Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
 | This article contains promotional content. (December 2007) |
| Previously known as Big Chief's Karts and Coasters, Family Land, Bay Of Dreams, Treasure Island Resort, Pleasant View Motel, Copa Cabana (names of former properties merged) | |
 | |
| Location | Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°36′55″N 89°47′22″W / 43.615145°N 89.789382°W |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Operating season | May through October (Outdoor Water & Theme Park) Year-Round (Indoor Water & Theme Park) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 53 (7 coasters, 37 waterslides, and 9 go kart tracks) |
| Website | Mt. Olympus Website |
Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park is a theme park and waterpark complex in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Mt. Olympus consists of four areas of the park: Zeus' Playground (outdoor theme park), Neptune's Water Kingdom (outdoor waterpark), The Parthenon (indoor theme park), and Medusa's Indoor Waterpark. Over the past two years, Mt. Olympus has purchased several smaller nearby independent motels and hotels and renamed them, painting them blue and white to fit the Greek theme for the main hotel.[1] Many other area hotels and motels offer free or reduced-priced tickets.
Park history
Early history
The Mount Olympus coaster hill was the site of the first waterslide in the Wisconsin Dells. It was a 3 wide cement waterslide that was made up of a sweeping 'S' curve. In 1975, Nick Laskaris opened "Goofy Karts" on the Wisconsin Dells Parkway, and operated it for 5 years. When the property lease ran out in 1980, Laskaris left the "Goofy Karts" property and opened a new 'cloverleaf' style track next to the Big Chief hot dog stand that his family owned. Several tracks were built on this property in following years, including a 'slick' track with water spraying on it. This go-kart track was named Big Chief Karts. In 1997, a 27 acre parcel on Wisconsin Dells Parkway was purchased for expansion use. The roller coasters Cyclops, Pegasus, and Zeus along with several Go-Kart tracks were built at this location, including one going around and through a 65 foot tall wooden Trojan horse, placed near the Parkway. In 1999, Laskaris bought the 25 acre "Crazy King Ludwig's Amusement Park" and merged it with his "Big Chief's Kart and Coaster World".
2004 Merger
In 2004, Big Chief Karts and Coasters owner Nick Laskaris decided with the addition of roller coasters to change the park name to Big Chief's Mt. Olympus Theme Park and go with a Greek-Roman theme. Later that year, Mt. Olympus merged with Monte Mattei's Treasure Island Waterpark Resort (consisting of Treasure Island's Family Land Waterpark & Bay of Dreams Indoor Waterpark) to create an indoor/outdoor water and theme park which they named Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. To accomplish the physical connection between these two separated attractions, they bought the Playday Motel and demolished it so that they could create a pathway from the resort to the amusement park.
March 2007 Acquisition
On March 15, 2007, the Laskaris Family, owners of Mt. Olympus, purchased the Treasure Island Resort, the Captain ’s Quarters, Pleasant View Motel, The Bay of Dreams Indoor Waterpark and the former Family Land Outdoor Waterpark properties. With the acquisition from the Mattei family, Mt. Olympus added 60 acres (240,000 m2) of real estate to Mt. Olympus, bringing the total area to over 156 acres (0.6 km2). This includes over 1½ miles of frontage on the Wisconsin Dells Parkway (Hwy 12/23). The Captain's Quarters, one of the resort buildings featuring family-sized suites, was eventually sold to Bluegreen Resorts and now operates at Bluegreen Odyssey Dells.
2011 Lodging Property Acquisitions
In addition to the current hotel properties Mount Olympus had, Hotel Rome (formerly Treasure Island Resort) and Mykonos Village (formerly Pleasant View Motel), the resort complex acquired many area adjacent hotels to create 7 different lodging areas. They purchased the Raintree Resort & Conference Center (renamed to Mykonos Resort),[2] the Star Motel properties (renamed to Poseidon's Village),[3] Luna Inn & Suites (renamed to Poseidon's Village),[4] the Riverwalk Hotel (renamed to Santorini Village),[5] American World Resort & Campground (renamed to Zeus's Village)[6] and the Four Seasons Motel (renamed to Poseidon's Village).[7]
An interesting side-note to this is that the Raintree Resort and Conference Center was the first hotel built by Todd Nelson, who currently owns the competing Kalahari Waterpark Resort and Convention Center.
