Trip Report: Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park

I made the trip to the Wisconsin Dells to check out the vacation town’s collection of wooden coasters: four of which are at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park.

The theme park portion of the resort, formerly and appropriately known as Big Chief Karts and Coasters is home to a collection of mostly…go-karts and roller coasters.

Unfortunately, long lines due to one-train operations on all of the coasters only allowed me to ride each coaster once. However, I wasn’t in a rush to get back on most of them.

Below, I’ve ranked the Mount Olympus coasters from my least favorite to most favorite. I must mention that I have a pretty high threshold for rough coasters. I really enjoy Six Flags St. Louis’ Boss and Six Flags Great America’s American Eagle. Your results may vary.

4. Zeus

Zeus is one of the park’s three Custom Coasters International (CCI) wooden coasters, and by far my least favorite of the three.

zeus-drop

The ride features a 85-foot first drop that towers over the entry area. The drop itself wasn’t too painful. Everything following was.

zeus

In fact, it was all downhill (literally and figuratively) from there. The layout isn’t terrible, but its roughness greatly overshadows anything enjoyable about the ride experience.

mt-olympus-skyline

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a more jarring, I-think-it’s-about-to-fall-apart wooden coaster before. It looks pleasant from a distance, though.

3. Pegasus

Next, Pegasus is a junior-sized CCI wooden coaster which opened in 1996. This was probably the least pain-inducing of all the Mount Olympus coasters, likely due to its smaller size.

pegasus-lift

Kudos to the park for keeping the trees around the lift.

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The coaster offers a few gentler pops of air.

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I recommend starting with Pegasus and then working your way up to the larger and more intense coasters at the park.

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The return to the brake run was probably the roughest part of the ride, but it paled in comparison to its sibling coasters at the park.

2. Cyclops

I really enjoyed Cyclops. I would have ridden it again if the wait wasn’t so long. It was definitely the sleeper hit of the trip.

mt-olympus-coasters

This 1995 CCI coaster takes great advantage of the park’s hilly terrain.

cyclops-track

The layout had moments of roughness, but the exciting layout made up for the moderately bumpy ride.

cyclops-drop

My favorite part of the ride was undoubtedly this large drop near the end of the ride. Its positioning and placement in the ride reminded me of a wooden Expedition Everest (minus the mountain and Yeti, of course).

cyclops-2

For maximum “ejector” airtime, sit in the back car.

1. Hades 360

My favorite wooden coaster at Mount Olympus? That would be Hades 360, a Gravity Group coaster that has intrigued me ever since it originally opened in 2005 as simply “Hades.”

Last year, the coaster was transformed into Hades 360 with the addition of a 360-degree roll and an overbanked turn. The coaster also received a Timberliner train from GravityKraft.

hades-sign-2

Seeing this didn’t make me any more optimistic about Hades giving a smoother ride than the CCI coasters at the park.

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I waited about 75 minutes to ride.

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The first drop is fun and relatively painless.

hades-360-upside-down

What I found most exciting was the lengthy tunnel which runs under the parking lot. I didn’t realize that it would be pitch black (not sure why, as it’s a long tunnel). It was refreshing to be immersed in total darkness on a coaster I was unfamiliar with. I had no idea what to expect.

hades-360-skyline

From this view, you can see how far the turnaround and roll are from the first drop.

hades-360-roll

The loop itself was exciting and relatively smooth. It was a bit disorienting since the train exits the tunnel right into the inversion.

hades-360-loop

Without the train you can see the structural beauty of the inversion. It’s a work of art.

hades-360-drop

The second half of the coaster leading back to the station was rough and not nearly as exciting as the first half.

hades-360

Hades 360 is quite the “parking lot coaster.” At least this half is.

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The coaster is well paced – giving an unrelenting ride from the moment it leaves the lift hill until it plows into the brake run.

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The one positive to the lengthy wait: it gives you ample opportunity to see the coaster in action.

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I can’t imagine what the coaster would feel like without the Timberliner trains. I’m sure they improve the ride experience tremendously.

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While the main attractions at the theme park are go-karts and coasters (which is fine by me), there are some other things to see and do.

swings

The S&S-made Apollo’s Swing gives riders an excellent view of the surrounding area.

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Younger thrill seekers who aren’t quite tall enough for the big-league coasters can take a spin on Little Titans.

little-titans-1

Unfortunately, the coaster has a minimum and maximum height restriction, so older coaster enthusiasts looking to earn another credit may be disappointed.

indoor-themepark-entrance

The park’s indoor theme park is, to put it bluntly, a glorified tent with a limited selection of carnival-type rides and attractions.

indoor-no-opa

The structure was once home to Opa, a Zamperla spinning coaster. It was removed earlier this year after a man fell 17 feet from one of the cars.

indoor-theme-park

With its signature attraction gone (and a massive empty space remaining), the entire area was pretty lifeless (as exemplified by park guests in the above photo).

indoor-theme-park-rides

Hopefully the park is able to invest in a more permanent attraction to replace Opa.

catapult

The Catapult slingshot ride was more fun to watch.

mt-olympus-animals

The park is home to a few other odd-ball attractions and activities – like feeding these animals.

mt-olympus-waterpark

With the temperatures in the 80s, the water park area was packed.

triton-slides

The Triton slide complex had a lengthy line throughout the day.

trojan-horse

Of course, I had to say goodbye to the massive Trojan Horse near the entrance to the parking lot on my way out.

Overall, I had a decent time at Mount Olympus. I enjoy visiting new parks, and the attraction lineup here is quite unique. Had the coasters been operating more than one train each (and perhaps not giving quite as rough rides), my day would have been much better. The park was well-kept and the staff were generally friendly. Many of the ride ops were working quickly to cycle each train as quickly as possible.

For more information on the theme park, water park and more, visit the Mount Olympus website.

Have you visited Mount Olympus? Share your experiences at the park in the comments below.

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