Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park is a Greek mythology-themed amusement and water park resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, a town that calls itself the “Waterpark Capital of the World.” Founded in 1990 by the Laskaris family, who still own and operate it today, the park grew from a small go-kart and mini-golf attraction into a sprawling complex of hotels, indoor and outdoor water parks, and wooden roller coasters, all wrapped in Zeus-and-Olympus theming, temple facades, and statues of the Greek gods.
The park’s headline thrill ride is Hades 360, a hybrid wood-and-steel coaster built by the Gravity Group that added a 360-degree inversion in 2013, making it one of the most intense wooden coasters in the Midwest. It shares the midway with earlier classics Zeus and Cyclops, both built by Custom Coasters International. On the water side, Mt. Olympus has chased its own superlatives, most recently opening Rise of Icarus in 2024, which it markets as America’s tallest water slide.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
- Operator: Laskaris family (privately owned)
- Opened: 1990
- Size: about 102 acres
- Signature Coaster: Hades 360 — 136 ft tall, 60 mph, Gravity Group hybrid wood coaster
- Signature Water Slide: Rise of Icarus — 145 ft, opened 2024
- Theme: Ancient Greek mythology
The Ride Experience
Cyclops opened in 1995 as the first roller coaster in Wisconsin Dells, a wooden coaster from Custom Coasters International standing about 70 feet tall with a 75-foot first drop and a top speed near 58 mph. Zeus followed in 1997, another Custom Coasters International wood coaster rising roughly 90 feet with speeds up to 60 mph.
The park’s most ambitious coaster came in 2005 with Hades, a hybrid wood-and-steel design from the Gravity Group that won the inaugural Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride. In 2013 it was rebuilt with a 360-degree roll and renamed Hades 360, stretching about 4,746 feet of track with a 136-foot height and 60 mph top speed.
A Mythology-Themed Water Park Empire
Beyond the coasters, Mt. Olympus is best known regionally for its water parks. The resort operates both indoor and outdoor water park sections, and has repeatedly built slides aimed at national records, including Medusa’s Slidewheel in 2022, the first slide of its kind in North America, and the 145-foot Rise of Icarus in 2024.
The resort’s footprint also includes Hotel Rome and a patchwork of acquired mom-and-pop motels absorbed as the property expanded over the decades, reflecting how the business grew from Jim and Fotoula Laskaris’s original hot dog stand into one of the largest lodging and ride complexes in Wisconsin Dells.
Explore more: more theme parks.
Roller Coasters at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
Every Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park coaster ThrillZing has covered — stats, ride experience and history for each:
Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park FAQs
What roller coasters does Mt. Olympus have?
The park’s main wooden coasters are Hades 360, Zeus, and Cyclops, all built by American wood coaster manufacturers, with Hades 360 as the tallest and most intense of the three.
Is Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park open year-round?
The resort’s indoor water park operates year-round, while the outdoor theme park and outdoor water park sections run seasonally during the warmer months.
Who owns Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park?
The park has been owned and operated by the Laskaris family since they founded it in 1990, growing it from an early go-kart attraction into today’s resort complex.
Get More from Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Photo: User Royalbroil on en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.