Day 2 was very much the same as day one. We got there just as they were opening. We went directly to the Scrambler because the kids had been begging since the night before to ride it. Fortunately, MT was big enough to ride because we would have had a serious problem is she hadn't been. I kept telling her "you may not be big enough" and every time she would respond with "I'm big and I'm tall and I'm brave and I'm GOING to ride the Scrambler" She spent the whole ride laughing her head off and as soon as we got off, she was ready to go again. RF and I neither one could take another trip on it and they couldn't go alone so I had to convince them to go ride the old time cars.
After the cars (much shorter wait this time), we got measured again then MT rode teh salmon run and TB and I went to ride the swings. We stood and watched for a minute before he decided he was too scared to do it so we browsed in one of the shops while we waited for RF and MT to be done on their ride. Then we headed to the waterpark.
RF was done before the day even started but he did an amazing job not bitching too much about it. We rode the slides, played in the wave pools, played at Kima Bay, etc etc etc until lunch time. TB had wanted Goblin Burgers for dinner the night before so I promised him that for lunch. We all got dressed (Holiday world does not allow uncovered swimsuits in the park, everyone has to wear a shirt, shoes and shorts while in the park) and headed to Halloweentown for lunch. Fortunately, they weren't just burgers so MT was able to have chicken fingers. The burgers were super tasty and I liked that they offered a "veggie pack" (lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions) with the burgers, which is something most food stands don't offer.
After we ate, we had to ride the Scrambler again since we were directly across the walk from it. Then we talked MT into going on the Log Flume ride. She didn't want to but we convinced her it was just like the Indian River Canoe ride, not mentioning the drop at the end. She likes roller coasters and so forth so I didn't think it would be a big deal, we just had to get past her refusal to get on the ride. We did convince her on the ride and she really enjoyed it. After we got off, she kept saying to herself "That was awesome, that was so awesome" When we would ask her what she thought about it all she would tell us was "that was really fast" LOL
After the log ride, we asked if she wanted to go on Thunder RIver (what it called at Six Flags and the only name I've ever called it)and she wanted no part of that. So I asked her if she would rather go on "the splashing river" That was an absolute yes!. She didn't even hesitate getting on and she laughed and giggled and squealed her way through the ride.
Then it was back to the water park for more water play for another couple of hours. Finally, RF couldn't take anymore and we decided to head out. But first we needed funnel cakes from the "Funnel Cake Factory" They were very tasty but I must comment that the funnel cake on their sign looks more like a soft pretzel! More canoes and salmon then we went and did the kiddie rides they hadn't had time to do yet. It was really sad to see that TB was tall enough that he was being measured to make sure he wasn't TOO TALL for the kiddie rides :( I geave them each one turn on each of the rides they were willing to ride (neither wanted anything to do with "Reindeer Games"). Fortunately, it was not too busy and they were able to pretty much walk on to each ride. We were all tired and it was hot and I was ready to GO. T
After riding all the kiddie rides and meeting 2 other boys with completely awesome spiked mohawks and their little brother who had a cute faux-hawk, we made a bathroom stop and a stop at guest relations to check on my missing sunglasses (which were never found :( ) and then got in the van and headed for our hotel. An hour later and we got checked in and unloaded. Dinner, a little TV and it was time for bed. Once I turned the TV off, the kids were asleep within 10 minutes and slept like the dead all night.
We got up, had breakfast, listened to some people debate the time in China for the Olympics (they were debating if they were 12 hours ahead or 36, the answer is 12-ish depending on time zone, if you are interested), listened to MT tell everyone in the breakfast area about the slides and how "they were FREAKIN' fast" LOL and then headed for home. We made worse time coming home, despite only one stop for bathrooms, which was disappointing.
