The Whizzer

Today Donnie and Jacob Shepard and I went to Great America. Heather Cloutier had some free tickets for us and she had Donnie’s friends Brooklyn and Ashlyn along, so it was nice to have a big group of us to hang out together. Parks like that, and rides don’t really interest me anymore, but I wanted to have a day to hang out with Donnie. Now it is more about getting to watch them have fun. We got there right when it opened and headed straight to the American Eagle and got to go right up to the front, because there was no line. The kids went on a few more rides. We went to lunch and then saw a show. The final coaster we went on was The Wizzer, and I ended up riding myself and could really remember with nostalgia the first time I went on that with my Dad and being afraid of crashing or hitting my head on a tree or beam. We had gone as a family, me, Dad, Helen and Mom way back when we were kids. It doesn’t seem like that long ago. On the Wizzer I rode with Dad and Helen rode with Mom. We stilled held their hands at that time and I remember feeling safe riding with my Dad. That first time with my parents was magical. Fort Fun was an area for kids and the part I remember was the huge ball pit and the upside down house. I was disappointed when we went the next year and I was too tall to go inside but Helen was still short enough. I was pretty sad about that. I was finally tall enough to go on the American Eagle though that year. Some things I miss seeing at Great America now are of course some rides like the gondola, Eagle’s Flight, and the Sky Whirl. Both were icons of Great America to me. Another big part that was missing was the people dressed up as Looney Tunes characters. There were two up front but none throughout the park. The themed sections seemed to be lacking theme too. The park workers used to dress like they belonged in the area; for example, in Yukon Territory, the workers would look something like a logger/fur trader. The shops also used to have a lot more art, such as blown glass, pottery etc, and now there is all the tchotchke’s like little plastic bits and stuffed animals, which they always had. Even though the park was bigger had a more polished, I feel like it was missing that magic. Wilderness Theater, though not my favorite thing as a kid, is not even there anymore. I remember seeing dolphin shows there. There seemed to be no more show venues anymore. I remember seeing performances and performers all over the place, such as the log rollers. Perhaps they were winding down for the season. I also think they are putting their efforts into Fright Fest, which is a cool time. It was still a really fun day with my son and his friends.