Roller Coasters in Wisconsin

We have a few roller coasters in Wisconsin, mostly centered around the Wisconsin Dells tourist area. There are some fantastic wooden coasters at Mt. Olympus (when they’re open), some fun options near Madison, and a classic woodie in Green Bay. Let’s take a look at what our options are. As always, make sure to double-check hours and prices before you visit!

Click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in Wisconsin from your house!

Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park

In the tourist mecca of Wisconsin Dells, you’ll find the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. It’s a whole complex, complete with hotel rooms scattered all over town and a highly visible spot on the strip. On the theme park side, they have five roller coasters. Cyclops, Hades 360, Pegasus, and Zeus are bigger wooden coasters, and the Hades 360 even goes upside down and underground! The only steel coaster is the kiddie Little Titans.

Other dry attractions include seven go-kart tracks, aggressive-looking high swings, a powered swing, and a couple of kiddie rides. An indoor area holds an arcade, mini-golf, bumper cars, a climbing wall, “soccer pool,” and four more kiddie rides. There’s a lot more on the water park side, I’ll cover that below.

Both the indoor and outdoor areas are open from mid-May to mid-September. If you stay in a Mt. Olympus-owned room, access to all the water and dry rides are included in your stay. Otherwise, it’s $33 at the gate. They currently have a deal for $3 online tickets, which seems good for any time during the year. I confess, I drove by here on a Sunday in July, and barely any of the roller coasters were open. There’s no information on parking, except that it’s included with a hotel stay.

Little Amerricka

In Marshall, 30 minutes east of Madison, you can find Little Amerricka. This small park features 26 rides, mostly for smaller kids. But you can find four roller coasters here, the classic woodie Meteor, a Mad Mouse, a very unique spiral Swiss Toboggan, and the kiddie Little Dipper. There’s also a decently-sized train, a retooled Roll-o-plane, a classic Ferris wheel, a haunted house, and a little monorail! Plus an 18-hole mini-golf course.

Admission is either via tickets or an unlimited rides wristband. Tickets cost $2 each, and most rides take 1 ticket. The Meteor takes 2 tickets, and go-karts, mini-golf, and the train take 3 tickets each. Wristbands go by height and denote what rides you’re allowed on, or what your child needs a chaperone on. Each has a different color, with a gold adult wristband (anyone 42″ or taller) going for $27.95. Parking is free.

Bay Beach Amusement Park

Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay is a city-run park with one classic wood roller coaster, the Zippin Pippin overlooking the water. There’s not great information on the rest of the rides. It looks like several flat rides, two small trains, a big gondola-style Ferris wheel, swings, a swinging pirate ship, and several for kids, all spread out along the edge of the water.

It’s a ticket system with tickets for a quarter. Each ride costs 1-4 tickets. The roller coaster costs 4 tickets, meaning it’s only $1 to ride! Parking is free.

Knuckleheads Bowling

At Knuckleheads in Wisconsin Dells, they have an arcade, bowling, mini-golf, a trampoline park, and several indoor rides, including a simple tiger-themed Roller Coaster. Other attractions include go-karts, a ropes course, a tornado spinner, bumper cars, an XD Dark Ride, and a jumping pillow.

To ride the coaster costs $3.50 by itself, or get one of several wristbands available. 3 hours of unlimited rides plus 50 arcade credits costs $40. All-day roller coaster, mini-golf, and jumping pillow costs $17. A need-4-speed wristband for all the rides all day costs $40. And a pick-5 is $22. Bowling and the trampoline park are priced separately.

Tom Foolerys Adventure Park

Also in Wisconsin Dells, Tom Foolerys Adventure Park inside the Kalahari Resort is another arcade, with bigger rides but a smaller roller coaster, the kiddie Sky Rangers. Other rides are a climbing wall, a small Ferris wheel, a swinging pendulum ride, a carousel, laser tag, a ropes course, a zip line, a drop tower, go-karts, an XD Dark Ride, and black light mini-golf.

Day passes are $45 for non-guests of the resort. $40 for guests.

