Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park (Lake Delton, Wisconsin)

USA / Wisconsin / Lake Delton / Lake Delton, Wisconsin / Wisconsin Dells Parkway (US-12/WI-23), 1881

amusement park, water park, 1970_construction, 1970s construction

Also known as: Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort

Established in 1970 by Katsarou, Greece-natives Nick and Demetrios "Jim" Laskaris, Mt. Olympus is the world’s largest theme park and water park resort, and a fan favorite when it comes to family fun in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

Take a journey of a lifetime to Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort where everyone can feel like a Greek god or goddess.

Begin your experience with a stay in one of our three welcoming resort options – Mt. Olympus Hotel Rome, Mt. Olympus Villages, or Mt. Olympus Camp Resort. Then lose yourself in an epic adventure as you brave our thrilling parks. Our registered resort guests always receive free all-access passes to our parks with their overnight stay. There’s something for everyone here at Mt. Olympus Resorts & Parks. In addition to our numerous water slides and rides, we have multiple rollercoasters and a wide variety of go-kart tracks, and tons of wet and dry attractions for the whole family to enjoy. Plus if you stay at the resort, you get free golfing in the fall and free skiing, snowboarding, and tubing in the winter. Our lodging options include more than 1,500 rooms and a campground for those seeking even more adventure.

Plan your next Wisconsin Dells vacation adventure to the waterpark capital of the world and experience the world of Mt. Olympus today!

The business started as a hot dog stand Big Chief. Unfortunately, the restaurant was a commercial failure, and the Laskaris family was nearly forced to return to Chicago. But they found $700 in savings inside a sock and gave their business a second chance, they invested it in a three-wheeler dirt track.

The family expanded on their property by building a 7-unit motel and in 1975, they added a go-kart track "Goofy Karts," which was located along the Wisconsin Dells Parkway. Jim and Fotoula’s son Nick Laskaris became the go-karts' chief mechanic at the age of 9. Between 1978 and 1982, the family's business ventures continued as they opened a campground, trailer court, and began running country-western and Native American ceremony shows. When the lease on the go-kart track ran out in 1980, "Goofy Karts" was abandoned and a new cloverleaf track was built next to the Big Chief hot dog stand, which is currently Poseidon Underground. It was also at this location that Nick Laskaris started constructing his own go-karts a few years later. The amusement park was named Big Chief Go-Kart World around 1990.

Nick Laskaris became involved in the design and engineering of the various go-kart tracks on the property, which included the only multi-level go-kart tracks in the world. He developed new techniques for elevated go-kart tracks, which have now become standard. The family purchased several acres along the Wisconsin Dells Parkway, commonly known as the "Strip," and continued the park's expansion. In 1995, the park added the first rollercoaster in Wisconsin Dells called Cyclops, and changed its name to Big Chief Karts & Coasters. Another roller coaster Pegasus was added 1996 and then Zeus was added in 1997. Another rollercoaster Pegasus was added 1996 and then Zeus was added in 1997. The park acquired Crazy King Ludwig's Adventure Park, which featured its own go-kart track, in 1999. This purchase brought Big Chief's to a total area of 107 acres.

Big Chief Karts & Coasters was renamed to Big Chief's Mt. Olympus Theme Park in 2004 and the park expanded its Greco-Roman theming. On October 21, 2004, Mt. Olympus entered into a partnership with the Mattei family, owners of the nearby Treasure Island Waterpark Resort. This partnership merged Treasure Island's outdoor Family Land Waterpark and the Bay of Dreams indoor water park with the Mt. Olympus theme park, creating a co-owned complex known as the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. These two parks were not physically connected at the time of the merger because the Playday Motel separated them, leading Mt. Olympus to purchase the Playday Motel and demolish it.

The park's largest rollercoaster Hades 360°, opened in 2005, is a wooden rollercoaster which became notable for its unusually steep drops and angles, and received the inaugural Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride from Amusement Today magazine. In 2006, Mt. Olympus introduced the Parthenon Indoor Theme Park, a 43,000-sq. ft. building containing several amusement rides, including a spinning Wild Mouse rollercoaster called Opa.

On March 15, 2007, Mt. Olympus acquired Treasure Island entirely from the Mattei family. The purchase also included Pleasant View Motel, which became "Mykonos Village," and the Captain's Quarters, a family-oriented hotel building which was sold to Bluegreen Resorts and now operates as "Bluegreen Odyssey Dells," attached to the Hotel Rome (formerly the Treasure Island Resort). With the acquisition from the Mattei family, Mt. Olympus added 60 acres of real estate to their property, bringing the total area to 156 acres.

