He chose our very first ride. It was called the "WindSeeker". Picture a ski lift that goes 301 feet in the air and then spins around in a giant circle like the carnival swings. The views were stunning and he loved it! It was by far his favorite ride and we rode it not once, not twice but FIVE times throughout the course of the night!!!!! As the night wore on the temperature dropped and I began to despise this ride!! It was unbelievably cold up that high. I had packed a sweatshirt for Dzintars because I've learned that he gets cold incredibly easy and its not surprising when you see how little body fat this kid has!!! Part of me wonders if he enjoyed this ride so much because I was so cold and I'm always giving him a hard time for being too cold or too hot! He was fairly comfortable up that high with his sweatshirt but I was chilled to the bone:)
Before climbing to over 300 feet in the air!
The "WindJammer" 301 Feet up in the air!!
It was quite interesting to watch him on the rides. I'd see this boy who is typically the life of the party become quite serious and almost stern as we boarded a new ride for the first time. With the language barrier it was difficult to truly explain what each ride would or would not do. Once we were seated I could see the wheels begin to turn in his head, he'd check and recheck his seat belts and harnesses. If we were dangling from something, like the carnival swings, he'd look up and examine how it was attached and try and decide if it was safe.
After the "WindJammer" we hopped in line for our first coaster, "The Silver Bullet". I could tell he was a scared but since I thought he'd been on coasters before I figured it was mainly because he just didn't know what to expect. On the super fast and scary roller coasters he'd close his eyes as tightly as possible and hold on for dear life! After our first coaster I thought he might be too scared to go on anymore, but once the ride ended he was thrilled and his face lit up!!! He continued this pattern the entire evening. There were even some coasters he did not want to try, but I was able to convince him in the end. I was so proud of him for trying new things! He is such a brave boy and he had so much fun he asked if we could go back again!
His first roller coaster. Momma got busted for taking this picture of him...they stopped the ride and everything. Yep, I'm a rebel like that!
An "after" shot with the "Silver Bullet" in action behind him! Eeek!!
After the extreme speed of the "Silver Bullet" and "Supreme Scream" Dzintars chose a ride on the oh so calm high in the sky people mover thingy.
Next was the Log Ride. He was a little reluctant to try a water ride (and I don't blame him, one drop of water on this kid and he's shivering) but I assured him he'd only get slightly wet and that I had (in all my wisdom) packed him a sweatshirt. He liked the ride, and after those few little drops did in fact put on his sweatshirt:)
Another reason I love my waterproof camera, I can take pics on the Log Ride as we plunge downward.
Carnival Swings. He liked these as well, we went twice.
When Dzintars saw the carousel and asked to ride, I was slightly surprised, not because he chose it, I figured if we ever went to our mall he'd happily ride with the kids, but I was surprised that he chose it here with all the other rides he could have rode. And seriously, the turnover for this ride was LONGER than any other ride, ridiculous! It took at least 5 minutes from when you got on your horse to the start of the ride. And the guy made me wear the safety harness...ha!
Waiting for yet another turn on the "WindJammer".
Ride number 4!!
The "WindJammer" in action.
Oh ya! Ride number 5 baby! And at that, I put my foot down for fear of frostbite!!
The lines were super short so we braved the front row for the "Jaguar". Dzintars was happy to know that this ride would not go upside down!!
Dzintars also wanted to ride the train, not the big huge train, the small little steam engine. I love how innocent he is.
Our final coaster for the night was by far the most terrifying, at least for me! It's called the "GhostRider" and it's one of those super rickety old wooden roller coasters! WOW!! I don't remember the last time I was so scared!! I can go upside down and super fast all day long but I had a "come to Jesus" moment on this ride! It took the turns so fast it literally felt like the entire car we were riding in was going to fly right off the tracks! So scary, I usually scream on coasters, you know the happy scream that says you are having fun, but this time I was screaming bloody murder!! Dzintars however was completely silent! So much so that the guy behind us commented on the fact that he didn't react at all. It gave me a chance to explain that he was from Latvia and had never experienced rides like this before! It also makes me wonder if we as Americans are conditioned to scream on rides because we've always heard everyone else scream on them??? Food for thought! Dzintars was very proud of himself after that ride because he kept his eyes open for a good portion of it!
It's safe to say that Dzintars LOVES amusement parks! Not only did he ask if we could go again next week (sorry Bud, but no!) He woke up this morning still talking about all the rides and trying to share the experience with Peter!
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