WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (WFRV) – A historic property in the Wisconsin Dells was officially sold on Monday to a world-renowned entertainment group, five years after it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tommy Bartlett Show property, including the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory, was a beloved water-ski show that had provided nearly seven decades worth of entertainment. Unfortunately, the business loss suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 ended its historic run.
The property has now been sold to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment, founded over a century ago in 1918. In an official release, Tommy Bartlett, Inc.’s President Jill Diehl called the sale bittersweet.
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“Though this is a very bittersweet moment for our family as the finality of the sale comes into focus, we are excited that this historic prime spot along Wisconsin Dells Parkway will remain a place for great family entertainment for years to come,” Diehl said via the release.
Located at 560 Wisconsin Dells Parkway in Lake Delton, the sale features 37 acres of land, including 827 feet of frontage. The site also holds about 1,500 feet of shoreline, where the skiers and stage acts had performed since 1952.
The closure of the Tommy Bartlett Show in September 2020 started the sale process, as the Diehl family searched for a buyer committed to maintaining the space as a tourism and entertainment spot.
Tom Diehl was the company’s longtime visionary, leading the effort with his wife Margaret, the company co-owner. Their daughter Jill took over and finalized the efforts as the successor after Tom’s passing in August 2024.
“We are thrilled that Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment, a world-renowned name in family entertainment, will be taking over the site and bringing a wonderful new attraction to our community in the future,” Jill said in the release.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment also took over the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory’s Interactive Science Center, and they plan to keep it as a year-round staple.
“Ripley’s has proudly been part of the Wisconsin Dells community through our Believe It or Not! attraction, and we’re thrilled to expand our presence in this vibrant, family-focused destination,” Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment President Jim Pattison Jr. said via the release.
Pattison Jr. added that it’s an honor to continue the Exploratory’s legacy and that it’s a matter of deep respect for the work that the Diehl family showed in preserving the space.
The Tommy Bartlett Show was the Diehl family’s life work, created originally by Tommy Bartlett.
Tom and Margaret Diehl became co-owners with Bartlett in 1975, fully owning the company after Bartlett passed away in 1998. The Diehl children, Jill and Jeffery, grew up working at the Show, and Jill made it her career.
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It was initially a touring water ski show that performed at numerous events, from World’s Fairs to U.S.O. tours, before it stopped in the Dells in its first year, becoming a permanent event.
In nearly seven decades, the Show saw over 30 million visitors and performed almost 19,000 shows, one of the longest-running live outdoor shows on the planet.
