It is hotter than the surface of the sun outside and I decide the most logical thing is to take my family to Busch Gardens. I have often told people that the problem with a flexible schedule is sometimes it flexes in the wrong direction, and right now my wife and I are trying to make ourselves busier. That leaves us with limited days for summer entertainment with the kids and when it looked like our Busch Gardens day was about to be blown-up by the heat we rethought it and went anyway.
The good news was crowds were low. We were able to walk right onto most rides and the kids areas weren’t too crowded. We made certain our drink cups were full the entire time and stopped for breaks in the shade or AC. We still ended up cutting the day short before even making it half way around the park as the heat was overbearing, but we got to do most of the things we wanted.
One of the boys decided they wanted to ride the Big Bad Wolf after learning he was tall enough and watching a couple YouTube videos of it. I was a little surprised that there were no second thoughts when he saw the tracks and went right ahead to the ride. We rode directly in the middle and he held my hand for the entire ride.
It was a fun ride but I was busy concentrating on my son and how he was doing instead of enjoying the ride myself. It kept looking like he was graying out on every hill as his head would drop and that worried me a bit, but then he’d get right back to screaming and seemingly having fun.
When we got off the ride he told me that it was his new favorite ride and the best ride he had ever been on. I asked if he wanted to ride it again and he told me, “Not today.” Then I asked if he wanted to ride it the next time we came and he said, “Not tomorrow either. I’ll ride the car roller coaster when I’m big enough.” At this point I have no idea if he will ever ride The Big Bad Wolf again, but it is his favorite ride ever and the best ride in the world I guess.
On the flip side of that when we decided to leave I showed my other son the log flume and he told me he wanted to ride it. So we waited in the only long line in the park for way too long to ride the log flume, and he did not like it. He told me after we rode it that he only wanted to see if it was scary and I told him that he saw. What I learned later is that it wasn’t the hills that scared him but the small bump before the hills that raises the boat up. He didn’t like the feeling of weightlessness that that gives.
I can’t say it was a good day as it was way too hot and we were all tired afterwards. The kids all got to nap in the car and I almost fell asleep when we were almost home. We had fun and enjoyed the park, and being Virginia residents it won’t be the last time we go somewhere when the heat is crippling.
David Huzzard Writes 