WISCONSIN Dells, often called the Water Park Capital of the World, has an impressive collection of water resorts that attract tourists from around the world.
With 28 water parks and more than 200 water slides, the city has become synonymous with fun and aquatic adventure.
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And this year, what matters is walking on Noah’s Ark.
“You don’t experience the Dells until you spend a day at Noah’s Ark,” says the water park’s website.
Named the 2024 Best Outdoor Water Park in Newsweek’s Reader’s Choice Awards, this park has more than 70 acres of attractions to visit, including several extreme waterslides with loops, a lazy river, and a log flume ride.
At this size, it also makes Noah’s Ark the largest outdoor water park in America.
But the park is only open daily until September 2nd, so time is already running out to plan your visit.
Park opening hours vary slightly, so double-check the website before booking your tickets.
Be sure to check out the park’s most famous and intense attractions, including the Black Anaconda, Time Warp, Scorpion’s Tail, and Raja waterslides.
“The food is great, the drinks are cold and the fun lasts all day,” according to the park’s website.
Guests can also save hundreds of dollars with discounted season passes, group discounts, and even “eat free” entrees and dining packages.
But there are also other water park options in the area.
Other resorts in the area, like the Wilderness Resort, are the largest combined indoor and outdoor water park in America.
This park characteristics a 180-foot long waterslide, bumper boats, a wave poola spa and even a full golf course.
Another access point only steps Away is Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin’s largest indoor water park.
This indoor park features a 250-foot-long slide, a wave simulator for bodyboarding and indoor surfing, and unique classes that teach kids and adults how to swim like a shark or a mermaid.
“Today we still have more water parks here of all sizes per capita than anywhere else on the planet,” Rhonda Parchem, director of marketing and communications for the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, told the local news station. Wisconsin Public Radio.
About Noah’s Ark
Noah’s Ark is the largest water park in the United States, with 51 water slides and more than 80 attractions.
Located in the village of Lake Delton, Wisconsin, also known as “Wisconsin Dells”.
In 1979, the Waterman family purchased the land where the park is located, created a boat ride and built a go-kart track. The park opened as “Noah’s Amazing Adventure.”
In 1994, the Gantz family purchased the park from the Watermans and added the “OctoExplorer,” a yellow submarine with a movable periscope, water guns, and soft-surface water slides.
The park celebrated 25 years of activity in 2003.
In 2012, Palace Entertainment purchased the park from the Gantz family.
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Tourism in Wisconsin Dells dates back to the 1870s, initially driven by scenic river boat tours.
In 1871, the first steamboat tour arrived in the Dells, showcasing its natural beauty and unique rock formations.
However, it was only a century later that the city took its first steps towards becoming a mecca for water parks, opening its first slide.
This first water slide in Wisconsin Dells opened in the late 1970s, and by 1989 the Polynesian Water Park Resort had established itself as the city’s first indoor water park, paving the way for year-round water attractions.
“The fact that we can offer the option to swim, dive and slide down water slides year-round in Wisconsin has been a real game changer,” said Parchem.
“As more and more water parks were developed, it really gave us a point of differentiation from other Midwest destinations,” she continued.
Every year, the Dells welcome about 4 million people from across the country, according to the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau.
Noah’s Ark Tours and Attractions
Here is a list of rides and attractions at the world’s largest water park:
Water slides:
- Tucano Twister (1985) – 5 twisted bodyslides. Previously called Slidewinder (1985–2017)
- The Bermuda Triangle (1988) – Three tubular slides
- Monkey Rapids (1989) – Three waterslides that flow into the Adventure River. Previously called Bahama Falls (1989–2017)
- Congo Bongo (1991) – Curvy family raft ride
- Kowabunga (1993) – Speed slides on a family raft that descend without curves.
- Flying Gecko (1995) – Family raft ride in the dark. Previously called Dark Voyage (1995–2017)
- Black Thunder (1997) – Single tube or two person slides in the dark.
