Learning Who We Are at World's of Fun

Before school started back up, we took the boys to Worlds of Fun.

The last time we took them, the boys weren't old enough to venture out of Snoopyland.  This time, though, they were all tall enough to ride all but a few of the really big rides!  In other words, this was the first time that we actually got to go to Worlds of Fun.  Oh the thrill of the roller coasters!

Before we went I figured that things would work out like this:

• Luke--pass on nearly all the big rides--he's not ashamed to be a chicken!
• Henry--completely fearless on all the coasters and big rides
• Josh Oliver--I figured he'd be a bit timid about the biggest rides.  Whether he went on them or not would depend on his mood. 
• Ben--never passes up an option to ride a coaster
• Me--generally I'm a chicken, but I felt brave and planned to go on one or two of the coasters and then sit out with Luke on the rest of them.

The first ride that we went on was a spinning ride (in the picture, I feel like I should know it's name!).

Things started going south for me as soon as it started spinning and I got suctioned against the wall.  I thought for sure I was going to throw up.  Once it started going vertical I really thought I was going to die!

When the horrible ride finally came to an end, it became apparent who was in the "good times" group and who made up team"pansy".

The three boys ended up riding that thing probably 10-15 times throughout the day!  They couldn't get enough of it!  I thought for sure Luke was going to regret going on it, but he loved it!  Ben, who also thought he was going to lose it, and I happily sat on a nice stationary bench and watched them! 

The second ride we headed towards was the Mamba--a roller coaster!  That was the one I was planning on riding.  I was a big talker until I saw just how massive the initial drop was.  The closer we got, the more I realized that I don't actually care if I'm a chicken.  Luke and I sat out while the other three went.

After that ride, Ben discovered that he's not a young as he used to be!  It was a little rough on the ol' neck!

I went on on another ride with the boys that was inside a building so we didn't really know what we were getting into.  Ben was smart and sat out.  Once the ride started, I knew I was in trouble.  It was like spinning overload!  It spun in a circle like a top, while the whole thing rotated around the room.  And, as if that wasn't bad enough, it started going up and down in a wave motion.  Luke was the unfortunate one sitting in the seat with me.  It took everything I had to not throw up all over him.  IT. WAS. BAD.

After that I sat out on any remotely motion-intense ride!

Surprisingly, Josh had no hesitations about going on the big rides.  He totally loved them!  Henry, on the other hand, was very leery about them.  I don't think he really wanted to go on most of them, but he always end up tagging along behind Ben and Ollie at the last minute.  Sometimes you just have to suck it up to be one of the cool kids!

When we went over to the Oceans of Fun side, Ben took Luke and Henry down one of the slides.  Josh wanted to go down one of the tube slides--it was on my list of manageable rides!--so I went with him.  Unfortunately, Josh and I made it through our line before the other boys did and he wanted to go down the scarier, non-tube slide that the other boys were going down.  As much as I didn't want to go down it, fear that he would chicken out at the top and the fact that he's only six, meant that I had no choice but to get in line with him.  

The stairs leading up to it were scary enough for me.  It was just so high!  When I got to the top and saw what I actually had to do, I was TERRIFIED!  You have to stand inside this capsule/coffin and wait for them to push a button so the floor drops out from under you and then you free fall for a second before you hit the curve of the tube.  

Josh Oliver had no issues climbing into the capsule from hell.  I pulled a Henry and put on my brave face.  I survived it, but I certainly wasn't doing it again!

Surprisingly the one ride of the day that Josh and Henry were both really afraid to ride was the water ride where four people sit in a ginormous tube and twist and turn their way to the bottom.  Super tame!  They were so scared we were going to fly out of the top!  It seemed a bit ridiculous after all the other rides that they rode!

At the end of the day, I was a bit surprised the way things worked out.

• Luke--the smartest chicken of us all because he stayed off of any ride he knew would terrify him.  In the end, though, he was way braver than I thought he would be!
• Henry--not as brave as I thought, although, he never actually sat out on any ride.  Clearly if his friends all jumped off of a bridge, he would quickly follow!
• Josh Oliver--apparently he's the one to take to an amusement park for a good time!
• Ben--still an good time boy, but he definitely has his limits.
• Me--a huge weenie!  The wave pool was about all I could really handle!

It was a super fun day!  Crazy hot, but fun!!