Tommy Bartlett Show

After hearing from numerous people how good the show was, my boyfriend and I decided to try it. The entire show was outdated and boring. You will hear a lot of positive reviews, but don’t let them fool you.

My family & I really enjoyed this. My review may be a bit long but it’s worth it if you have someone in need of assistance for the show (wheelchair, elderly, crutches, etc) The show is divided into two halves, the first half is water sports, the second is usually some entertainment (gymnastic type of thing & some comedic acts) There’s an intermission between the two which helps if you need the bathroom or wants a drink or snack. The one thing I have to rave about though is the staff, they’re FANTASTIC. My father was in a wheelchair while we visited & we were really worried how it would work for him. You have to walk down a hill to get to the show in addition to steps, then that’s not counting on walking up & down to get to seating.
When I called, they assured me it was handicap accessible but there were a few other attractions in the Dells that touted that as well & they turned out to be extremely unhandicap friendly (steps after ramps, etc) so we weren’t sure if we would be able to stay or not. However when we arrived, I mention that my dad wasn’t able to do steps & if there was a designated area for it– they immediately have a golf cart come to the car (which they’ll do for anyone in need, especially the elderly!) my father then used crutches to step onto the golf cart, they then immediately took him straight down the hill & to the show area. Another Tommy Bartlett worker then ran & actually grabbed some random chairs & sat them down by the regular seats so my father WOULDN’T have to try any steps, they then sat more chairs down so we could sit w/​him. My father actually felt bad & said he felt like he was putting a burden on them since they went to so much trouble to help him but they were all so nice & claimed they were happy to do it. They have quite a few workers in there & each one seemed to be nicer than the others. So even though we enjoyed the show, the workers made the experience (and made my father really happy at how much they helped)
Once the show is finished, they have a designated area for people who need a ride back up, so if you are elderly or handicapped in any way or even unable to handle the steps, they’ll happily use a golf cart to take you back up & to your car.
***My one main piece of advice for anyone who does wanna see the show, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you see the 8:30 pm showing. They do two shows, 4:30 & 8:30 but from our experience, if you’re not a fan of the summer sun beaming down on you, you’ll enjoy the night time showing at 8:30, there’s no hot sun & it’s more blissful!

The show was well worth the money! You have to be careful with so many tourists traps. But hands down amazing show. Took 13 and 8 year old boys that are always «bored» but they both enjoyed it. Heads up its a two part two hour show. The first half is all water. Second half is on stage with a couple acts. Stage part was cool but if you go to the 830 show with kids it can get long at the second half.

Love, love loved the show! We were a little hesitant about taking time from our trip to the Wilderness Resort, not exactly sure what the show involved. To our pleasant surprise, the show was awesome. We have two boys (14 – 16) and they were all smiles the whole time. Plenty of parking, and the police block the road upon exiting, so it flowed pretty good. Typical «stadium» type concessions, brats were $ 5, can of beer was $ 6. Reserved seats have backs with arms, and we couldn’t believe the leg room, tons! We went to the 8:30 show, and without giving too much away, it is neat when the sun goes down. Show went til almost 10:30, just a heads up. Be sure to take in some of the history on your way out, you may run into some of the performers. Again, without giving too much away, this is much more than just a waterski show. Most of the performances are what I would call extreme, and every one of them is entertaining!!! Highly recommended!

Saw show today at 8:30pm. The water show was great and I especially liked the second half of the show. A number of America’s got talent acts were on the show.
Well worth the price of admission.

Went on a whim because of a coupon from the restaurant we were at. It was an amazing act combing water skiing and stunts then switching into a variety act. These people are extremely talented and it was so much fun to watch.

Highly disappointed. The first half of the show is water sports. Enjoyed that. The rest was little variety shows that were less than appealing. I though we would see more water sports. We paid over $ 20 a person with a discount and this was not worth it. Our favorite part was watching some baby deer frolic next to the water across the lake from us and some baby ducks that wandered onto the stage trying to steal the show. Even they new it needed a little help.

Went to the show as a kid and was very excited to take my kids. We were excited to see how the show has been updated and my kids were excited to see the new flyboard… guy flying with a water jet.
The show was ok and would have probably given it 3 stars except the FLYBOARD NEVER WORKED! The guy came out and it wouldn’t take off… and then quickly drove back to the pit. I realize things go wrong but this is a professional show IT IS THE MAIN ACT. On our drive home my kids saw at least 4 advertisements with the hero shot showing the guy flying with the jet pack.
For the money they charge and such a big show that has such a long heritage I would have expected them to have a backup plan or to do something for the people that came to see that act. I would not have expected a legendary show to act like a expensive/​low budget water carnival with the. sorry I guess it isn’t working attitude.

Great show. Not many place can watch such an interesting water show. Ticket price is very affordable.

