Vacation - Lagoon

Oh what a fun day! Over the passed several years, we have experienced Paramount's Great America, and Six Flags Marine World, and even Disneyland. With the exception of Disneyland, we never had enough fun at the parks to actually last the entire day. Lagoon was a completely different story! We arrived at 11:00 when the park opened, and stayed until just before 10:00 when the park closed. We did not bring Chase with us since we knew it would be difficult to handle him. Maybe next year for him.

We were fortunate for Hailey to be a tall one! She is only 5 years old, but she was tall enough to ride many of the rollercoaster rides, though just barely. So, to start off, we took her on the white rollercoaster. I think she was a bit in shock. She looked like she was having fun, until we asked her about it later. I think the big drops scared her, but by the end of the day she had ridden the white coaster a total of three times and the Wild Mouse three times, as well as The Bat twice. I think she got the hang of it, though she still didn't want to ride the Collossus, since it went upside down twice.

Rion was in heaven! He was so adventurous, trying all of the rollercoasters, and so many of the rides that Hailey couldn't or wouldn't go on, even the Collossus. He can't decide what his favorite ride was, but he had a blast! Around 6:00, though, he was tired and ready to go home. Eric and I didn't want to give in so soon, so we had Subway for dinner, then rode the Sky Ride back to the other side of the park. By that time, he had more energy.

As for Eric and I, we had more fun at an amusement park (Disneyland excluded) then we ever have since we got married. Since it was a weekday, we rode over 30 rides! Once we tabulate who rode what and how many each, I'll add that, but it was a very full day! The things we liked best about Lagoon compared to other parks:

1) Shade, shade and more shade! I grew up going to Lagoon, but since it has been about 16 years, the trees have gotten huge! There were trees everywhere we went, as well as park benches. There was no lack of places to sit and shade to cover you. While riding the Sky Ride, it was difficult to see what was where in the park because the trees were so tall, and it looked like they had to cut a pathway out of the trees in order to keep that ride functioning. While on it, there were trees beneath, trees beside, trees taller than the ride, trees everywhere! No sunburns for us!

2) Fresh Air! I know what you are thinking...isn't there fresh air at all parks since they are outside? The answer is no, because people tend to smoke everywhere. At Lagoon, they have set up specific smoking areas. They kind of look like bus stops. I know those that smoke probably don't like this, but for those of us that don't smoke, this was very enjoyable!

3) Family oriented. Beyond the fact that most parks are meant for fun, this park actually lets you bring in coolers...with food, water, etc! They have several large covered picnic areas and shady lawns all to the back of the park for you to bring in your own stuff. The last time we went to any park in California, it was like pulling teeth to convice the gate employees that the sippy cup you have for your toddler really needs to come in because they can't drink from anything else.

All in all, it was a fabulous day. We did miss Chase, but it was a relief that Sarah offered to watch him for us. Thank you Sarah!