The summer trip to Holiday World was yesterday, and Zoe took her BFF Makayla along for the ride. This, for me, was ideal, given my lack of love for long ride lines and roller coasters. And for Zoe and Makayla, it was ideal too because they got to "do their own thing" without (much) interference from a parental unit as they ran, danced, sung and sloshed their way through a day at the Santa Claus, Indiana theme park.
We greeted the day early, hit the road for a 3-hour drive, and then marched into the theme park with a few thousand of our closest non-friends to see how much fun we could pack into the daylight hours. When all was said and done, we packed A LOT into the time we had and left the park hot, tired and full of soda and ice cream.
The highlights:
- Zoe's first roller coaster ride, EVER. Makayla is a veteran coaster rider, and with her coaxing, Zoe was relatively easily convinced to give it a go. She rode The Legend, the mid-level coaster that only goes 60mph while twisting and turning its way around what appeared to be a mostly wooden track. I wish I could have captured the look on her face at the end of the ride as the coaster screeched to a halt. Death warmed over would NOT be an overstatement. She had shaky legs coming down the exit stairs and immediately collapsed into my arms. The anticipation now gone, she regaled me with tales from the dark side of steep climbs and gut-wrenching drops. And as we moved on to the next ride, she eyed it carefully ... and then the tears came as the thought of going up/down/around or anywhere near fast was just too much for her. "It was the scariest thing I've ever done, mom," she said with big wet ones dripping down her cheeks. "If I never see another roller coaster in my life, it will be too soon." And so we moved on ...
- Really bad pizza and a burger at a picnic table that appeared to have been vomited on by the previous patrons. Where were those wet wipes I used to carry 24-7 when Zoe was a toddler? Man, I could have used them on Wednesday. At any rate, with full bellies, the kids were ready to tackle the rest of the park.
- Pilgrim's Plunge, the newest ride at the park. Picture a giant log boat, filled with 14 people, being carried by giant elevator up-up-up about 20 stories to the top of a giant roller coaster-style hill ... and then dropped/launched down a giant slide into a giant pool of cold water. The sound of it was a like a waterfall when the boat hit the pool. The riders were drenched from the front to the back of the boat. And it was awesome to watch -- and to ride, according to Z&M. They were in the front seat. And given roller coaster reaction from Zoe, I was surprised that she was happy about this experience. But she was. And it was amazing to see!
- Water park action, complete with water slides, dumping water buckets, water guns, a wave pool and more. The weather cooperated, the sun came out and the girls got more than their fare share of chlorinated water up their noses before we moved on to ...
- Arcade games. The goal was to win the biggest, baddest turtle and monkey in the place. A few $20 bills later, we were no closer to the prize. They left with a handful of stuffed flowers, a strange looking snake and a couple of those Beanie Baby wanna-be animals to add to their respective collections.
An ice cream stop and a photo opp later, we were headed for the car after 7 hours of sun and fun.
The drive home gave everyone a chance to relive the highs, lows and tears, of course.
It was worth the trip. I got some great people watching time, too! (More on that some other time.)
Here's hoping you get a chance to visit a theme park with kids sometime soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment