Friday, June 18: Day At Dorney (Part 2)
To start off the afternoon, the group decided before we split up again, that we wanted to ride the some rides together. A few of us went on the swings. Once again I rode something I wouldn't have been able to ride last year. Marci, Olyvia, Abby and Jordon rode with me. We then headed to a water ride called "Thunder Canyon". It's a raft ride where 8 people sit in a circle on a floating ride vehicle and go through a path of rapids and waterfalls. Every good amusement park has one of these rides. You can count on a good soaking every time. It really is very cooling on a hot afternoon.
After stowing our valuables in a locker the family got on 2 different rafts and away we went. Abby, Marci's daughter, really didn't want to go on it but she couldn't stay by herself so we helped her though it. However she didn’t like it at all.
The rest of us had so much fun we got right back in line and went a 2nd time. It was the group event of the day.
After Thunder Canyon Bob, TeeJai, Chuck, Abby, Jordan, Bo and I went to Wild Water Kingdom. Our first mission was to ride the lazy river. Abby, Chuck and Bo didn’t want to go with us so they went to the Wave Pool. The lazy river is a circulating stream of water that you float around on in a round inflatable tube. When we got the queue area was full. At the hottest part of the day we had to wait. I could feel the sun beating down on the back of my soon to be sunburned neck. The wait was only about 10 or 15 minutes but was our longest wait of the day.
The trip around the “river” was really fun. Jordan and I went together in a double tube. Once we got under way it was clearly established that he was the “captain” of our ship and I was the navigator. He immediately began to instruct me to steer the tube to one side of the stream or the other to take advantage of the water falls or squirting streams aimed at passers by.
Our experience was a fun. But the thing I really enjoyed about the lazy river was watching my brother in law Bob behind us. As I wrote before he doesn’t ride amusement park rides so his level of enjoyment is limited when going to a park like Dorney. But in Wildwater Kingdom he really enjoyed himself especially on the lazy river. Having experienced the ride earlier in the day he maneuvered his tube in just the right way to take advantage of the waterfalls and maximize his float time around the stream. He really had a good time and I enjoyed watching him.
Once we finished with the lazy river we walked over to the wave pool to join Abby, Bo & Chuck. We spent about 30 minutes or so in the wave pool. I didn’t like it. The waves came at a “10 minutes on and 10 minutes off” increments. When the waves were coming in you had to jump to keep your head above water. Being off your feet you were pushed back a bit. In the shallow water I was pushed back off my feet but had them anchored to the bottom of the pull. The force of the water twisted my right knee. At first I thought I really hurt it badly but it was just a slight twist. But it did hurt for a few days afterward. So I have decided that I don’t like wave pools and probably won’t go in one again.
Before we were to meet up with the rest of our party at the front of the park (to decide who wanted to leave and who wanted to stay) Chuck suggested we go to yet another water ride. It was made up of a series of pools set up on a hillside just below each other. Starting at the top water flowed down emptying into pool below it creating a current that carried riders with it. You got in an inner tube at the bottom of the ride, carried it up several sets of stairs and walk ways to the top. You got in the top pool, floated across and “drained” into the next pool.
Because of the continuous movement and different levles this water ride was perpetually in motion which meant there was almost no line. But because so many riders were in the water at the same time there were “bottlenecks” at the "drain" of each pool that led down the slide to the next pool. Stationed throughout the levels of the ride were park employees (aka life guards) who were in charge of keeping people safe and unplugging the bottle necks.
The first time I rode I flipped off of my tube after going down the first slide. Initially the water level was too high and I couldn’t get back on the tube. But with Bob and the lifeguard helping managed to get back in it. It was the only time I allowed myself to fall out. I made sure I held on tight.
The ride was so much fun that, despite the fact that we only had 5 minutes left before our appointed time to meet the others, we took another 10 minutes to ride again.
Finally we met everyone at the park entrance. I was ready to leave but others who had to ride home with me wanted to stay. I gave in to the idea of staying another hour and then leaving. We actually stayed another 2 1/2 hours.
During that time we went on The Whip again, also the Scrambler and I took my last ride on Steel Force with Shay and Bo.
Finally after the kids rode some kiddie rides in the Camp Snoopy area of the park we all made the long walk up the hill to the parking lot and bid Dorney Park & Wild Water Kingdom a fond farewell.
It was a great day for me. One of victorious personal experiences and building stronger relationships with my family members. I don’t know if that’s my last time I will ever get to go Dorney Park but I will always look back on it as one of the best.
When I got back to our hotel Paula and I went out to dinner at the Route 248 diner about 5 miles away. It was a local restaurant that had only been open for about 15 months. The atmosphere was pleasant and the food wasn’t bad.
The next morning we would be the last chance we had time to spend with the family before heading back to Kentucky.
