More about Glacier Canyon Lodge
We Loved Glacier Canyon
by TripAdvisor Member mashaddict
When I was a kid, in the 60's, the Wisconsin Dells was a kid's wonderland. My brother and I used to beg my mom to make sure our family camping trips ended in The Dells at a campground that had a swimming pool with a slide! Now, after taking my kids five times, I think we have found the perfect water park resort. Glacier Canyon resort was wonderful! As always we could check into the water park at 11:00 and change in a locker room. Caveat Emptor, the lockers are the low tech kind where you put in four quarters, then it locks, and you can remove the key, but if you need access later; you need to spend another buck to lock your stuff up again. Plan ahead, so you do not need to get into the locker until your room is ready; they are guaranteed ready at 4:00.
Our room was ready at 2:30. We checked after going out to Culver's for lunch, tastier and about $15.00 cheaper than dining at he water park. In fact we never eat at the Wilderness; we go to the super Walmart in Lake Delton and grocery shop; they have frozen pizzas and stuff for sandwiches that can be made in the condo; beware of the popcorn setting on the microwave in the condo; our 15 year old found out that it over cooks the popcorn. Denny’s and Culver’s across the highway are great and we like the Riverwalk Pub downtown.
Our condo was lovely. It had two bedrooms. One with a king-size bed and one with a full bed with a twin bunk above it. It had a bath and a half; it was perfect for a family with a teenage girl. We did not use it, but it also had a murphy bed with a privacy curtain. The whole condo was roomy and well appointed. That is except the faux fireplace; it was, well hokey, but the kitchen with seating for eight, and three Tvs in the unit, made up for the "wimpiness" of the faux flames. For families traveling together, there was a connecting door to another unit. All this cost us $200.00 per night and included our water park tickets.
The water park at Glacier Canyon had a great lazy river with options of staying relatively dry, or of getting soaked. We could also take either the walkway, foot path or shuttle to the other water parks at The Wilderness to play in. This was our fifth trip to The Dells and our fourth to The Wilderness; we will be back again to Glacier Canyon!
Great stay, wonderful time
by TripAdvisor Member atlmom2
We stayed one night at Glacier Canyon Lodge in mid June on a weekday.
Not crowded at all. Stayed in a 3 bedroom deluxe. We had 2 adults and 6 girls with us as my daughter had her B'day party there. Plenty of space for all of us, very clean as it is only a year old.
We had stayed at the Wilderness previously 3 other times and after staying at Glacier Canyon Lodge, we would only stay there again in a smaller room.
The water parks were not busy. Easy to get tubes to ride the lazy rivers or slides.
Not impressed with "luxury" resort
by TripAdvisor Member travelcat83
We stayed in the Glacier Canyon Lodge and were not impressed with the accomodations. For starters, we did not sleep well a single night we were there. Both parents and kids woke up with sore backs because the matresses were impossibly uncomforatable, and we woke up tired because the people staying in the rooms above and next to us made noise ALL night (yelling/shouting, thumping). The rooms were not serviced at all except to exchange wet towels for clean ones. We had to find someone to take away the trash and get more coffee. Other guests were obnoxious and even rude to us. Although amenities like microwave, mini-fridge and sofa were provided, there was minimal counter and table space available, and poor lighting so we found the room cramped and dim. The DVD player scratched a movie we tried to play.
If you say here, you will pay for the waterpark, not the "luxury" accomodations. The one convenience is that several parks are just a short walk away, and they are fun. Which is good because the rooms don't make you want to spend much time in them. Don't come here looking for relaxation.