Showing posts with label holiday world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday world. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Holiday World Review
We left here at 7 on Tuesday morning. We drove, except for a quick break at McDonald's for breakfast and bathrooms, straight through to Holiday World. Unfortunately, we had some of the worst directions I've ever had from Google maps
:( It first off routed down a road that was closed (not Google's fault but a pain none the less). Then, once we took the detour and got back on the right road, it wound us around down through these little towns with 25 mile an hour speed limits, around hairpin turns, up and down hills etc. For the last half hour of the trip, we couldn't go over 40, which was extremely frustrating. We got in just before 11, so we still made pretty good time. The weather was dreadfully hot so our first stop was "Kringle's Cafe" to get drinks before we headed for the water park. Before we made it to the waterpark, we had the kids' official height measured so they could get wrist bands and we wouldn't have to mess with having the measured at every ride all day long. The waterpark measures shoes off and the other rides are all shoes on. Ms Thang was absolutetly over 36 inches and The Boy was just barely 48. He actually had to put his shoes on to top 48, but that was ok. He was actually the best height he could be. They charge a reduced price for anyone under 54 inches, but the max height of any of the rides is 48 inches. He fell in that "golden zone", which was fantastic for us.
After getting measured, we went around the corner and down into the waterpark. We got changed and went to get sunscreen. Unfortunately, they were nearly out so we got a little and went to find a spot for "home base". The water park was crazy busy so we ended up just parking the stroller (which neither kid rides in, but it makes a nice container for our stuff) near a fence and moving on. Ms Thang wanted to play in "Crocodile Isle" which has a nice all ages slide but is really too small for anyone but her. It has a small kids' slide and some sprayers and is absolutely perfect for younger kids. The Boy was more interested in going to the wave pool (of which there are 2) so we rounded her up and headed for The Wave (the smaller of the 2 wave pools). After she got over having her fit, she decided that the wave pool was pretty cool and figured out quite quickly that she could jump over the waves and they were fun to play in. She was insistant that she could go past the "strong swimmer" line. After the cycle of waves, the kids wanted to go to the treehouse, but I suggested the new feature "Kima Bay", which was similar to the tree house.
Kima Bay was awesome! It was a long walk from The Wave (and appeared to be a long way from everything else except the Bakuli slide but we found out later, there was a bathroom/sunscreen station and an Oasis just around the corner). It is all spraying water, climbing things and slides. It has 7 slides, 3 that are able to be used by the 36 inch and under crowd. TB and RF took off and did the big id stuff and MT and I did the stuff she could do. We went down the slides and up the stairs and under the spayers a million times. We finally drug her out to have lunch because it was 1 o'clock and we were all getting hungry. We ate at Safari Pizza, which is centrally located. They offer combos that are 2 pieces of pizza, one order of fries and one cookies. We decided to get 2 of them and split them, which caused lunch to be all of $14. That is one of my big selling points about the park, is that food is VERY reasonably priced. After lunch, TB decided he wanted to ride the "jungle racers", which Ms. Thang was too small for (and quite pissed about, at that) so I took him on it and RF took MT to the "jungle jets" which is right next door and a "sprayer garden" that she could play in. The racer was really awesome, but watch out for the second hill. It is a rough one!
TB and I went to play in the jets, for about 5 minutes until TB banged heads with another kid and decided to go to Bahari, the other wave pool. Bahari is huge, more like 2 wave pools smushed together. One side has big aggressive waves, suitable for older kids and adults. The other side has much smaller, softer, less consistant waves. It is perfect for younger kids and worn out adults (us by that point in the day LOL). MT refused to play in the smaller waves so huge pounding waves it was. When that cycle was over, we went and got more sunscreen (I love the free sunscreen) and then went back to Kima Bay. By then MT was melting down so nothing was working well for her. We played for a few minutes but it didn't work out too well. RF tweaked his leg and wanted to sit down. I took the kids to the only place in the whole park where I could watch 2 kids by myself, the lazy river (also one of 2). Plus, I thought if she would lay quitely on me for a few minutes, she would fall asleep. There was a problem with wrong sized tubes and I ended up dumped in the water, twice. Once by myself, once with MT on my lap. The second time, I also managed to lose my sunglasses which sucked. :( We finally got some right sized tubes and started around. Part way around, the radios cut out and changed to a warning that storms were in the area and that all rides were being shut down. There went my idea for a nap! We got out and camped out, waiting for all the people to leave. It wasn't raining so it wasn't that big of a deal. Then it started to rain in huge fat drops and we booked to shelter. Not for us, I was drier in the rain than I was at Kima Bay, but for all of our stuff that we didn't want soaked. The rain was short lived, too short to really chase many people out of the park, sadly.
