Celebrate the Start of Summer With $10 Admission to Noah’s Ark

Noah’s Ark will be celebrating the first day of summer on June 21st with $10 admission!  In addition, free t-shirts will be distributed to visitors.

Starting at 8:00, there will be a rally “pitting fans of Black Anaconda against fans of The Scorpion’s Tail in a battle to determine America’s Most Thrilling Water Ride!” 

The only negative – you need to be in the park by 8:00 a.m. to take advantage of th $10 admission offer. 

For more information and to RSVP, check out the Noah’s Ark Facebook page.

Tags: Noah's Ark

Like the princess in Sleeping Beauty, Storybook Gardens has been put to sleep.  A Wisconsin Dells institution, Storybook Gardens has closed for good.  According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the fairy tale themed attraction, which opened in 1956, will no longer operate. 

Just as Fort Dells was gobbled up by Walgreens, McDonald’s and Starbucks years ago, Storybook Gardens is now just a memory.  This news is sad to me, as I have fond memories of visiting Storybook Gardens.  My first visits were with my brothers and parents when I was a child.  After outgrowing Storybook Gardens long ago, I returned there a few summers back for the first time with my own family. 

True, Storybook Gardens was old, tired, and outdated.  Many of the displays from my childhood 30 years ago were still there.  Despite the drawbacks, there was something special about visiting.  The train ride and carousel were simple, but still fun.  Visiting Storybook Gardens was like taking a step back to my own youth.  

In recent years, the operators of Storybook Gardens added a wildlife element and included exotic animals throughout the grounds.  Timbavati Wildlife Park breathed much needed new life into this artifact.  Unfortunately the animals weren’t enough to keep Storybook Gardens afloat. 

In the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, the kiss from a prince breaks the spell to bring the princess out of her slumber.  What is next for the property?  What will be Storybook Gardens’ prince?  Only time will tell…

R.I.P Storybook Gardens

Tags: Storybook Gardens, Timbavati Wildlife Park at Storybook Gardens

The Dells Kalahari has a unique promotion available in April, May and June. They call it the Choose Your Own Adventure package, and give you a choice of several upgrades to add to your room for free. Starting at $199 for select days over the next couple of months, you can get a one night stay in a Desert or Hut room. Desert and Hut rooms are the Kalahari’s standard two queen rooms. The Desert rooms are located in the main building, and Hut rooms are in the Sands Condominium building. My preference has always been the Desert Rooms due to their closer proximity to the water park.

With your reservation, you get the choice of 3 of the following free upgrades:

• Suite Upgrade
• Breakfast for 2 adults & 2 Children (ages 12 & under)
• 2 games of bowling with shoes for 4 people
• Horse-back Riding for 2 people
• 4 Indoor Theme Park Ride Passes
• 20″ Pizza & 4 Sodas
• Duck ride for 2 adults and 2 children
• $40 Dinner Credit for Great Karoo or Kahunaville
• 2 In-room Movies

If I were going, I would defintiely select the suite upgrade to give us a little more breathing room.  I would also chose one of the meal options – probably either the breakfast or the $40 dinner credit.  My third choice would be the Indoor Theme Park passes.  We had so much fun at the Indoor Theme Park the last time we were there, that I think the family would want to do that again.  The horse-back riding and the Duck tours are also good options.  I don’t think the in-room movies would appeal to me.  We can watch movies at home any time!

The Kalahari Choose Your Own Adventure promotion can be found on the Kalahari Specials page.  Make sure you select the month that you’re going to see the specials available for that month.

Tags: Kalahari

Swiss Maid Fudge, a Wisconsin Dells institution, is offering a special deal today on the Groupon website. For $7, you can get $15 worth of their famous fudge. Oddly, this deal is being offered on the Dayton, Ohio Groupon page. The good news is that it doesn’t matter where you live – anyone, anywhere can purchase this deal. I called Swiss Maid Fudge, and they confirmed that the Groupon can be redeemed in person at their shop in Downtown Wisconsin Dells, or online. If you redeem it online, you’ll need to pay for shipping. The gift certificate doesn’t expire for one year, so you can buy it today and spend it the next time you visit the Dells!

To purchase the deal, visit the Groupon website. At the top of the site, click on Visit More Cities, and click on Dayton. This offer is available for purchase today only!

Tags: Swiss Maid Fudge

Mt. Olympus is celebrating its 40th birthday* by offering free admission to the water park for several days in July!  Free admission is available on July 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th 2010.  The free passes are for the water park only, and do not include admission to the Mt. Olympus Theme Park.  Also, you are not allowed to come and go with these passes, once you leave the park, you would need to pay if you wanted to return. 

In order to get the free passes to Mt. Olympus, you need to reserve them on the Mt. Olympus website.  Free admission is only available with an advance reservation, and won’t be available at the gate.

* I am not quite sure how Mt. Olympus came up with the number 40 for their birthday (unless the Greek gods age faster than the rest of us).  The name Mt. Olympus wasn’t used until 2004.  Prior to 2004, the property was owned and operated as separate entities – Big Chief Go Carts and Treasure Island Waterpark Resort.  In 2004, the family that operated Big Chief bought Treasure Island (formally Family Land), and changed the name to Mt. Olympus.

Tags: Mt. Olympus