2012 Attraction Additions & Lodging Property Acquisitions
On November 26th 2011 Mt. Olympus Resorts purchased The Copa Cabana Resort Hotel & Suite and began renovations on the property renaming it to Mt. Olympus Village with plans of reopening it in the spring of 2012.[8] In December of 2011 Mt. Olympus Resorts announced the creation of their new attraction for 2012 called "Lost City of Atlantis". This 3 acre attraction will feature 7 new slides, a monster dump bucket, a 120' geyser and will be 6 stories high. The estimated cost of this addition is $3.5 million dollars.[9]
New Additions
- 2013: Hades wooden roller coaster renovated with the addition of a barrel roll inversion and a new Timberliner train. The ride is also renamed Hades 360
- 2012: Addition of Lost City of Atlantis water play structure and addition of Mt. Olympus Village
- 2011: Addition of Poseidon's Village, addition of Zeus's Village, addition of Mykonos Resort, addition of Santorini Village
- 2010: Addition of Catapult Extreme Ride, addition of Poseidon's Beach
- 2009: Addition of The Almighty Hermes Sky coaster, and the addition of Night at the Theme Park
- 2008: Addition of The River Troy
- 2007: Addition of Poseidon's Rage Surf Pool, addition of Apollo's Swing, addition of Medusa's Indoor Waterpark, addition of Neptune's outdoor water park, addition of Hotel Rome, and addition of Mykonos Village
- 2006: Addition of The Parthenon Indoor Theme Park and Thunder and Lightning Speed Slides
- 2005: Addition of Hades wooden roller coaster and addition of Triton's Water slide Tower
- 2000: Addition of Kiddie Land
- 1997: Addition of Zeus wooden roller coaster and addition of The Trojan Horse go-kart track
- 1996: Addition of Pegasus wooden roller coaster
- 1995: Addition of Cyclops wooden roller coaster
Zeus' Playground
Zeus' Playground is the outdoor theme park section at Mt. Olympus. It consists of go-karts, roller coasters, and a few other rides.
Roller Coasters
- Hades 360 - A wooden roller coaster with a 65-degree drop, the world’s longest underground tunnel and reaches speeds up to 70 mph (110 km/h). It has a drop height of 140 ft (40 m) and contains a section of underground track which is banked to a 90° angle.[10] For 2013, the park will add a 360 degree inverted roll on the second hill and add new Timberliner trains from The Gravity Group. [11]
- Pegasus - A wooden roller coaster built over Medusa's Drop. It covers 1,600 feet (490 m) of track, reaches heights of 60 feet (18 m) and has a 45-foot (13.7 m) drop.
- Cyclops - A wooden roller coaster featuring a 75-foot (22.9 m) drop. The highest point is 70 feet (21 m) above the ground and intertwines with Zeus and Hades.
- Zeus - A 2,700-foot (823.0 m) long wooden roller coaster. It passes through a forest, climbs a 90-foot (27 m) hill, then falls at 60 mph (100 km/h) down an 85-foot (25.9 m) drop.
- Little Titans - A small junior roller coaster.
Go-Kart Tracks
- Titan's Tower
- Poseidon Go-Kart Track - The track goes up and down towers.
- Hermes' Turbo Track - The fastest track at the park.
- Trojan Horse - The ride consists of a multi-level, three story track and right through the belly of the horse. This track rages down 35 feet (10.7 m) around tight turns and back to the top again.
- Helios Track - This multi-level track go up and around and back down again.
Other Rides
- Batting Cages - 25 cent coin operated
- Apollo's Swing - The 100-foot (30 m) tall Apollo’s Swing is a prototype Screamin' Swing that seats four passengers, allowing it to achieve 75 mph (121 km/h).
- The Almighty Hermes- A giant swing that carries riders up into the air soaring over the Poseidons Rage Wave Pool 100 feet above ground, and up to 45 miles per hour.
Neptune's Water Kingdom
Neptune's Water Kingdom is the outdoor waterpark section.
Waterslides
- Blue Magnum Mat Slides - Mat slides (formerly four body slides named individually, "Wipeout", "The Kamikaze", "Corkscrew", and "Twister")
- Thunder - Speed slide
- Lightning - Enclosed speed slide
- Triton's Fury - 340-foot (104 m) family raft ride
- Triton's Rage - 550-foot (168 m) family raft ride
- Triton's Challenge - Side-by-side, 350-foot (107 m) six-lane downhill mat racer
- Double Barrel - Enclosed tube slide
- Double Trouble - Tube slide
- Deuces Wild - Tube slide
- Demon's Drop - A body slide featuring an 85-foot (25.9 m) drop
- Dragon's Tail - A 300-foot (90 m) long double drop
- Comet - Children's slide
- Little Dipper - Children's slide
Other Rides
- Poseidon's Rage - One of the world's largest surf pools featuring the world's third tallest surf wave at over 9 feet (2.7 m), after Wadi Adventure in Al Ain (UAE) which has barrelling surf waves up to 9.8 ft (3M) and Siam Park's Wave Palace, in Tenerife, Spain, which can produce 10.8 ft (3.3m) surf wave by Murphys Waves Ltd in Scotland.