To start off the afternoon, the group decided before we split up again, that we wanted to ride the some rides together. A few of us went on the swings. Once again I rode something I wouldn't have been able to ride last year. Marci, Olyvia, Abby and Jordon rode with me. We then headed to a water ride called "Thunder Canyon". It's a raft ride where 8 people sit in a circle on a floating ride vehicle and go through a path of rapids and waterfalls. Every good amusement park has one of these rides. You can count on a good soaking every time. It really is very cooling on a hot afternoon.
After stowing our valuables in a locker the family got on 2 different rafts and away we went. Abby, Marci's daughter, really didn't want to go on it but she couldn't stay by herself so we helped her though it. However she didn’t like it at all.
The rest of us had so much fun we got right back in line and went a 2nd time. It was the group event of the day.
After Thunder Canyon Bob, TeeJai, Chuck, Abby, Jordan, Bo and I went to Wild Water Kingdom. Our first mission was to ride the lazy river. Abby, Chuck and Bo didn’t want to go with us so they went to the Wave Pool. The lazy river is a circulating stream of water that you float around on in a round inflatable tube. When we got the queue area was full. At the hottest part of the day we had to wait. I could feel the sun beating down on the back of my soon to be sunburned neck. The wait was only about 10 or 15 minutes but was our longest wait of the day.
The trip around the “river” was really fun. Jordan and I went together in a double tube. Once we got under way it was clearly established that he was the “captain” of our ship and I was the navigator. He immediately began to instruct me to steer the tube to one side of the stream or the other to take advantage of the water falls or squirting streams aimed at passers by.
Our experience was a fun. But the thing I really enjoyed about the lazy river was watching my brother in law Bob behind us. As I wrote before he doesn’t ride amusement park rides so his level of enjoyment is limited when going to a park like Dorney. But in Wildwater Kingdom he really enjoyed himself especially on the lazy river. Having experienced the ride earlier in the day he maneuvered his tube in just the right way to take advantage of the waterfalls and maximize his float time around the stream. He really had a good time and I enjoyed watching him.
Once we finished with the lazy river we walked over to the wave pool to join Abby, Bo & Chuck. We spent about 30 minutes or so in the wave pool. I didn’t like it. The waves came at a “10 minutes on and 10 minutes off” increments. When the waves were coming in you had to jump to keep your head above water. Being off your feet you were pushed back a bit. In the shallow water I was pushed back off my feet but had them anchored to the bottom of the pull. The force of the water twisted my right knee. At first I thought I really hurt it badly but it was just a slight twist. But it did hurt for a few days afterward. So I have decided that I don’t like wave pools and probably won’t go in one again.
Before we were to meet up with the rest of our party at the front of the park (to decide who wanted to leave and who wanted to stay) Chuck suggested we go to yet another water ride. It was made up of a series of pools set up on a hillside just below each other. Starting at the top water flowed down emptying into pool below it creating a current that carried riders with it. You got in an inner tube at the bottom of the ride, carried it up several sets of stairs and walk ways to the top. You got in the top pool, floated across and “drained” into the next pool.
Because of the continuous movement and different levles this water ride was perpetually in motion which meant there was almost no line. But because so many riders were in the water at the same time there were “bottlenecks” at the "drain" of each pool that led down the slide to the next pool. Stationed throughout the levels of the ride were park employees (aka life guards) who were in charge of keeping people safe and unplugging the bottle necks.
The first time I rode I flipped off of my tube after going down the first slide. Initially the water level was too high and I couldn’t get back on the tube. But with Bob and the lifeguard helping managed to get back in it. It was the only time I allowed myself to fall out. I made sure I held on tight.
The ride was so much fun that, despite the fact that we only had 5 minutes left before our appointed time to meet the others, we took another 10 minutes to ride again.
Finally we met everyone at the park entrance. I was ready to leave but others who had to ride home with me wanted to stay. I gave in to the idea of staying another hour and then leaving. We actually stayed another 2 1/2 hours.
During that time we went on The Whip again, also the Scrambler and I took my last ride on Steel Force with Shay and Bo.
Finally after the kids rode some kiddie rides in the Camp Snoopy area of the park we all made the long walk up the hill to the parking lot and bid Dorney Park & Wild Water Kingdom a fond farewell.
It was a great day for me. One of victorious personal experiences and building stronger relationships with my family members. I don’t know if that’s my last time I will ever get to go Dorney Park but I will always look back on it as one of the best.
When I got back to our hotel Paula and I went out to dinner at the Route 248 diner about 5 miles away. It was a local restaurant that had only been open for about 15 months. The atmosphere was pleasant and the food wasn’t bad.
The next morning we would be the last chance we had time to spend with the family before heading back to Kentucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment