Yesterday morning we sprang a surprise on our boys. We woke them at 6:30, shoved them into the van, and told them to prepare themselves for a long drive. Thanks to a surprise addition to the van they were too distracted to ask many questions. We hit the road and drove east. It wasn't until we were in Des Moines that they figured out we weren't in Nebraska any more.
(Leaving Nebraska is a big deal for our foster boys. It's the first time we've had permission to take them over the border.)
Finally, as we pulled through Adventureland's gates our youngest foster son said "Hey look, castles!" as he pointed at a sign. That drew our oldest's attention and he slowly read the first word he saw there: "Ad ... ven ... ture ... land. Adventureland? We're at ADVENTURELAND?!". Cue pandemonium. I wish I had caught the reaction on video because it was sweetly hilarious. I can't believe they obediently sat in the car for three and a half hours and the secret held the entire time.
I would love to recount the entire day with photos. Unfortunately, I really oughtn't share photos of our foster boys and they are in every single good photo. I could blur them or something, but that just feels weird. So here I sit, a couple dozen photos at my disposal and with none to share with you. Drat.
Overall our experience was similar to last year's trip, but with two extra boys plus my sister's family and my parents. The weather was near-perfect; the crowds were small; the rides were age-appropriate; and the damage to my wallet was minimal, even with an initial fill-up with Lincoln's criminally-priced gas. Robbie (age 5) upped the ante this year by trying out two roller coasters. (The verdict: he liked the Tornado, but the Dragon was too violent for his small frame.) Our youngest (age 4) was a stud, giving all kinds of rides a try, and the oldest (age 8) turned out to be a ride fanatic.
Adventureland may not be the most thrilling amusement park out there, but at our family's current stage it's perfect. It's so clean that the only thing I saw a sweeper sweep off the path was a leaf. The employees are very friendly. Most of them are retired folks and their personalities range from kind grandmother to sarcastic old man. (Sample quote: "You can hold on to the bar if you want, but that's for sissies.") Prices inside the park are inflated, of course, but only just. For example a 7" pizza was $5; that's reasonable to me. I wish I had paid attention to bottled water prices because that can be a good indicator of overall value, but we took our own (empty) water bottle into the park for refilling.
I've been to Adventureland twice now, and both times have gone very well. I look forward to continuing our new annual tradition next year.
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I love Adventureland. My Mom took my brother and me there every summer when we were growing up. I remember it always being as clean as you describe. And while everyone claims it’s so much smaller than Worlds of Fun, it never seemed small to me. Glad you had a good time!
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