By then it was nearing 6 so we decided to ride the family raft slide, which MT loved. It was good, calm ride for the over 36 inch crowd. After the slide, MT and RF changed clothes, but TB and I stayed in swimwear so that we could ride Raging Rapids, a Thunder River type ride that I took TB on last year and he loved it. MT rode the Salmon Run and the Indian River Canoes, both of which were super. After the river ride, we changed clothes then RF and I had dinner at The Alamo resturant. Tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc. The food was fantastic, which was pretty standard for the park. I didn't have anything there that wasn't good. The fajitas where enormous and the tacos were so full of filling that RF ended up having to eat at least of it with a for because it all fell out. The kids wanted a cheeseburger (TB) and pizza (MT) and the only place in the park that had both of those items together was Kringles Cafe. We took the kids there to eat and then rode the antique cars.
My major complaint about the park was it's lack of correct line use. All of the rides have several rows so the lines can wonder up and down and back an forth, because walking is always better than just standing in line. So many of the lines didn't have any of them open, causing the line, while not terribly long to seem much longer than it was. It was super frustrating to to see all those open lanes and no one in them.
After the antique cars, we went to our hotel. After a bit of a disaster checking in (we were booked under my mom's name so she would get the points but because I was paying with cash, they wanted my ID which was forcing them to check me in under my name, costing her the points, we did get everything fixed and finally got into our room, where everyone promptly crashed.
Day two update coming later. I'm all tuckered out from writing this and I'm sure you are all tired of reading :)
:( It first off routed down a road that was closed (not Google's fault but a pain none the less). Then, once we took the detour and got back on the right road, it wound us around down through these little towns with 25 mile an hour speed limits, around hairpin turns, up and down hills etc. For the last half hour of the trip, we couldn't go over 40, which was extremely frustrating. We got in just before 11, so we still made pretty good time. The weather was dreadfully hot so our first stop was "Kringle's Cafe" to get drinks before we headed for the water park. Before we made it to the waterpark, we had the kids' official height measured so they could get wrist bands and we wouldn't have to mess with having the measured at every ride all day long. The waterpark measures shoes off and the other rides are all shoes on. Ms Thang was absolutetly over 36 inches and The Boy was just barely 48. He actually had to put his shoes on to top 48, but that was ok. He was actually the best height he could be. They charge a reduced price for anyone under 54 inches, but the max height of any of the rides is 48 inches. He fell in that "golden zone", which was fantastic for us.
After getting measured, we went around the corner and down into the waterpark. We got changed and went to get sunscreen. Unfortunately, they were nearly out so we got a little and went to find a spot for "home base". The water park was crazy busy so we ended up just parking the stroller (which neither kid rides in, but it makes a nice container for our stuff) near a fence and moving on. Ms Thang wanted to play in "Crocodile Isle" which has a nice all ages slide but is really too small for anyone but her. It has a small kids' slide and some sprayers and is absolutely perfect for younger kids. The Boy was more interested in going to the wave pool (of which there are 2) so we rounded her up and headed for The Wave (the smaller of the 2 wave pools). After she got over having her fit, she decided that the wave pool was pretty cool and figured out quite quickly that she could jump over the waves and they were fun to play in. She was insistant that she could go past the "strong swimmer" line. After the cycle of waves, the kids wanted to go to the treehouse, but I suggested the new feature "Kima Bay", which was similar to the tree house.
Kima Bay was awesome! It was a long walk from The Wave (and appeared to be a long way from everything else except the Bakuli slide but we found out later, there was a bathroom/sunscreen station and an Oasis just around the corner). It is all spraying water, climbing things and slides. It has 7 slides, 3 that are able to be used by the 36 inch and under crowd. TB and RF took off and did the big id stuff and MT and I did the stuff she could do. We went down the slides and up the stairs and under the spayers a million times. We finally drug her out to have lunch because it was 1 o'clock and we were all getting hungry. We ate at Safari Pizza, which is centrally located. They offer combos that are 2 pieces of pizza, one order of fries and one cookies. We decided to get 2 of them and split them, which caused lunch to be all of $14. That is one of my big selling points about the park, is that food is VERY reasonably priced. After lunch, TB decided he wanted to ride the "jungle racers", which Ms. Thang was too small for (and quite pissed about, at that) so I took him on it and RF took MT to the "jungle jets" which is right next door and a "sprayer garden" that she could play in. The racer was really awesome, but watch out for the second hill. It is a rough one!
