Amusement Parks, Part One

I grew up in Orange County, CA in the era when Disneyland was brand new. I think growing up in Southern California during that time was probably the best place and time ever in history for a child growing up. Well, maybe I’m a bit prejudiced…but it really was wonderful.

"Having a great time...wish you were here."

We had two major amusement parks within easy driving distance…Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland.

Knott’s Berry Farm was further away at a 20 minute ride. The cool thing about that park then, was that admission was free and you only had to pay for the rides as you went on them. We would go there often on Sunday afternoons and wander around. Unless you are from the area, you may not be familiar with Knott’s. They have shops, restaurants, interesting curiosities, and of course, awesome rides. We could go there for the ‘famous’ Knott’s chicken dinner and then go on a couple of rides. It was always a fun way to spend the afternoon. Nearby was the Wax Museum and Alligator Farm…it was truly a tourist haven and it was right in our backyard.

My all time favorite
Disney character.

But the big excitement was when we would go to Disneyland, just 10 minutes away. Because you had to pay admission, we didn’t get to go there as often as we did to Knott’s. From our home backyard, we could see the nightly fireworks (impossible now because of the growth of trees and tall buildings). We would drive by Disneyland all the time and pester my dad to drive in. We would pout in disappointment as he would drive past on the way to whatever our true destination was. But every now and then….he would completely surprise us and actually pull into the parking lot. My brothers and I would go wild with excitement when we were actually going to Disneyland!

One of Disneyland's roller coaster rides.

My favorite rides have always been fast and furious roller coasters. Not ones that do strange things like go straight up and then straight down backwards. But true roller coasters that go way high and then have huge drops and twists and turns and make you feel like you are falling out of your seat.

A couple of days ago, I took a trip to a wonderful family owned amusement park in PA where I live now. This park is called Knoebel’s and like the Knott’s Berry Farm of my childhood, it has free admission. You buy tickets for the rides you want to go on. I looked at the map of the park and was delighted to see not one, but TWO large wooden roller coasters.

Large wooden coaster at Knoebels....so much FUN!!!

It’s been a few years since I’ve had a chance to ride a roller coaster. So it was with just a bit of trepidation that I bought the tickets and got on board. And guess what? The thrill is still there! How I love roller coasters…even the big, bad, fast wooden ones. I screamed my head off as the coaster careened around the track going up and down, turning corners quickly and bumping me nearly out of my seat. It was wonderful.

I disembarked with disheveled hair and a huge grin on my face….went to the ticket booth… and bought another ticket.