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Rochester Local

The Wilderness Resort: Weekend Getaway Destination!

This post is sponsored by The Wilderness Resort

The Wilderness ResortIf you’re looking for a weekend getaway that’s not too far away (just over two hours from Rochester)… but that feels like it’s worlds away – consider checking out The Wilderness Resort in the Wisconsin Dells! It has something for everyone, all ages and all interests… and all under one roof.

The Wilderness Resort is located on 600 acres in Wisconsin Dells, and is America’s Largest Waterpark Resort. The Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort features 446 guest rooms, 40 Vacation Villas, 76 Frontier Condominiums, and 35 cabins. It’s also home to Wilderness on the Lake which features 108 luxurious two and three-bedroom condominium units overlooking Lake Delton; and Glacier Canyon Lodge, which features 460 upscale condominium units.

Combined, these properties offer four indoor and four outdoor waterparks that total nearly 500,000 square feet – that’s over 12 football fields of extreme water fun!

Wild West Waterpark

Wilderness ResortIf your kids are anything like mine – they LOVE water slides, thrills, and adventure. Honestly, can’t get enough!

The Wild West Waterpark has four brand-new thrill slides, which are now open! Twisted Trails is a new two-lane dueling tube ride – this one was my son’s favorite. And Warped Wagons is a brand-new two-lane dueling mat racer.

The new slides feature translucent slide effects and multiple rally points where riders will be able to see their competition and can race them to the finish.

Ransack Ridge children’s play and spray feature has been completely redesigned and rides like The Black Hole extreme tube ride and Fantastic Voyage family raft ride have remained. YeeHaw’s Watering Hole is a brand new swim-up bar, along with western-themed cabanas!

My Family’s Experience

My family had a chance to spend the weekend there and as always, my kids had so much fun that they never wanted to leave! We checked in on a Friday and went straight to the Wild West Waterpark. Afterward, we were able to grab dinner on-site at the Klondike Pizza Kitchen… followed by Yukon Yogurt. When you are a kid – can it get better than a waterpark, pizza & fro-yo?! I would say no, but the next day was just as great…

We started off on dry land on Saturday and headed to Take Flight, followed by Dodge ‘Em City. Dodge ‘Em City has something for everyone! Laser tag, mini golf, go-karts, climbing walls, ropes course, arcade… literally a city in and of itself. Check out the details of the Fun Pass and Take Flight below.

The Wilderness Resort

After all the fun on ‘dry land,’ it was time to adventure back into the water. The Klondike Kavern Waterpark was a favorite for my kids (7 and 8)… my oldest loves exploring absolutely everything and could hardly keep still in one place for long.  She loved watching her friend go on the ‘Hurricane‘ slide…she said it was the best one she’s ever done! My youngest is a little less of a thrill seeker and enjoyed the Hot Tub with a little tunnel that leads to the outside.

The Wilderness Resort

The Wild WaterDome Waterpark might be my favorite water attraction at The Wilderness. At 70,000 square feet – it’s America’s largest indoor wave pool. I love that you can spread out in the wave pool and with tons of natural sunlight – it gives off a tropical vibe in the middle of winter.

The Wilderness Resort

Before we checked out on Sunday, we made a stop at Dodge ‘Em City one more time and of course needed to pop into Candy Cabin (another haven for the kids!).

In addition, the guest suites are newly renovated. Our suite was spacious, it also had a mini refrigerator and kitchenette. And just down the hall from our room was the fitness center – where I was able to get a morning workout in.

We are so lucky to have this destination just a short drive away.

Fun Pass

With the FUN PASS at Dodge ‘Em City, we were able to enjoy unlimited admission to:

  • Lost Cabin Laser Tag
  • Northern Lights Sky Ropes Course (my 8-year-old daughter’s favorite!)
  • Wild Abyss Black-Light Mini Golf (my 7-year-old son’s favorite!)
  • Wilderwoods Indoor Go-Karts
  • Climbing Wall (3x each)

Take Flight

Take Flight is the first flying theater of its kind in the Dells giving guests the sensation of flight as your seat actually moves to enhance your experience. You will soar over the United States from a bird’s eye view/aerial perspective. Your feet will dangle as you ‘fly’, you may even feel a slight mist as you soar over our beautiful country. My kids loved the experience, but it didn’t start out that way. My 8-year-old absolutely wanted nothing to do with this ride, and only worked up enough courage to go just before we got in line. However, by the end of the ride she was begging to go again.  At the end of our weekend, she said it was her favorite of our entire time there!

It’s an incredible experience with amazing technology. Take Flight is open to the public (not just for guests of the Wilderness). They have a variety of shows throughout the year – we’ve been several times now and have seen one featuring Hawaii, World Flight – which takes you around the world, during the holidays we visited the Polar Express and a few others. Each one is an adventure!

The Wilderness Resort
The Wilderness Resort
The Wilderness Resort

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