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A child’s enthusiasm is one of the most infectious feelings around.
The other Saturday, Ken and I took Benjamin to Dorney Park. We had planned to go as a group with our Pioneer Club from church, but not enough people were able to go, and the trip had to be canceled. Benjamin was very disappointed, so I checked the prices and realized that the regular early season price wasn’t much more than the group rate we had hoped to get, so we planned our own family trip.
Benjamin’s at a great age for the grown-ups to be able to have a relaxing time at the park. He’s big enough to go on some of the “family” rides, even some with a moderate thrill rating, so the big people can have fun on the rides. But he’s small enough to enjoy the children’s rides, both those that parents can ride along and even the simple kiddie rides that little people can ride alone. So we grown-ups could take a break from time to time and just sit and watch as Benjamin rode.
Our first stop was the carousel. Benjamin was a little leery about sitting by himself on a horse that would go up and down, but he soon overcame his concerns and enjoyed himself thoroughly.
Then it was off to Camp Snoopy for some tame rides that Benjamin could go on alone or with one of us. But the next ride was anything but tame!
As we came out of Camp Snoopy, we were near the Wild Mouse. The Mouse is a two-seat roller coaster that Benjamin is tall enough to ride. It didn’t look too “Wild,” so we got in line. Little did I realize that along the top of the ride the cars whipped back and forth in almost an S-pattern, causing the riders to feel like they were about to fall off into space.
“I don’t like this!” Benjamin cried. It was pretty scary, even for a grown-up like me who knows the rides are safe. I can imagine how it must have seemed to a kindergartner.
Our next goal was the flume, which last summer at Knoebel’s was Benjamin’s absolute favorite. We were met with our biggest disappointment of the day. The ride was closed. Benjamin wasn’t very happy about having to look for another ride, but we soon found something he liked.
Dorney’s newest version of bumper cars features cars with large inner-tube-like bumpers and two levers for steering. The cars don’t have trolley-like electrical connections at the top, so there are no scary sparks flying. I wasn’t sure if Benjamin would be able to reach the controls, but he could just manage, and the three of us took off. Benjamin loved bumping into us, and we all had such a good time that we came back later for another turn.
The afternoon was winding down, and Benjamin was actually getting tired of rides, after going on nearly 20 attractions. Add into that walking back to Thunder Creek Mountain after every few rides to see if the flume was open yet. So he decided to watch his daddy race go-carts on the Thunder Creek Speedway. He was thrilled to see Ken pass several cars, and when the race was over, he consoled his daddy that second place is pretty good.
And finally, the flume was open. We wrapped up our day by riding the flume, just as a few rain sprinkles arrived. Then, it was off to a souvenir shop because Benjamin is sure he must get a memento of every special day in his life.
At last, after a nice supper, we started for home, tired but happy. It was a great day.
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