Top Secret, Wisconsin Weirdness

Photo from Top Secret website

Top Secret in the Wisconsin Dells is hard to describe. A funky attraction -- not quite haunted house, but totally not a museum -- is described by guides as the "White House picked up by aliens and dropped upside down" in the Dells. (From the outside, it does look like the White House turned upside down.) It features dark passages, wild lights, wax figures, furniture adhered to the ceilings, dead presidents, unexplained dinosaurs busting out from its sides and much more weirdness. The kids loved it! The adults rolled their eyes and recalculated the cost of admission. It takes less than 30 minutes to take a tour and in the end you'll be scratching you head asking "what was that?"  But the kids had fun. Maybe whatever makes it top secret is only revealed so those 18 and under.

Wisconsin Dells Deer Park

  

The Wisconsin Deer Park has offered families visiting the Wisconsin Dells the chance to feed and touch deer up close for over 50 years. Serene absolutely loved it! Fearless as the deer towered several feet above her head, she tried to hug each and every one of the calm animals. The gift shop supplies crackers for feeding and Serene feed as many as she could by hand letting them lick her little fingers and she laughed in pure joy.

An original Dells attraction, the deer park sits on 40 acres of land with a four block walk that takes visitors around the edges of the public area to view the deer that walk openly around the area, and other animals (elk, bison, emus, llamas, lemurs and more) in large enclosures. In the winter months, the animals roam freely in a wooded area behind the public area of the park. When we visited the bucks antlers had grown large and majestic.

Wisconsin Dells Ducks

Photo from Original Wisconsin Ducks website.

The Wisconsin Dells are beautiful. The sandstone layered rock formations are only found in a few places in the world. Best viewed from the river, the Original Wisconsin Duck Tours is a great way to take in the views of the rocks, learn the geological, political and Native American history, as well as legends, of the area. The "dalles" were named by French fur traders, meaning 'tiled rocked.' They were formed by rushing flood waters from a glacial lake thousands of years ago and they've been drawing tourists to the area for more than 150 years.

 

The "Ducks" are amphibious land/water vehicles. Alex loved the "splash down" --- the moment when the vehicle races from land into the water.  The tour glides passengers down the Wisconsin River, races through the woods, hauls you up-and-down narrow curvy paths, weaves through Red Bird Gorge (where you can stick you fingers out to touch the formations) and paddles on Lake Delton.

Wisconsin Dells...the happiest place in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells is located in central, southern Wisconsin and is known for its beauty and family fun activities. The Dells were formed by glaciers during the ice age 15,000 years ago. With textured ridges, these steep cliffs are topped with tall evergreen trees. Since the 1950’s families have migrated to the Dells in the summer time to enjoy the Tommy Bartlett Water Ski Show and take a ride on the ducks, amphibious vehicles that ride on land and float on water.

In the summer of 2008, storming in the area caused the central lake in the region, Lake Delton, to breach and drain into the Wisconsin River. Some houses floated away and while others dropped into the empty lake. Alex met up with family shortly after the water dropped and was relieved to find that most of the family fun activities were still operating. Today, Wisconsin Dells is the “Waterpark Capital of the World.” While Noah’s Ark is the biggest water park in the world, there are indoor options too such as Great Wolf and the Wilderness Resort. The parks combined two of Alex’s favorite things….water and slides.

When I was a kid, Story Book Gardens was my favorite place. Humpty Dumpty sat on a Wall, Jack climbed his Beanstalk, and Alice wandered in Wonderland. Today the old exhibits are covered with fresh paint, and the Timbavati Wildlife Park have joined the fairy tales. So, now you can still see Three Blind Mice, but you can also ride on the back of a camel, hand feed giraffes and watch aardvarks, sloths, porcupines and tortoises take the stage. While it’s definitely not Disneyland, it's one of the happiest places on earth….or at least in Wisconsin.