Dutch Wonderland 2011

Saturday, September 3, was Shawn's work picnic at Dutch Wonderland. Dart completely shuts down one weekend a year and pays for its employees to go to either Hershey Park or Dutch Wonderland. While this is super nice, I wish they would pick a different weekend than one where Shawn has off three days in a row. We could actually go somewhere, but I hate to miss a free time at an expensive amusement park.

Baby Ryan wasn't cooperating with his eating schedule in the morning, so we got a bit of a late start. Shawn thought that might save us the long lines of getting there right at 10 am, but we found that not to be true. Dutch Wonderland has changed their parking lot. While it was already a cluster to find enough spaces for everyone to park, they shut down the lot in front of the main facility and are now charging $10 a space for premium parking. What a lousy way to make an extra buck - especially when parking is such an issue to begin with. And with that, they had to close one of the ways to get in and out of the park. Route 30 was completely backed up with all the cars waiting to get into the one open entrance. Shawn was smart and went down beyond the cars turning left and turned around to go in. We parked at one of the last available spaces and walked down. Truly, when you're charging over $30 a person for children ages 2 and up for a small amusement park, you think that they wouldn't want to rape you in parking fees as well. The stupidity of greedy people drives me crazy!

The lines to get into the park were extraordinarily long. And with the parking folks trying to direct traffic and not doing a great job at it, the entire scene was a bit chaotic. Finally we got through the bag check line, just in time to get to the "Dart" line, where management took their good ol' time checking everyone in. This line took forever as well. So, our first lines of the day took us about an hour to get through, which felt like a complete waste of time. They take all the family's picture and give it for free as part of the deal, which is really nice. Our picture was completely off-center and not together, but it was free so I can't complain. And while Ryan was with us, he was sleeping in his car seat so we weren't about to take him out!

Finally we got into the park! And it started to rain. It was a drop here and there at first but turned into a pretty good shower. But, the kids weren't too upset by it so we just went with it. The first ride that they rode and got wet in was the big trucks. Praise God, Ryan slept in his stroller and I had the covers up to keep him dry. Joshua loves the color green and after waiting in line for their turn, he was able to get the color he wanted.

Next they rode the "panda party" which the boys think are bees. Caleb didn't seem as thrilled as previous years on this ride but we think maybe it was because he was riding backwards. He wasn't upset; he just wasn't smiling like he normally does on rides.

At this point the rain stopped, so we went to a new ride (or at least one I don't remember from previous years). These frogs made ribbit sounds and hopped up and down. The boys LOVED it! I think this might have been a favorite from the day. This was by far the busiest I have ever seen Dutch Wonderland. Last year it was relatively chilly outside when we went, which probably kept some folks away. This year, however, the weather didn't seem to have the same effect. The lines were long and there was a TON of people everywhere. By the time we were done with this ride, it was lunch time.

Dart does a catered lunch, and while it's a nice thought, I would say that you never go to Dutch Wonderland for the food. The burgers were barely edible (I'm not sure if they were just low quality meat or if they weren't cooked completely) and this year they didn't serve Turkey Hill products like teas and ice cream. But, the fruit was great, and the fact that lunch was free was awesome! We didn't have to leave the park or pay their exorbitant fees for food. After lunch since the boys were well-behaved, we promised that they could do the big fun slide. I offered to go with them since Caleb needed to be accompanied by an adult for his size (he's in the green already! and Joshua is in the yellow so he could go by himself and ride some of the bigger rides!). The line was long because only one side was open at that point. We had fun coming down, though, but Joshua was sad that he had to give back the sack for the next child to go who was waiting in line. He wanted to go again! While the older boys & I were on the slide, Shawn ran into some co-workers who were admiring the baby.

After the big slide, we saw this little slide where the boys climb up what looks like a silo and slide down. Caleb came down first, and then Joshua came down with about a half dozen other children in a train. The next time down, Caleb followed other bigger kids who were walking down the slide and got in trouble.

