Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort opens record-breaking slide
AT: Jeffrey Seifert
jseifert@amusementtoday.com
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wisconsin — This past summer Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort opened the tallest waterslide in North America. The 160-foot tall slide tower serves as the platform for four WhiteWater AquaTubes and a Freefall slide. The tallest and longest, a high-speed AquaTube called The Fall starts from a record-breaking height of 145 feet and has riders spiraling through the 780-foot tube at speeds of up to 30 mph. Below The Fall, four slides of varying lengths launch riders from a height of 57 feet. The Rise of Icarus was a collaboration between the Laskaris family, who owns the park; the architectural firm Ramaker and WhiteWater.
As construction was progressing in the spring, Fotini (Fofo) Laskaris Backhaus, director of marketing told Amusement Today, “We’re preparing for an incredible summer as we unveil America’s tallest waterslide, The Rise of Icarus, plus a brand-new kiddie area. This water park expansion is designed to cater to all ages, from the littlest adventurers to the most daring thrill seekers. We look forward to our guests making memorable moments with this addition.”
Before the opening of Icarus, a similar slide tower, Daredevil Tower, at Thrill Waterpark on CocoCay, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s private island in The Bahamas, opened with a similar record-breaking slide. That WhiteWater high-speed AquaTube dispatched from a height of 135 feet giving that location the record in 2019. But records were made to be broken. In 2020 Dreamworks Water Park in East Rutherford, New Jersey, opened a pair of 142-foot straight drop speed slides — Thrillagascar and Jungle Jammer.
It should be no surprise that the Laskaris family sought out a record-breaking slide. Just two years ago, Medusa’s Slidewheel opened as the first of its kind in North America. That garnered a Golden Ticket Award for Best New Water Park Ride of 2022. At the time, Fofo Backhaus told AT, “The best thing about my dad is that he's able to recognize the greatest rides in the industry and bring them to Mt. Olympus. We love bringing on innovative attractions to keep our guests coming back for more!”
History repeated itself this year as The Rise of Icarus gave the park another Golden Ticket Award for Best New Water Park Ride of 2024.
“The Rise of Icarus holds a special place in our family and park as we continually strive to introduce new and innovative attractions to our area,” said Maria Laskaris, the park’s social media marketer.
In Greek mythology, Icarus, the son of master craftsman Daedalus escaped from King Minos’ prison using wings constructed of bird feathers and beeswax. Deadalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun or the wax would melt. Icarus ignored the warnings and fell from the sky. The Fall recreates that plummet from the sky, but fortunately for riders, the outcome is a safe and controlled stop at the end of the journey. The giant slide starts with a short drop and rotates counterclockwise around the tower in larger and larger helices. As thrill seekers traverse the 780-foot slide, picking up speed, the color gradually changes from dark orange to bright yellow. Near the finish a quick jog to the right sends riders screaming into the splashdown runout. The journey through the slide takes about 30 seconds to complete.
“Since The Rise of Icarus opened, we’ve been thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic reactions. Riders can’t get enough — they’re rushing back up the tower to experience all five body slides. Each slide is fast and exhilarating, definitely worth the wait and anticipation!” said Backhaus.
For those who may not be able to endure the stair-climb to the 145-foot level, four other new slides can be enjoyed from less than half that height. The Voyage, The Flight and The Journey are enclosed AquaTubes offering exciting twists and turns a little less intense than their taller sibling. The fourth, The Drop, is a Freefall open waterslide with a steep, straight drop.
Later in the season, the park launched a new outdoor kids’ section, Icaria Splash ‘n Slide, also from WhiteWater. The new 12,000-square-foot kids’ area features 10 new slides, along with a water play activity area with splash toys and a tipping bucket. The waterplay area has a shallow water containment area and is covered with Life Floor to provide a safe and comfortable surface for kids to run around on. The 10 slides provide varying degrees of excitement with slides ranging from four to 10 feet tall giving adrenaline-junkies-in-the-making a chance to work their way up to challenge the larger slides or perhaps wait until next season to build up the courage to take on something a little taller.
In addition to the tower and the kids' area, the space around these two attractions increases the amount of deck space allowing the addition of more tables with umbrellas and more lounge chairs. Also new are the Icarus Luxury Cabanas. These enclosed cabanas come with sliding glass doors opening to a pair of chaise lounges. Since the cabanas are enclosed, they can provide air conditioning — a rarity for an outdoor water park cabana. The Icarus Luxury Cabanas include five lounge chairs, a credenza with a lock box, a mini fridge, towels and VIP host service. These cabanas can accommodate up to eight people. Food and bar concessions, a new retail store and locker building are also part of the new area.
The Demetrios Laskaris family moved from Chicago to Wisconsin Dells in 1970 and opened a hot dog stand named “Big Chief” after a statue they had purchased at a trade show. Demetrios’ son Nick began engineering and constructing the world’s first multi-level go-kart tracks. With the addition of coasters, the former Big Chief Go-Kart World became Big Chief Karts & Coasters. In 2004 the park merged with nearby Treasure Island Resort, which included an indoor and outdoor water park. The co-owned complex became known as Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Over the years several acquisitions have taken place, and the resort now has a total of more than 1,600 rooms, spans more than 300 acres and includes five roller coasters, 44 waterslides, a wave pool and, of course, eight go-kart tracks upon which the family built its legacy.
