Our family has been exploring all the different waterpark resorts in Wisconsin Dells. Here is our review of the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells so you can plan a winter trip with kids! Compared to other Wisconsin Dells indoor resorts, the Wilderness is a bit more pricey, but there are so many features, so it is easy to see why.
They have four indoor waterparks with slides, pools, water features, dumping buckets, toddler areas, a wave pool, a lazy river, and more. There are tons of indoor activities, including a ropes course, laser tag, mini golf, go-karts, and an impressive indoor play structure. With all the activities and food options, you won’t ever have to leave the resort!
You can read ahead for all the important details, but here is a chart of key pros and cons. If you are interested in activities or food outside the resort, here are my top recommendations. If you aren’t sure what to pack, I have recommendations here.
| Pros | Cons |
| Tons of indoor dry activities | More Expensive |
| Four Waterparks with activities for all ages | Lots of Walking as the waterparks are not all together |
| Huge variety of housing options, including places with kitchens | Limited specials/deals |
| Large wave pool | Expensive Food |
| Amazing Indoor Play Structure | A lot of traffic in the halls |
| Convenient Towel Policy | Wyndham Resorts will try to give you a sales pitch |
| Free Shuttle Service | |
| Exciting raft slides without a minimum height |
Lodging Options: Which Part Should I Stay in?
Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells is a big resort covering a large area. There are three main areas: Wilderness Hotel, Glacier Canyon, and Wilderness on the Lake.
The typical hotel rooms are in the Wilderness Hotel. These rooms have the slim variety you would expect from a typical hotel and generally sleep up to 4-7 people. For a hotel room, they are well equipped. There is a mini fridge, a counter with bar stools, coffee tables to eat at, a coffee maker, a microwave, and drawers. Ours had two queen beds plus a loveseat. Unfortunately, there aren’t options for kids’ bunks. These hotel rooms allow you to walk to three of the four indoor waterparks. There is a lot of foot traffic along these halls.
Glacier Canyon is attached to the main hotel via a skywalk, but it is a bit farther away from the indoor waterparks. Here, you still have typical hotel rooms available, but you also get options for multiple-room condos that sleep up to 16 people. These larger units may include kitchens, hot tubs, patios, and more.
The third large lodging building is Wilderness on the Lake. This is across Lake Delton from the rest of the resort. These options are even larger, with the smallest room sleeping up to 9 people. They all have full kitchens and living areas. From Wilderness on the Lake, you can walk indoors to Cubby’s Cove, but to get to the rest of the attractions and waterparks, you must take the shuttle. There is also a water taxi in the warmer months.
Finally, there is a selection of cabins, villas, and condos. These are generally separate buildings, which should be quieter, but you will likely have to walk outside to get to the attractions. They all have full kitchens. The smallest can sleep up to 9 people, and the largest can sleep up to 22 people. It’s time to gather the whole family! Pay attention to where you book; these are sprinkled around the resort.
Check-in
The standard check-in time is 4 pm, but you can get your wristbands for the waterparks as early as noon! There is an option to pay extra for early check-in. Right after check-in, you will be directed to the Wyndham desk for a coupon book. The salesmen will pitch a great deal to you if you stay and listen to their long sales pitch. I don’t think these have good value and recommend you look into timeshares before you go so you don’t get pressured into a decision.
Room Keys and Wristbands
Like many waterparks, Wilderness has room keys in the form of wristbands. This is so convenient when you are doing a lot of swimming. The elastic wristbands come in several sizes, so each member of your family will get one that fits. They are $40 to replace if you lose one, which scared me a bit. In addition to acting as a room key, it can link to your credit card, and you can use it to purchase food or activities throughout the resort.
Unfortunately, the fun pass has a separate wristband. This is a traditional wristband that is disposable and non-transferable. In addition to those two wristbands, we also got arcade cards. The rock climb credits are on the arcade cards. These were not specific to a person, so if you get a couple of fun passes and one person doesn’t want to climb, they can be used by other people in your group. I thought the fun pass was worth the price. If you want more details, check out my price breakdown.
