Week 19 - Wisconsin Dells, WI ( The Waterpark Capital of the World)

Hello Family and Friends,

Brett did it again. He found us a gem in what is seemingly the middle of nowhere. We landed in Wisconsin Dells (Wis Dells according to the hwy signs) as a midpoint between Chicago and Minneapolis. When Brett was booking the hotel, he told me that something is going on in Wis Dells because there are so many hotels in seemingly the middle of nowhere. We arrive to what I describe is a child version of a city. Meaning what you get if you ask a 5 year old for their idea of a city.

Developer: "I need a gas station"

Child: "Can it have the biggest dinosaur"

Developer:

Dinosaur entrance to gas station off of the the interstate.

..."Ok what about a place for people to eat?"

Child: "We need Star Wars, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Disney World"

Developer: "Umm isn't that a little much all in one place?"

Child: " And Lego and trains and more dinosaurs"

Developer: "Umm, ok, but we're in the midwest, shouldn't we have some Buffalo or something more midwest?"

Child: "... only if the buffalo can ride a car"

The business vehicle for the restaurant Buffalo Phil's

I'm 100% sure this is how they got the concept for the restaurant Buffalo Phil's. The food is delivered on a train.

The train that delivers your food going around a huge star wars display.

There are at least twenty different themed Lego designs spread across two floors. They include everything from a Prince stage to the the Lord of the Rings.

One of the many Lego displays throughout the restaurant

It's just so over the top and completely tacky, but oh so very fun!

This thing greets you the moment you get past the hostess stand.

To top it off, Buffalo Phil's is connected to this huge arcade with an indoor go-kart track, put-put, bowling and trampoline park. It truly is a kids dream. I told Brett that we can celebrate Atlas' birthday early, because this is a kid's paradise. This is just one of the restaurants and we haven't even gotten to the waterparks. This town has so many larger than life displays.

Ran into this larger than life display on our way to the Wisconsin Ducks.

They are transformer look alikes made out of actual car parts.

The whole family enjoyed the duck tour. The duck is a war relic from WWII that travels both on land and water.

So many ferns on the land part of our tour. We even had some deer cross our path.

One of the views from the water part of our tour.

Atlas isn't even a little concerned with the camera. He's just enjoying the scenery.

It was such an unexpected treat to have such beautiful scenery in the middle of Wisconsin.

We did make it to one of the many waterparks. Wis Dells has over 20 indoor and outdoor waterparks. We decided on Noah's Ark since it is the largest waterpark in the US and the water is heated (the weather has been unseasonably cool). We rode almost all the available slides among the four of us. However we do have 4 tickets to return sometime this summer before September 2025 because the park was not fully open due to the cool weather. Just hit me up and I can get them to you!

We thoroughly didn't expect such a great adventure in the middle of Wisconsin. Even Sarah was like who would have known that there were so many waterparks in the middle of nowhere. It is always such a treat when something is unexpectedly wonderful. If you have kids in your life, Wis Dells should be on your bucket list. It really is a great family time!