In 2010 and 2011, the park purchased several smaller nearby independent motels and hotels and renamed them, creating seven new lodging areas and painting the buildings blue and white to fit the Greek theme. These acquisitions included the Star Motel and Luna Inn & Suites (which became Poseidon's Village), the Riverwalk Hotel (which became Santorini Village), American World Resort & Campground (which became Zeus's Village), and the Four Seasons Motel (which became Poseidon's Village). Mt. Olympus also purchased the Raintree Resort and Conference Center, the first hotel built by Todd Nelson, who currently owns the Kalahari Resort.

The Copa Cabana Resort Hotel & Suite was completely renovated after it was purchased by Mt. Olympus in 2011, and it reopened as the core of "Mt. Olympus Village" in Spring 2012. All of the resort's acquired motels were rebranded once again to Mt. Olympus Village in 2013. This change coincided with the purchases of the Concord Inn and the Monaco Motel. Recent acquisitions include the Diamond Hotel in 2015 and the Ambers Resort and Conference Center in 2016. The addition of these properties gave the resort a total of over 1,500 rooms.

Mt. Olympus Indoor Water Park was expanded by adding a rotating waterslide Medusa's Slidewheel, which opened in Summer 2022. It is the first rotating waterslide in the US. It combines the rotating motion of a ferris wheel and the speed and thrill of a waterslide. And in Summer 2024, the Rise of Icarus slide tower, the tallest waterslide in the US at a height of 145 ft., was added, along with a 12,000-sq-ft. kiddie area Icaria Spash 'n Slide.

Today, that dream exists as Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort, where there is adventure and fun awaiting all Olympians. Our 300-acre outdoor park features 44 indoor and outdoor water slides, 4 interactive children's water play areas, 8 outdoor go-kart tracks, 5 rollercoasters, 2 wave pools (one with 9-foot waves), 3 lazy rivers, 9 kiddie rides, and a 27,000-sq. ft. pool. And our 120,000-sq.-ft. indoor parks offer year-round attractions including water slides, lazy rivers and dry rides.

⅓ portion of the property including the main parking lot, Zeus and Hades rollercoasters, Poseidon Go-Kart Track, and even the half of Trojan Horse Go-Kart Track sits in the Wisconsin Dells city proper, but the rest sits in the Lake Delton village proper. The 65-foot wooden horse which sits on the Trojan Horse Go-Kart Track, serves as a marking point or boundary line between the two communities.

1881 Wisconsin Dells Parkway
P.O. Box 5
Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965-8798
Phone: (608) 254-8560, (608) 254-2490
Fax: (608) 253-7703
Toll Free: 1 (800) 800-4997
Web: www.mtolympuspark.com/

Hours (may vary on season)
Sun: 10am-8pm
Mon-Thurs: 10:30am-8pm
Fri: 10:30am-10pm
Sat: 10am-10pm

Only the indoor water and theme parks are open during the Fall & Winter

Read more
www.wisdells.com/wisconsin-dells-area/attractions/mt-ol...
www.dells.com/listing/mt-olympus-water-theme-park/#fndt...
rcdb.com/4561.htm
www.parkworld-online.com/mt-olympus-water-theme-park/
host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/wisconsin-dells-theme-p...
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jillcataldo.com/three-days-dells-weekend-away-thats-clo...
www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/996259/mt-olympus-w...
www.travelwisconsin.com/amusement-parks/mt-olympus-them...
www.wisconsinparent.com/2014/11/08/80973/mt-olympus-the...
dellspackages.com/Attractions/MtOlympus/MtOly_outdoor_p...
www.jsonline.com/business/123694669.html
www.themeparkreview.com/midwest2007/myolympus/mtolympus...
onmilwaukee.com/visitors/articles/myolympus.html
www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2013/09/16/wisconsi...
fhreakzone.com/mt-olympus-water-theme-park-wisconsin-de...
wizzley.com/review-of-mt-olympus-water-park-theme-park-...
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thegravitygroup.com/gravitycast/gravity-group-sends-woo...
project-files.internaldrive.com/university-of-michigan/...
www.coaster101.com/2014/08/03/trip-report-mount-olympus...
tapmag.com/2011/04/01/a-divine-place-to-bemt-olympus-wa...
springfieldmoms.org/wisconsin-indoor-water-parks/
writeontheworld.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/mount-olympus-...
www.dailyherald.com/article/20110807/entlife/708079983/
www.karenandjay.com/trips/mtolympus06/mtolympus06.html
www.colorfulplaces.com/destinations/mt-olympus-water-pa...
www.negative-g.com/mount-olympus/index.htm
www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/waterparks-wi/
www.lifeinminnesota.com/wisconsin-dells-family-vacation...
resortinforme.blogspot.com/2015/10/mt-olympus-water-the...
midwestweekends.com/plan_a_trip/family_friends/travel_w...
yakjam.com/review-mt-olympus-indoor-water-theme-park-in...
www.weather.com/travel/news/wisconsin-dells-summer-2013...
wisconsindellsimo.com/wisconsin-dells-water-parks/

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