I was younger than my 7yr old the last time I was at a Tommy Bartlett show, yet I still had memories of being there. The idea to go came after a long day of climbing at Devil’s Lake, a couple others stops and dinner. Tickets aren’t cheap but they aren’t over the top either. We arrived early and had seats about ten rows about, dead center. The first hour of the show is pure water skiing performances. One of my vague childhood memories here was of a triple-​deck of skiers and we saw that replicated last night. I really enjoyed the new technology gigs including a water skiing/​para-​sailing trick done by their top skier. That was the apex of the show. They also have a skiing piece of equipment that elevates a skiier 50 – 100 feet in the air using water jets. After the hour long performance most people thought the show was over. It ended with the para-​sailing part and on a cool, patriotic high note. So most were surprised when they announced it was just intermission, band the second part of the show would begin in 15 minutes.
The second half of the show is purely non-​water skiing events. It kick starts with motorcycler’s driving around in a large, round, steel cage. I’ve seen this once on tv but never in person. When one rider is in there it’s okay, but then they get two simultaneously. Interesting to watch. The rest of the show included a man & son that did a list of tricks with bicycles, dishes and some comedy. A trio of ‘feet’ jugglers followed them. lightly entertaining. A comedian that does a handful of hat tricks rounds off the night. He’s dull humor but very funny for the adults.
Look, there’s a million things to do in the Dells and most involve you riding something. Sometime’s it’s nice to kick back and watch somebody else do the tricks. Cool show and definitely one that you check off your bucket list.
Cheers.

The Tommy Bartlett Show… Rain or shine! We are sure to stop in for a sure every time we are in the Dells… There are always some oldies but goodies, and generally something new as well. We love the water show especially, and Deiter Tasso is always sure to make you laugh!

Very good stunts and watershow and part of show also amazing… must watch once… worth to see

The first half follows somewhat of a storyline and is all waterskiing and boats. Very cheesy but entertaining. A lot of teenagers performing but they did a good job. The second half was like a variety show. The first act we saw the night before performing on the street in downtown. The second act was motorcycle riders in a dome. It was cool and thrilling. Third act was horrible. Some gymnast stuff they tried to do audience participation, it seemed clunky and forced.
We had free tickets from the kalihari so im not sure what the normal price is. If I had to pay I would say it was about a $ 12 per person show.

The show was really good; better than I expected. My boyfriend and I went to the show last minute and were pleasantly surprised. The water act was a little slow at first but picked up toward the end. The second part of the show didn’t feature any water acts which was a little disappointing.
The second half was ok. The last juggler make it totally worth it, he was hilarious! He was also available after the show and we were able to get his autograph which was cool. Since we went at night, the kids light up toys were kind of annoying but nothing too bad.
Overall, for the price, it was a pretty good show and one of the cheeper things to do in the dells.

Amazing!

We had a blast here. I know some would be cheesy, but it was a decent way to get away from water slides. Went to the 430 show.
I will say that wheni came here as a teenager, unwashed super impressed. Nowadays not so much. It has become a little hokey. I don’t care, I laughed and relaxed and had a good time.

Nearly the same show as I remember from when I was a kid. 30 years later I’m still impressed.

Complete waste of time and money… I’ve never felt so ripped off in my entire life. Tickets for this fiasco were almost $ 90 for 3 adults and 2 children. Half of the show is water skiing, which was actually pretty cool — but no better than what you will see in Twin Lakes, WI, or Browns Lake, WI (if you want to see a ski show with the EXACT same tricks, go there for FREE instead!!).
And to add to the mood, it was raining. No, that is not Tommy Bartlett’s fault — I’m merely setting the scene up for you here. We were in the covered section, but this did no good when the rain was BLOWING in towards us. Cold, hard, WET rain.
Time for the second act, which was gymnasts, some other hokey acts that I don’t remember… then the juggler. Honestly, «hokey» doesn’t even begin to describe it. Now try to tolerate «hokey» while in the pouring, blowing rain. The elderly juggler who told ridiculously BAD jokes… in the pouring rain. I was so miserable and pissed off, that all I could do was laugh hysterically. I love to laugh, however, this laughing was different… this was the type of laughter where I felt like I was going absolutely insane. Freakin’ Tommy Bartlett — you should have called the show off and refunded HALF of everyone’s money.
Makes for a great story though, and great memories («hey kids, remember that time Mommy almost lost her MIND in Wisconsin Dells!!?»). However, if I can help another family AVOID this torture and complete waste of money which Tommy Bartlett calls «entertainment», then my job here is done!!! Don’t do it! You’ve been warned!

I thought this show was a nice attraction. It’s great for the family. It’s something different. there were water-​skiers, fast boats, a guy flying in a kite really high up in the sky and landing in the water, and a talent/​stunt showcase.
The first half had all the water skiing and stunts. The second half had different talent acts. I enjoyed the second half of the show more. I really liked that guy that kept on saying «You like it? I’ll do it again.» He was funny and was the best act I thought. The acrobats were pretty neat too.
The first half/​water part was so-​so. I wasn’t completely impressed. I expected more stunts. They weren’t as great as I thought they would be. There were several mistakes throughout the show, but overall, it was a nicely put show.
There’s a 4:30pm show and an 8:30pm show. I recommend the 8:30pm show because it includes a laser show. The crowd was really into it even though the jokes were corny. The kids in the audience loved it. It was about 2 hrs. I thought it was nice overall. Prob a nice show to end a long day.

I don’t particularly enjoy taking time to review places I don’t like, however, this is the worst performance I have ever went to (let alone paid for)!
Serious waste of time. I went with a group of 6 and we all left disatisfied. Too much variety of acts for a water show. Seems to feature local elementary aged talent? What? Of particular annoyance was the performing stunt clown.