TB and I went to play in the jets, for about 5 minutes until TB banged heads with another kid and decided to go to Bahari, the other wave pool. Bahari is huge, more like 2 wave pools smushed together. One side has big aggressive waves, suitable for older kids and adults. The other side has much smaller, softer, less consistant waves. It is perfect for younger kids and worn out adults (us by that point in the day LOL). MT refused to play in the smaller waves so huge pounding waves it was. When that cycle was over, we went and got more sunscreen (I love the free sunscreen) and then went back to Kima Bay. By then MT was melting down so nothing was working well for her. We played for a few minutes but it didn't work out too well. RF tweaked his leg and wanted to sit down. I took the kids to the only place in the whole park where I could watch 2 kids by myself, the lazy river (also one of 2). Plus, I thought if she would lay quitely on me for a few minutes, she would fall asleep. There was a problem with wrong sized tubes and I ended up dumped in the water, twice. Once by myself, once with MT on my lap. The second time, I also managed to lose my sunglasses which sucked. :( We finally got some right sized tubes and started around. Part way around, the radios cut out and changed to a warning that storms were in the area and that all rides were being shut down. There went my idea for a nap! We got out and camped out, waiting for all the people to leave. It wasn't raining so it wasn't that big of a deal. Then it started to rain in huge fat drops and we booked to shelter. Not for us, I was drier in the rain than I was at Kima Bay, but for all of our stuff that we didn't want soaked. The rain was short lived, too short to really chase many people out of the park, sadly.
By then it was nearing 6 so we decided to ride the family raft slide, which MT loved. It was good, calm ride for the over 36 inch crowd. After the slide, MT and RF changed clothes, but TB and I stayed in swimwear so that we could ride Raging Rapids, a Thunder River type ride that I took TB on last year and he loved it. MT rode the Salmon Run and the Indian River Canoes, both of which were super. After the river ride, we changed clothes then RF and I had dinner at The Alamo resturant. Tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc. The food was fantastic, which was pretty standard for the park. I didn't have anything there that wasn't good. The fajitas where enormous and the tacos were so full of filling that RF ended up having to eat at least of it with a for because it all fell out. The kids wanted a cheeseburger (TB) and pizza (MT) and the only place in the park that had both of those items together was Kringles Cafe. We took the kids there to eat and then rode the antique cars.
My major complaint about the park was it's lack of correct line use. All of the rides have several rows so the lines can wonder up and down and back an forth, because walking is always better than just standing in line. So many of the lines didn't have any of them open, causing the line, while not terribly long to seem much longer than it was. It was super frustrating to to see all those open lanes and no one in them.
After the antique cars, we went to our hotel. After a bit of a disaster checking in (we were booked under my mom's name so she would get the points but because I was paying with cash, they wanted my ID which was forcing them to check me in under my name, costing her the points, we did get everything fixed and finally got into our room, where everyone promptly crashed.
Day two update coming later. I'm all tuckered out from writing this and I'm sure you are all tired of reading :)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Cruisin' for kids with cancer
We did our ride for Cruisin' for kids with cancer today. This is our 4th year in a row doing this ride, as a family. RF, his mom and dad, my dad, The Boy and several people that RF (and my dad) works with showed up to ride. For a while, it looked like the weather would get a little dicey but it turned out ok. Hot and humid but sunny and a good day to ride.
The ride ended up being notable for it's problems this year. We took off and rode through the loop at the hospital (usually they stop and patients from the peds oncology ward come down and see the bikes but they started in Urbana this year and didn't want to stop again 10 minutes after they started. Before all the bikes left there, a couple of bikes peeled off and stopped, although we didn't know what the issue was.
The ride took off out of Urbana, through St Joe towards Ogden. As we came out of STJ, over the bridge and around the turn headed for Ogden, we saw 6 or 8 bikes pulled to the side of the road. As well got closer, I noticed it was several from our group. RF, my dad, The Boy and my MIL were noticably absent from the group and it caused a moment of panic, until we found out that one of the guys had blown a tire and that MIL, RF, TB and Dad had been ahead of them so they went on into town.