Very, Very Nice Condos
by TripAdvisor Member mauimaui4
We just returned from a weekend here and have great things to say. We stayed in a 2BR condo and it was beautiful and clean. We overlooked the outdoor waterpark but the insulation kept out the noise when we needed it to. The rooms are not right on top of the waterpark like the other Wilderness resorts. There is a grassy area, and a walkway so you don't feel so close to the activity. The towels and amenities were great. If you go to the other Wilderness waterparks, take the footpath/bridge. It takes you right to the Indoor Wave pool area and the others are all within sight. The skywalk is a waste of time in the summer and its too congested not to mention inconvenient. The only negatives were that the coffee/ice cream shop was not open at 2:30 in the afternoon and there was no sign posting the hours. We thought this was odd as the popular time for ice cream is the afternoon. The MBR could have been a little bigger as it was hard to open our luggage completely. The paper in the morning was a nice touch. We will definitely return!
as always great family fun
by TripAdvisor Member napervilletraveler
We stayed at the glacier canyon lodge july 3rd for one night
with in a 3 bedroom deluxe unit. It was perfect for three adults
and four kids ages 15,12,8, 6. The unit we had was brand new and spotless. There was a full kitchen with granite countertops, a flat screen TV, a murphy bed with privacy curtain and bunk bed set with lofted twin(my nephews enjoyed that arrangement).
The new lost world park is nice with halley's comet and a lazy river
with slide. Take the shuttle if you get tired between the properties.
Bring food if you can since the fast food is not the best and quite expensive. They are building two more waterparks but I don't know when those will be completed.
The only negative about this place is all the walking especially if you have toddlers then you should bring a stroller. Try MONKS down the street for great burgers. This place is always a great place for a getaway. We cannot wait to go back again next year with family...
Glacier Canyon Lodge at the Wilderness
by TripAdvisor Member WLSsuburbofChicago
We visit the Dells every couple of years and this year tried out the Glacier Canyon Condos. We got the 2 bedroom deluxe condo, which was a good deal for the money (compared to Wolfs Head and Kalahari). It was nicely decorated - rustic.
None of the staff spoke English very well. Some did not speak English at all, they were Russian or Polish or something like that. The elevators were dark, small and slow, but the stairway was wide, well-lit and carpeted.
The waterpark right at the Canyon Lodge Condos was perfect for our 4-yr-old who had a great time splashing around and going down the slides that were just her size. Our teenager seemed happy with the selection of waterparks on the property although he did complain a little about the distance between them, but he slept like a rock at the end of the day and had a smile on his face (rare).
Our condo was clean and the kitchen was great - had everything I needed except paper towels. We requested a top floor unit and it was nice and quiet - never heard a thing at night, we slept great on the comfortable beds.
The front desk staff were very polite and accomdating. The coctails available near the pool and waterpark were ridiculously overpriced, beers were 9.50 each and mixed drinks were over 10.00 each. I also bought a hot dog that was nearly $5.00. It's hard to get away from over-priced concessions in these resorts though, we packed a couple of coolers with food and drinks and we were glad we did - plenty of room in the kitchen. Of course you can't bring your own food/beverage into the waterpark or pool area.
Avoid Monk's Bar & Grill at the Wilderness - food terrible!
The breakfast buffet was very good at the Wilderness Wild Canyon Cafe, all you can eat for 13.00 and kids under 6 free. Had everything you could want and food was good - even a little buffet that was kid-friendly.
Another Great Stay At GCL / Wilderness Resort !
by TripAdvisor Member Farmerinthedell3
We visit the Wilderness 2-3 times a year and the property, staff and facility as a whole meets or exceeds our expectations each time. Our two night stay over the Fourth of July was terrific - we were able to check in early to our reserved 2-queen sofa room in the Glacier Canyon's newest wing. We asked for a view of the waterpark because it's a better more interesting view than the parking lots and distant tree-line. As an earlier review mentioned, waterpark noise was kept out when the balcony door was closed. Noise from neighbors was minimal as I made certain we were on the top floor - we have dealt with the 'trampling herds' before and know what to expect. We spent much of our time in the Lost World waterpark outside Glacier Canyon - this park is their newest outdoor facility and the freshest & favorite park for our family of three. Other portions of the park are showing signs of wear and tear, some are significant, and it can be explained by the terrific numbers of people using the facilities and the chlorine water beating down on the building materials day and night. I'm not seeing any sign of management plans to refurbish or re-fresh those portions of the park - I would like to see that happen soon. We have made the determination to return only during the summer months for access to the outside parks as well as the occasional trip to the indoor parks. There is an overwhelming number of new rooms / condos / cabins and occupants that are using the facilities on the Wilderness properties - plus walk-in day pass purchasers - that number of people squeezed into four indoor parks in the wintertime versus eight parks in the summertime would be an unpleasant experience. Hopefully we will hear news of another indoor-park build before too long so we can reconsider the Wilderness for wintertime travel plans.
