Lagoon - the fun stuff :)

We had a wonderful time at Lagoon.  I hadn't been there since I was around 11 so it was interesting to experience deja vu now and again.  I remembered a few rides, but a lot has been changed or added.  

Sadly, I've already forgotten funny things said and crazy things that happened, so I figured I better toss in the pictures and try to remember what I can. 

I'm doing this mainly for our photobook so I'm going to be a little travel loggish - sorry!

Daddy dropped us off and after getting our tickets we found our way to the other end of the park to drop off our stuff at Birch Terrace and go to the bathroom.  There were tons of geese around as well as many goslings.  The boys tried to get close but the parents were good at protecting and hissing off intruders.  

The first thing the boys wanted to do was the Ladybug Bop.  So we waited in line for 5 minutes until Stephen saw Dinosaur Drop and decided that was better so we walked over there and got in that line.  They're the same ride but it's all about packaging and dinosaurs win for boys :)  We waited and waited.  It was finally our turn, we were the first in line at this point.  And that's when the guy came to fix it (we didn't know it was broken).  They didn't explain anything to us and so we didn't know if this was a long fix or a short one.  The line dissolved and we decided to try again later.  

Stephen had seen the sign for Dragonfly so he said he wanted to go on that one.  Lincoln watched it go around and when I asked if he was cool with it, he said he was if I rode with him.   

Right when we got up there the guy informs me that I can't have my purse.  So I set it down on the other side of the fence surrounding the ride and got on.  Seriously - only in Utah would I do this.  The crazy thing is that later I watched others do it as well. I kept an eye on it, but nothing ever happened.  Sadly, Lincoln was not in love with this ride - too much centrifugal force.  This would become a reoccurring theme.

While we were spinning around and I kept an eye on my purse, I saw the Kontiki ride and thought we'd try it.  I figured that Lincoln (and probably Stephen too) wouldn't want to go on the big Tidal Wave ride, so this would be the next best thing.  My purse could even stay where it was since it would actually be easier to get exiting off of that ride - trixy plan eh? 

Lincoln was pretty excited at first to be on a boat.  He and Stephen talked about the Lion carved in the front of the ship.  As it got going, I kept talking about the storm and how we were going to get through the storm and Lincoln handled it pretty well, and in the end he exclaimed, "We made it!  We made it through the storm!" and he thought it was even fun.  

So when Stephen said, "Let's go on the big ship now!" Lincoln was surprisingly all for it.  I was shocked. I thought we'd better ride this wave while we had it so we ran over there and got right on.  This was fortuitous because Lincoln would NEVER have done it if he'd seen what this ship actually was about to do.  

When we got on, I knew that to sit in the middle of the ship it wouldn't be as bad, but hearing Stephen I realized that he wanted to have the more thrill seeking seat.  

I had fears from way back when riding Tidal Wave when Kimball almost fell out, so I wasn't able to let Stephen sit in another row where I couldn't grab him.  I knew we'd only have once chance at this so I chose the 2nd to the end.  

It started rocking and Lincoln was actually enjoying it.  But the first time we went high, he panicked and he screamed and bawled the rest of the ride.  Poor boy, he really hated it.  

Stephen kept trying to talk him into riding it again throughout the rest of the day and he would have none of it.  He was not to be moved.  When Stephen asked, he always got a firm "No!"  I'm glad we snuck one ride in though :)

After that - Lincoln was totally cool letting Stephen go on a ride alone and just watching from the sidelines - especially after watching it go around once.  So Stephen went on Moonraker by himself.  After watching it I could see why this wasn't Lincoln's thing.

It goes fast and then tilts up!  Lincoln was probably smart sitting this one out.  It was nice not actually be on the ride at the same time so I could actually watch Stephen and witness his joy during the ride.   

I don't know why I have so many pictures of Stephen on this ride.  I'm guessing it's because it was the first time I really pulled my camera out to take pictures of the boys on rides and I was making up for lost time :)

  

 Stephen really loved this ride.

I thought we better go for calm and smooth for the next choice so Lincoln could have some fun.  I remembered they had a car ride, so we were off to Speedway Jr. 

The boys rode together.  Lincoln kept saying that he wanted to ride in the green car and I'd explain that he'd have to ride whatever car came up and that we would be happy with any color.  And then what comes up?  The green car.  He was happy and looked at me in a kind of "told you so" way.  :)

  

 They looked so cute driving around in that car!

