Below is a recap of all things touristy we did in last 48 hours... this does not include Circus World Museum or our nature adventures...more on those another night. This is strictly what happens when we don't properly educate ourselves before checking out an attraction.
Wisconsin Dells Riverwalk
This is one of those things that was on the bucket list. After a few minor direction issues, we managed to find the Riverwalk. It is located on "The Strip" -- a section of town that has all the tourist shops, restaurants, and many of the attractions. The Riverwalk is 1/4 mile path along with Wisconsin River.
For the most part there are not great views of the river... it's blocked by foliage. However, there is one nice look out point that would be great for viewing the sunset. It is only 1 directional so when you get to the end, you have to turn around and come back. If you need a breather from the hustle and bustle of the strip, you will find it here.
Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty
We decided to hit this for breakfast before going to Circus World. It was actually two fold... I allowed me to cross it off the bucket list and it would fill us up so we didn't really need lunch. We got there about 8:45 and had about a 10 minute wait to get seated. The line was out the door when we got there. Once we get inside they gave us a number (not quite sure what it was for) and paid for our meal. It is all family style... just like it would have been at a logging camp.
For breakfast we had homemade donuts, pancakes, ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns. If we finished a dish, they offered to bring us more. The only thing we actually finished was the donuts and did get more of those.The dishes weren't huge but plenty for 2 people. Everything came out hot and rather quickly. It was one of the best breakfasts I had in long time and those donuts were amazing.
It is $12.95 for adults which for all the food you get is really reasonable.
Lost Canyon Tours
We found this one in the stack of brochures the rental place left in our room. The last time I was on this I was still in utero. We could have chosen to do a boat tour or even the Ducks but I've done both and this was something different. It is a horse drawn wagon ride through a canyon. The tour only lasts about 30 minutes and was $13.95. The best part was it's off the strip but only a 10 minute drive from downtown Wisconsin Dells.
A team of draft horses pulls a wagon of 15 people plus an entertaining guide through the deepest ad longest land canyon in Wisconsin. The canyon is made of layers of limestone (I think) that have been eroded away through millions of years of nature's force. Because of the sandy bottom of the canyon, there is usually standing water in places making it difficult for a walking tour through the canyon so the horses do all the dirty work.
This was totally worth the price. Between the nature beauty of the canyon and our entertaining guide, it was a great ride. It is something I would do again with someone who has never been before.
Mount Olympus
Most people spend a day or even a week here... Stacy and I spent 2 hours max here. I got us discounted tickets online which is partially why we could justify spending so little time here.
Mount Olympus is on the bucket list. Mount Olympus was added to the bucket list back when it was just a theme park and I wanted to ride the go karts through the Trojan Horse. Now it's a resort/water park/theme park sprawling oasis of adventure. I really only wanted to ride a go-kart and a roller coaster and for $8 we did that.
Honestly between the massive amounts of people and the general craziness of the place, I was ready to leave when we got there. I love water slides but I don't like them with 1000s of other people in my space. Guess that's what happens when you become an adult.
We did the Trojan Horse go-karts after waiting in line for about 45 minutes for 2 laps around the track and I didn't even get to go up the Trojan Horse... it has been closed for years. Apparently they don't make those cars for average people like me. I seriously had issues getting in and out of the car. I may have bruises to prove it.
Because we were hungry we picked the roller coaster with the shortest wait which turned out to Zeus. Again average sized me was too wide to fit in the narrow seats so we were squished in them. All the roller coasters at Mt. Olympus are wooden coasters. The best way to describe Zeus was a wooden Shockwave at Great American without the loops -- it banged you around that much. I'm surprised my entire right side isn't a giant bruise.
Will I spend an entire day at Mount Olympus in the future... maybe... you will just have to find me another really good deal, ensure a whole lot less people, and that still may not be enough.
Museum of Historic Torture Devices
Stacy is still questioning my sanity and I am still questioning why this is even on the bucket list. Given that Stacy and I both have seen torture devices in Regensburg during our first trip to Germany, we were still slightly disturbed by this place. It might had to do with the "Halloween decorations" aka skeletons and mutilated bodies depicting the torture.
The scope of the museum was impressive. There were a medieval torture devices, religious torture devices, and things that even made me cringe. One section of the museum was devoted to John Wayne Gacy which I found very interesting.
Since we only paid $8 because of a special, it was almost worth it. Anything over $8 would have been pricey for this 2 room museum. If you don't mind blood, guts, and gore and find yourself with nothing better to do in the Dells, wander down this alley by the Krazy Mirror Maze for a history of the dark side. I don't recommend this for kids unless you want a lot of questions.
The Glockenspiel
Stacy and I are suckers for a good glockenspiel. We stumbled upon this one while wandering the strip. Okay so I knew it was there....
The Glockenspiel tells the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlein every hour on the hour. We got lucky to score a parking spot right across from the Glockenspiel a few minutes past 8 and sat in the car to watch the story.
It's Free, it's entertaining, and if you find yourself at the east end of The Strip at the top of the hour, take a few minutes to watch the Glockenspiel tell it's story.
Top Secret
This is where not checking Google or Trip Adviser before thinking $5 is great deal. All we knew we had to "solve" a mystery. Since we got our official Government ID pictures taken, we thought this would be cool. But we never got any instructions on how to solve the mystery of how the White House landed upside down in the Dells.
It was just a self-guided tour this place with everything glue to the ceiling.. until the aliens and big foot appeared. It really helped that we had a beer flight beforehand. It made it a lot more entertaining.
Me an Bigfoot
Do me a favor, skip this regardless how enticing the $5 entrance fee sounds.
Lost Temple
This is another one of those cheesy tourist attraction that was a waste of $5. However it was better than Top Secret. This one was had an actual theme. We had to find the golden skull. Based on the screams of the group ahead of us, you thought they were being tortured... This one was a bit more hi-tech with things moving and giant spiders crawling on the floor. You still really didn't have to look for golden skull. You followed the path through the building and at the last display is a giant skull.
Again unless you having a burn desire to wander in a dark tomb for no reason or want to waste $5, you're better off renting Netflix or something.
The last 2 attractions were picked mainly because they were cheap and open late. Don't let that be the sole reason of visiting something. Needless to say we are done with cheesy tourist attractions for a while.
Besides a few bad choices, it was an action packed 36 hours in the dells and part of that was spent in Baraboo. We learned to make sure we have an actual plan of things we actually want to do beforehand instead of oh this sounds like fun let's do it. Maybe not even a plan... just a list of things we want and don't want to see will suffice.
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