We stopped at Ogden and the kids drew marbles for all the their riders and TB decided he was done riding. We found out that one of the guys with the guy with the tire had a patch kit and he was able to get his bike to Homer, where he lives. We took the kids and headed for Homer, where the ride was ending.
When we got there, we found out that the people that peeled off in Urbana had a fuel leak and never got out of town. I helped set up the hall and my mom took Ms Thang to my grandma's house in Homer. TB found some boys to run around with and generally was a pain.
The riders made it in about 3 and everyone ate. After they ate, they announced the winners of the poker run part of the ride (sadly not us), then moved on to the raffle portion. We won a couple of minor prizes (gc to Culvers, BOGO to Silvercreek) and then they announced they had 2 tickets to Holiday World, where we are going in 2 weeks.
Sadly, we didn't get them but I called TB over (I was manning the raffle table so I couldn't leave) and told him to go tell the young girl (probably around 10 ish) that he was going there in 2 weeks and would give her $20 for them. That was still a bargain for me since they cost $40 a piece to buy. He did and she said she had never heard of Holiday World and doubted she would ever go. Her parents confirmed that and they gave him the tickets. I handed him the money to take back to her, which he did. Then she turned around and walked back over to him and gave him back the money. She told him that she wasn't going to use them anyway so he could just have them! So score for us! I did get around to booking our hotel room finally, so we are completely set for our vacation. Woohoo!
My MIL won some tickets to Knight's Action Park in Springfield, which she gave to the kids. The guy who blew his tire ended up going home, getting his car and finishing the ride in the car. Then he came to the raffle and took home a butt load of prizes! They and the rest of their table won a ton of the prizes!
The ride ended up being notable for it's problems this year. We took off and rode through the loop at the hospital (usually they stop and patients from the peds oncology ward come down and see the bikes but they started in Urbana this year and didn't want to stop again 10 minutes after they started. Before all the bikes left there, a couple of bikes peeled off and stopped, although we didn't know what the issue was.
The ride took off out of Urbana, through St Joe towards Ogden. As we came out of STJ, over the bridge and around the turn headed for Ogden, we saw 6 or 8 bikes pulled to the side of the road. As well got closer, I noticed it was several from our group. RF, my dad, The Boy and my MIL were noticably absent from the group and it caused a moment of panic, until we found out that one of the guys had blown a tire and that MIL, RF, TB and Dad had been ahead of them so they went on into town.
We stopped at Ogden and the kids drew marbles for all the their riders and TB decided he was done riding. We found out that one of the guys with the guy with the tire had a patch kit and he was able to get his bike to Homer, where he lives. We took the kids and headed for Homer, where the ride was ending.
When we got there, we found out that the people that peeled off in Urbana had a fuel leak and never got out of town. I helped set up the hall and my mom took Ms Thang to my grandma's house in Homer. TB found some boys to run around with and generally was a pain.
The riders made it in about 3 and everyone ate. After they ate, they announced the winners of the poker run part of the ride (sadly not us), then moved on to the raffle portion. We won a couple of minor prizes (gc to Culvers, BOGO to Silvercreek) and then they announced they had 2 tickets to Holiday World, where we are going in 2 weeks.
Sadly, we didn't get them but I called TB over (I was manning the raffle table so I couldn't leave) and told him to go tell the young girl (probably around 10 ish) that he was going there in 2 weeks and would give her $20 for them. That was still a bargain for me since they cost $40 a piece to buy. He did and she said she had never heard of Holiday World and doubted she would ever go. Her parents confirmed that and they gave him the tickets. I handed him the money to take back to her, which he did. Then she turned around and walked back over to him and gave him back the money. She told him that she wasn't going to use them anyway so he could just have them! So score for us! I did get around to booking our hotel room finally, so we are completely set for our vacation. Woohoo!
My MIL won some tickets to Knight's Action Park in Springfield, which she gave to the kids. The guy who blew his tire ended up going home, getting his car and finishing the ride in the car. Then he came to the raffle and took home a butt load of prizes! They and the rest of their table won a ton of the prizes!
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