They took their jobs very seriously.  I wish the ride was just a tad longer though - it is over so fast!

Guess the steering wheels were all of a sudden really interesting

Next we went over to the Helicopters.  I like how this ride is actually named exactly what it is. Thank you.

Lincoln was going to sit this one out at first but in the end he decided to go.  They were going to ride together and then at the last minute Lincoln chose his own which was probably a good thing.  I noticed that Stephen went high and stayed there and Lincoln went up and down but stayed down.  

Later I found out that they didn't know how to work the ride.  There is a bar that looks like a safety bar that would go over their laps - this is the thing that controls the up and down element.  So Stephen pulled it so it was close to going over his lap and he went up and he tried hard to keep it in place.  Lincoln tried to, but gave up.  Later when they went again, Stephen used this new knowledge to bounce Alexander and caused lots of fear instead of fun.  Too much knowledge . . . .

  Here Stephen is waving to Lincoln while they wait excitedly for the ride to start.

 

 Lincoln has his intense face on - he did so well on this ride!

One of the oldest rides in the park - Baby Boats has been there since the 40's.  I can't believe it's still around!  The killer about this ride is how long it takes to put the kids in the boats and then to take them back out when the ride is over.  It is painful.  It's also super duper slow and uneventful - but the boys absolutely loved it, I think it was that bell.  The boys rang it constantly it seemed.  

 The boys were going to ride together but because they couldn't decide on the color of boat they wanted, they ended up riding in different boats.  There was one boat left and so the guy opened the gate to let that kid on and he ran to get on with Lincoln.  That was odd.  So Lincoln had a partner after all, Ethan.  He wasn't too wild and Lincoln was ok with it so all was well.
  

After the boats it was flying time and we were off to Red Baron.  The boys absolutely LOVED this ride.  

Later on they rode it over and over again.  It didn't whip the kids around fast, so Lincoln really enjoyed it and was even OK with the plane going up and down. 

  It was fun to watch Stephen who was on some type of flying mission to take down the bad guys.  I don't know why he chose to sit in the back seat.  I thought when he climbed in there it was because Lincoln was going to get in the front seat, but when Lincoln chose a different plane Stephen didn't budge.  

We looked over and decided it was time to give Ladybug Bop a go.  I knelt down as we watched people ride it and said "Lincoln, do you see what is happening?  Do you see that people drop down like that?  Are you sure you still want to go on it?"  He answered "yes" everytime.  Although he added that he'd only do it if I sat next to him.  

So up we went and he was happy.  The first time we dropped he screamed and started crying.  He screamed and cried every drop and basically bawled the whole time. I tried to console him and tell him it was fun but to no avail.  Then about 3/4 of the way through it dropped and started bouncing and I made sound effects and Lincoln started laughing.  He laughed the rest of the time.  

We got off and Stephen said, " Now it's time for Dinosaur Drop!" and he ran to get in line.  Lincoln started running off too and I was confused.  When I talked to him he said he wanted to ride it.  I said, "Lincoln, it's just like the other one, it will drop you over and over again, are you sure?" "Yes, I want to go on it." "Lincoln, honey, you cried and cried on the last one, are you sure?" "yes!"  

So we got on and sure enough, he screamed and cried and screamed and cried until it started bouncing near the end of the ride and then he laughed and said it was fun.  Having said that, he never agreed to a replay after that!

 

We needed something fun that both boys would enjoy and the new ride, Red Rock Rally seemed like the best one to fit the bill.  Unfortunately yet again we had a boy running the ride who was slower than tar.  Large, nerdy, overweight and not happy, he slogged his way around checking seatbelts and then started the ride before slowly going about opening car doors and unlocking seatbelts.  It was painful!!! Luckily in the end, all was forgotten as I watched both boys faces coming around the first turn.  They LOVED this ride, including Lincoln - both were full smiles.  

 

Later in the day we did this one again.  The boys were hoping to get their own cars but there were so many people in line waiting that I told them to ride together.  They were so good - they didn't complain, they just said, "ok mom."

