I used to go to the dells almost every single year from the time I was in elementary school til I was married. So many quaint hotels and attractions gone. Storybook gardens, biblical gardens, river view park and waterwold, the wonder spot, when timber falls had their own roller coaster, the wax world of the stars, the famous all you can eat polish buffet, the carousel motel, the Pepsi tower, the stand rock Indian ceremony, Tommy Bartlett ski show, I remember walking across lake Delton when the dam broke, all gone now.
Texas has great wolf lodge and Kalahari but those are really the only major indoor water parks we have because we have outdoor swimming weather almost all year round. They are building another great wolf lodge location which will be in Houston. The current location is in Dallas which is 4 hours away from Houston so the 2nd location will allow for a much shorter travel time for a lot of Texans or Lousiana visitors etc.
Well. These days kids need a lot of physical exercise. Let them get some exercise. Personally the best vacations are to hike, swim and camp. Kids don't appreciate nature. Book a camp ground in a state park and stay in a tent. Make fires and do cook outs. You will save a ton of money. Avoid the tourist trap or limit those activities.
My first time do the dells was 2012 I went with my sister and my two boys which were 10 and six, I thought it was great and we have been there many times since then and now it’s my wife, my two boys and my daughter, we will actually be going again this year in 2024 since that first time we’ve always stayed at the wilderness because it seems a little nicer that the only people at the waterpark indoor or outdoor are the people that paid to stay at the wilderness, but I have noticed that the downtown part on Broadway that really hasn’t changed that’s like going into a time warp, same old shop, same old mugs and T-shirts and sunglasses etc. lol, but one thing I have done since we’ve been going I make it a point for us not to do everything and so this year in 2024. We’re finally going to go see Rick Wilcox magic show we’ve never done that we’re gonna go see Bello Knox show and the boat tour, anyways it’s kind of our jam as it sounds like it was with your family, but I’m getting to the same point you are this may be our last hurrah but I’m sure there was a Lotta great memories made there’s a lot of people..loved your video. It was very informative.😊
While I have enjoyed all your Dells videos over the years, we feel quite the opposite actually. I'm going to preface this whole post by saying I do know that you "screen" your comments and therfore this may not make it into the comment section and I'm totally cool with that. I'm going to give you our reasons why we love the Dells and have now made it our week-long vacay place each year for our wedding anniversary. I will say that like you, we are also Wisconsinites (Fox Cities area) and my husband and I both grew up going to the Dells in the 80s as children. We "rediscovered" the Dells in 2009 when we received the Season Opener cards (I trust you know what those are). We didn't go again until the summer of 2017 (again using the Season Opener cards) and continued to visit every subsequent summer. Once the summer of 2020 was upon us, without hesitation, we continued to visit (again with those cards). We in fact made 6 trips there that summer and literally had thee best time! We quickly discovered that we were surrounded by like minded people to us, just trying to have a great time and enjoy life. We were not about to let the throes and woes of world events quell our fun. We were in fact, putting money back into the Dells/Lake Delton communities by shopping their stores, eating at their restaurants, visiting additional attractions not on the card and all around keeping their economy going forward from the unnecessary lockdowns just weeks prior. We even discovered attractions we never knew existed, such as the Sunset Dinner Cruise (part of the Dells Boat Tours family). This was something we booked for our wedding anniversary in August that year. It was probably one of the best things we ever have done for our anniversary. The entire summer of 2020 was a freaking blast in the Dells. We all felt free and not stifled..yes MASK FREE. We were not about them..AT ALL! Nobody worried about a darn thing and it felt GREAT! A true getaway from gloom and doom, if you will. The following day from that beautiful sunset dinner cruise and to continue our anniversary, we decided on a day trip to Door County for wine tasting, shopping and a supper club for dinner. Now here's the stark contrast. The entire county had a mask on..no lie. Bathrooms at places were closed. They made wine tasting a waste and we had to sit in a plexiglass box at a beautiful lakeside supper club to eat our dinner. We looked around and wondered what we were doing there. It was at that point we realized that Door County was not our people..at all. We quickly regretted our decision and decided that for the time going forward, the Dells area will now get our business, and I'm so happy to because it opened up for us all that crazy summer of 2020. Since then, we continue to visit several times a year and have made it our late August anniversary vacay 4 years strong now, including the highlight Sunset Dinner Cruise (to which no two cruise are alike). To your question though, no we haven't stopped going. We go more and are happy to do so. We always discover something new 😊 I hope my long rambly post makes sense.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It actually helps me to hear different perspectives, shared respectfully, the way you did. RUclips does require all creators who include children under the age of 18 in our videos (like my kids) to hold, review, and approve all comments to help prevent harassment, abuse, and exploitation.
