We visited both Noah’s Ark and Mount Olympus outdoor water parks in Wisconsin Dells back-to-back, and I can share the pros and cons of each. There are more ride options at Noah’s Ark; it has almost every type of ride, slide, or water adventure you could want, with the only exception being a rotating slide like Medusa. Mount Olympus has a few highly marketable claims, such as the world’s highest waterslide. Noah’s Ark has no non-water rides. Mount Olympus includes go-karts and roller coasters, but has fewer water rides and generally longer lines. Mount Olympus offers cheaper tickets.
Read ahead for all the details. Or check out my individual articles on Noah’s Ark and Mount Olympus (outdoor and indoor). If you are in Wisconsin Dells, here are some other ideas of things to do, including boat rides, dinner shows, hikes, indoor attractions, and more waterpark info. If you want a different kind of waterpark experience, check out Land of Natura. Finally, here are some thoughts on restaurants in Wisconsin Dells.
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Admission, Parking, and Lodging
The Bottom Line: Mount Olympus is more affordable, but you can find complimentary tickets for Noah’s Ark at many lodging options. Mount Olympus water park passes are included with lodging, but reviews of the lodging are generally poor.
Mount Olympus tickets ($33 online) and parking ($40 per day) are included with lodging, and they frequently have deals as low as $59 per night. Current reviews for lodging at Mount Olympus are 3/5 stars, which is lower than those for most resorts and local lodging options. Most lodging at Mount Olympus is in motels, not on the waterpark grounds. Watch for slamming deals for day passes around Black Friday. Usually, I find them for $5 per person per day.
Noah’s Ark sells tickets at nearly double the price for $60. It does not have dedicated lodging, but they partner with many local lodging options; you can find the list here. These generally offer complimentary tickets to Noah’s Ark on the day of arrival, the day of departure, and every day in between. You will have to pay $25 for water park parking.
Don’t Forget to Pack these Essentials
- Sunglasses leash-they save you from taking them off for every slide. The lifeguards will check to ensure you have a leash.
- Sunscreen
- Quick dry towels-we love these because they have a low pack volume too
- Goggles for the Kids, especially for the wave pools and Paradise Lagoon
- Sandals or water shoes
For Babies and Toddlers
The Bottom Line: Noah’s Ark has more options, and they are spread out throughout the park. Mount Olympus has one area inside and one outside. The outside one is easy to keep track of the kids in, as it has a closed-off back.
Mount Olympus has one large outdoor area for babies and toddlers, Icaria Splash N’Slide. The best part is that it has a back, so it is easy to keep an eye on everyone, even if you aren’t on the slides. Minimum height is 36″, max weight is 200 lbs, and you can only ride as singles. They have a shipwreck-themed indoor place with a few small slides.
Noah’s Ark has 3-4 baby/kiddie areas sprinkled around the park. We loved the OctoExplorer near the Wave, a playground-style place. There is a classic zero-entry, shallow pool in the middle of the Endless River with some basic splash features. The Pelican Bay area has a splash-feature kiddie pool near the Big Kahuna. Finally, there is the Jumping Waters by the Sting Ray Slide. They also have Tadpole Bay, which is for older toddlers and young kids. It is the typical play and climbing structure with a dumping bucket.
Extreme Rides: Comparison
The Bottom Line: Mount Olympus boasts some highly marketable claims, but overall, Noah’s Ark offers more high-thrill rides.
Mount Olympus has Rise to Icaris. Having “the World’s Tallest Waterslide” is a fun claim, but the slide itself doesn’t have much to brag about aside from its height. It is an enclosed body slide that loops around the tower of stairs you climb to reach it. From the same tower, they have a plunge-type slide that leaves about 1/3 of the way up the tower. This thing is steep!
Mount Olympus also has “America’s First Rotating Slide”, called Medusa. It is a unique waterslide and, overall, a fun experience, especially because it is hard to know what to expect just from looking at the slide. Finally, they have a boomerang-type slide, which is a great entry boomerang-style ride, as it starts as a short tube slide that leads up to the big drop.