So, we kept venturing on to the next things that we remembered the boys enjoying that didn't require parents to be with the kiddos. We went on a hunt for these airplanes. There wasn't anyone in line! They are kind of hidden back by the water park area. And while it was a very hot & humid 85 degrees outside, Daddy said with his ankle there was NO WAY we were going to do the water area and risk slipping. I agreed. We both get injured far too easily to be in a wet area on a day where we hadn't had much sleep the night before. And with a baby besides, it didn't make a lot of sense. So, we stayed at the ride area.

Without a line, the boys could pick which plane they wanted to ride. I asked if they each wanted their own, and Joshua insisted they go together. We told him if he wanted to go together, he'd have to ride backwards this time and he was just fine with that! 

After the airplanes, we took the boys to "Choo Choo Charlie" which is another area they love. In line there, Caleb got his hand smacked by a mom who was putting her pole in its place and didn't see that he had his hand there. I didn't notice either until it was too late. He had quite the bruise and lump on his wrist area, and she was so apologetic. I knew it was a complete accident and things happen. I told her not to worry about it and scooped him up, gave it a kiss and said a little prayer for it. The man behind me said "AMEN!" after I finished praying. He said that they do the same thing. His son was also named Joshua. :) Soon it was our turn and Caleb forgot all about his hand. Joshua is getting so big that he did fine by himself cranking the car.

Caleb also did really well and I would only occasionally give him a little help. I think he would have done fine by himself had he not been so exhausted. We had reached nap time, but when we only get to go here once a year, we decided to try and push it unless they fell apart. I saw lots of parents putting screaming, crying children on rides. It made me sad. I would be that type of parent if I weren't thinking - wanting my kids to have fun while not understanding that they need their rest and weren't going to have fun without it.

At this point baby Ryan woke up. It had been well over three hours since his last feeding and I knew he was hungry. We found a spot down by the ducks that looked fairly private (until I got started - ugh!). There were chairs in a shaded spot with a big "NO SMOKING" sign. It looked good to me! When Shawn got him out to hand him to me, he was dripping like a water fountain - only it wasn't water. My little man had had a poo-plosion! I wore some of it until I got him changed. We also weren't anywhere close to a bathroom. So, I found a bench and took out my blanket and laid him down while Shawn 'covered' us. I cleaned the baby up and put his old outfit in a bag and the diaper in a disposable bag and got him a fresh outfit on (thankfully I had one with me!). Then we set up the chairs to block me in, I put on my hooter hider, and he ate really well on one side.

While I was feeding Ryan, Shawn took the boys and they went on the Duke's Dozers and the rides where they wiggle and the cars turn. Of course my love did not take pictures. Shawn told me that he heard lots of adults fighting - all with wives telling the husbands to snap some photos of the children. It made me smile. Sounds all too familiar!

By that point a whole crowd formed around me, thinking that these shaded chairs were a fantastic spot to rest. I was uptight (even though I knew I wasn't flashing anybody, I still wasn't comfortable feeding in public. That's the only downside to nursing). Ryan wasn't eating well on the second side, so I decided to skip it and see if we could find a more secluded place. I put him in the snuggli rather than back in his messy car seat and wore him, thinking we may get on the boats or do something that was safe for a "lap-held infant." The lines were long for the boats at that point, and we could tell that the older kids were getting pretty tired. We decided to do the "big train" as a family and then head out. On the way there, I found a little house looking shack that said nursing mothers' station. DOH! Why didn't I see that on the way in? I guess I didn't realize to look for one. Ryan was content at that point, so we waited in line for the train. While the line was long, it didn't take too long since lots of folks can get on a train and there were multiple trains going.

After the train, we hiked back to the minivan. As we were walking, I heard a little girl asking her daddy why they couldn't stay longer at the park (something our kids had just asked a few minutes before that). Her dad was very calm and started saying, "Well, sweetie, it's like this. In about ten minutes you're going to grow two things...called horns!" I cracked up! I was wondering where he was going with his story, and now I knew. I laughed out loud. We've all been there!