- Point of No Return (2001) – 10-story high speed slide that takes riders three to five seconds to descend. However, one of the slides was removed and replaced with Scorpion Tail.
- Sting Ray (2002) – Two large halfpipes
- Black Anaconda (2005) – the third largest roller coaster in America.
- Time Warp (2006) – The largest bowl ride in the world. It’s a clone of Wet n Wild’s old Disco H2O (which closed in 2016).
- Scorpion’s Tail (2010) – America’s first upside-down looping body slide that leaves riders descending from a trap door into a capsule in a nearly inverted loop.
- Quadzilla (2012) – Four slides braided upside down.
- Raja (2018) – The largest King Cobra double slide in the world.
Wave pools:
- The Wave (1987) – Wave pool
- Big Kahuna (1989) – Large wave pool, once the largest wave pool in Wisconsin Dells, now eclipsed by the surf pool at Mt.
Lazy Rivers:
- Endless River (1985) – Simple Lazy River
- Rio Aventura (1989)
Other attractions:
- Paradise Lagoon (1984) – An activity pool with slides and ziplines
- OctoExplorer (1994) – Children’s play area
- Flash Flood (1999) – Hopkins Rides shoot the ramp. A 20-passenger boat descends a 15 m (50 ft) drop into a large pool; includes a bridge observation area that is reached by the subsequent wall of water.
- Noah’s 4-D Dive-In Theater (2007) – The largest 4-D theater in the Midwest featuring the film Rio’4-D Summer 2014
- Tadpole Bay Kiddie Kingdom (2008) – Noah’s Ark-themed children’s play area, 4 children’s slides, over 50 water features and an 800-gallon trash can.
- Surfing Safari (2013) – FlowRider stationary surf attraction.
Ancient attractions:
- Bumper Boats (1979) – First attraction built on Noah’s Ark Removed in 2018, replaced by Raja.
- Jungle Rapids (1980) – Tubular treadmill slides. (The park’s oldest water attraction) Nearly closed for the 2012 season. Two of the four tallest slides remained open for the 2012 season, but in 2013 the entire complex was demolished and replaced by the Surfing Safari.
- Minigolf (1980) – 18 holes. Reopened in the 2019 season.
- Thunder Rapids (1982) – Three concrete slides intertwined on slopes that were later replaced by the Black Anaconda.
- Tank Tag (1989) – a game where participants shoot tennis balls at targets to earn points with stationary weapons and mobile tanks. Later withdrawn and replaced by the Sting Ray.
- Noah’s Amazing Adventure (2003) – A dry, high-capacity amusement ride that involved a large “mystery swing” and special visual effects to recreate a trip on Noah’s famous Ark. It was replaced by Curse of the Crypt in the same building in 2009.
- SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D (2007) – featured at Noah’s Dive-In Theater from 2007 to 2011. It was replaced by Pirates 4-D. Pirates 4-D was replaced by “Ice Age 4-D” in 2015. In 2017, the ride was transformed into “The LEGO Movie The 4-D Experience”.
- The Plunge (1984) – two belly-down, face-down slides on the running mat. Replaced by Quadzilla in 2012.
- Go on the Gator Kiddie roller coaster. Closed in 2012
- Curse of the Crypt (2009) – Closed in 2012. Still standing, but does not appear on park maps. (Park visitors may remember a sign located near the ride stating ‘Closed for Renovations’)
Source: To play
The agency estimates they earned about $857 million from money spent by visitors in 2020, a drop of almost 30% compared to the previous year, spent mainly on accommodation and food.
The company attributes this sharp decline to pandemicas the region began to face a drop in tourism from March 2020.
The region’s tourism industry supports around 12,600 jobs and collects about $31 million in state taxes and another $45 million in local taxes.
“For me it’s nature, it’s the river, it’s the history,” Kristen Day, who grew up going to the park with her familytold Wisconsin Public Radio.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