Next to Red Rock Rally is Jumping Dragon which seemed like a dizzy, whipping ride that didn't interest me or Lincoln in the slightest.  Stephen could not be daunted so we waited in line with him and then happily watched him.  It went around so fast and then stopped and went backwards.  Soooo glad I didn't have to ride that one!  

While waiting for Stephen, Lincoln spotted the "Octopus ride" otherwise known as Ody Sea - ooooh so clever.  Stephen was ok with it but really wanted to ride The Bat, a roller coaster where your feet dangle which only allows kids over 45 inches to ride.  Lincoln, who was too short, was happy to have an excuse to be a no go, so I told Stephen that would have to wait until Daddy came (sadly we didn't have enough time when daddy came to actually ride this one - maybe next time). 

This was probably the longest line we waited in.  I think it rand 4 times before it was our turn, mainly because so many wanted to ride alone.  It's a classic "Dumbo" type ride except that there are churning waters below kicking up mist and "spitting" dolphins in the center and on the outside at varying heights to smack you in the face with a huge stream of water.  Stephen was on his own and Lincoln rode with me but had no desire to run the up/down motion so I controlled our little car and tried hard to miss the water.  I did so-so :) which means we got pelted a few times.  But Lincoln enjoyed it none-the-less. 

I figured our being a little wet was a good signal to break for lunch and get ready for the water park.  As we walked back to get our food we passed Bom Bora and I asked the boys if we should go on it and got a "no" from both so I kept quiet and decided to bide my time. Bom Bora was the only ride I wanted to go on and so I had to play my cards right to get a chance :)

We ate a nice sandwich at our lonely but shady ramada.  Either just 3 families from our stake showed up or no one stored their food at the "terrace." I was hoping to have a little comradary :)  Anyway we enjoyed our lunch and finally got some much needed water, then we grabbed our suits for the water park, cleverly named "Lagoon-A-Beach." 

They have a cute kiddie pool with a big rock formation and 3 little water slides.  Stephen ran and jumped through the waterfall and onto a slide in about 5 seconds.  Lincoln took a little more time familiarizing himself with the water  elements and attractions.  

I walked with him to the top of the straight slide and as soon as he went down he was ready to do it again.  After 15 minutes of that one slide I showed him another and he was a repeat customer there for quite a while as well.  
 

 He steered clear of the wide waterfall slide for quite some time but after a while he built up the nerve and then it was hard to pull him off. 

While Lincoln was going to town on the little slides, Stephen was bored of the low adrenalin slides and begged to go down the tube slides.  This was the time I needed another adult or a cousin or something.  But I did what I could and sent him on his own hoping I'd see him getting off and know he was ok.  A lot of time passed and I guess I must have missed him because when finally saw him he said that was his 4th time down!  

 I called after him - he waved but didn't stop running to go down again. 

After that, I grabbed Lincoln and we went over and watched him come down the last two times.  All in all he went on Wipeout once, Twist twice, Shout three times and Pipeline once. 
 
 


At that point he was ready for the big, big slides and that was our cue since I couldn't let him do those alone.  So we got dressed and headed out for more rides!
 

Lincoln had begged and begged for the train ride and so the Wild Kingdom Train the first ride of the afternoon.  We were able to get right on without waiting.  I was surprized to see that it was a real train, complete with smells and noise.  I was impressed - not a fun job driving that thing, to be sure. 

It was like a zoo!  We were really surprised that we got to see lots of animals like tigers and lions.  I didn't think they still had those types of things with all the protesting against animals in tight quarters without room to roam.  

Regardless, the boys loved the train. They were thrilled the entire time.

We got off the train to see a huge line and we were grateful for our timing.  That happened the second time we went on it as well.  Sooooo glad we didn't have to wait!

On our way back to kiddieland the boys spotted Skyfighter and they knew in that moment it was going to be a favorite.  

Spaceships, flying up and down, guns that make shooting noises, and two cockpits that face opposite ways so they can stare their opponents in the eyes.  What little boy wouldn't like that?  

They did it twice then and then like 3 times later on.  I would hate to run that ride, soooo noisy!

Then it was off to a little known tucked away ride called Scaliwags.  

This is yet another "Dumbo type ride" but it was oddly on the fast side.  It really whipped those kids around.  

 Lincoln liked it for about 8 seconds and then hated it and stayed off of it for the rest of the time.  You can see him gripping the side of the car - I think he felt like he was going to fly out because it went so fast.  Probably should have put him on the inside.

