dutch wonderland

on our next to last day of vacation we took the kids to dutch wonderland.  i came here as a kid and we took the boy when he was little.  it's a small amusement park, geared more towards little kids than big kids - outside of a small wooden roller coaster and bumper cars, you won't find large thrill rides here.

our hotel was across from the park but we drove over so we could leave bottles of water and spare clothes in the car.  we got to the park at opening time and worked over to the coaster that the boy wanted to ride.  on our way there we got waylaid at the large slide (rode it twice with the kiddos), the log flume and the twister (think roulette wheel).  the boy wasn't big enough to ride the coaster by himself so mom and i tag teamed. i haven't lapped coasters probably since hubby and i dated.

we rode some quiet rides like the monorail... 

and the boat ride.  freddie got to helm the boat...

so did the boy.  petunia wouldn't do it - she was either too bashful, or perhaps she wasn't feeling well (she was especially clingy that day and was lethargic and feverish the next).


the kiddos did enjoy the kiddy rides - they rode this a couple times, along with a panda ride and a frog ride.  they had to do something while i waited in line for half an hour for the boy to ride the bumper cars...


food prices at the park were outrageous.  i spent $7 on 2 lemonades and mom spent $13 on 5 soft pretzels.  mom wanted pizza, which was going for $7 a slice.  it would have cost us $50 for us to each have a slice!  we watched the water show, then rode the turnpike.  the kiddos were getting more antsy so we decided to go back to the hotel and take naps.

for supper we went to cici's pizza and enjoyed the buffet.  for $32 all seven of us ate pizza, salad and pasta.  not exactly gourmet fare but it was a crowd pleaser, especially for the boy.

afterwards everyone went back to the hotel and i took the boy back to the park (we got handstamps earlier to do this).  we lapped the coaster some more, rode the tilt a whirl (i rode it twice before i started to feel sick - then when i went to sit down i got a whiff of the "smoking gazebo".  why do they put those things next to vomit inducing rides?!)  then he wanted to ride the gliders and we took the sky ride to get there.  after the gliders we rode the log boat ride, and the space shuttle gondola (this one knocked me out;  good thing the park was closing).

there was much more of the park that we didn't explore due to time and tiredness.  there were rides i wanted to ride but didn't, and photo ops i wanted but didn't take.  i felt badly about that.  i did get this one with the boy:


i think we're spoiled by how inexpensive our local amusement park (knoebels) is.  dutch wonderland is a nice little amusement park, leaning more on little kid rides than big kid rides.  the boy got bored easily when the kids were on their rides.  i guess that's why dw pairs up with hershey park for combined tickets.  the food prices are ghastly - i really liked that we picked and shared what food we got there then got a big meal later.  knoebels food prices are fair and it's good, plus they allow you to bring beverages (no alcohol) in the park.  you can bring food to the park as well (my friend's family takes food and makes a picnic out of it).  knoebels is a free admission park - you can walk right in.  hubby and my folks rode a couple of rides a piece which made for an expensive entrance fee.    knoebels has free parking (dw did as well, but they had $10 parking in front of the entrance).  well, yeah, so we're spoiled.

it was a pleasant day, warm with a breeze.  a nice day at the park.