Noah’s Ark doesn’t have the world’s tallest slide or a rotating slide, but they have everything else. This starts with Scorpion’s Tail, “America’s First Nearly Vertical Looping Waterslide”. This starts with the rider in a capsule whose floor drops out from under them, and after a short, fast drop, they perform a near loop-de-loop. So, yes, your feet are actually higher than your head for a short time.
The Black Anaconda is a water coaster-type slide where you sit in a robust tube propelled forward by intermittent blasts of water. It is over 1/4 mile long, reaches speeds of 30 mph, and has parts that are pitch-black! Black Thunder is a more traditional tube slide, but you are in total darkness!
Another tube slide is Raja, and it is one of the most intense rides at Noah’s Ark. This double or single tube slide ride reaches speeds up to 32 miles per hour, and you can race the tube next to you. Time Warp is consistently popular and features a steep tube-slide toilet-bowl ride with a fun surprise at the end.
Finally, Noah’s Ark has the Surfing safari, an endless wave that lets riders try their hand at bodyboarding. The better you get, the fancier the tricks that you can try.
Wave Pools: Noah’s Ark vs Mount Olympus
The Bottom Line: Mount Olympus has a unique wave pool with a HUMONGOUS wave that will knock you off your feet. Noah’s ark has a traditional wave pool, and both parks have a smaller wave pool with tubes. Kids under 48″ must wear a life vest at Noah’s Ark wave pools. The life vests are nicer at Noah’s Ark.
Both parks have two wave pools, one is a slower, more relaxed pool with tubes well-suited for younger or lower-energy guests. This is called Tidal Wave at Mount Olympus and The Wave at Noah’s Ark.
Noah’s Ark features a traditional wave pool, the Big Kahuna, which alternates between 10-minute waves and 10-minute rests. Mount Olympus takes a more unique approach with its large wave pool, Poisden’s Rage. It has one humongous wave every 2 minutes. This thing is 9 feet tall and will literally throw you off your feet. This is not for the faint of heart.
Both places offer life vests, but the vests at Mount Olympus are an older style and, in my opinion, less comfortable. At Noah’s Ark, everyone under 48 inches must wear a life vest in the wave pools, while at Mount Olympus, it is at the individual’s discretion. I kind of love it when parks insist on life vests, then I don’t have to argue with kids, and it is more relaxing when I know they are safe.
Lazy Rivers
The Bottom Line: Noah’s Ark has two large and relaxing lazy rivers. Mount Olympus has a smaller one advertised as the “fastest river in the world.”
Noah’s Ark has two large lazy rivers, the Adventure River and the Endless River. Both are traditional lazy rivers featuring tubes and water features. It provides a relaxing experience as participants meander through the park. These are really enjoyable as long as they aren’t too crowded.
The River Troy at Mount Olympus is advertised as the “fastest river in the world,” which can’t possibly be true, but it may in fact be the fastest lazy river in the world. The current is quick! The river itself covers a fairly small area, which isn’t very scenic, but does make it easier to keep track of your group. We went on a weekday when the park wasn’t too busy, but the river was still packed.
Classic Body Slides and Tube Slides
The Bottom Line: Noah’s Ark has more options and will likely have shorter lines. Both have Splash and Play areas.
Mount Olympus has a few body slides starting lower on the Rise to Icarus tower. They also have a tube slide and a handful of short-body slides at the Lost City of Atlantis, their climb-and-play structure. They have a six-person mat slide.
Noah’s Ark has tons of both body slides and tube slides. We really like the Toucan Twisters, which are a handful of body slides with no minimum height requirement, allowing adults to ride with young riders if needed. Monkey Rapids is a collection of started tube slides, and they have faster ones as kids get braver.
They have so many slides that it can be a challenge to ride them all in one day, even when the lines aren’t long. There are mat slides that are four people wide. They also have a large climb-and-play structure designed primarily for younger guests, with a large dumping bucket.
