Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park

Amusement park in Wisconsin

Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park Resort is a theme park and water park resort complex in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The resort is themed after Ancient Greece, particularly its mythology and gods, and is named after the mountain in Greece where those gods were said to live. Mt. Olympus features an indoor and outdoor water park and amusement park rides, and the complex includes dozens of motel buildings that were acquired by the resort in addition to its purpose built hotel.

Mt. Olympus was started by the Laskaris family. Demetrios “Jim” Laskaris was born in Katsaros, Greece and immigrated to the United States at the age of 13. He received a technical degree in Michigan, served for four years in the U. S. Navy, and then owned and operated several restaurants in Chicago. The family moved to Wisconsin Dells, where Jim and his wife Fotoula opened a hot dog stand in 1970, which they named “Big Chief”, after a statue purchased from a trade show. The hot dog stand was a commercial failure, and the Laskaris family was nearly forced to return to Chicago. At the last minute, they found $700 in savings inside a sock, which they invested 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", along the Wisconsin Dells Parkway. Nick Laskaris, Jim and Fotoula's son, became the go karts' chief mechanic at the age of 9. Between 1978 & 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. It was also at this location that Nick Laskaris started constructing his own go karts a few years later. The park opened their largest roller coaster, Hades, for the 2005 season. Hades is a wooden roller coaster 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 roller coaster called Opa. dus 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 of real estate to their property, bringing the total area to
The Lost City of Atlantis, a three acre outdoor water park area, opened in 2012. Atlantis features seven new slides from WhiteWater West, a monster dump bucket and a 120' geyser, built at a cost of $3.5 million. Hades received a major renovation in 2013, adding a 360 degree inversion and the coaster was renamed Hades 360. "The Manticore", a vertical swing ride, was added to the park in 2015. "The Great Pool of Delphi", a 27,000 square foot swimming pool containing 500,000 gallons of water, was added in 2016. The pool was advertised as the largest swimming pool in Wisconsin Dells, the "waterpark capital of the world". The cost of this addition was $4 million. In 2019, Mount Olympus representatives announced at the IAAPA Expo their purchase of a new Slidewheel waterslide for the 2021 season. Tentatively named Hercules, the slide would consist of a perpetually rotating wheel in which rafts would be dispatched into every 30 seconds, and move through the knot of slide tunnels akin to a massive hamster wheel. However, the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 halted plans to install the slide in time for the 2021 season. The renamed Medusa's Slidewheel was formally announced on August 6, 2021, and opened within the Indoor Waterpark area for the 2022 season. The Slidewheel's addition also brought about an expansion to the indoor waterpark, with a general pool named Serpent's Pool.

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),

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" the following spring. This change coincided with the purchases of the Concord Inn and the Monaco Motel. The addition of these properties gave the resort a total of over 1,300 rooms. Recent acquisitions include the Diamond Hotel in 2015 and the Ambers Resort and Conference Center in 2016.

On March 6, 2014, a lap bar malfunction caused by inadequate maintenance occurred on the Opa roller coaster in the indoor theme park, causing a 63 year old man from Fremont, Wisconsin, to fall 17 feet from the ride, sustaining serious injuries that left him in a coma for three weeks. The ride was permanently closed following the incident and later removed. On January 23, 2015, a 4 year old nearly drowned in the indoor water 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. In July 2015, an elastic cable snapped on "The Catapult" reverse bungee ride located in the outdoor theme park. A video of the incident was uploaded to Facebook and was widely shared before ultimately being removed. 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 removed the ride from the park two days later.

+ Go kart tracksNameOpenedDescription Helios TrackA multi level track dips up and around and back down again. Hermes' Turbo TrackThe fastest track at the park. Orion Intermediate Go Kart TrackAn intermediate track intended for children. Tiny Hero Go Kart TrackAn intermediate track intended for children. Tiny Hero Go Kart TrackA beginner track for young childrenTitan's TowerTrojan HorseInitially consisted of a multi level, three story track that went through a large Trojan horse. (that part of the track is now closed off) This track winds down 35 feet (11 m) and around tight turns and back to the top again. Underworld Go Kart Track This track goes up and down towers, and of course, underwater. Was branded Poseidon Underwater Go Kart Track prior to 2018.

The Rise of Icarus Opening in summer 2024, The Rise of Icarus will break the record for the tallest waterslide in America at 145 feet tall.