Bluegreen Odyssey Dells

Bluegreen Odyssey Dells is in the very popular Wisconsin Dells area. Given the distance from my home 16 hours, I chose to fly instead of taking the drive across a few states to visit.

Day One Arrival at Bluegreen Odyssey Dells

I was able to find a flight on Delta that was less than $100 each way, which was nice. The flight had one connecting flight on the way and was not eventful.

From MSN or Madison Truax Field airport, it was just under an hour drive. So, with the flight time, baggage, and flight check in, the entire trip was about 6 hours. I thought that was a very light travel time, and it made the trip start off in a positive light.

The Bluegreen Odyssey Dells resort is impressive when you first drive up and see the resort. The outside of the main building is painted and designed to look like individual buildings. Instead, it appears to be two very large structures with a connecting walkover. When arriving, I actually drove under that walkover as I came into the resort area.

What strikes you first is that the resort seems surrounded by water park fun. All around the resort and even the roads leading to the resort are water parks. By water parks I do not mean few water slides these are epic parks. Some are the sizes of small towns. In the Dells there are over 20 water parks. Right by the resort is a major one as well.

This is water park fan heaven. I have literally never seen anywhere like it on Earth. While we have water parks on the East Coast, they are often one by itself and other than Bush Garden’s Water Country or something by Disney in Florida, there is nothing to the scale of these parks. It is truly an impressive site. If you do not bring multiple bathing suits for everyone, you will regret it.

This resort itself is a part of Bluegreen Resorts Amusement Collection. These are all amusement themed and focused resorts that are in the heart of very fun active areas.

The resort is located right next door to Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park®, the largest of its kind in the Dells. Mt. Olympus features both indoor and outdoor parks with over 37 waterslides, 9 go-kart tracks, 7 roller coasters, 10 kiddie rides, 3 lazy rivers, 2 wave pools, whirlpools and more!

You can plan on water park fun here almost regardless of the weather because of the amount of indoor waterpark fun. Think something like Great Wolf Lodge on steroids here.

Checking in was a breeze, and I then walked and found my room. Here at Bluegreen Odyssey Dells, they offer 1- or 2-bedroom villas with all of these standard amenities.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

All the rooms are large at 750 sq feet in size. It is interesting that the 2 bedroom and one bedroom are the same size just laid out to provide the extra bedroom when needed.

The one bedroom takes advantage of the sleeper sofa to accommodate yourself and the kids, while the two-bedroom adds the additional bed and keeps the sleeper for a larger family.

I could see coming here with the kids and bringing a friend for older kids along, or coming here with two families and the kids staying in the room together to talk and play games in the room most nights. I can still remember some of the fun conversations (bits and pieces) from sleep over type travel with friends in my youth.

Looking around the rooms I feel like the only thing missing is the washer and dryer in unit but they do have laundry facilities on site so that is nice. I am just really thinking about all those wet swimming suits hanging in the bathrooms. But you have two bathrooms here. So, after the kids had taken a bath or shower, you could hang everyone’s bathing suits to dry.

Video by Vacationsgram

Day Two at Bluegreen Odyssey Dells

It was time to dive in to this vacation with both feet. I needed to try out these water parks firsthand. I love a good waterpark even these days being heavy I just do everyone a favor and leave a shirt on.

I start at the resorts on Mt. Olympus park. First in the indoor park because I was starting early and the morning still had a slight chill in the air. Not cold but just a little cool to be running around wet unless you were 12 then you would not have cared at all. Here Olympus also has an outdoor water pack but also a theme park too.

The theme park is heavy on coasters and go carts in a great way if you love those two types of rides. If you do, this may be a theme park heaven for anyone with the go cart bug.

I think I counted 7 go cart areas with various powered go cart options. Some more geared towards adults or late teens, and other for younger riders.

After a full day of water park, then theme park rides and fun, I headed back to the resort to shower change, rest a minute, then grab something to eat. I am a travel sucker of sorts since I enjoy everything touristy. One thing I love is hibachi cooking where they cook right in front of you and make a short show of it. I love the food, style of cooking and the fun. I think I am the only person who goes to these places solo and thus sits with strangers often for my meal. But that too is fun. Near the resort was a good location called Kyoto, and I went to give it a try for dinner. I ordered their feast meal, which included lobster, shrimp, and fillet. It was great!

Day Three: time to break out and see more of the Dells

Waking early, I set out today from Bluegreen Odyssey Dells to see more of the local area. I was having a blast, but I still felt like this might be my only solo trip here so I wanted to make sure I was seeing all the sites.

I may come back with family at some point, but the area is really made for kids and I do not have any of my own. So I would need to recruit some nieces or nephews for a visit in order to come back and really get the most out of the area. But this is a great location for families.

The Bluegreen Odyssey Dells is what I think is so centrally located in the area that it makes a great spot to leave from and come back to each day. Sometimes when you go on vacation, you just want a great hub to come back to from doing everything in . That was what this resort truly was. A great base of operations for your fun vacation.

First things first I headed for breakfast and nearby Paul Bunyan’s. Here you eat at large tables family style and the food is great. Here are the main offerings that came to the table.

Fresh Buttermilk Pancakes

Sausage Links and Ham

Scrambled Eggs

Camp Fried Potatoes

Biscuits and Gravy

Homemade Buttermilk Donuts

Coffee, Hot Tea, White Milk and Orange Juice

All of this was great. The restaurant theme may be lost on younger kids now, but I grew up reading the books and stories and I loved it.

The Wisconsin Dells may be the waterpark capital of the World, but it is also much more. I am happy to report that there are great museums, shops, shows, boat tours and adventures to be found and enjoyed while you are here. I spent most of this day enjoying the down town and surrounding area. I felt so guilty being here solo that when I hit the candy store in town, I had a ton shipped home to my nieces in Virginia.

I sent home a small fortune due to the guilt of being on this vacation without them. But hey they will like the treats when they get them.

Next I did some adult shopping at the Dells Distillary. I also grabbed a little lunch while I was there. Nothing big like breakfast, but I just wanted to try something from the menu. I enjoyed my Pork Quesadilla and the few drinks I tested with it.

I had tickets for a show tonight that was a Vegas style magic show. At first, I questioned how good it might be since it was named after the single performer or title performer Rick Wilcox. I must say I was surprised and happy that I went after seeing the show. He did a great job with the members of the audience he brought on stage, and the prepared parts of his act were very good. Again, I think the family, and especially kids, would like this performance a great deal.

The main show here is about an hour and I think that is good for kids as well because the show starts at 7PM so you could get them back to the resort by 8:30PM and get them ready for bed.

For myself after the show I went headed for somewhere else to have a drink after the show and a late dinner. I ended up at Hot Rocks, which is a fascinating idea. It is a Polynesian themes Tiki restaurant that serves some of the food on hot rocks so you can cook it yourself.

For Tiki fans like myself, it is one of the best designed Tiki bars or restaurants around. The artwork and setting are perfect. What is amazing is that I literally stumbled into the place. Had I known, I would have made this a focal point of my trip since I am that crazy about all things Tiki.

I think older kids would really enjoy this place. I worry about younger ones with rocks hot enough to cook on in front or near them. But wow, it was one neat spot.

After that it was time to head back to the resort with a full belly and a refreshed mental outlook. Not to be too corny, but tonight was truly magical.

If you want to vacation like this yourself, make sure to book your trip to the Dells at TZort.