 

I thought to cheer Lincoln up and help him remember that Lagoon is fun, we had better do Speedway Jr. again.  It worked :)

In fact that ride worked so well that Lincoln ventured to say what he wanted to do for our next ride . . .  Tea Cups - oh boy :(  

 

 that's not us, just a picture to give you an idea of what the cups looked like and what balls the boys were sucking on in line

I never liked the teacup ride at Disneyland because it made me sick.  I was secretly hoping we'd make it out of the park without a spin, so I was not looking forward to this one.  It was cute - you have to give them that.  It was such a girly looking ride I was surprised the boys were so excited.  And it killed me that while we waited in line both boys kept putting their mouths on the balls integrated into the fence around the ride, sick!  

We met a nice woman in line name Rena who was visiting from Vernal.  She asked if the boys were dare devils and if we were going to do lots of spinning.  I said "no, if the boys figure it out they can spin, if not, we'll just go with the flow of the ride."  Well right next to us was someone who looked a whole lot like Senator Mark Madsen and he was a crazy spinner.  Holy Cow!  Stephen took one look over there and then tried to spin the wheel just like him.  It was REALLY hard to turn so I had to help.  What a good mother, eh?  We didn't even come close but we did enough that I started to feel a little yucko so I knew it was time to stop.  Not one I want to go on again, thank you very much.

On the way back to kiddie land we came in sight of Bom Bora again so I thought I'd give it a try.  I put my purse in a locker (which took some figuring out - what a dum dum I can be sometimes).  Then I just grabbed Lincoln's hand and we ran up.  I talked the whole time about how fun it was going to be.  We were stoked and I was thrilled that we didn't have to wait in line.  So we never saw what the ride did until we did it.  It was a blast - I wanted to do it again right after and Stephen enjoyed it too.  Lincoln screamed and cried the whole time and was not about to do it again. As I look at this picture below I wonder what in the world I was thinking making Lincoln go on it - it's pretty crazy.  Poor guy - I hope he's not scarred for life.  

We definitely needed a feel good ride at this point.  Lincoln mentioned that he wanted to go on the bumper cars and so I tried to figure out where it was.  I scoured the map but could find nothing to clue me in. I ended up asking someone who gave me directions, but he couldn't remember what it was called either.  I finally found it: Scamper.  What a dumb name!  The ride was kinda dumb too, although the boys loved it.  The little cars have no pedals, they are propelled forward or backward dependent on how they turned the wheel and neither of them ever figured it out, nor did most of the children.  So they'd get stuck and have no idea how to back up so they'd just keep ramming into each other.  Some would twist the wheel back and forth and magically they'd get untangled.  It was all very chaotic to say the least.  I guess that's the point of bumper cars. 

So at this point we'd done all the Kiddieland rides so we were on seconds.  Stephen went for Moonraker again.  I had a hard time watching him because on the same ride was little Courtney in our ward who is one of three triplets with Cerebral Palsy.  She's the most with it of the bunch and was there with her parents and cousins.  She was sooooo happy to be on this ride I couldn't take my eyes off of her.  So much joy in that little broken body!

The boys decided to go on the Boats again and this time we had an even more conciencous girl running the ride who opened the gate for one child and then took them around, strapped them in and then came back for another.  She did the same thing unloading them and I thought I would go crazy.  I realize it's a liability but this was ridiculous!  The boys had a great time on this uneventful ride and while I waited for them to be unloaded I noticed a stage show going on and Dippin' Dots.  When the boys were ready I mentioned the icecream to them and they were excited.  Unfortunately they wanted the rainbow sherbet kind - not my fav, and it stained super fast.  As we ate the boys and I watched the show from afar.  Suddenly Stephen said, "hey, why don't we eat our ice cream in there and watch teh show at the same time?!" so we did.  It was funny that they liked the show so much, it was a bunch of Broadway show tunes but by the time we got in there it was kind of the sexy ones like All That Jazz.  The boys clapped every time and said they liked it at the end.  I had a hard time clapping so I didn't. 

 After that it was time for more shooting and rocket riding so we were back to Skyfighter.  I took some time to try and get all the sticky ice cream off of my hands.  Next time we are not getting the rainbow sherbet - it stains too many colors!

