Lagoon Lunatics

This year we took Eve and Jack to Lagoon for the first time.  We got there a few minutes after it opened and we stayed until about a half hour before closing.  It was a loooong day but also so much fun.
I'm so glad the kids are getting old enough to go to this kind of thing and play along with mom and dad.

These smiles are basically saying " Mooooom, I can't believe you're making us stop to take pictures when we just got here!"

This year Jack was only 45 inches tall- just one measly inch shy of the height requirement for the funnest roller coasters and rides.  I asked some friends what they thought of our height issue and many of them said that their kids had been able to ride when they were a bit short and they all felt it was still safe and fun for their kids.  We knew it was a risk to take him since there was a chance we could end up in kiddie land all day long if they kicked him off the bigger rides, but we decided to go for it anyhow.

As per Kole's childhood tradition, first off we headed for the Colossus Fire Dragon roller coaster.

 

  That's right... two upside down loops!  Trial by fire for the kids!

The ride worker eyed Jack wearily and even checked his height but the guy decided to let him go anyway!

Eve was the typical adrenaline junkie- a habit she picked up in Disneyland a few years ago- but poor Jack was scared. to. death.  I sat next to him.  He basically curled in to a ball (or as closely as he could in a roller coaster), closed his eyes the whole time and I can't  even begin to explain the guttural moaning noises that came out of him.  He was very adamant that he hated that ride!  But no tears.  So, like any responsible parent, we decide the most logical thing to do to help would be to drag him on a few more roller coasters!  

I know, I know.  I can practically feel the stares of judgements directed at me right now.  I can't believe I've become one of those parents that make their kids go on rides they don't want to.  Over the years as I watched many a kid come off of a ride in tears, glaring at their parents with daggers of disgust in their eyes, I vowed I would never be one of those parents.  And yet there I was, determined to help my child "overcome their fears by facing them."  I don't think I should be admitting this for anyone to read as I am sure there are published studies that show the damage this can cause.  I will probably find years down the road that when I bought that Lagoon ticket I also signed up to pay thousands of dollars in therapy for my kids.

But Jack was such a trooper.  Some he rides even "liked."  There were a few that he got kicked off of because of his height but most he was able to go on- if only because the workers were lenient.  He just needs to grow that one inch before we go again next year.

After Kole and I started to feel our old age, we decide to head over to Kiddieland and give Jack a break.  It was much more his size and speed.

 

Our friend Landon met us in the evening with two of his girls.  The kids had lots of fun together.  It was good for them to have friends to show them all the best kiddie rides.  And Landon helped watch the kids here and there so Kole and I could go on some of the rides that even Eve wasn't tall enough to ride.

As the day wore on we went on just about everything.

We ran back and forth and all over the park all day long.  We bounced back and forth between bigger rides and Kiddieland- mostly because us oldies can only go upside-down so many times in a row.  I couldn't believe the kids (and Kole and I) lasted that long.  

Finally as closing approached we decide to go full circle and try one last run at the Colossus.  Eve was pumped.  Jack was clinging to me in line with the pleading look of "please don't make me go."  I didn't want him to have bad memories of his first time at Lagoon.  I wanted him to have fun and be excited for the rides.  We figured that the first time was new and terrifying because he had never done it before.  We hoped that the second time would be less traumatic.  

And thankfully it was!  Second time was the charm.  He kept his eyes open the whole time and came off smiling and finally declared that it was awesome and his new favorite ride!

Overall, I would say our first family Lagoon trip was a success.  The kids still keep talking about how they can't wait to go back and all the rides they want to go on next time. 

Yep, I guess I can chalk it all up to bad parenting skills.