Wisconsin Dells City Pass – is it worth it?

New for 2008 is the Wisconsin Dells City Pass, which allows buyers of the pass access to 9 different attractions over a 3 day period for $70.  Is it worth it?  It depends on what your plans for your trip to the Dells are, but I think it is a great deal.  Once you activate your pass, you have 3 days to visit the following attractions:

• 3 days at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park ($120 value)
• 1 ticket to the Rick Wilcox Magic Show ($29 value)
• 1 ride on the Dells Army Ducks ($21 value)
• 3 days of golf at Shipwreck Lagoon ($24 value)
• 1 ride on the Mark Twain Upper Dells Boats ($21 value)
• 1 admission to Top Secret ($12 value)
• 1 ride on the Wild Thing Jet Boats ($21 value)
• 1 admission to the Wisconsin Deer Park ($10 value)
• 1 greens fees at Christmas Mountain Golf ($55 value)

The total value is $313, for $70.  Not bad.  There are a couple of restrictions.  First, the tickets to the Rick Wilcox magic show are limited to 50 per show available starting at 6:00 PM.  I can see this being a popular attraction and having trouble getting tickets during some of the busy nights during the summer.  You can upgrade your ticket for $18.86 (why not $19??) and avoid having to sit in the City Pass cheap seats.  The other restriction is at Christmas Mountain, where tee times are only available after 11:00 and you must rent a cart. 

With the amount of competition in the Dells, businesses need to think of unique ways to get people to come and spend their money with them.  This is a great way to get new customers.  By buying the City Pass, I would get a chance to try some of the things that I probably wouldn’t otherwise do – like Top Secret or the Mark Twain Boat Ride.  If you were going to be doing some of these activities anyways, like the Ducks or Mt. Olympus, why not spend a little extra money and get access to even more Dells attractions.  It will be interesting to see how this program is received this year.  I predict it will be a huge success, and you’ll see competing programs in the future.

Check out the Wisconsin Dells City Pass website for more information.

Tags: Christmas Mountain, Dells Army Ducks, Mark Twain Upper Dells Boats, Mt. Olympus, Rick Wilcox Magic Show, Shipwreck Lagoon, Top Secret, Wild Thing Jet Boats, Wisconsin Deer Park, Wisconsin Dells City Pass