Shuttle Service around Wilderness
For more information on the shuttle service, check out the FAQ page under miscellaneous. Essentially, you can request a shuttle, and they drive around all the distant cabins from one end of the hotel to the other. They will also bring you to restaurants close to the Resort, such as Monk’s, Fields Steakhouse, and Sarento’s.
Waterpark Attractions
There are four separate waterpark areas at Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells. While the Waterdome and Klondike Kavern have a direct walkway between them, the Wild West is a considerable, albeit indoor, walk from the other two. Cubby’s Cove is across the lake; you must take the shuttle to get there. For a full review, check out my dedicated review here. It includes recommendations for each park and for each age group. For a quick overview, read ahead.
Overall, the parks are well-balanced, and there is something for everyone at each park. I recommend exploring them all! My kids’ favorite was the Waterdome for the wave pool at ages 4 and 6, but I liked the Wild West the best.
One GREAT thing about the Wilderness indoor waterpark is their towel policy. Wilderness provides each guest with a “ticket” for a pool towel. Give your ticket to any waterpark towel desk and get a towel. You can keep that towel for as long or as short as you want and return it to any waterpark! We like to dry off with the towels and then exchange them immediately for dry towels to return to the room.
Waterpark Amenities
There are bathrooms with small changing rooms in each waterpark. There are a limited number of family room options. Lifevests for various sizes are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They always had plenty when we went offseason, but if I was going on a peak week and needed a life vest, I would be sure to bring my own. There are lots of beach chairs and tables at each place. People tend to “claim” areas with their stuff, though, so seating isn’t always available.
Wild West is near one of the hotel’s main hubs, which features a gift shop, coffee shop, candy shop, and fried chicken restaurant.
The Waterdome is near registration, the main food court, Camp Social, a gift shop, go-karts, Take Flight, Wildkids, a candy shop, and an arcade. There is also a restaurant that you can get to without leaving the waterpark, in addition to another al la carte food place.
Klondike Kavern is near a bar and pizza restaurant, choose your own toppings yogurt bar, and the pottery painting area. It is conveniently located between the Waterdome and the Wild West and is close to many areas of the hotel.
There is a bar/grill inside Cubby’s Cove. This waterpark is right next to the escape room. There is a gift store and small arcade nearby as well.
Read on for details on the food options at each waterpark.
Dry Activities at Wilderness
The Wilderness Resort really shines in the number of available indoor and non-waterpark attractions. There is something to fit every taste. Please take a look at my dedicated post on Wilderness’s indoor activities, including a price breakdown for the Fun Pass and height restrictions, or read ahead for an overview.
WildKids is a place for both free and paid crafts as well as an area for younger kids to hang out, play, and watch TV. The Go-Karts are multilevel and fun for a variety of ages. They are electric, which means they are quiet and don’t smell like gas. Finally, Take Flight, is a 4D film shot in high resolution giving you the experience of visiting some amazing places on all 7 continents.
Most of the Activities are near the Wild West part of the Resort. This includes Laser Tag, Black Light Mini Golf, a ropes course, and a climbing wall. They also have an impressive play structure for 12 years and under. This is one of the best we’ve seen, and it’s free for guests! There is another large arcade here as well.
There are several DOA Escape Room options at Wilderness on the Lake, including ones focused on younger ages, even down to 5 years. There is a smaller arcade as well.
Near Klondike Kavern is Polka-A-Dots, which is a pottery and ceramics painting place. Prices are depending on what you pick to paint.
In 2024 they opened Aquavia Lumina, a 1 mile “multi media pathway of light” which is open at dusk year round. It costs $25 per person and we can’t wait to check it out!
Food Options at Wilderness and Wisconsin Dells
There are plenty of food options readily available all around the resort, but you will pay for the convenience. If you are on a budget, pack food to eat some from your hotel room. We love having easy-to-grab foods, sandwiches, and a crockpot meal that is pre-made.
