Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park is a theme park and water park complex in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Mt. Olympus consists of four areas of the park: Zeus' Playground (outdoor theme park), Neptune's Water Kingdom (outdoor waterpark), The Parthenon (indoor theme park), and Medusa's indoor water park. In 2010 and 2011, the park purchased several smaller nearby independent motels and hotels and renamed them, painting them blue and white to fit the Greek theme for the main hotel. Many other area hotels and motels offer free or reduced-priced tickets.
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History
Early history
Mt. Olympus was started by the Laskaris family.
Demetrios "Jim" Laskaris (Nick's father) was born in Katsarou, Greece and immigrated to the US when he was 13 years old. He received a technical degree in Michigan, served four years in the US Navy and then owned and operated several restaurants in Chicago. He then moved to Wisconsin Dells where he made his home and a name for himself and his family. Laskaris and his wife Fotoula started by opening a fast food restaurant in 1970 and named it "Big Chief" after a statue he purchased at a trade show. After opening the restaurant, they started a three-wheeler dirt track. He then got into the motel industry by building a 7 unit motel. In 1975 "Goofy Karts", Laskaris' first go-kart track opened on Wisconsin Dells Parkway. The track was operated for 5 years. Nick Laskaris, the family's 9-year-old son at the time, was the chief mechanic. Between 1978 & 1982, Jim and Fotoula's family business ventures continued with opening a campground, trailer court, Indian Ceremonial, and a country western show on the County A property.
When the lease ran out in 1980 Jim Laskaris abandoned the "Goofy Karts" go-kart track and built a new cloverleaf track next to the Big Chief hot dog stand on the property that the family owned. It was also at this location that Nick Laskaris started constructing his own go-karts a few years later. Along the way Nick Laskaris became involved in the design and engineering of the multi-level tracks which, at the time, were the only ones in the world. The two developed the elevated go-kart tracks, which have now become a standard for tracks all over the world. In 1990 the family purchased several acres along the Wisconsin Dells "Strip" and continued their expansion of Big Chief Go Kart World. In 1995 the company changed its name to Big Chief Karts & Coasters, Nick Laskaris built the first roller coaster in the Wisconsin Dells - The Cyclops. In 1996 the Pegasus roller coaster was built. In 1999 Big Chief Karts & Coasters acquired King Ludwig's Adventure Park and adjacent go-kart park for a total of 107 acres on the "Strip".
2004 merger
In 2004, Big Chief Karts and Coasters owner Nick Laskaris decided, with the addition of roller coasters, to change the park's name to Big Chief's Mt. Olympus Theme Park and use a Greco-Roman theme. Later that year, Mt. Olympus merged with Monte Mattei's Treasure Island Waterpark Resort (consisting of Treasure Island's Family Land Waterpark & Bay of Dreams Indoor Waterpark) to create an indoor/outdoor water and theme park which they named Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. To accomplish the physical connection between these two separated attractions, they bought the Playday Motel and demolished it so that they could create a pathway from the resort to the amusement park.
March 2007 acquisition
On March 15, 2007, the Laskaris Family purchased the Treasure Island Resort, the Captain 's Quarters, Pleasant View Motel, The Bay of Dreams Indoor Waterpark and the former Family Land Outdoor Waterpark properties. With the acquisition from the Mattei family, Mt. Olympus added 60 acres (240,000 m2) of real estate to Mt. Olympus, bringing the total area to over 156 acres (0.6 km2). This includes over 1½ miles of frontage on the Wisconsin Dells Parkway (Hwy 12/23). The Captain's Quarters, one of the resort buildings featuring family-sized suites, was eventually sold to Bluegreen Resorts and now operates at Bluegreen Odyssey Dells.
2011 lodging property acquisitions
In addition to the Hotel Rome (formerly Treasure Island Resort) and Mykonos Village (formerly Pleasant View Motel), the resort complex acquired adjacent hotels and created seven different lodging areas. The family purchased the Raintree Resort & Conference Center (renamed to Mykonos Resort), the Star Motel properties (renamed to Poseidon's Village), Luna Inn & Suites (renamed to Poseidon's Village), the Riverwalk Hotel (renamed to Santorini Village), American World Resort & Campground (renamed to Zeus's Village) and the Four Seasons Motel (renamed to Poseidon's Village).
