campground inside the "official" city boundries OR, 2. a place I can safely park for a couple hours late at night on the East side, preferably with some higher elevation? I am a ham (amateur) radio operator, and I'm a member of a group that likes to make contacts (talk with other hams) in special places, like state capitols. The sometimes bad part about the group is the late times we meet. That's basiclly why Madison is mentioned in my post. Do you have any suggestions?

I did find Sandhill Station State Campground in Lake Mills. And I will only be using a tent, no hookup needed.

Those driving times are more or less going the speed limit. I don't putz around at 65, but there are enough cops south of Milwaukee that I don't drive 80 either.

Most of the area around Madison is pretty flat, the only major hills being right downtown. Someone above mentioned Token Creek for camping, which is about as convenient as you're going to get (it's literally right off the freeway at exit 132). It's not exactly within city limits, but it's about 8 miles from downtown. I don't think there are any strictly within city limits. Otherwise, taking exit 135 toward Madison will put you on the main strip into the city, and I'm sure you could find somewhere to park along there.

Otherwise, well, the Capitol is on a big hill. ;-)

-Nate