Mt. Olympus Re-Opening Long Weekend June 6-8

[WhatTheBlazes]

I don’t know about everyone else, but with the Covid-19 lockdowns I was really starting to get the itch for some roller coasters.  Or to at least be outside in a theme park type of atmosphere.  So a few weeks ago, when Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells announced they would be opening up and that the attractions would be for resort guests only, I decided to make the trip with my kiddos.

Booking the room was easy, but without knowledge of how the resort was layed out, I was a little confused on where exactly the accommodations would be in relation to the park.  Was not a major concern for me though, I was just happy to be able to get out of the house and be outside and to ride some rides.

Leaving the Chic-fil-A parking lot in Avon, IN around 9 EDT, we had a smooth drive North with no bad traffic.  The only construction zones were around the Purdue Exit on 65 North in Lafayette, IN.  That was to be expected as this stretch of road has been under construction for over 20 years since I started college there.  We made the whole trip in just over 5 hours, putting us in the Dells at 1pm local time. 

After having some lunch at a local spot in town, we made it to our hotel and got all our stuff situated and headed to the park.

We walked from our hotel across the street towards the entrance and made it through the gates.  This entrance is close to the Waterpark as well as the indoor waterpark and indoor theme park.  These last 2 parks were still closed and were not part of the opening so we didn't get to do any of those attractions.  Also not available was the waterpark with all those slides that are normally reserved for resort guests only.  This left just the main outdoor theme park and waterpark available for the duration of our stay.

Which was fine, with us as it was just nice to be able to feel some normalcy again.  We walked through the park taking in all of the scenes and to get a feel of where we were at.  The Roman Colosseum themed buildings at our entrance were really neat looking and added a fun touch to the atmosphere.

The first ride we tried out was the Cyclops coaster.  A smaller wooden coaster that does not look nearly as impressive as the ride you get on it.  We sat in the back seat, and upon reaching the crest of the lift hill I was immediately ejected completely out of my seat.  I had a few more moments of great air time like this on the coaster throughout the ride.  It was small but it was awesome and a huge welcome surprise.

The next coaster we got on was Zeus.  We also sat in the back of this.  To me this was an ok ride.  I neither loved it or hated it.  What I did love was the fact that I was on a coaster either way.

  After this we waited in line for Hades 360.  I had heard this was a good ride, but I was really impressed with it.  It has a constant intensity that you feel throughout the entire ride.   The tunnel under the parking lot is a unique feature and then the inversion coming out of that tunnel on the other side of the parking lot is awesome. 

After this we got another ride on Zeus and then another on Cyclops and then left the park.  We went into the village area of town and walked up and down the strip into the various shops.  We stopped for Gelato at Frozen Bear. It was really busy and there was an older couple handling the crowds.  This was a really fun stop.  Did some more shopping after this, but was disappointed that the Hot Sauce shop was closed. Made it back to the room for the night and had a late night Snack with takeout from Pizzeria Uno.

The next day we went out to Breakfast then headed back to the park.  This time we wound around the back roads trying to find the correct parking lot.  It was cool to see the back areas of the park this way.  The entrance to this road is near the hotel and the entrance we had entered the park at the previous day, but the road wound behind the park clear to the other side where the actual lot is.  We used this entrance the rest of the trip.  From here the big Trojan horse go cart extravaganza is clearly visible, and walking through the entrance and on the paths past the other coaster structures was really cool.

The path leads through the gift shop and down a hill directly to the entrance of Zeus.  So we caught that again, then Hades and then Cyclops again.  After these rides, we returned to the car to get our gear for the waterpark.

I got the GoPro out and started filming our waterpark experience, not including the waterslides as filming was not allowed.  Did get some good video of the Poseidon’s Rage Wave Pool.  This Wave pool is awesome.  A nice size with a good layout, with ramped entrances to the sides and down the middle. The Waves in this are  huge.  They claim 9 feet and are every bit of that for sure.  Was not expecting it and had my sunglasses completely blasted off my face.  Found them though a few minutes later.  This pool was awesome.

After the pool we went on some of the water slides.  The tube ones were especially fun.  One was more of a long winding course with some good splashing.  The other was fast with multiple bunny hills, almost got some airtime.  The other slides were adequate as well.  Hung out in the pool again for a bit after this.  Decided that we were feeling hungry by now and so we headed out.  I took video of our entire walk from the back entrance to the waterpark and then video back out again.  I have posted this as a narrated park tour on our new YouTube coaster channel for any that are curious about seeing this park.  Also on the channel is a front seat POV for Hades.  I am going to include POV’s for the other coasters as well as other ride and pool footage in an upcoming review video for the park as well.  There is a link to the park tour video at the bottom of this report for those that would be interested.

 

 

After leaving the park we decided to eat at the nearby Hotdog Avenue.  This was open for drive through only so we took it back to the room and enjoyed the lunch.  It was really good!

