WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. -- One of the hardest hit businesses in Lake Delton after the village's man-made lake emptied last June was undoubtedly the "Tommy Bartlett Show." This Memorial Day weekend, with a new and refilled Lake Delton, Bartlett's water skiing show was kicking off a new season.

Bartlett's show is just one of many businesses in Lake Delton and the Wisconsin Dells that are counting on lower gas prices to catapult it to a profitable 2009 summer season. And if Memorial Day weekend is any indication, the area will have a successful year.

"Time to relax," said Dells visitor Royce Toenies, of St. Paul, Minn. "Take it easy and enjoy the Memorial Day weekend."

Added John Hill from Kenosha: "Take a little vacation, take the kids out. Have a little fun."

Toenies and Hill are not alone. Tom Diehl, president of the Tommy Bartlett show, said that Friday's performance had 1,400 spectators.

"After spending last summer without a water-ski show, it was just a tremendous sight," said Diehl on Saturday. "We're real pleased with the traffic that's in town presently, and we look forward to having a good evening show tonight. If the weather will hold for us tomorrow, Sundays are always the biggest day of the weekend."

The Bartlett Show will run twice daily through Labor Day weekend. While Diehl's business relies on warm and dry weather, the nearby Wilderness Resort can thrive rain or shine.

Workers at the Wilderness, with its indoor and outdoor water parks, say their resort is booked most of the Memorial Day weekend.

Donna Marie Paparella, visiting from the Windy City, said, "We came out from Chicago because it's busy and it's Memorial Day weekend and the Dells rocks. And it's affordable and it's a lot of fun."

Paparella's words are music to the ears of Diehl and other business owners hoping for an improved 2009 season.