When it rains at a theme park, what do tourists do?
I was starting to feel out of the loop. Everyone had been to Harry Potter! The kids went and prepped me on the “safe rides,” those with a low q-force (queasy) rather than a high g-force.
I met a friend at Islands of Adventure, fully aware of the dire meteorological predictions for Saturday. That is, in a period of drought, the weathermen predicted rain. But surely, it never rained in a theme park. My fears tended more toward the long lines and even worse, the scary, loopy rides and g-forces everyone talked about. However, by 7:30 a.m. dark clouds had gathered. By 8 a.m. when the park opened, the silhouette of Hogwarts loomed large and foreboding. The purchase of a wizard wand would surely whisk away concerns about weather.
The walk to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter took us past the Dr. Doom Fearfall, said to have a 199-foot drop at 45 mph and g-force of 4.0. The Incredible Hulk coaster, which whooshed by at regular intervals, attained 40 mph in two seconds and speeds of 67 mph with drops of 105 feet. These rides plus the numerous warning signs about the danger of the rides if you have conditions x, y and z. I started to have doubts about the Harry Potter ride. Years earlier I had barely survived the Alice in Wonderland teacups and Dumbo the Elephant at the Magic Kingdom.
We walked through Jurassic Park and into the world of Harry Potter. The rains had started to fall. Umbrellas and plastic ponchos appeared. Soon the park seemed dotted with odd-shaped travelers who managed to fit backpacks and purchases and small children under these blue, yellow or clear plastics.
The village with its snow-covered roofs, crooked chimneys, numerous boutiques with the stuff of wizarding and a stall selling butterbeer contrasted with the dark castle. I had been warned about drinking butterbeer before the ride, so we joined the lines that had already formed.
Once inside the castle, we stowed our belongings in lockers that scanned our fingerprints. Would a ride be so violent that we could lose our bags? I began to have my doubts about the wisdom of continuing. But we made it along hallways that had doors leading to “potions” or a niche containing the “sorting” hat. Past paintings in which subjects carried on conversations with other portraits.
Forty-five minutes later, we got on the ride, which contained death-defying nose dives punctuated by blitz-like darts on a broomstick (or so it seemed) between towers and buttresses of the castle as well as among enemies or competitors. I couldn’t always tell—my eyes were closed. Because of the quease-force, the ride seemed exciting but endless.
The Dr. Seuss Carousel and the Cat in the Hat ride provided an antidote for the fear of the Harry Potter ride. These rides were covered, another advantage in the rains that never stopped.
The wait for the Spiderman 3-D adventure, which boasted a 400-foot simulated freefall (the simulation seemed pretty realistic), was short. We quickly wound through 1950s newspaper offices and climbed onboard. These rides were spectacular (a lower quease-force), offering a combination of plunges and special effects (sound, light and heat). The line was short, and I could have braved another round.
Admittedly, we selected rides and attractions on the basis of protection from the rain. The Eight Voyage of Sinbad combined slapstick, rope swinging (Sinbad was ripped) and evil beings. The audience was losing interest.
A few courageous souls headed for the water rides, got drenched. We could only marvel at their constitution as we headed inside for coffee and hot chocolate.
A wizarding wand would have cleared the skies but might have mitigated my fear of rides. I had had enough for one day. We would return another time.
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