After holding the trigger down on their guns incessantly as well as every gun they passed as they walked to the exit, we decided to walk over to the Wild Kingdom Train again.  They enjoyed it the second time nearly as much as the first but did not look forward to the noise.  Lincoln started plugging his ears about 5 minutes before the train moved.  I didn't think it was that loud, but I guess to little ears it probably was.  

After another go at Red Rock Rally Stephen was ready for the long awaited Ferris Wheel!  Another thing that's not properly named, Sky Scraper was difficult to find.  It felt like we walked ALL OVER the entire park - actually I think we did . . . twice!  At the same time Daddy was finally on the road (it was like 7pm at this point) and he forgot his Stake Lagoon Day pass so we had to take a detour at the office to find out if he could get in for free.  We found out that he could but we had to meet him at the gate and show our stub.  So once that was figured out we were back to searching for the Ferris Wheel.  When we finally found it the sign said that the ride could take 20 minutes and the line was super long.  I could just see daddy getting there the moment we got on and his waiting for 20 minutes with babycakes in the parking lot.  Not a fun picture so instead we watched some of the stupid and scary rides and talk to our friend Rena again.  After that I let the boys play a little in the splash pad.  I didn't want them getting their shirts and nice sandals soaked so I had them take those off.  Within in 30 seconds I had a park employee tell me that they had to have shirts and shoes on for the splash pad.  Seriously?!  Ok.  Well while they were putting shoes back on, daddy arrived.  So we ran to the gates.  

So with Daddy and Babycakes with us, what do we do first???  So many things, so little time!  I thought the boats would be Alexander's best bet . . . except Super Meticulous Safe Girl was still running the boating show.  After waiting in the mind-numbing zone Dan couldn't handle it so we searched for something else.  Stephen offered Scaliwags and we took it.  The fact that Lincoln wouldn't go on it should have been an indication that Alexander wouldn't enjoy it either.  Live and learn - live and learn.  

So forget the rides (please Alexander, forget the rides! do not remember the fear and panic) and head into Pioneer Village. 

 The only problem is that Pioneer Village is a slow, methodical, stop and look, read, study kind of experience.  The boys and I were still in run around and do as many things as you can scarcity mode and my body ached and wanted to stiffen every time I stood still.  It was hard to enjoy this - but Daniel had no problem he just got here!  When he noticed I was not enjoying it at the level he was he said, "hey you loved the Whaler Museum, right?" Yeah except that's when we didn't have kids, wanted to get out of the heat and were dating - it's a little different :).  

Anyway, the boys were good sports and listened to Daddy (and sometimes mommy) teach them about the old times. 

 We started in at pioneer house and saw old furniture.  Because we explained that in the first place,  from that point on Alexander called every building a "house" specifically "my house."  We saw the
Print Shop, Shoe Shop, Stove and Hardware Museum, Post Office, Dentist Office, Butcher, Barber Shop, Blacksmith, and Gun Collection.  The highlights were the Toy and Doll Museum, the Train Museum, Phone Museum and the Carriage Hall. 

Oh the Carriage Hall!  That's where Alexander "crossed the line" meaning he ducked under the fence separating the people from the antiques and the alarm went off.  AWESOME!

The boys really loved the Train Museum, we stayed there the longest.  

The Phone Museum was interesting because an older woman came in and told the boys how she used to work an old switchboard and showed them how she did it.  They talked to her for quite a while.  IT was cute.  We also got to see a peacock which the boys chased a little as well as geese the boys chased as well. 

Then we go on the Boat Ride with Alexander
Then we go on the Whale ride three times!

Before we left Pioneer Village I saw one last ride we hadn't gone on yet -the Log Flume, otherwise known by most people as the Log Ride :) I grabbed the two older boys, gave Daddy my purse and we ran through the line and jumped on a log.  

Luckily Lincoln hadn't see the finale of this one so he was excited.  We floated along enjoying the trees and water.  Then Lincoln looked over and said, "why are those guys going up on their log?" "hmm, I don't know, maybe it's to get back to where you get off?" 

Then in about 5 seconds we started going up and he started to get nervous.  So I hugged him tight and told him that I was going to hold on to him the whole time and so he didn't need to worry.  Then we went over the top and we all screamed going down.  Because I put Stephen in the front and I sat in the back - we didn't get very wet. Just my glasses :) Our seating arrangement was intentional for that very reason.  

