Spent a day this last weekend at Frontier City, and the thread on Branson/SDC got me wondering.... how do ya'll feel?
I got to Frontier City about 11:30. Already had a ticket I had bought online, and was meeting my son and his mother for his birthday. They had been there maybe 45 minutes already.
The line to get in the park was all the way across the parking lot. Two lines, actually, in total, I'd guess maybe 300-400 people in line? Maybe more? Apparently, it turned out, this wasn't the line to buy tickets, as the ticket counter had virtually NO line whatsoever. People who needed tickets had to buy them at the counter, then walk back across the parking lot to get in the back of the line to go through security/metal detection to actually enter the park.
Soooo... after about 20 minutes in line, I get "close" to the front of the line and see the signs that say "no weapons of any kind" and we are going through metal detectors. At this point, I groan and put my hand on my hip to feel the Gerber folding knife clipped to my belt. It is ever-present on my body and I almost never go anywhere without it... but apparently I ain't getting into the park with it. <sigh> So I have to leave the line and walk back down to the far end of the parking lot to my truck to put my knife up. Apparently a guy who saw me leave the line realized the same thing and he was laughing and joking with me about it on the way back up the hill. When we got back to the back of the line (which was somewhat shorter at this point), we saw another guy do the same "belt check/groan/leave the line" dance.
So I eventually get into the park and join the fam. We watch The Boy run around on some of the kiddie play equipment a while, then head to get some lunch. He wants pizza, but I remember last time the pizza made me want to puke, so she stands in line at the pizza place while I walk across the street and get us a table at the saloon and order a half-pound hotdog for me and a quarter-pound hotdog for her, along with an Amber Bock draft (probably the day's sole redeeming virtue). I sat down to eat my dog, with my plastic fork. No way I could pick it up to eat - sauerkraut, brown mustard and onions, not to mention the water they soak them in made the bun a sopping mess - for $9. So I asked if they had any plastic knives - the guy literally laughed and said, "I wish, man." So I got a plastic spoon, which enabled me to sort of slice my way through my dog, which, though essentially tasteless, was at least edible. More than can be said for the $4 1/4-lb dog I got for the ex. When she finally got there with two personal pan pizzas almost 30 minutes later, all she ended up eating was the bun alone, as her dog was a pasty-looking grey color that I couldn't even look at, much less think of eating. She agreed.
So... a second Amber Bock down, and I was ready to brave the park itself... off we head for some recreation.Hit the restrooms first, which weren't horrible, I suppose. About like a truck stop, as much as to be expected.
Get in line for the... Steel Lasso. Suspended coaster, few twists and such. Pretty high-speed, pretty fun. About a 40-second ride, I think? The line took just right at an hour from stepping in to pulling out on our ride.
Next up... the Silver Bullet, I think? Slightly shorter wait - 50 minutes. Ride was probably a hair over a minute in duration, but also fun. My son hit his head on the side of the car during one of the snapping turns, which set him off a bit and I reached over to hold onto him and comfort him so he wouldn't freak out. He's only 8. But he was ok when we got out, I think he liked it ok, but he was a little upset about his head.
Head toward the Wildcat, the supposedly premier ride in the park, I think. Line was ridiculously long and I decided I couldn't stomach that. Ditto for the Renegade Rapids - line was stretching all the way down the walk toward the Wildcat and not moving quickly - decided to pass.
We walked past that and found the Go-Karts. Line didn't look too long, honestly, maybe 50 people or so, but the kicker - it's an extra-fee ride - $5 per head. <sigh> Well, at least it's a shorter line, right? Sooooo..... an hour later - yes an hour - we get to the front of the line. I didn't feel like riding at this point, was starting to get irritated and hot and feel a little yucky (worked the night before and drove in, so I'm wiped out), so I paid for my boy and his mom to ride while I waited.
After that, walk up and around and they get in line for the Mystery Log River Flume. Looks like another hellacious wait, so she holds a spot in line while I take him to the bathroom right across the street. When I come back, I wait in line another 15 minutes, which moved about.... 15 feet, I think. At this point I've had enough.
I left them in the line and went back to the saloon, sat and had a Coke (yeah, not a beer) and did some people-watching. Unreal. Sent a few texts to friends describing what I saw, and it wasn't pretty. I can see why so much of the world despises America. It was pretty disgusting in a lot of ways, but oh well.
After they got back from that ride (maybe another hour later?), we decided it was time to head to the hotel, clean up and go to dinner.
