WI Dells for Young Children

We stayed at the Chula Vista years ago, and had a great time with a mid-week deal, cheaper compared to some of the larger hotels. I liked that it was in a less congested area than other hotels, pretty spot. There was an indoor and outdoor water park, neither were too big, nice for little ones.

Just some advice on the type of resort to choose. With your kids being so young and not swimmers I would try to find a hotel with a smaller water park. Your kids will be happy there and you won't be paying for all the big attractions at larger water parks that you won't be using anyway.

I know you said Wisconsin Dells, but there is also a really nice small/medium size indoor waterpark at the Timber Ridge Lodge in Lake Geneva. It has a nice younger children's water area with very shallow water, fountains, swings and small slides. A lazy river that would be very fun for you all to go on together. My kids love it! They also have two larger slides. One a tube slide where you could ride down with your kids and one body slide. We have been there a couple of times and have had a lot of fun. It's a really nice size for younger kids!

We really like Kalahari and Wilderness Resort. We haven't done anything but the waterparks. I mean honestly it's one stop shopping.

Kalahari is pricy, but their indoor area is the biggest available and it's all in one place. The African Safari theme throughout is amazing.

Wilderness is more spreadout but it's fun to walk around to the different pools and the kids LOVE the tram (its free). The kids love saying "lets go to the wave pool this morning" or "lets go the red slide pool today".

We always get the bigger rooms/condos with the kitchen. That way we can buy groceries, take naps, watch movies we brought from home complete with popcorn, etc without feeling crammed in a "hotel room".

For the little kids, I don't think you'll need anything more than the resort/water park. We always pack some crafts and cook together. (Like making cookies, dipping pretzels in chocolate, etc.) The kids talk about our crafts and cooking much as the slides!

Monk's is a great place to eat. They have a location downtown that has been there for years and a newer location out by the Kalahari/Great Wolf/Wilderness area. They serve burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. There is a pizza place that is good for kids. I think it might be called Moosejaw - I know it has the word moose in the name. We liked Kalahari but were not impressed with Great Wolf at all. I haven't been to the Wilderness but I have friends who stayed there and did not like it because the water parks are not connected & they had to go outside to get from one area to another. They were actually there during warmer weather but there was rain/downpours/thunder, etc. so they were inside. There is an outlet mall near the Kalahari area. There is also a bowling alley/arcade, etc. right by the mall but I can't remember the name of it. We enjoyed the ducks. The Tommy Bartlett water show was OK but there was a lot of waiting involved between acts. Have fun!

Mt. Olympus is AWESOME for little kids. Don't rule it out! :) They have a wave pool, little kid water slides, an indoor water area for little kids and so much more! Our daughter was 18 months old last year when we took her and she LOVED it. My husband and I went down the kiddie slides with her and she couldn't get enough. Chula Vista - an indoor water park - was fabulous too. It's on par with Kalahari and Great Wolf. I hear a lot of people like Chula Vista best. They also have an awesome outdoor water park and mini golf too at Chula Vista.

Do NOT go to Storybook Gardens. No fun at all. I wanted to go since it was one of my favorite places when I was little and it looks exactly the same. Which is NOT a good thing. Paint chipping off the storybook characters and just generally looks run down.

Have fun!

We went there last year for spring break. We ended up staying at Copa Cabana. It isnt the fanciest of hotels, but was great for young kids. They have a pool that is 5 feet deep in one room. The other room is only about 2 feet deep but has a huge shipwreck play thing in the middle of a big pool. They also have a baby pool and kid hot tub in that room.
We also enjoyed eating at Buffalo Phils. They have a train that delivers your food. The kids had a blast sending their drinks back and forth for refills.
Have fun!