In the cool minivan, we drank some more water and the boys passed out. I called Mamaw, who agreed to come watch Ryan for us so we could do a couple of the rides that required an adult to be with each child. (With the long lines, we wouldn't have been able to let the kids go one a time with just one adult.) I tried to feed Ryan on the other side as we waited for Mamaw, but he didn't seem too hungry. He napped again for her for an hour, and the boys slept in the car so Shawn drove around while I tried to feed Ryan until she arrived.

When we got back to Dutch Wonderland, there wasn't a single parking space. We refused to be hosed on the price of parking just based on principle. Someone left and we found a spot at the very back of the lot. As we were walking, I told Shawn the three things I wanted to do with the kids because they wanted to (or they had fun doing them last year) were the double flume splash ride, the bumper cars, and the turnpike. Along the way, there wasn't a line for these coal crackers that whip the kids around. They LOVE them, so we said to go for it!

The next line we got in took FOREVER! It was the bumper cars, which Joshua had begged to do all day. They let them go on forever even though there was a huge long line. Many kids wanted to ride separately and there was even a family who kept switching up how they wanted to sit and who would go with who, etc. The girl operating them didn't seem too sharp and let all this go on while we waited. And waited. An hour passed. At this point we were too late, and Joshua really wanted to go. Shawn counted people and said that with the looks of ages and who had to ride with an adult, we should be the last two cars of the second round to go thereafter. It was finally that point, and a man and his son stayed in the car rather than getting out, leaving one car rather than two. I asked the gal running the operation and she said that because the son is special needs, they don't need to leave or wait in lines, etc. She walked away as we let another pair take the last car so we could go together, and I couldn't resist the opportunity. I looked at Shawn and said, "That's RETARDED!" It was true on so many levels. Wrong, but true. He cracked up.

As we were scouting out the place, Shawn noted that it took the girl forever to turn the cars around to face forward once everyone was in. If people would do that themselves before they got in, the line would go quicker. I also asked him which side the kids vs. adults should go. I noted that it seemed all adults were on the left. He looked and said "yes, that's because that's what they're used to when driving; but if you see how this is set up, the person on the right is going to take all the impact so we as adults should sit right and let the kids be left." Looking at it, he was exactly right! I am glad to have a smart husband who doesn't just follow what everyone else does but really looks at the situation and imparts his wisdom.

Since we were first in line, Joshua picked the green car and Caleb picked the orange one. I told Joshua he could steer and I would just help him. The minute we started, he yanked the wheel so hard to the left that we did a 360 and crashed into the wall. So, I realized a little more help was needed as we all-but experienced whip lash. He did well the rest of the time for the most part, letting go after whipping the wheel too hard when I asked him to, etc. Shawn told me after the ride that he & Caleb would slam into any guys that hit our car. Shawn - who's not typically aggressive - said something to the effect that he was not cool with other men bumping into the car his wife was driving. I smiled. My knight in shining armor! We took our turns bumping other cars, but we also tried to stay out of any pile-ups so that we could keep moving. Other than one time of running into the middle when the Bean yanked the wheel too quickly, I thought he did AWESOME! He LOVED it! And so did little Caleb Luke, who rode with Daddy since this is the first year he was tall enough.

We didn't have time to ride the flume at that point. We got in line for the turnpike, which was the last ride we did as a family. On the way out, the boys asked to ride choo-choo charlie again (the little hand-crank trains) and we agreed. Then we booked it out of the park to get home to relieve Mamaw and feed baby Ryan (thanks so much, Mom!). We put a stromboli in the oven for dinner, and I debated about taking Joshua back to the park by myself. Daddy said he was in so much physical pain, he was done for the day. I eventually decided to call it a day, too. We got ice cream as a family that night to end on a high note. We were completely beat. In fact, this was my facebook post that summed up exactly how we felt: "We. Are. Pooped. Ryan, literally."