CONTACTS: Joe Eck, Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort, Director of Sales and Marketing, (608) 253-4599 or joe@wildernessresort.com
Heidi Fendos, PR Counsel, (414) 778-0766 or heidifprconsulting@sbcglobal.net
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — Get out your sun screen and forget about the winter blues. On Saturday, April 8, the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort in Wisconsin Dells will be unveiling a first for waterparks in the Midwest. The resort’s newest indoor waterpark, fittingly named the Wild WaterDome, features a state-of-the-art energy efficient transparent roof that actually allows people to suntan indoors year-round.
According to Joe Eck, sales and marketing director for Wilderness Resort, “The new 68,000 sq. ft. waterpark features an innovative, lightweight Foiltec roof that offers many advantages over traditional waterpark roofs in terms of energy saving properties, sound dispersion, lower structural costs and uninterrupted UV light transmission.”
Eck says that the resort anticipates saving as least $16,000 a month in gas and electric costs thanks to this special technology.
The roof’s transparent layers are manufactured from Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (ETFE), a modified co-polymer, first developed by Dupont for use in the NASA space program. The roof weighs less than one pound per square foot, and requires one-tenth of the energy to manufacture and transport than similar construction in glass. Plus, because ETFE is closely related to Teflon, it shares many of the same anti-adhesive properties. The roof actually self-cleans, saving energy as well. Deposits of dirt and dust remain unattached to the surface and are washed away in the rain.
Eck adds that the roof is transparent to ultra-violet light – which promotes a lush green plant environment and naturally increases capability to kill bacteria present in all indoor environments.
Inside the Wild WaterDome, guests will be able to have a splashing good time swimming in the nation’s largest indoor wave pool, The Great Wave. It measures over 15,450 square feet and is capable of generating waves up to 4 feet tall. Families will also enjoy the new wild and crazy Dueling Mammoths Family Raft Ride, which families race down to see which is the fastest and compete for prizes. There are also 12 “cave-themed” private cabanas in the facility available for rent and plenty of deck space for kicking back, relaxing and catching a few rays. A new bar and grill is also slated to open in the mezzanine level above the waterpark in May.
The Wild WaterDome waterpark is the first phase in a $150 million expansion underway at the resort. In July, the resort will be opening Glacier Canyon Lodge, a 224 upscale condominium resort with its own 3-acre waterpark. In October, an adjoining 25,000 square foot banquet/conference center will open. A new 18-hole championship golf course is also in the works. It is being designed by world-renowned golf-course designers Hurdzan Fry and is set to open in summer 2007.
With three indoor waterparks totaling 200,000 square feet and two outdoor waterparks (that’s over seven football fields of water fun!), the Wilderness Hotel is America’s premier waterpark resort. The year-round resort features 443 guest rooms, 40 Vacation Villas, 76 Frontier Condominiums, 35 Cabins & Retreats and 108 Wilderness on the Lake luxury units overlooking Lake Delton.
It is also home to Dodge ‘Em City, a 30,000-square-foot indoor play park featuring Timberland Playhouse, the Dell’s first maximum ballocity, three-story dry foam (think NerfÒ) playhouse; The Wild Canyon Café, a family-style lobby restaurant; Field’s at the Wilderness – Premier Steak House – a fine dining restaurant designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé James Dresser; and Sarento’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria.
For more information on the resort or the Wild Perks frequent stay program, or for reservations, visit their Web site at www.wildernessresort.com or call 1-800-867-9453.