Comfy condo; great for adults; too much for toddlers
by TripAdvisor Member booterlean
We stayed in a 3-bedroom condo from June 22-24. We had 6 adults, a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old. My opinion is it's an exhilarating place for adults and older kids. Toddlers and babies don’t need as big a place as this. Since it did have several kids' water park areas, it was a good compromise for the composition of our group. If just my husband and I were coming with our 2-year-old, I would chose a place with a smaller water park, and come back here when he's older.
The condo was clean and comfortable. Check-in took about 20 minutes because we arrived right at check-in time. Walking to the various water parks took about 10-15 minutes at our slow pace.
The adults had a great time on the waterslides. The Hurricane water slide was a heart-racer. The wave pools were disappointing since they ran for maybe 15 seconds and then stopped.
The lazy river has double floats with one side closed up for the child to sit in. Our 2-year-old had fun playing in the kid areas and going down the kid waterslides on his dad's lap. I wish the kids' areas didn't have as much water spray flying around. I always had water slapping me in the face, which made it hard to keep an eye on the child. At times I felt overwhelmed trying to keep a close tab on him in the hubbub. He wore a PFD, which made it easier to grab hold of him when necessary. The hotel check-in materials had a flyer about child water safety.
Overall, we had a great stay at Glacier Canyon Lodge. It had activities for all ages so it made a good choice for a mixed ages group like ours.
awesome awe some awesome
by TripAdvisor Member njisgreat
From NJ - friends laughed when we said we are going to Wisconsin... everyone goes to Orlando from NJ - Anyway- this is the best trip we've taken in a while! my son is 6 and had a blast- there are so many waterparks on this property - you can never get bored. they are spread out- but that's the great thing - you feel like you're going somewhere different every day - there is something for everyone here. We stayed in a 2 bedroom deluxe - it was beautiful- very nice not to have cleaning crew in every day- but they did provide tons of towels - all staff was wonderful and friendly - I think most are from Russia ( at least the ones we talked to) as others have said... the lifeguards are there to save lives not watch your kids!! !
didn't eat anywhere on site - we went to super walmart and stocked up our kitchen - like all hotels,, the prices are high for food/drinks - so use common sense and bring your own!
WisDells was looks of fun- My son wants to know when we are going back!
Great Place To Stay
by TripAdvisor Member triplejay23
Glacier Canyon Lodge is connected to the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. It was built around April of '06 and is a great place to stay!
We stayed in a 2 BR Deluxe condo and it was very spacious and clean. The staff gives fresh towels and removes garbage daily, the staff does in fact have quite a few "foreigners", perhaps exchange students from Eastern Europe, but they all seemed rather pleasant.
They should add more pix of the condos on their website as they are very impressive, granite counters, full kitchen, eat-in area, breakfest bar, etc.... FREE wireless internet in room!
The Lost Canyon waterpark at Glacier is a great place for all kids, we brought our 7 & 6 year old along and they had tons of stuff to do.
You do have full access to both the Glacier Canyon and Wilderness waterparks/facilities, the only downside it is a long way to get from the Glacier Canyon to the far edges of the Wilderness.
They do however offer a free shuttle service, although we found it easier to just hop in our car and drive to the part of the resort we wanted to go to.
We only ate at one restaurant at the Wilderness (it was the Cafe where they serve brunches) and it was so-so.
All in all, it is a GREAT place to stay!!!
Sign in with Facebook
