Good morning ladies!
My family and I are thinking about going to the Dells either around Labor Day or sometime in October, and we were thinking about staying at the Wilderness. If anyone has an experiences at "any" of the Dells hotels that they'd like to share, my family and I would really apreciate it! I'm also hoping some of you will have stayed at the Wilderness or the Kalahari, and can share thoughts and experiences on your vacay.
We look forward to hearing from you ALL very SOON. Thank you in advance, we really, really appreciate it!!! :)
Take care and have a GREAT DAY!
Here's a link to the Wilderness Resort listing on www.kidwinks.com, where there are several reviews from parents:
http://www.kidwinks.com/FamilyFun/4/WildernessResortWisco...
FYI - Kidwinks.com is a great way to find things to do and places to go with your kids in the Chicago area, and also read the reviews of other parents. There is a Kids Eat Free Calendar, too - just click on a day to learn where kids eat free that day.
I have not been to the Wilderness.
Great Wolf Lodge is my favorite. Has great things for the whole family, plus if you have younger kids there is a story time every night that my daughter loved. Have gone in both the summer and winter, loved it all season!
Kalahari is a lot of fun but I would say that is geared towards kids 8 (may be 10) and older. I did not go with my daughter, went with a group of friends and to me there would not be as much to do if under 5.
Chula Vista... we disliked. Now we went in the winter so did not use the outside water part. The inside was cold, the kids play area water was the coldest and we complained and all we got back was "deal with it, it is winter, it is cold" so they will always get bad reviews from me.
I know there is less to do after Aug/Sept in the Dells, places do close down BUT if you go to a resort/family place there are many options as things to do and food to eat. Also if you get a place with a kitchen in it you can save tons of money by making your own meals and eating out only once.
I have not been to the Wilderness. From what I've heard, it is HUGE and there is a ton of walking to get anywhere you need to go. We have stayed at Great Wolf Lodge three times. We absolutely love it there and can't imagine staying anywhere else. They have the best deals around and the place is clean. The rooms are large and very clean. They have lots to do for all ages at the water parks. My kids have a bigger age-range and everyone is happy there from toddler to tween. My kids also love the nightly story time and the wolf walk in the morning. It's just an all-around great place for families!
We have always stayed at Kalahari as well and my kids LOVE it. agree that the spa is great and during inclement weather the ability to walk around indoors to multiple activities is really fun.
From other friends I have heard they liked Kalahari because there is only one exit and entrance into the indoor and outdoor waterparks where as Wilderness or Great Wolf have multiple entrances and it is often difficult to keep track of your kids.
I would go Labor Day weekend even though it will probably be crazy busy. Most of the fun stuff at the Dells will be closed in October. I worked in the Dells area last summer and most of the attractions and even the restaurants will close sometime in mid-September. If you want a get away to a beautiful place and don't care about the attractions it's still a nice place to visit.
We loved Kalahari - we stayed in winter and many of the buildings are connected - so you can walk in your swim suit to the water park. TONS to do there we thought with kids 4 and 5 years old (I got a mani/pedi - great spa). We HATED Chula Vista - water park was dirty, virtually no changing / diaper area - all around bad. We've also rented a condo and went for a day to Noah's Ark - it was really fun but a bit overwhelming with toddlers as it is so big. We've heard great things about Wilderness and Great Wolf.