We then got back into our dry gear and headed back to the park for more coaster rides on all of the previously mentioned coasters.  Was able to get some back of train videos with my GoPro on all of these.  We also rode Pegasus this time.  That is a mean little coaster!  Violent tossing to the left the whole way.  It was a very unique experience. We rode Zeus and Cyclops again.  On our Cyclops ride this last time, there was no wait, so the ride op sent us around again.  It was a fun bonus!

After that we left the park and went back into the Dells village area.  The Hot Sauce shop was open this evening!  I got to sample all kinds of sauces made just for that store.  I bought 2 bottles and am looking forward to using it.  We stopped at a local pub and had a drink.  Bought some souvenirs for the kids.  Browsed through more of the shops.  I bought some dark chocolate Fudge which was locally made and awesome, as well as come kettle corn, and some 2 different kinds of carmels, one type was infused with Marshmallow cream.  After some more of this we headed back to our hotel and ordered from the local MooseJaw’s pizza.  We got a pizza, some pretzel bites that came with 2 different kinds of cheese and spicy mustard and some cheesy garlic bread.  All were really good and I was surprised at how tasty it all was.  We watched some TV for just a bit, cleaned up after the long hot day, and reviewed video and photos from our day and then CRASHED.

 

 

The Next morning we got up, packed all our stuff to check out of the hotel and headed to the park for some last rides.  Hades was closed at first so we rode the Underworld Go Carts.  I dominated the field, leaving my kids in shame.  We then rode Hades where I got the front seat POV video.  We then rode Cyclops and Zeus one last time where I was able to get front seat POV videos as well,  then headed out.  We stopped and got T-shirts in the gift shop on the way out and headed for home.

We did stop for lunch and then in Deforest at this cheese Chalet to take some of that Wisconsin cheese home for family members.  The drive back was worse traffic-wise being a Monday.  Chicago traffic was a mess.  It was interesting both ways though that the cash lanes for tolls were all closed because of Social Distancing.  We do have to pay online, but not having to stop at all of these saved a lot of time!  Once we got back in Indiana, we stopped at Fair Oaks farms and had awesome milkshakes made from products that came from right there on the farm.

Overall, this was a great getaway after all of the lockdowns.  Getting back on some rides and getting some sunshine and fresh air was amazing.  Having booked the trip at the announcement, it only cost something like $285 for 2 nights and 3 days worth of lodging and park admissions for 4 people.  Even though some of the attractions were shut down, and I was disappointed about not being able to get the credit for the indoor coaster, none of that really mattered.  It was about the great time we were able to have and to be able to feel somewhat normal again.

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by WhatTheBlazes
Updated Video to Trip Report and Review and deleted link to Park Tour

[ziplock]

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your visit to Mt. O!

Growing up about 45 minutes south of the Dells, I have spent more than a few days marathoning those woodies and getting knocked around in Poseidon's Rage- truly the most exhilarating wave pool that I've ever experienced. 

I wouldn't be too distraught over the indoor parks being closed, however, as neither of them have much to offer.  Their indoor wild mouse style coaster "Opa" was closed and removed permanently back in 2014 after a man fell off of the ride, which only leaves a handful of kiddie flat rides remaining in the indoor theme park.

I am curious though of what kind of crowds you experienced with the "resort only" rule.  Did their one-train operations still make for some long wait times despite theoretically reduced crowds?

[WhatTheBlazes]

I hadn't realized that about "Opa" being closed that long ago!  Goes to show you how old the video I was able to find before our trip was.  I definitely agree with you about Poseidon's Rage - I have not experienced a wave pool like that at all!

As far as the waits - Sunday early afternoon, we waited for Hades for about 40 mins.  That was our longest wait.  The parks were only open until 6pm, so Saturday evening I'd say around 430-5pm our wait for it was a bit shorter.  I'd say around 25 mins.  Cyclops on Sunday was either a walk on, or a station wait.  The longest wait for Zeus was about 15 mins.  All 3 on Monday morning were virtually walk ons.

I remember thinking especially on Sunday that it would be nice if Hades operated 2 trains.  Operations were also hindered a bit by the wiping down of the trains between loadings.  Also on Sunday Zeus just had 1 ride Op, so it was moving slower than normal I'd say.  Waterslides lines were not bad at all the day we were there and the longest we waited was for the longer tube slide, and that was about 15 minutes or so.

I would definitely go back here, but would also like to check out Noah's Ark the next visit.  It looked really cool from what I could see, and have heard great things about it.

[SnakePlissken]

I'm currently on day 2 marathoning the heck outta Hades 360. 8 rides yesterday. 11 and counting today. Went to the Pizza Pub across the street last night on my birthday. Got draft beer all night free and got to keep the mug too. My chicken parmesan was real good and he threw in a slice of chocolate cake for free. Editing this to say I rode it 20 times today in 6 hours and called it a day.