Both water parks have a stretch of mat slides where you can race family and friends. Mount Olympus has two family raft slides, whereas Noah’s Ark has three. Both places have a boomerang slide, but the one at Noah’s Ark is scarier. While Noah’s Ark has Time Warp, the large toilet-bowl tube slide described above, Mount Olympus has a body slide version that is much more kid-friendly.
Pools and Lilly Pads
The Bottom Line: Mount Olympus has a HUGE pool. Noah’s Ark has a much smaller pool, but lots more activities at the pool, like zip lines and Lilly pad crossings.
Mount Olympus wins by size, but I have to say, when we were there, the water was pretty cloudy. Their pool is HUGE and has an island in the middle for jumping and playing. It is surrounded by 100’s of beach chairs. They also have several indoor pools.
Noah’s Ark has plenty of water but not many options for a plain pool. They have a small-to-medium pool at Paradise Lagoon. This pool has nothing comparable to Mount Olympus. It includes zip lines that end in a pool, short, steep slides, a cliff-jumping platform, and two lily pad walks. It is always very popular with my elementary school-aged kids.
Roller Coasters, Rides, and Go-Karts
The Bottom Line: Mount Olympus wins here by a landslide. Noah’s Ark doesn’t have roller coasters or go-karts. They do have one ride where you sit in a boat on a track and get soaked.
Mount Olympus has four adult go-kart tracks, a kiddie track, and an intermediate track, offering driving opportunities for almost all ages. The adult carts allow passengers, which is great for families. In addition to the coasters and karts, there is a big individual swing ride and an even bigger carnival ride, which requires an extra fee.
A point to note, all the roller coasters, save one, are wooden. This is fun and nostalgic, and also means that the older the coaster gets, the bumpier it gets.
Noah’s Ark also has Flash Flood, which is a large boat-type structure that follows a track up a hill and then crashes down the other side, creating a huge wave that you can enjoy on the bridge overlooking the ride.
Food and Drinks
The Bottom Line: Prices and quality are overall comparable. Alcohol is significantly more costly at Noah’s Ark. There are lots more places to fill your water bottle at Mount Olympus.
Carry-ins are not allowed at either park. Both parks perform a cursory bag check at the entrance, but neither found the snacks I had forgotten were tucked away in all the different pockets of my bags. Am I the only mom with snacks hidden in every bag I own?
Both places have high food prices, which is to be expected at places like this. Food prices were similar between the two, though Noah’s Ark might be a smidge more expensive, with a couple of notable exceptions. A can of beer at Mount Olympus was $8-9, whereas at Noah’s Ark it was $15. A cheeseburger and fries were $14 at both places.
Both places have a variety of typical food options, including ice cream, burgers, and pizza. Mount Olympus has several water bottle fill stations, and we did find one at Noah’s Ark by Paradise Lagoon. We love being able to fill our bottles instead of buying drinks.
It is worth noting that the walk to the parking lot is shorter at Noah’s Ark, so if your plan is to head back to the cooler in the car, it will be easier there. It would also probably be worth paying for the VIP parking.
Indoor Options
The Bottom Line: Noah’s Ark has no indoor areas. Mount Olympus has a small indoor waterpark, but it is not always open. They have a small indoor carnival designed for younger kids.
The indoor park was open on the nice summer days we visited, but rumor has it that’s not always the case. The indoor area at Mount Olympus has Medusa, a tube slide, a body slide, a lazy river, a kids’ shipwreck play area, and several pools.
Which is Best? Mount Olympus or Noah’s Ark
They both offer plenty of options for family fun, including water slides, pools, and play areas.
My family loves the crazy huge wave pool at Mount Olympus, and my kids love the go-karts there as well.
There are more attractions at Noah’s Ark, and in general, you can expect shorter lines. Noah’s Ark also has almost every kind of water ride you want, with the notable exception of a rotating slide.
In Wisconsin Dells, I prefer Noah’s Ark, but my kid likes Mount Olympus better. Why not try both?