The Raintree Resort and Conference Center was the first hotel built by Todd Nelson, who currently owns the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells.
2012 additions and lodging property acquisitions
On November 26th 2011 Mt. Olympus Resorts purchased The Copa Cabana Resort Hotel & Suite and began renovations on the property renaming it to Mt. Olympus Village with plans of reopening it in the spring of 2012. In December of 2011 Mt. Olympus Resorts announced the creation of a new attraction for 2012 called "Lost City of Atlantis". This three acre attraction featured seven new slides, a monster dump bucket, and a 120' geyser. The cost of this addition was $3.5 million.
2013
Purchased "Pine Dell Motel" in April. Remodeling then started in the winter. The name of the property was changed to Mt. Olympus Village and was given building number 12. Also changed the names of "Zeus' Village", "Mykonos Village", "Mykonos Resort", "Santorini Village", and "Poseidon's Village" to all be called "Mt. Olympus Village".
Built 50 employee housing cabins on the old "Big Chief Go-Karts" property off of County Road A.
Made major changes to the "Hades" wooden rollercoaster. Redid the existing turn around after the tunnel that runs under the parks parking lot to include a 360 degree inversion. Because of the changes to the coaster track they had to replace the existing train with a new train that would allow it to rotate and pivot adequately when going through the inversion. Once finished the name was changed to "Hades 360".
Purchased "Concord Inn" and "Monaco Motel". They were remodeled and the property names where changed to Mt. Olympus Villages, with Concord getting building number 25, and Monaco getting numbers 26, 27, & 28. With these rooms added to Mt. Olympus it brought the room count up to 1,300 rooms.
2014
On March 6 a man riding the Opa Roller Coaster located inside the indoor theme park fell 17 feet due to a malfunction with the lap bar system. Mt. Olympus removed the ride after the incident.
2015
In early 2015, Mt. Olympus announced the addition of their latest ride "The Manticore". The ride finished its construction and opened to park visitors mid-June to July
On January 23, a 4-year-old nearly drowned in the indoor park. EMS responded and took the child to St. Clair Hospital. Three months after the incident, the Dells-Delton EMS team presented Mt. Olympus and the lifeguards involved in rescuing the child with certificates for life saving efforts.
The first year of Mt. Olympus 1st Annual Custom Car Show was the same weekend as the Dells Automotion event, May 16. It included such events as a burnout and donut competitions.
In July an elastic cable snapped on "The Catapult" ride located in the outdoor theme park. A Facebook video caught the accident and was shared before it was removed from Facebook. The ride was owned and operated by Casco, Inc. and was an up-charge attraction that was not included with the price of admission to the park. Mt. Olympus ordered the ride to be removed from the park two days later.
In late 2015, Mt. Olympus Resorts bought "Diamond Hotel" and began a massive cleanup and remodel of the property in the hopes of getting it ready for the 2016 summer season. The hotel was renamed to Mt. Olympus Villages with the building number 29.
2016
At the end of the summer season of 2015, Mt. Olympus put up local billboards and ran digital advertisements promising "Something Huge, Something Water!" for the summer 2016 season. They officially announced the addition of "The Great Pool of Delphi" in late April. The pool is a 27,000 square foot, 500,000 gallon swimming pool and water attraction with claims to be the largest swimming pool in the waterpark capital of the world. The cost of this addition was $4 million.
Purchased "Ambers Resort and Conference Center" July 6th. Mt. Olympus began renovations and branding efforts immediately after purchase. The property name was changed to Mt. Olympus' Santorini Hotel, Building 39.
Moved indoor dry attractions "Tea Cups", "Spring Ride", "Climbing Wall", "Crazy Trolley", "Air Planes", and "Kiddie Swing" to the outdoor park for the summer season.