- Tidal Wave - The original wave pool at the park
- Huck's Lagoon - An interactive children's water play area featuring tunnels, six waterslides, cannons, and multi-level hands-on water activities
- Kiddy City - One of Mt. Olympus' three children's water play areas featuring an elephant slide, gorilla swings, rainmaker geysers, and waterslides
- Endless River - Lazy river
- Bumper Boats
The Parthenon
The Parthenon is the Dells' first indoor theme park. It is one of the first buildings you see when you enter, and the columns are made out of styrofoam.
Rides
- Opa - A spinning Wild Mouse roller coaster
- Go-Karts
- Bumper Cars
- Spring Ride
- Tea Cups
- Crazy Trolley
- Alien Ball Pit
- The Parthenon Arcade
Medusa's Indoor Waterpark
Medusa's Indoor Waterpark is the 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) indoor waterpark at Mt. Olympus. This was originally part of the Treasure Island and Family Land project. Family Land, originally a wave pool was open to the public for a cost is now the an Arcade. Bay of dreams which is now Medusa's Indoor Waterpark was exclusively for Treasure Island guests only.
Waterslides
- Anaconda - Tube slide that is over 10 stories high
- Boa - Basic Tube slide
- Cobra - Enclosed body slide
- Diamondback - Body slide
- Hispaniola Bay - A children's area with a 35-foot (10.7 m) long pirate ship complete with tattered sails, tunnels, five water slides, waterspouts, and many geysers
Other Rides
- Warriors Water Walk - Net walk area and a basketball pool
- Mayan Raging River - Lazy river
- Jaguar Hot Tub
- Sacred Well Whirlpool
Night at the Theme Park
In the summer of 2009, Mt. Olympus began Night at the Theme Park, where select rides (Hades, Poesidon's Rage, Zeus, Trojan Horse Go Kart Track, Poseidon's Underwater Go Kart Track, and the Kiddie Land Rides) would be open from 10pm to 1am for four nights weekly. People who would attend would receive free soda and parking. Nick Laskaris got the idea when he took his kids to go see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian at the local cinema.[12] While it has been a surprising big hit to visitors, the village of Lake Delton did not approve of it because it was in violation of its amusement ordinance in which businesses have to close around midnight, and their 11pm curfew law. Village trustees were worried about someone crossing the busy Wisconsin Dells Parkway at night and getting hit by a car.[13] Because of the success of Night at the Theme Park, the village of Lake Delton made some changes to the amusement ordinance, with a variance for businesses if they requested, including Mt. Olympus. The village board had these changes on hold.[14][15]
Lodging
Mount Olympus offers six lodging options. All options include free admission to the park every day of one's stay:
- Hotel Rome (formerly Treasure Island): Hotel Rome is the park's signature hotel. It features Greco-Roman themed decor through the resort including rooms. Hotel Rome is located on-site with the park and connected via skywalk to the indoor waterpark.
- Mykonos Village and Camp Resort (formerly Pleasant View Motel): This is the park's mid-range, motel style hotel. The hotel features themed rooms and basic decor. Camping options include a basic campsite or Treehouse (raised cabin). This hotel is located next to the park, within walking distance.
- Mykonos Resort and Conference Center (formerly Raintree Resort and Conference Center)
- Poseidon's Village (formerly 4 Seasons Motel)
- Zeus' Village and Camp Resort (formerly American World RV Resort)
- Santorini Village (formerly " Riverwalk Hotel" and River's Edge Hotel)
References
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_bd012d6c-1ad7-11e1-86dc-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_25139de8-2026-11e0-bdd1-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_89a85d0a-e39c-11df-9030-001cc4c03286.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_47c3ccaa-1450-11e0-83d7-001cc4c03286.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_f9395ee4-2b27-11e0-8db2-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_f9395ee4-2b27-11e0-8db2-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_47c3ccaa-1450-11e0-83d7-001cc4c03286.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_bd012d6c-1ad7-11e1-86dc-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/local/article_9b340f9a-543b-11e1-990c-0019bb2963f4.html
- ^ http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/yellowpages/coasters/hades_bigchief.shtml
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/notes/mount-olympus-water-theme-park/mt-olympus-resorts-press-release-hades-360-summer-2013/463854223660627
- ^ 7/15/2009 Park asks for late nights
- ^ 7/29/2009 Mt. Olympus continues night openings
- ^ 8/1/2009 Lake Delton changes rules on closing time
- ^ 8/12/2009 Ordinance Changes Discussed
- Mt.Olympus Website
- 2006 Wisconsin Dells Travel and Attraction Guide
- 2007 Wisconsin Dells Travel and Attraction Guide (Ad-Lit)
- 2007 Wis. Dells Vacation Magazine (Wis. Dells VCB)
- JS Online: Three Dells Attractions to become one