Sunday morning after the big prom fest, I headed to Canada’s Wonderland (which is a Canadian theme park similar to a Six Flags) with my good friends Sherrie and Lisa and a few of their guy friends. And I am just going to go ahead and consider those guys my friends now, as we had a major bonding experience that I will get to in a moment.
Let’s talk about the fun times first.
I love theme parks, and I LOVE roller coasters, so I was pretty much vibrating with excitement. It was also a gorgeous day. So warm and sunny and beautiful. And usually Canada’s Wonderland is absolutely rammed with people and you spend half the day in lineups, but for some reason it was the most empty I’ve ever seen it. Really short lines, and to put that into perspective for my fellow Ontarians, we went on the Behemoth several times in a row and barely waited at all. Usually you have to wait for a million years, as it the best roller coaster in the world (IMHO).
I could not get enough of the Behemoth. I told the group that I wanted to live on it.
Sherrie and I are actually making fun of Lisa in this picture (which I totally snapped on my iPhone all sneakily when it displayed on the screen, as I am cheap and not about to spend $20 for a photo). We were watching Lis in front of us, and she was a tiiiny bit on the scared side and was having some trouble lifting her arms up. She would lift them about halfway up and then bring them back down. I believe I am imitating her while Sherrie points at her (laughing, it was funny). Lisa was an old pro by about the sixth time we went on it though, and had her arms up the entire time.
We also went on the newest roller coaster, Leviathan, a bunch of times and it has a pretty crazy drop (over 300 feet, I googled) that I enjoyed…
It was a good time, but Behemoth is still my fave. It’s long, and has a ton of awesome drops.
You know what new ride I did not enjoy?
The WindSeeker. Did. Not. Enjoy.
It sounds like it would be a fun time. You sit in two’s on these swing-type seats, and it goes over 300 feet in the air, spins around for a bit, and then brings you back down. Fun fun. And besides the height, nothing crazy. We made friends with one of the ride operators (his name was Jude, so we obviously serenaded a little bit o’ Beatles to him), and he told us the ride was nice and relaxing (Hey, Jude, if you happen to read this, and if I ever see you again, I’m kicking you square in the junk).
So we were game for a nice relaxing ride on the WindSeeker. We saddled up on the swings, and Lisa was my ride buddy. I don’t mind heights, but she is not the biggest fan of them, and was therefore not the biggest fan of the WindSeeker as we neared the top. But I was all “Don’t worry, it’s almost over,” and she seemed to almost be enjoying herself.
But then we got to the top, and the ride kind of jolted, and then it kind of stopped. At the very top. It stopped.
At first we thought it was a joke. I’ve been going to Wonderland for 23 years (I am old) and I have never once been stuck on a ride. But then we heard a muffled “We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience. We will attempt to lower you down when possible.”
Attempt to lower you down.
So this was not good news. A girl sitting behind Sherrie started legit crying, and Lisa was already not enjoying herself, so this did not help. I was terrified (and I’m not even afraid of heights, so I can’t imagine what that must have been like), but I felt like I had to be strong for Lisa, and I tried to reassure her (until she told me to shut up, I was making it worse).
20 minutes later they were able to start slooooooowly lowering us down (took another 15 minutes or so). By this time, several people were basically having panic attacks. Lisa had been gripping our lap bar so tightly that her hands were all white and sweaty. She held her dripping hand out to me and was all “look how sweaty my hand is!” and I immediately grabbed it and held it as tightly as I could the entire way down (just to reassure her, not like I was scared or anything…)
But we made it! We are alive! And I will never be going on that ride again. Stupid WindSeeker. Stupid Jude.
(And I am just kidding Jude, I still like you!)
Aside from our near-death experience though, the day was amazing.
We took some scenic girls pics, as Wonderland is quite pretty…
And I ate my traditional Wonderland food that I MUST get every time I go.
Poutine:
And funnel cake:
Funnel cake is an absolute must. Gahh, I just love it so much.
Oh and I’ve decided to forgo my new apartment and take up residence here instead:
I may be 400 pounds, but it may be worth it.
Just a perfect day at Wonderland (minus that nearly dying thing…)
And have any of you ever been stuck on a ride?