We went to the dells on our honeymoon, 20 years ago. We were thinking about going back for our 20th anniversary. I was thinking about staying at the hotels (country squire inn and mayflower hotel) we originally stayed at... But they don't exist anymore. Anyone know what happened to these hotels? I suspect they may have closed due to the pandemic and never reopened.
Ooh honey I can whole heartedly agree with you! The word you were looking for was GHETTO! I remember going to the Dells as a kid in the mid 90s and even as late as 2002 our last trip things werent bad! You are right the quaintness has all but been eradicated! Everything has changed and you are right again not for the better the cheif culprit being Laskaris and his Mt Olympus junk! Every mom & pop forced into selling fun family attractions made obsolete and shuddered! There is a serious shift once you started getting tattoo parlors (yes there was already one downtown dells) and the bars, club wett (i mean really?!), the asian chop shop nail salons, and 2 strip clubs Wisconsin Dolls and Crusisin Chubbies (Again REALLY?!) Its just not the same also Ive heard that some can also be placed pn the Wisconsin Dells Chamber of commerce wanting more chains and less m&ps in town! From seeing strip videos and downtown youtube videos it looks just like any other small tourist town. I mean I literally have no need of Tanger outlets its everything I can get here in my hometown! Its sad depressing and sick really!
Sounds like we missed the window by a couple decades or so to see Wisconsin Dells at its best. It is still on our to do list. But your video has lowered our expectations. I have wondered why you didn’t make more videos of Wisconsin Dells since it did so well for your channel. But it makes sense now. I am afraid quaint family friendly fun isn’t as common as it used to be. Thanks for sharing this honest appraisal with us!
Loved Xanadu! I feel like the Dells just feels old now and doesn't have the same charming vibe it had years ago. I agree with all 5 points you mentioned.
I used to go to the dells almost every single year from the time I was in elementary school til I was married. So many quaint hotels and attractions gone. Storybook gardens, biblical gardens, river view park and waterwold, the wonder spot, when timber falls had their own roller coaster, the wax world of the stars, the famous all you can eat polish buffet, the carousel motel, the Pepsi tower, the stand rock Indian ceremony, Tommy Bartlett ski show, I remember walking across lake Delton when the dam broke, all gone now.
Texas has great wolf lodge and Kalahari but those are really the only major indoor water parks we have because we have outdoor swimming weather almost all year round. They are building another great wolf lodge location which will be in Houston. The current location is in Dallas which is 4 hours away from Houston so the 2nd location will allow for a much shorter travel time for a lot of Texans or Lousiana visitors etc.
Well. These days kids need a lot of physical exercise. Let them get some exercise. Personally the best vacations are to hike, swim and camp. Kids don't appreciate nature. Book a camp ground in a state park and stay in a tent. Make fires and do cook outs. You will save a ton of money. Avoid the tourist trap or limit those activities.
My first time do the dells was 2012 I went with my sister and my two boys which were 10 and six, I thought it was great and we have been there many times since then and now it’s my wife, my two boys and my daughter, we will actually be going again this year in 2024 since that first time we’ve always stayed at the wilderness because it seems a little nicer that the only people at the waterpark indoor or outdoor are the people that paid to stay at the wilderness, but I have noticed that the downtown part on Broadway that really hasn’t changed that’s like going into a time warp, same old shop, same old mugs and T-shirts and sunglasses etc. lol, but one thing I have done since we’ve been going I make it a point for us not to do everything and so this year in 2024. We’re finally going to go see Rick Wilcox magic show we’ve never done that we’re gonna go see Bello Knox show and the boat tour, anyways it’s kind of our jam as it sounds like it was with your family, but I’m getting to the same point you are this may be our last hurrah but I’m sure there was a Lotta great memories made there’s a lot of people..loved your video. It was very informative.😊
While I have enjoyed all your Dells videos over the years, we feel quite the opposite actually. I'm going to preface this whole post by saying I do know that you "screen" your comments and therfore this may not make it into the comment section and I'm totally cool with that.
