Just took my rollercoaster loving girls (8&10) to a crappy Six Flags near us (out of 10 roller coasters, only THREE are running! 😒). Went on a rainy day so the crowd level was low (I could not have handled a crowd there) and we could ride the three open rides over and over.
I hadn't thought of this until your post -- I love rollercoasters too and reflecting back, I realized that I spent the whole first ride worrying how the girls were feeling. Was it too scary? Were they having fun? The roller coaster was a two seater that independently spun head over heels so even though I was facing them (they wanted to sit together), I could only catch little glimpses when we spun and faced the same direction for a second or two. And then when the ride stopped, I held my breath and tried to gauge the terror on their little faces until they released and both yelled "let's go again!"
That whole ride, I didn't allow myself to be scared of flipping through the air or enjoy any bit of it. My experience was absolutely secondary to theirs.
I would like to endorse these trips just with your girlfriends, too. I went with one of my best friends and among a group of about 8 to Dollywood last year and it was NONSTOP JOY. Just pure fun the type of which you assumed you left behind in your childhood. All of the ease you describe with kids, turns out adults like that too (but now it's things like, shade and well placed benches LOL). Dollywood in particular is just fab. The lines were long, yes, but we just chatted and caught up and people watched. No whiny kids! No problem! My takeaway from the weekend is that I don't play nearly enough. We need to feel safe and play, age 0-100 and beyond.
My kids are younger but they love rides so we’ve done a lot of the local fairs/festivals and then trips to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania which I highly recommend. It’s magical but manageable. I myself loved coasters growing up so I am looking forward to my kids getting bigger so we can go together.
I loved theme parks growing up, and we finally took our kids to Disney in summer of 2022 when they were 9, 6, and 6mos, and it was also the first time I'd been to a theme park in about 15 years. It was so fun getting to see it all through their eyes, I love how our kids give us the excuse to be a kid again ourselves. And yes I love how family friendly these places are, why doesn't every restroom have tiny toilets and sinks?! We also did Sea World and Legoland that trip and we discovered out of my 2 older boys and my niece and nephew, the only one who was interested in doing a real roller coster was my 6 year old, the only one not yet tall enough to ride!! (cue major tantrum) As we passed the rollercoaster at Sea World (San Diego), that was being advertised as one of the tallest/scariest rides ever or something like that, I saw my 79-year-old dad sort of eyeing it, and I remembered how much he loved roller coasters when we were kids. So I asked him, "Dad do you want to go ride that?" and he got this big look on his face "yeah let's do it!" So my husband, my dad and I rode it together, what a blast!!! I agree Katherine, it's so liberating to be able to yell and laugh that loud and the adrenaline rush is fantastic! it was definitely a bonding experience and such a great memory to make together. So I am really looking forward to when my adrenaline junkie middle son is finally tall enough to ride as I will definitely be there riding in the front car with him!
Personally I’d rather have my toenails ripped out than go to a theme park—that’s a good grandparent trip!
But I definitely see the appeal of Disney cruises. I’m always looking for a way to get a break on family trips - kids’ clubs, hotel nanny options - and the idea of a vacation where that’s baked in and the caregivers vetted in-house is super appealing!
Just took my rollercoaster loving girls (8&10) to a crappy Six Flags near us (out of 10 roller coasters, only THREE are running! 😒). Went on a rainy day so the crowd level was low (I could not have handled a crowd there) and we could ride the three open rides over and over.
I hadn't thought of this until your post -- I love rollercoasters too and reflecting back, I realized that I spent the whole first ride worrying how the girls were feeling. Was it too scary? Were they having fun? The roller coaster was a two seater that independently spun head over heels so even though I was facing them (they wanted to sit together), I could only catch little glimpses when we spun and faced the same direction for a second or two. And then when the ride stopped, I held my breath and tried to gauge the terror on their little faces until they released and both yelled "let's go again!"
That whole ride, I didn't allow myself to be scared of flipping through the air or enjoy any bit of it. My experience was absolutely secondary to theirs.
Metaphor for motherhood right there?
I would like to endorse these trips just with your girlfriends, too. I went with one of my best friends and among a group of about 8 to Dollywood last year and it was NONSTOP JOY. Just pure fun the type of which you assumed you left behind in your childhood. All of the ease you describe with kids, turns out adults like that too (but now it's things like, shade and well placed benches LOL). Dollywood in particular is just fab. The lines were long, yes, but we just chatted and caught up and people watched. No whiny kids! No problem! My takeaway from the weekend is that I don't play nearly enough. We need to feel safe and play, age 0-100 and beyond.
My kids are younger but they love rides so we’ve done a lot of the local fairs/festivals and then trips to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania which I highly recommend. It’s magical but manageable. I myself loved coasters growing up so I am looking forward to my kids getting bigger so we can go together.
I loved theme parks growing up, and we finally took our kids to Disney in summer of 2022 when they were 9, 6, and 6mos, and it was also the first time I'd been to a theme park in about 15 years. It was so fun getting to see it all through their eyes, I love how our kids give us the excuse to be a kid again ourselves. And yes I love how family friendly these places are, why doesn't every restroom have tiny toilets and sinks?! We also did Sea World and Legoland that trip and we discovered out of my 2 older boys and my niece and nephew, the only one who was interested in doing a real roller coster was my 6 year old, the only one not yet tall enough to ride!! (cue major tantrum) As we passed the rollercoaster at Sea World (San Diego), that was being advertised as one of the tallest/scariest rides ever or something like that, I saw my 79-year-old dad sort of eyeing it, and I remembered how much he loved roller coasters when we were kids. So I asked him, "Dad do you want to go ride that?" and he got this big look on his face "yeah let's do it!" So my husband, my dad and I rode it together, what a blast!!! I agree Katherine, it's so liberating to be able to yell and laugh that loud and the adrenaline rush is fantastic! it was definitely a bonding experience and such a great memory to make together. So I am really looking forward to when my adrenaline junkie middle son is finally tall enough to ride as I will definitely be there riding in the front car with him!
Personally I’d rather have my toenails ripped out than go to a theme park—that’s a good grandparent trip!
But I definitely see the appeal of Disney cruises. I’m always looking for a way to get a break on family trips - kids’ clubs, hotel nanny options - and the idea of a vacation where that’s baked in and the caregivers vetted in-house is super appealing!