I guess my boy had a good day, but as I get older, I get less and less tolerant of these kinds of lines, wait, crowds, filth, expenditure per unit of fun, etc. By mid afternoon the crowds were really getting thick, and by the time we left at 5 or so, it was even worse. I couldn't believe people really wanted to wait that long in line for such a short little ride. The Diamondback I think was down a good part of the day, and the Hangman and I think the Mindbender(?) were shut down all day.
All I kept thinking was that we could have spent this money to spend the weekend out camping, shooting, fishing and hanging out. Or even gone to the movies together, whatever. Luckily it wasn't all that hot (though I got a bit hot and sweaty standing line like cattle for hours at a time), only in the upper 80s I think. If it had been 95+ or 100+ like most Augusts in OK, there is no way I would have been able to tolerate it as long as I did.
I remember leaving my family years ago when we went to Universal Studios after 3+ hours in line, one broken-down ride (in the middle) and one mediocre ride. I went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and drank beer for a few hours while they rode a total of three or four more rides all afternoon. I chalked up the $60 ticket as a loss and counted my blessings to be sitting in the air conditioning drinking beer.
Am I really that big of a stick-in-the-mud? Such an old fuddy-duddy? Unreasonable to expect to actually have things to do and be entertained rather than stand in line for hours and hours on end for rides that last literally 1-2 minutes MAX apiece? What is the solution? So dang hot most of the time, outdoors stuff is prohibitive much of the summer during the day in OK, and even in the evenings. I also don't have all the equipment... gonna cost me many hundreds of dollars and plenty of time to accumulate all the stuff for camping and fishing with my boy. I work 60 hours a week on average and don't get to see him but every couple weeks - we usually end up staying in a hotel in Tulsa, eating out and going to a movie. He loves it, don't get me wrong. Once in a while I take him out to shoot his little 15-22, but again - it's been so fargin hot lately...
Sorry... just ranting and rambling, but seriously, I'm just a bit overworked and frustrated lately with everything. I had hoped a day at a theme park with The Boy would help, but honestly, though I think he had fun, I ended up more irritated than ever, and wished we had done something else. This wasn't my idea, though, it was hers. And they stayed another day and did the water park, which I wasn't about to do.
Oh well... anyone actually make it through reading that whole novella???? lol
I got to Frontier City about 11:30. Already had a ticket I had bought online, and was meeting my son and his mother for his birthday. They had been there maybe 45 minutes already.
The line to get in the park was all the way across the parking lot. Two lines, actually, in total, I'd guess maybe 300-400 people in line? Maybe more? Apparently, it turned out, this wasn't the line to buy tickets, as the ticket counter had virtually NO line whatsoever. People who needed tickets had to buy them at the counter, then walk back across the parking lot to get in the back of the line to go through security/metal detection to actually enter the park.
Soooo... after about 20 minutes in line, I get "close" to the front of the line and see the signs that say "no weapons of any kind" and we are going through metal detectors. At this point, I groan and put my hand on my hip to feel the Gerber folding knife clipped to my belt. It is ever-present on my body and I almost never go anywhere without it... but apparently I ain't getting into the park with it. <sigh> So I have to leave the line and walk back down to the far end of the parking lot to my truck to put my knife up. Apparently a guy who saw me leave the line realized the same thing and he was laughing and joking with me about it on the way back up the hill. When we got back to the back of the line (which was somewhat shorter at this point), we saw another guy do the same "belt check/groan/leave the line" dance.
So I eventually get into the park and join the fam. We watch The Boy run around on some of the kiddie play equipment a while, then head to get some lunch. He wants pizza, but I remember last time the pizza made me want to puke, so she stands in line at the pizza place while I walk across the street and get us a table at the saloon and order a half-pound hotdog for me and a quarter-pound hotdog for her, along with an Amber Bock draft (probably the day's sole redeeming virtue). I sat down to eat my dog, with my plastic fork. No way I could pick it up to eat - sauerkraut, brown mustard and onions, not to mention the water they soak them in made the bun a sopping mess - for $9. So I asked if they had any plastic knives - the guy literally laughed and said, "I wish, man." So I got a plastic spoon, which enabled me to sort of slice my way through my dog, which, though essentially tasteless, was at least edible. More than can be said for the $4 1/4-lb dog I got for the ex. When she finally got there with two personal pan pizzas almost 30 minutes later, all she ended up eating was the bun alone, as her dog was a pasty-looking grey color that I couldn't even look at, much less think of eating. She agreed.