I'm going to give you our reasons why we love the Dells and have now made it our week-long vacay place each year for our wedding anniversary. I will say that like you, we are also Wisconsinites (Fox Cities area) and my husband and I both grew up going to the Dells in the 80s as children. We "rediscovered" the Dells in 2009 when we received the Season Opener cards (I trust you know what those are). We didn't go again until the summer of 2017 (again using the Season Opener cards) and continued to visit every subsequent summer. Once the summer of 2020 was upon us, without hesitation, we continued to visit (again with those cards). We in fact made 6 trips there that summer and literally had thee best time! We quickly discovered that we were surrounded by like minded people to us, just trying to have a great time and enjoy life. We were not about to let the throes and woes of world events quell our fun. We were in fact, putting money back into the Dells/Lake Delton communities by shopping their stores, eating at their restaurants, visiting additional attractions not on the card and all around keeping their economy going forward from the unnecessary lockdowns just weeks prior.
We even discovered attractions we never knew existed, such as the Sunset Dinner Cruise (part of the Dells Boat Tours family). This was something we booked for our wedding anniversary in August that year. It was probably one of the best things we ever have done for our anniversary. The entire summer of 2020 was a freaking blast in the Dells. We all felt free and not stifled..yes MASK FREE. We were not about them..AT ALL! Nobody worried about a darn thing and it felt GREAT! A true getaway from gloom and doom, if you will.
The following day from that beautiful sunset dinner cruise and to continue our anniversary, we decided on a day trip to Door County for wine tasting, shopping and a supper club for dinner. Now here's the stark contrast. The entire county had a mask on..no lie. Bathrooms at places were closed. They made wine tasting a waste and we had to sit in a plexiglass box at a beautiful lakeside supper club to eat our dinner. We looked around and wondered what we were doing there. It was at that point we realized that Door County was not our people..at all. We quickly regretted our decision and decided that for the time going forward, the Dells area will now get our business, and I'm so happy to because it opened up for us all that crazy summer of 2020.
Since then, we continue to visit several times a year and have made it our late August anniversary vacay 4 years strong now, including the highlight Sunset Dinner Cruise (to which no two cruise are alike).
To your question though, no we haven't stopped going. We go more and are happy to do so. We always discover something new 😊
I hope my long rambly post makes sense.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It actually helps me to hear different perspectives, shared respectfully, the way you did. RUclips does require all creators who include children under the age of 18 in our videos (like my kids) to hold, review, and approve all comments to help prevent harassment, abuse, and exploitation.
I absolutely love this comment...... And I miss the season opener cards 😂
Yes to all of this! I hate to say it but it has almost a sleazy vibe to it now. Totally different place than when I visited in the 90s as a kid.
Mount Olympus has done much to destroy the charm of the Dells.
You are so right. Its sad.
We went to the dells on our honeymoon, 20 years ago. We were thinking about going back for our 20th anniversary. I was thinking about staying at the hotels (country squire inn and mayflower hotel) we originally stayed at... But they don't exist anymore. Anyone know what happened to these hotels? I suspect they may have closed due to the pandemic and never reopened.
Mount Olympus bought them out
Ooh honey I can whole heartedly agree with you! The word you were looking for was GHETTO! I remember going to the Dells as a kid in the mid 90s and even as late as 2002 our last trip things werent bad! You are right the quaintness has all but been eradicated! Everything has changed and you are right again not for the better the cheif culprit being Laskaris and his Mt Olympus junk! Every mom & pop forced into selling fun family attractions made obsolete and shuddered! There is a serious shift once you started getting tattoo parlors (yes there was already one downtown dells) and the bars, club wett (i mean really?!), the asian chop shop nail salons, and 2 strip clubs Wisconsin Dolls and Crusisin Chubbies (Again REALLY?!) Its just not the same also Ive heard that some can also be placed pn the Wisconsin Dells Chamber of commerce wanting more chains and less m&ps in town! From seeing strip videos and downtown youtube videos it looks just like any other small tourist town. I mean I literally have no need of Tanger outlets its everything I can get here in my hometown! Its sad depressing and sick really!
Sounds like we missed the window by a couple decades or so to see Wisconsin Dells at its best. It is still on our to do list. But your video has lowered our expectations. I have wondered why you didn’t make more videos of Wisconsin Dells since it did so well for your channel. But it makes sense now. I am afraid quaint family friendly fun isn’t as common as it used to be. Thanks for sharing this honest appraisal with us!
hell yeah..... bring back Xanadu!!!! also, don't be afraid to say it..... diversity has helped ruin the dells the way it ruins just about everything.
Loved Xanadu! I feel like the Dells just feels old now and doesn't have the same charming vibe it had years ago. I agree with all 5 points you mentioned.