I would def recommend the Deer Park. You buy crackers and walk through with the animals. My daughter has gone every year since she was one (now 4) and asks to go there each time. We actually took her to Mt. Olympus last year. We did not swim she loved the outdoor theme park and the indoor theme park. She could go on almost all rides, except large rollercoaster. We usually always do Paul Bunyans for breakfast at least one day. Its a TON of food but the atmosphere is pretty cool :) Have a great trip!! We will be there in April and June this year! We also did Knuckleheads a few times. Indoor theme park much more reasonable than other places. IMO the Kalahari is overpriced and overrated. Lastly, my daughter really enjoyed the Wisconsin Ducks. It is pretty mild and she just loved being on the water. She loves rollercoasters and is not scared of anything so this year we are going to try the Wild Thing Jet Boat rides :)

Love the Dells. We've been there often. Great Wolf would be my first choice for little kids. The resort is very attractive. They have a cute little lobby display/show, good food, a great dessert cafe, and the waterparks are all easy to access in one central area. It's a good size place, really nice but not overwhelmingly large resort. We loved their little kids suite room. Your kids may be a little young for their newer MagicQuest attached to the resort, though. Check out the nearby restaurant that the little train comes around and delivers the food on the train, your kids will LOVE it! Wilderness is nice too, but it is HUGE! If you do choose Wilderness, check out a map and plan to stay near the waterpark area you will use the most, you will be doing a lot of walking if you plan to use all of their waterpark areas. Raintree also has a nice indoor area for smaller kids (I don't know if/what they have for outdoor water areas, we only stayed there in winter), plus when our kids were small we liked Raintree because we got a room with a separate bedroom with a door that we could close for the kids, and we could stay up in the main part of the room. As far as attractions go, DeerPark was always fun for the little ones. Storybook Gardens is a rip off. I prefer the lower Dells boat tour, and of course a trip to the candy store Goody Gum Drop.

Our first time there with kids we stayed at the Copa Cabana. It is nice for young kids and has indoor and outdoor waterpark areas. It is not as big as some of the others but would be great for your kids and is budget friendly too (ours were about 11/2 or 4). As far as attractions, we rode the Ducks which they liked. We have eaten at Buffalo Phil's and the Moose Jaw. We went to Storybook Gardens but found it kind of depressing as it was run down looking at all these poor animals were being kept in very small pens. That place should be shut down for that alone. We like birds so we went to the International Crane Society. I believe we went to a local candy shop too. Honestly, the water park at the hotel was probably sufficient fun for the kids.

The next time we went we stayed at Great Wolf. It was a huge hit. A lot more expensive and busier than the Copa Cabana but the kids love that place. My mil gave us the first stay and we had such a good time that we took advantage of their "bounce back" program. Basically, if you are willing to book your next stay before you leave, you get a discounted rate. I think it is $119 a night for the basic room. We were able to upgrade for free on our return visits to boot (we've done it twice and have another on the books now) . It is a very fun place at Christmas time - they decorate the lobby like the north pole and it snows each night. Our last few trips to the Dells have just been single overnights and the waterpark was more than enough activity for all our kids (4 - aged 2 to 9).

We are staying on Frontier Lodge. It seemd geared towards younger kids. My daughter is 4 1/2 and pretty tall but doesn't know how to swim. Many of the slides at this park will allow her and I to go on them together. I like that this gives her more freedom to be a big girl but me the security of knowing I am right there with her.

We are staying in a 1 bedroom condo with a king bed in bedroom and a murphy bed in living area, full kitchen and 1 1/2 baths on a Thursday/Friday in May and the total was just over $400.

Wilderness on the Lake is great for younger kids...their water park is smaller, like an indoor playground. I felt much more comfortable there than at the bigger water parks when my kids were that young. The rooms are like fully furnished condos, kitchen & all, so you don't have to eat out 3 meals a day.

We have stayed at both Copa Cabana and Great Wolf Lodge, and liked Great Wolf Lodge best.

Our favorite activity w/our little ones was the Mining Company (can't remember if this is the actual name or not) where you pan for gems. Messy, but fun.