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We are taking our family of 5 (8yo, 5yo, 3yo) and staying at Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells for 3 days, 2 nights this March. We just had some friends stay there and they loved it. We also went with a much larger group and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and had a great time 2 years ago. We had some other friends stay at the Wilderness Resort and had wonderful things to say.
In my opinion, a couple days is plenty.
Best of luck to you!
Lisa
Location: after years of cold IL winters I'm happy to now be in sunny Cocoa, FL
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Funny I just saw this.... as we returned home today from 4 days at Wilderness resort. We actually stayed in the timeshare portion of the hotel with another family, so I can't really comment much on the regular rooms... but overall the resort was nice and we did have a great time. Wilderness actually has 3 seperate indoor parks and an outdoor park. We had 6 kids altogether - ranging from 18 months old to 8 years. All of them found things to do and enjoy. My only suggestions are to bring your own beach towels, as the ones they provide are small and kinda stiff/scratchy!
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"With kids the days are long - but the years are short."
It's been years (probably 30) since I've been there so I can't offer too many suggestions but I will say that one place really sticks out in my mind - a restaurant called Al Johnson's. The goats on the grass roof left quite impression - a vivid memory I have to this day. Really neat. Here's an article about it:
Sounds like a fun place, but I wouldn't count on eating here on a trip to The Dells.
The Wisconsin Dells is NW of Madison; Door County is on the point past Green Bay. I'm guessing they're a couple hundred miles apart, with no good direct route.
However, Ella's Deli in Madison (Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor) is a hoot! Though it may be too far, too, depending on the direction from which you arrive and your tolerance for drives.
My DH goes to the Kalahari every feb for a trade show. It's a great hotel with lots of things to do from go karts to mini golf to a huge indoor and outdoor waterpark. It is pretty expensive too.
I haven't been to the dells in the summer in years. But, we did stay at the Chula Vista resort for skiing a few years ago. They also have an indoor waterpark (with a water roller coaster), an outdoor park and they are located next to the Wisc river with a river walk that I hear is very nice.
The dells also have Noah's Ark, at one time the largest waterpark in America. Ripleys believe it or not. Roller coasters and go karts. Lots of "chotsky" stores. The Dells duck tour and walk is very neat. The Tommy Bartlett (water ski) show is still going on. I still remember them from childhood.
If you want to do day trips, you can visit Cave of the Mounds, Little Norway or House on the rock, all about an hour south toward Madison. We really liked the cave and Little Norway was very cultural and charming. It's a farm that was built by a Norwegian immigrant and has traditional norwegian buildings. It also has the Norwegian pavillion from the Chicago World Fair that you can go into. It's like the Norwegian pavillion at Epcot in a country setting. The staff take you around and explain about the crafts, culture, family and buildings. It was really cool.
Also, check out the owner rental sites. Many of the resorts have owner condos. If you rent with the owner you usually get a 10% discount. When we stayed at Chula Vista, I used VRBO.com and got a larger room for less money than their regular room rate. Have fun!
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
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Thank you guys! I've been strongly considering Kalahari and now im going to look into Wilderness and Chula Vista.
If you are going for the convenience of a waterpark, the Kalahari has the largest. It is so big, it's nutty. The other resorts can't compete. The one thing about Chula Vista we didn't like was the dining options. There were very few restaurant choices. There might be more choices in the summer.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
I would suggest the Kalahari, Great Wolf or Wilderness. Our favorite place to stay when at the Wilderness Resort is Wilderness on the Lake. They are 2 and 3 bedroom units with a kitchen, a 4 season porch with a hot tub and great view of the lake. It has it's own small waterpark that is not crowded and a nice indoor/outdoor hottub. It also has an outdoor infinity pool if you go in warmer weather - hopefully June would be warm, but in WS you never know! It's a great place to get away from the main waterpark which is really fun, but can be noisy and overwhelming at times!
Our favorite restaraunt is The Moose Lodge. Great food and fun atmosphere.
If you are staying for more than a couple days and get tired of the waterparks, Devils State Park is about 1/2 hr to 45 minutes away and is a nice place to hike. There are bluffs higher than you would expect to see in WS!
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Sounds like a fun place, but I wouldn't count on eating here on a trip to The Dells.
The Wisconsin Dells is NW of Madison; Door County is on the point past Green Bay. I'm guessing they're a couple hundred miles apart, with no good direct route.
However, Ella's Deli in Madison (Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor) is a hoot! Though it may be too far, too, depending on the direction from which you arrive and your tolerance for drives.
Oops, had my geography mixed up. Sorry for the inconvenience.
We've gone to the Dells since I was a little kid. If you like outdoor water parks, go to Noah's Ark. Indoor is Kalahari. Ride the Ducks if you get the chance, it's so cheesy yet adventuresome. Kind of like the Jungle Cruise.
The one thing my boys love is the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. It's a great "science type" exhibit with hands on things to do. We go every year.
We're going to Wyndham Glacier Canyon at Wilderness in June. We love Wilderness. This trip we've got 4 generations going including my 98 year old grandmother making this her 3rd trip to the resort. There are 3 indoor waterparks, 3 outdoor waterparks, 2 indoor mini-golf & 1 outdoor mini-golf, go-carts, large arcade & 2 smaller ones, indoor kid's play area & laser tag. Something for everyone rain or shine. There is also a zip line. The waterparks are free but they have an Extreme Fun Pass that gets you one round of the 3 mini-golfs, go-carts, laser tag, bumper boats, admission to the Haunted Hotel & Mirror Maze & 8 arcade credits. One of my favorite parts of Wilderness is Sundara Spa. It's one of the top spas in the country & it's on Wilderness property. I try to get at least one spa treatment in every trip.
Along with the activities at the resort, I also like to go to Mount Olympus Theme Park. I love roller coasters & it has several. There is also Noah's Ark which is America's Largest Waterpark. At dells.com you can get a coupon book that will save you lots of money. It's 19.95 right now & the BOGOF for Mount Olympus or Noah's Ark pays for the book.
Hope you have as great a time as we plan on having.
I am signing in to save all the great tips. DH suggested we save money and plan a trip to the Dellsthis summer. I started pricing things and was floored at the prices. Compared to wdw we would save money on airfare and trip length, but other than that seemed expensive. Id rather skip a vacay and put the $2000 toward an even better disney trip. Would love to hear thoughts on dells value...
My family used to go to the Dells every summer with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We would camp and head over to Noahs Ark and I have nothing but wonderful memories. I haven't been in a while but like I said I have nothing but good memories. We would also do a duck tour and walk around downtown. I remember getting some of the best fudge in the dells. We would also hit the family style restaurant Paul Bunyons, but it's been so long that I don't even know if it's still there.
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LISA R.
It's a great place to get away from the main waterpark which is really fun, but can be noisy and overwhelming at times! 
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