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Author Dutch Wonderland 7/17/05 Trip Report
Canobie Coaster
Posts: 2694
Registered: 7/26/2005

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/17/2005 6:55:01 AM
After a long seven hour drive from Massachusetts, we arrived at the Continental Inn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Having not been to an amusement park for close to 11 months, I was anxious to visit our next door neighbor, Dutch Wonderland. However, it was 8:00 P.M., and Dutch Wonderland closed in a half hour. All night, I couldn't wait to finally visit amusment park.

I woke up around 6:30 A.M., and watched Sports Center until everyone else woke up at 7:30. Then we had some breakfast from the hotel, and then packed up for our trip next door. Once it was 10:00 A.M., Dutch Wonderland's opening time, my sister, my parents, and I scrambled next door to Dutch Wonderland for a day of fun.

Dutch Wonderland had a colossal parking lot, so I wondered how bad the crowds would be on this Sunday. Shockingly, the park really wasn't crowded. Every ride turned out to be a walk on! From the highway and parking lot, you could see the Sky Princess, Dutch Wonderland's star attraction. Their entrance was a white, kid-friendly castle. Inside the castle is a gift shop with many trinkets, souvenirs, and toys. To enter the park, you proceed through the Castle Gift Shop to the turntables up ahead. Passes were $29.00 per person, but it was well worth it once I entered Dutch Wonderland. Everyone in my family proceeded through the turntable and entered the Kingdom for Kids, Dutch Wonderland.

Once entering the park, I noticed that the park was hidden by a few trees. I only saw 4 rides; the Wonderland Special Train and the Sky Ride, which were right in front of me. I also saw Ripcord, their parachute tower towering above the trees, dropping many happy children. I could barely see the Sky Princess' blue structure behind some trees.

After renting a stroller, I headed right for Ripcord. I'd say it is about 50ft tall. The cars are yellow, with red and white "parachutes". Just as I arrived at the ride, it was loading. I got on right away, as it was a walk on. My sister and father joined me for my ride. Dutch Wonderland only had one operator for Ripcord, and he worked his tail off. He loaded the ride in 2 minutes, and then started it. I rode alone in my parachute, and my sister rode with my dad in another parachute. Slowly, we were hauled up the tower. Once at the top, I got a very nice view of the park. The Sky Princess' turn-around looked awesome. Having never been on a parachute tower before, I had no clue if I would get a weightlessness feeling during the drop. My question was soon answered. The drop was sudden, and provided a brief stomach-dropping sensation. Then, you slowly fall to the bottom, ending the ride. Overall, Ripcord was a very nice ride.

After Ripcord, I decided to try Dutch Wonderland's colossal Giant Slide. Since it was larger than most of the carnival slides I had been on, I tried it. It had one of my longest wait of the day, 3 minutes. Only 3 lanes were open, and children got on and off slowly, so it took a while for each person to go down. The sacks weren't ripped and were in excellent condition. Then it was my turn. I propelled myself down the first of 3 drops by pushing my sack off the top. Unfortunately, the Giant Slide wasn't as good as I had hoped. It wasn't waxed, so the sacks moved down the slide very slowly. Also, it got stuck on both the straight-aways, so I had to push it for those parts. After my disappointing experience on the Giant Slide, I headed for the Double Splash Flume, a family log flume.

Just like the Ripcord, the Double Splash Flume was a walk on. My sister and father joined me in my light brown log. I was proud of my sister, as she hadn't been on a ride with a "big" drop for a long time, as she had been scared. We slowly creeped around a turn, and traveled up a 12ft lift. Next we zipped down that little drop and got a little wet. Then we winded through the channel by statues of animals (like tigers and elephants) and humans. We then flow through a mist fil
Message updated 11/26/2005 7:39:33 AM by Canobie Coaster
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