When we were finished, Stephen was ready for another go but Lincoln put the kibosh on that and so we ran back to where Daddy and Alexander were waiting for us. 

With just a few minutes before the rides started closing we ran back to kiddie land in hopes for some real fun for Alexander.  So our first stop was Speedway Jr. which was a big hit for all 3 of our guys.

After that we decided to brave the annoyance and gave the Baby Boats a go.  Alexander was in LOVE - I don't know if it was the bell, the water, the bell, the feeling of independence, or the bell but whatever it was he was happy!

He didn't even care how long it took the girl to put kids on and off.

 

Sadly this is the last of the pictures - I guess we decided that nighttime shots weren't worth it.

With two winners under our belts we decided to give the Helicopter ride a go.  Since Alexander rode with Lincoln on the boats, Stephen begged to ride with babycakes.  That was a little mistake - actually if we had just told Stephen to go up and stay up it would have been fine.  Instead Stephen scared Alexander to the point of bawling by bouncing the helicopter really fast.  Not a good choice since we used the last of the tickets on that ride.  Lincoln was a little concerned about this ride, he kept saying he didn't want to go up and that he had to be in a helicopter that didn't go up.  When I explained that pulling the bar made you go up, he was so relieved.  Dan kept shouting to "pull the bar Lincoln!" until I explained that he was doing exactly what he wanted to do - just going around and around.  We should have put babycakes with him - oh well, more learning on our part. 

After that, we headed over to Bulgy the Whale ride.  Throughout the day the line was so long for this one that we never went on it.  I kept thinking that we'd go on it with Alexander but we were out of tickets for him.  Stephen went on it and loved it and so Lincoln joined him and then they went again.  It seemed like such a baby ride.  Funny thing was that Alexander wasn't even tempted.  When I asked if he wanted to go he kept saying "no, it's too scary."  Then he'd look next door at the Red Rock Rally and beg to "go on cars!" We had 3 tickets and not a single ride was under 4.  All of a sudden daddy took off and the next time I saw him, he had bought 1 50 cent ticket so Alexander could ride Bulgy. Such a hero!  Sadly Alexander didn't see the gallantry in that move.  
So now we had 4 tickets but were 6 short for the car ride so that was out of the question and the rides were closing fast.  Since Lincoln was still riding the whales, I handed Alexander off to daddy, told him to figure out what ride to put him on and Stephen and I ran off to ride the last ride Stephen wanted to go on . . . Puff the Dragon

Stephen had been waiting all day for this one since Lincoln wouldn't go on it.  Puff the Dragon was actually a fun little roller coaster.  We were the last to ride it before they closed down.  I'm glad we decided to run over there.  We got off and looked around, I saw Lincoln riding in a little car on Speedway Jr., but couldn't see daddy.  We kept looking but no daddy.  Lincoln was at the end and got off the ride and luckily he spotted us and we ran over to him  A minute or two later daddy appeared which Alexander who apparently had run away and daddy had to chase him down.  I don't know what Lincoln would have done if we weren't close by.  Crisis averted!

Well with all the rides closing and with 4 tickets left, we made a safe choice: Baby Boats!

Surprisingly Stephen and Lincoln weren't excited to join Alexander this time so we looked around, saw the planes (Red Baron) without any riders and Lincoln said that's what he wanted to do.  I was glad he wasn't scared, so off we ran.  They had such a good time so minute they got off, they ran around and rode them again.  So nice when there aren't any lines.  More rides closing, the only one they saw open was Skyfighter as if we hadn't had enough of that ride.  After riding once, the girl asked if they wanted to ride it again and all the kids screamed "yes" so they went for another go.  At this point Alexander was finally off the boats and all the rides were officially closed.  

Whew!  What a day!

We walked all the way back to get our bag and made one last stop at the water ball for an amazingly long time (as only our daddy can do).

 
Then we decided to go get ice cream somewhere a little cheaper . . . McDonalds!  We stopped at the one at 2100 S but they were out of ice cream.  Out of ice cream?! Seriously?!  Luckily we found another one a mile or two further on.  

We got home at 11pm totally tuckered out.  Our house still disorganized from not getting all the stuff from our trip to AZ put away.  I should have showered the boys but we were all too tired.  Fun day!