The main food area is Camp Social, which is above guest registration in the New Frontier section of the hotel. It opens at 7 a.m. and has something for everyone. There is a breakfast buffet on many days and an a la carte breakfast on the slower days. I love that they sell a local brand, Bella Goose Coffee! There are burgers, tacos, pizza, and a Korean BBQ food truck for lunch.
In addition to the main food court area, each indoor waterpark has a restaurant accessible. At Wild West, there is Swimm’n Chicken, Surivovr’s Bar and Grill by the Waterdome, and a pizza place at Klondike. There is also a bar/grill in Cubby’s Cove.
At each waterpark, there is a cafeteria-styleypical burgers/f joint selling tries, etc, in addition to fresh fruit cups, veggies, and more options. We got a small French fries and a cheese/sausage cup, which cost us $13.
There are different dessert options at each area as well. I really wanted to try Bear Claw Funnel cakes at Wild West but didn’t get the chance. We did check out the yogurt bar at Klondike Kavern, though. The Waterdome has milkshakes and there are candy stores near the Waterdome and Wild West.
Caffeine and other Adult Drinks
Just because you may be coming for the kids doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself. There are plenty of options if you need a morning caffeine pick-me-up or an evening refreshment. My favorite coffee option is at Camp Social because they sell local Bella Goose Coffee. The rest of the coffee joints sell Starbucks and can be found in Wild West, Wilderness on the Lake, and Glacier Canyon.
Each waterpark has a bar, and you will see large margarita cups everywhere. These cups are huge and pricey, but you can refill them for a discount, so be sure to hang on to them. If you aren’t sure you want the massive mixer, they have a full-service bar with plenty of options.
Food Options off the Resort
The shuttle will bring you to several local places, including Sarento’s featuring Italian and pizza, Monks, a famous burger bar local to the Dells, and Fields Steakhouse.
If you have time to leave the resort, I recommend Denny’s Diner (not the chain) for breakfast and cinnamon rolls, and Bella Goose for a coffee shop. For a quick lunch, check out the Brat House Grill featuring German favorites, MAC’s for every type of Mac and cheese you could want, or Dells Pizza Lab. For food and a drink with a really fun atmosphere, try the Grateful Shed. Check out my dedicated article on Wisconsin Dells restaurants for more information.
A Few Issues
We had a couple of minor complaints. Though I research all my trips thoroughly, I didn’t realize Klondike Kavern would be closed for the entire time we stayed, which was disappointing. I did contact customer service, but they had nothing to offer as they said I was responsible for not looking closely at the scheduled closures.
Due to the layout of the hotel and the separated waterparks, there is a lot of walking, which can take its toll on families. Trying to visit all the waterparks in one or two days with young kids probably isn’t reasonable for most families. Many hotel rooms are along the main hallway where everyone is walking. Overall, that was fine, though there were a few times when people in the hallway were loud. Each waterpark has changing rooms, but they are small, and they feel cramped even during less crowded times. Check-in was a bit overwhelming as we had to keep track of wristbands, fun pass bands, arcade cards, and more. With all the food and amenities, you never have to leave the resort, but we found the food expensive. I recommend keeping your hotel room stocked with snacks and exploring some local restaurants.
In Conclusion
We had a great time with kids at Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells, and I can see how families of all ages would have a blast here. There are plenty of fun things to do in the water and out. You wouldn’t ever need to leave the resort if you don’t want to. We can’t wait to go back!
Check my other posts if you are looking for even more detailed information on the waterparks at Wilderness or dry activities at Wilderness. While in the Dells, consider doing a Duck boat tour to see the natural features that first put the Dells on the map for tourists. The state parks Mirror Lake and Rocky Arbor are great places to do a little hiking. If you are considering other waterparks, here are my thoughts on the Great Wolf Lodge or Mount Olympus. If you are there in the summer, check out Land of Natura! For animal lovers, we love the Timbavati Zoo VIP winter tour.
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