Seeking Vacation Advice

I went to WI dells last October. My sister rented a wonderful room (Presidential suite - very cool!) at the Wilderness resort. There were about 12 of us. Our favorite water park was the one with a zero depth pool and wonderful, large tube slides. It also had a nice little park inside the waterpark for little ones. We took a fun trip through the dells on one of the "jet boats" very scenic. They seat at least 50 people and it was our favorite thing that we did... we considered the slower excursion but, after the tour ended, we were so thrilled we chose this one. (You will get wet!) Paul Bunyon's was very enjoyable for our big breakfast together. It helped that we had perfect weather. I know two families who go to the dells every February for a fun weekend - it's a bit of a hike (and I'm in your area) but they say it's worth it. They stay at Wilderness or Great Wolf Lodge. Have fun!

We went to The Wilderness for the first time in November and had a great time. Watch the rates... I had a huge room for $99.00/night in their newer section. Yes, there can be a lot of walking, however, they do have shuttle busses. There is also a great burger place near the entrance called Monks. The food on the property at the snack shops is expensive, but we brought our own breakfast & lunch stuff as well as snacks. They have a refridgerator and microwave in the room.

C. T.

I just went to the Dells on June 28 for my little boys 4th birthday. We stayed at the wilderness and it was wonderful. They have like 8 waterparks and at least half of them are for the real young kids. You never even need to leave. Plus, to save money most of the room have fridges and microwaves so you can save on some meals. Go to wildernessresort.com

Good luck and have fun. Another suggestion would be to look-up grissly jack bear resort near Starved Rock in Illinois it is the same kind of thing but closer to home and less gas.

We've stayed at the Wilderness and loved it. However, there are several different waterparks at different areas of the resort, so the walk could be significant. Bring your stroller! September is great because it is so empty. We went one September and we were litally the only ones in the park with the smaller wave pool (can't remember the name). But not all of the indoor parks will be open at the same time. They tend to rotate more in the offseason. The food is expensive at the restaurants for what you get and not that great. We usually bring stuff for breakfast and lunch and go out for dinner. There is a Culver's down the street and the Moosejaw isn't bad. Their pizza doesn't compare to what we can get around here, but the rest of the menu isn't bad. There's also a Famous Daves downtown, which won't be difficult to get to in September. There are other restaurants, too, but those are the familiar ones.

We've also stayed at the Kalahari which was also very nice. I actually like it better now that my kids are older (5 & 8). The waterpark is HUGE and all under one roof so there is no traveling back and forth between waterparks. There is a section in the middle for the littler ones and a great lazy river. But it doesn't have the variety for the younger ones that the Wilderness does.

Good luck!

Hi L.,
We have been to the Dell many times when the boys were young.
Some of our favorite places are the Great Wolf Lodge. Kalahari Resort and Wilderness has a nice restraunt called Fields. We enjoy eating at Mr Pancake house.We stop usually in the deer park and Tommy Bartlett Water show. C.

We've stayed at a few different places and The Wilderness is by far the best. It's perfect for the entire family. There's also a great indoor "dry park" for kids of all ages.

They usually have great off season monthly specials. We sometimes go multiple times a year.

Their website is http://www.wildernessresort.com/

After staying at the Kalahari every year, last year we stayed somewhere else (Wilderness). Spend the extra money & stay at the Kalahari - it is WORTH every penny. With little ones they have awesome play areas... fun activities outside of the water park & it is top notch. We will never EVER stay anywhere else again. The Wilderness was soooo much walking (too big), difficult with strollers (you have to search everywhere for an elevator - sooo frustrating when you can see where you want to be, but can't figure out how to get there!!) I like to do stroller walking, but the narrow ENDLESS hallways were just too much for me (They all look the same). Have fun! Do the Kalahari - you will LOVE IT.