Amusement Parks, Part Two...and Racing

Second Life has its share of amusement parks. Overall, I guess I have been a bit disappointed with them. It’s hard to get the same kind of thrill on an SL amusement park ride as you can in real life. 

Cotton candy in the forehead
is one of the dangers of
SL amusement parks.

There used to be a really great replication of a portion of Disneyland in Second Life. It was called Mouse World. The two rides that I really enjoyed were Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Before going on the rides, you had to download the sound first…which took quite a long time. But once you completed that the rides were nearly like the real thing! Even the sounds were exactly like Disneyland. It was quite amazing and I enjoyed those rides because they brought my mind back to childhood memories. Sadly, the Mouse World sims closed last year.



Spinning teacup fun
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bracket/185/133/27

The other day I went to Magic Land in SL. It is another Disneyland like location. It is also quite well done, although I find it a bit laggy. They have a tea cup ride that is a lot like the real thing. I rode on “It’s a Small World” ride there. I never cared for the real life Small World ride and this one is very faithful to that….translating to my not being so fond of this ride either. I do appreciate the care that went into recreating this ride and find it interesting that I have the same reaction I would expect from the real deal…lukewarm to the experience.

I guess I like things to be a bit more exciting and fast paced. Which might explain why I have mostly given up on Amusement Parks in SL and now enjoy racetracks instead!

Yes, you read right. I am turning into a zoom-zoomer! I don’t consider myself to be especially competitive...until I get on a racetrack. Whether it is a bumper car, race car, or motorcycle….I strive to master the twists and turns on the road and then build up speed so that I can leave my competition in the dust. I never knew about this speed demon side of me until I tried my hand at racing in SL. Under the right circumstances and the right amount of concentration…I can be quite fast and several times have come out on top on the leaderboard.

One of my favorite racing spots is on the Damania sim. At this location, they have a race track for racing bumper cars. These cars can be a lot of fun.




Bumper car fun!!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Damania/28/157/30

 You can race around the track, and if you get bumped by someone…it is quite possible to bumped right off the track and onto the ground or under the water surrounding the track. You have to be creative to figure out how to get the car back on the track…but believe me it is quite possible if you are persistent. Ask me how I know…



Look who is in 1st place!

All this talk about racing has got me thinking about whizzing down the track with my SL hair waving in the breeze behind me. Anyone up for a race? Bet I can beat you!

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.