We recently found ourselves with two blissfully free summer days. No baseball. No camps. No plans!

So we headed up to the Wisconsin Dells on a spontaneous one-night adventure!

We had such a great time that we are hoping to return this summer. We left with the desire to do so much more!

I think a really big factor is where you stay. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. It was clean and welcoming.

We booked last minute and used a discount code on their website, so we got lucky and scored this amazing two story suite at about 65% off the regular rate!

The cost of the room included passes to the water parks! They have an indoor water park and an outdoor water park.

Within minutes of checking in, we were in our suits and getting wet at the park!

That evening I took the boys to a classic Wisconsin style supper club, the Del Bar. The Del Bar has Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style architecture and such a great historic feel. Their steaks are some of the best in the area! This was a special mom-and-boys trip so I wanted to go somewhere nice. The boys ordered off the kid’s menu so our bill really wasn’t much more than if we dined at a chain restaurant but it sure felt a lot different!

After our our dinner we headed to the Rick Wilcox Magic Show.

If you are looking for an activity that everyone in your family will love - THIS IS IT! The show is wonderfully whimsical.

Rick Wilcox astounds the audience with truly amazing magic. He has a twinkle in his eye and a charming smile. My boys adored him and his wife who is the assistant. Together they perform real magic tricks like levitation, escapism and making giant objects disappear right in front of your eyes! This was a highlight of our trip!

The next morning the boys were up and ready to play at the Great Wolf Lodge’s Magiquest right when it opened. This activity is not included in the cost of the room.

However my boys already had their “wands” from a previous stay in Minnesota so we paid a minimal amount just to play. Magiquest is a kids’ dream game. It involves running around the hotel on special missions that includes gems, magic, wizards and pixies. It is sort of like a real-life Zelda.

It was interesting the see the differences between the Dells Great Wolf and the Magiquest in Bloomington. The Magiquest in the Dells has a separate large play area built just for Magiquest. It is several stories high and has rope ladders, slides and tunnels. The Magiquest game is concentrated in this area for the most part. In Minnesota there isn’t a designated space. Magiquest is scattered around the hotel.

We spent the rest of our morning enjoying the outdoor pool and slides at the Great Wolf.

Two tips about the Great Wolf Dells: you can extend check-out until noon for free if they have the capacity. You have to ask for this - it will not be offered. They do offer extended checkout until 2pm for a fee.

Secondly, the larger pool outside is heated!! So even though it was a chilly morning - we had no problem swimming!

I think that staying at the Great Wolf Lodge is the major reason why we had such a great time in the Dells. There was so much to do that we would’ve been content just to stay there without ever leaving!

After we checked out we stopped at this roadside “Trading Post” store and museum in town.

This is one of the oldest shops in the Dells and has a lot of historical information, photos & artifacts about the Native Americans in our state.

It also has a great mix of high and low end shopping. Hand crafted Native American pottery, baskets and more.

Beautiful Pendleton blankets and Minnetonka Moccasins

And a wide assortment of toys and souvenirs for kids.

Next we made our final stop at the Wisconsin Deer Park which is located right in the heart of the Dells.

When you purchase admission, you can also purchase special crackers to feed the deer.

The deer are so pretty and gentle. We had one follow us through the park.

I loved this little guy’s face.

One of my favorite parts of the Dells is the nature! Yes the Dells are filled with touristy activities but there is so much natural beauty to enjoy too! Next time I hope to take the Dells boat tour, hike at Mirror Lake State Park and watch the Tommy Bartlet waterski show!

Thank you for the wonderful trip Wisconsin Dells! We hope to be back very soon!