Additions timeline
- 2016: Addition of The Great Pool of Delphi a 27,000-square-foot, 500,000-gallon swimming pool and water attraction, addition of Ambers Resort and Conference Center
- 2015: Addition of The Manticore vertical swing ride, addition of Diamond Hotel, addition of Bridge View Motel
- 2013: Hades renovated & renamed Hades 360, addition of Concord Inn, addition of Monaco Motel, addition of Pine Dell Motel
- 2012: Addition of Lost City of Atlantis water play structure and addition of Mt. Olympus Village
- 2011: Addition of Poseidon's Village, addition of Zeus's Village, addition of Mykonos Resort, addition of Santorini Village
- 2010: Addition of Catapult Extreme Ride, addition of Poseidon's Beach
- 2009: Addition of The Almighty Hermes Sky coaster, and the addition of Night at the Theme Park
- 2008: Addition of The River Troy
- 2007: Addition of Poseidon's Rage Surf Pool, addition of Apollo's Swing, addition of Medusa's Indoor Waterpark, addition of Neptune's outdoor water park, addition of Hotel Rome, and addition of Mykonos Village
- 2006: Addition of The Parthenon Indoor Theme Park and Thunder and Lightning Speed Slides
- 2005: Addition of Hades wooden roller coaster and addition of Triton's Water slide Tower
- 2004: Addition of Dive to Atlantis water roller coaster.
- 2000: Addition of Kiddie Land
- 1997: Addition of Zeus wooden roller coaster and addition of The Trojan Horse go-kart track
- 1996: Addition of Pegasus wooden roller coaster
- 1995: Addition of Cyclops wooden roller coaster
Zeus' Playground
Zeus' Playground is the outdoor theme park section at Mt. Olympus. It consists of go-karts, roller coasters, and a few other rides.
Roller coasters
- Hades 360 - A wooden roller coaster with a 65-degree drop, the world's longest underground tunnel and reaching speeds up to 70 mph (110 km/h). It has a drop height of 134 ft (40 m) and contains a section of underground track which is banked to a 90° angle. For 2013, the park added a 360 degree inverted roll on the second hill, a 110 degree overbanked turn, and added new Timberliner trains from The Gravity Group.
- Pegasus - A wooden roller coaster built over Medusa's Drop. It covers 1,600 feet (490 m) of track, reaches heights of 60 feet (18 m) and has a 45-foot (13.7 m) drop.
- Cyclops - A wooden roller coaster featuring a 75-foot (22.9 m) drop. The highest point is 70 feet (21 m) above the ground and intertwines with Zeus and Hades.
- Zeus - A 2,700-foot (823.0 m) long wooden roller coaster. It passes through a forest, climbs a 90-foot (27 m) hill, then falls at 60 mph (100 km/h) down an 85-foot (25.9 m) drop.
- Little Titans - A small junior roller coaster.
Go-Kart tracks
- Titan's Tower
- Poseidon Underwater Go-Kart Track - The track goes up and down towers, and of course, underwater.
- Hermes' Turbo Track - The fastest track at the park.
- Trojan Horse - The ride used to consist of a multi-level, three story track and right through the belly of the horse. (that part of the track is now closed off) This track rages down 35 feet (10.7 m) around tight turns and back to the top again.
- Helios Track - This multi-level track go up and around and back down again.
- Tiny Hero Go-Kart Track - Beginner track for small racers
- Orion Intermediate Go-Kart Track - An intermediate track with karts for the littlest of racers
Other rides
- Batting Cages - 25 cent coin-operated
- Apollo's Swing - The 100-foot (30 m) tall Apollo's Swing is a S&S Sansei Screamin' Swing that seats four passengers, allowing it to achieve 70 mph (113 km/h).
- The Almighty Hermes- A swing that carries riders up into the air over the Poseidons Rage Wave Pool 100 feet above ground, and up to 45 miles per hour.
- Catapult - dismantled as of July 2015 due to a cable snapping before two riders were launched into the air.
- The Manticore- One 140 foot tall tower with a rotating center with 12 connected arms and 12 double-seat chairs, which can accommodate 24 guests, spinning them high in the sky.
- Pan's Animal Farm - Get up close and hand feed a variety of animals
- Kiddie Swing - A rotating circle of arms holding a swing in each, designed just for children.
- Kiddie Train - A children's train
- Rock Wall - 30 foot climbing wall
Neptune's Water Kingdom
Neptune's Water Kingdom is the outdoor waterpark section.
