Wisconsin Dells proudly describes itself as the "waterpark capital of the world."
The Dells, about 2 hours northwest of Milwaukee and a 3-hour drive from Chicago, has fewer than 6,000 residents but boasts more than 8,000 hotel rooms for its resorts, which pump out more than 16 million gallons of water. There's no doubt this is the place to go if you're a waterpark fanatic, but the city has so much more to offer travelers. When your fingers and toes get pruney, it's time to explore the rest of the area, all within a 7-minute drive and designed for entertainment.
Tom Foolery's Adventure Park
Connected to Kalahari Resort Waterpark and open to the public, Tom Foolery's Adventure Park is 100,000 square feet of pure fun. Essentially an indoor amusement park geared toward all ages, Tom Foolery's has everything from a baby roller coaster, Ferris Wheel and Carousel for the smaller set to a truly terrifying drop ride, laser tag, VR games and a ropes course for older kids and adults.
While our kids, ages 8 and 11, love Kalahari, we usually spend more time in Tom Foolery's than the water park because they're totally obsessed. You can pay per ride, but most people opt for the unlimited pass-just $35 for Kalahari guests 42" or taller.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
We're still amazed that this unassuming building contains the most amazing items in the world, from shrunken heads and an entire room made out of Duck Tap to a barn of animal oddities such as two-headed sheep and an entire exhibit about carnivores. It's not for the faint of heart-our admittedly wimpy 8-year-old left in tears, but our 11-year-old, whose primary interest is her phone, was fascinated. So were we.
Knuckleheads
Prepare to spend hours here. There's an entire trampoline park, a massive arcade, bowling and tons of rides including bumper cars, a kids' roller coaster, a carousel and a spinning ride that you should only do pre-meal. You can buy an unlimited day pass, $32 for everything, or pay $15 (per person, per hour) for the trampoline park. The ropes course here was super challenging, and the jumping pillow, essentially a massive inflatable pillow, was really fun, though it was only for kids 12 and under-we really wanted to try, but adults weren't allowed.
Tommy Bartlett Exploratory
For $15, you can go inside a Russian Space Station MIR core module. No joke. This massive science and space center is filled with interactive space exhibits, science experiments you can actually do and the coolest learning games. We tested our reflex skills, we learned that men are better at balancing than women, we played a general knowledge game show, we did an electronic game of Simon Says and we competed in VR soccer. There's truly something for everyone, from preschoolers through adults.
MACS - Macaroni and Cheese Shop
The person who created this restaurant is a genius. If the water parks and interactive museums in the Dells aren't enough to make this a perfect vacay, then stopping into one of the two city locations promising every variety of mac & cheese and grilled cheese will do it. The pickiest eaters will be satisfied with the regular mac & cheese, which comes standard, just as you'd expect. But if you're looking to be a little adventurous, try the Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac, the BBQ Mac or the Philly Cheese Steak Mac & Cheese.
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