Water Parks in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells is apparently “The Waterpark Capitol of the World,” so you’ll find more of a focus on water rides than dry ones. I’ll note the big ones that you can buy passes to even if you aren’t staying there. I’m sure there are a hundred smaller hotels with a small hotel water park as well.

Everywhere else in the state is either a small indoor hotel-only water park, or a small regional municipal pool with a couple of slides and a kid’s splash area. (Though there is a Wakanda park in Menomie!) The biggest of these is Witter Park in Wisconsin Rapids, with 2 slides and three pools.

Wisconsin Dells

First, let’s talk about Wisconsin Dells. The original attraction is rock formations along the river, for which you can book one of several boat tours. Aside from that, there are a plethora of trashy tourist attractions – it’s a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not kinda place.

• Noah’s Ark Waterpark claims to be “America’s Largest Waterpark” and it’s the only one not attached to a resort hotel complex in Wisconsin Dells. They’ve got 16 slides including a water coaster and a boat chute ride, 5 areas for kids, 2 lazy rivers, a wave pool, an activity pool, and a FlowRider surfing simulator. Tickets cost $60 at the gate or $53 online. Parking is an extra $20 per car.
• The Wilderness Resort is a sprawling complex with 4 indoor waterparks and 4 outdoor waterparks scattered around the resort, plus a golf course, a water taxi across the lake, and even some walking trails. Inside, there are a total of 12 slides, 4 robust kids’ areas, 1 lazy river, 1 wave pool, plus activity pools and several adults-only spa pools. Outside are 8 more slides, 8 more kids’ areas, two more lazy rivers, regular pools, activity pools, a lap pool, a “lazy” pool with built-in seating, and several more spa pools. All water activities are included in your stay, but if you want to buy a day pass, you can get one anywhere from $40-$110, depending on how far out you book. An after-4 pass costs $30-90, depending on the day. Wilderness Resort also has one of those Soarin-style rides called Take Flight with “World Flight” and “Space Flight” options for $18 each.

• The Kalahari Resort has indoor and outdoor water parks. Inside, there are 9 slides, 2 kids’ areas, a lazy river, a wave pool, an activity pool, warm spas, and a FlowRider. Outside, there are 7 more slides, another kids’ area and lazy river, and a spa pool. It’s all included with your stay, or pay $70 for an all-day pass or $60 for an after-4 pass. Combo tickets for the water park and Tom Foolerys rides (see above) are $95.
• Mt Olympus has an indoor water park that’s open year-round and an outdoor park open seasonally. Inside, there are 3 slides, including a novel rotating one, 2 kids’ areas, a relaxing lazy river, several shallow pools, and a couple of warm pools. Outside are 3 more slides, a huge kids’ area with some additional bigger slides, a fast lazy river, and two wave pools, one with 9-foot waves! Another huge pool is built to accommodate 4,000 swimmers with two beach entries, two islands, a waterfall, geysers, and a kid’s splash area. Coming this summer, the world’s tallest water slide is set to open on a 145-foot tower. Four more slides (lower down) are also on the tower and a new kids’ play area will be nearby. Once it’s done, the park will have 11 total slides and 5 kids’ areas. Admission is included with a hotel stay, or for $33 at the gate. Right now, they’re offering a $3 ticket special online.

• Chula Vista Resort has indoor and outdoor waterparks to go with their array of rooms. Inside, there are 3 slides, including a water coaster, 2 kids’ areas, a pad crossing, and a lazy river. Outside is a big pool with a sandy beach, a separate sports pool, 5 more slides, 2 more kids’ areas, and a wave pool. All are included in your stay, though I imagine the outdoor area is only open during warmer months. Otherwise, it’s $50 for a day pass. Other than the water parks, there’s a golf course, a zip line, a nice river walk, a 4D action cinema, an arcade, mini-golf, and an extreme slingshot ride in the outdoor water park.
• There’s a Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells with 6 slides, 7 kids’ areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool, all mostly indoors. Day passes cost between $40-50 for a full day, $36-45 for half a day.

Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this year? Let me know in the comments below!