Waterslides
- Blue Magnum Mat Slides - Mat slides (formerly four body slides named individually, "Wipeout", "The Kamikaze", "Corkscrew", and "Twister")
- Thunder - Speed slide
- Lightning - Enclosed speed slide
- Triton's Fury - 340-foot (104 m) family raft ride
- Triton's Rage - 550-foot (168 m) family raft ride
- Triton's Challenge - Side-by-side, 350-foot (107 m) six-lane downhill mat racer
- Double Barrel - Enclosed tube slide
- Double Trouble - Tube slide
- Deuces Wild - Tube slide
- Demon's Drop - A body slide featuring an 85-foot (25.9 m) drop
- Dragon's Tail - A 300-foot (90 m) long double drop
- Comet - Children's slide
- Little Dipper - Children's slide
Other rides
- Poseidon's Rage - One of the world's largest surf pools featuring the world's third tallest surf wave at over 9 feet (2.7 m), after Wadi Adventure in Al Ain (UAE) which has barrelling surf waves up to 9.8 ft (3M) and Siam Park's Wave Palace, in Tenerife, Spain, which can produce 10.8 ft (3.3m) surf wave by Murphys Waves Ltd in Scotland.
- Tidal Wave - The original wave pool at the park
- The River Troy - A faster lazy river connected to a shallow pool
- Huck's Lagoon - An interactive children's water play area featuring tunnels, six waterslides, cannons, and multi-level hands-on water activities
- Bumper Boats
The Parthenon
The Parthenon is the Dells' first indoor theme park. The columns are made out of styrofoam.
Current Rides
- Bumper Cars
- Alien Ball Pit
- The Parthenon Arcade
Previous Rides
- Opa (removed & sold)
- Go-Karts (removed)
- Spring Ride (moved to outdoor theme park)
- Tea Cups (moved to outdoor theme park)
- Crazy Trolley (moved to outdoor theme park)
- Disco (removed and sold)
- Free Fall (removed and sold)
- Rock Wall Climb (moved to outdoor theme park)
Medusa's Indoor Waterpark
Medusa's Indoor Waterpark is the 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) indoor waterpark at Mt. Olympus. This was originally part of the Treasure Island and Family Land project. Family Land, originally a separate waterpark, was open to non-hotel guests. Bay of dreams which is now Medusa's Indoor Waterpark was exclusively for Treasure Island guests only.
Waterslides
- Anaconda - Tube slide that is over 10 stories high
- Boa - Basic Tube slide
- Cobra - Enclosed body slide
- Diamondback - Body slide
- Hispaniola Bay - A children's area with a 35-foot (10.7 m) long pirate ship complete with tattered sails, tunnels, five water slides, waterspouts, and many geysers
Other rides
- Warriors Water Walk - Simple pool area (Previously a net walk area and a basketball pool)
- Mayan Raging River - Lazy river
- Jaguar Hot Tub
- Sacred Well Whirlpool
Night at the Theme Park
In the summer of 2009, Mt. Olympus began Night at the Theme Park, where select rides (Hades, Poesidon's Rage, Zeus, Trojan Horse Go Kart Track, Poseidon's Underwater Go Kart Track, and the Kiddie Land Rides) would be open from 10pm to 1am for four nights weekly. People who would attend would receive free soda and parking. Nick Laskaris got the idea when he took his children to go see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian at the local cinema. The village of Lake Delton did not approve the event, because it was in violation of its amusement ordinance in which businesses have to close around midnight, and their 11pm curfew law. Village trustees were worried about someone crossing the busy Wisconsin Dells Parkway at night and getting hit by a car. The village of Lake Delton subsequently made some changes to the amusement ordinance, with a variance for businesses if they requested, including Mt. Olympus. The village board had these changes on hold.
Lodging
Mount Olympus offers six lodging options. All options include free admission to the park every day of one's stay:
- Hotel Rome (formerly Treasure Island): Hotel Rome is the park's signature hotel. It features Greco-Roman themed decor through the resort including rooms. Hotel Rome is located on-site with the park and connected via skywalk to the indoor waterpark.
- Mykonos Village and Camp Resort (formerly Pleasant View Motel): This is the park's mid-range, motel style hotel. The hotel features themed rooms and basic decor. Camping options include a basic campsite or Treehouse (raised cabin). This hotel is located next to the park, within walking distance.
- Mykonos Resort and Conference Center (formerly Raintree Resort and Conference Center)
- Poseidon's Village (formerly 4 Seasons Motel)
- Zeus' Village and Camp Resort (formerly American World RV Resort)
- Santorini Village (formerly " Riverwalk Hotel" and River's Edge Hotel)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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