So... a second Amber Bock down, and I was ready to brave the park itself... off we head for some recreation.Hit the restrooms first, which weren't horrible, I suppose. About like a truck stop, as much as to be expected.
Get in line for the... Steel Lasso. Suspended coaster, few twists and such. Pretty high-speed, pretty fun. About a 40-second ride, I think? The line took just right at an hour from stepping in to pulling out on our ride.
Next up... the Silver Bullet, I think? Slightly shorter wait - 50 minutes. Ride was probably a hair over a minute in duration, but also fun. My son hit his head on the side of the car during one of the snapping turns, which set him off a bit and I reached over to hold onto him and comfort him so he wouldn't freak out. He's only 8. But he was ok when we got out, I think he liked it ok, but he was a little upset about his head.
Head toward the Wildcat, the supposedly premier ride in the park, I think. Line was ridiculously long and I decided I couldn't stomach that. Ditto for the Renegade Rapids - line was stretching all the way down the walk toward the Wildcat and not moving quickly - decided to pass.
We walked past that and found the Go-Karts. Line didn't look too long, honestly, maybe 50 people or so, but the kicker - it's an extra-fee ride - $5 per head. <sigh> Well, at least it's a shorter line, right? Sooooo..... an hour later - yes an hour - we get to the front of the line. I didn't feel like riding at this point, was starting to get irritated and hot and feel a little yucky (worked the night before and drove in, so I'm wiped out), so I paid for my boy and his mom to ride while I waited.
After that, walk up and around and they get in line for the Mystery Log River Flume. Looks like another hellacious wait, so she holds a spot in line while I take him to the bathroom right across the street. When I come back, I wait in line another 15 minutes, which moved about.... 15 feet, I think. At this point I've had enough.
I left them in the line and went back to the saloon, sat and had a Coke (yeah, not a beer) and did some people-watching. Unreal. Sent a few texts to friends describing what I saw, and it wasn't pretty. I can see why so much of the world despises America. It was pretty disgusting in a lot of ways, but oh well.
After they got back from that ride (maybe another hour later?), we decided it was time to head to the hotel, clean up and go to dinner.
I guess my boy had a good day, but as I get older, I get less and less tolerant of these kinds of lines, wait, crowds, filth, expenditure per unit of fun, etc. By mid afternoon the crowds were really getting thick, and by the time we left at 5 or so, it was even worse. I couldn't believe people really wanted to wait that long in line for such a short little ride. The Diamondback I think was down a good part of the day, and the Hangman and I think the Mindbender(?) were shut down all day.
All I kept thinking was that we could have spent this money to spend the weekend out camping, shooting, fishing and hanging out. Or even gone to the movies together, whatever. Luckily it wasn't all that hot (though I got a bit hot and sweaty standing line like cattle for hours at a time), only in the upper 80s I think. If it had been 95+ or 100+ like most Augusts in OK, there is no way I would have been able to tolerate it as long as I did.
I remember leaving my family years ago when we went to Universal Studios after 3+ hours in line, one broken-down ride (in the middle) and one mediocre ride. I went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and drank beer for a few hours while they rode a total of three or four more rides all afternoon. I chalked up the $60 ticket as a loss and counted my blessings to be sitting in the air conditioning drinking beer.
Am I really that big of a stick-in-the-mud? Such an old fuddy-duddy? Unreasonable to expect to actually have things to do and be entertained rather than stand in line for hours and hours on end for rides that last literally 1-2 minutes MAX apiece? What is the solution? So dang hot most of the time, outdoors stuff is prohibitive much of the summer during the day in OK, and even in the evenings. I also don't have all the equipment... gonna cost me many hundreds of dollars and plenty of time to accumulate all the stuff for camping and fishing with my boy. I work 60 hours a week on average and don't get to see him but every couple weeks - we usually end up staying in a hotel in Tulsa, eating out and going to a movie. He loves it, don't get me wrong. Once in a while I take him out to shoot his little 15-22, but again - it's been so fargin hot lately...
Sorry... just ranting and rambling, but seriously, I'm just a bit overworked and frustrated lately with everything. I had hoped a day at a theme park with The Boy would help, but honestly, though I think he had fun, I ended up more irritated than ever, and wished we had done something else. This wasn't my idea, though, it was hers. And they stayed another day and did the water park, which I wasn't about to do.
Oh well... anyone actually make it through reading that whole novella???? lol
