ResourcesGreat Wolf Lodge(800) 559-WOLF (9653)
www.greatwolflodge.com Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau (800) 223-3557
www.wisdells.com
The Wisconsin Dells boasts the best of what kids want: Water parks and more water parks. We at Chicago Parent see it as our duty to keep abreast of changes at the Dells so you, dear readers, know where to go when the kids just have to have water.
The big news this spring is the 38,000-square-foot addition to the indoor water park at Great Wolf Lodge. The new park, slated to open March 10, will give the resort 80,000 square feet of water slides, pools and play areas. It still will be smaller than the Kalahari Resort, the granddaddy of them all (and our Chicago Parent favorite) with its 125,000-square-foot indoor water park.
My family and I stayed as guests of Great Wolf in December to watch it snow indoors in the lobby during the resort’s holiday promotion. (The Snowland snow lasted only a few minutes, but the looks on the faces of all the kids—big and little—made it worth the trip.)
We spent the next day at the indoor water park. It’s actually two water parks—one with slides and a lazy river aimed at slightly older kids and the other with all sorts of water play areas, including a toddler pool and pint-size slides. The problem: You can’t watch kids in both areas at once and the treehouse water fort is big and dense, which makes it tough to keep an eye on more than one child at a time.
The expanded water park will have a wave pool and slides that sound as though they will rival the existing Howlin’ Tornado as super thrill rides aimed squarely at the stout of heart.
The rooms are standard, and the lodge restaurants offer filling fare for the waterlogged clientele. Room rates start at $159 per night and include water park entrance. Be sure to check the Web before you go—there are nearly always deals to be had.
Cindy Richards
