first visit to Six Flags

Dennis said, while we were riding a hot air balloon kiddie ride, "Six Flags ROCKS! That's been in my brain for a long time--I've wanted to come here for a long time and I've wanted to say that, and now I did." He did have a pretty fabulous time. He rode a couple of roller coasters--as a matter of fact, the first ride we rode when the park opened this morning was the Mind Bender, possibly my favorite roller coaster ever. Dennis gamely hopped on board, barely scraping the line that said he was tall enough to ride. He happily watched as we climbed the first hill. Then he huddled down in his seat and looked utterly terrified. He didn't cry or scream. He said afterward that it was really fun but also really scary, and he didn't want to ride it again today. When asked about it later, he said "I was too scared to cry!". He does love the fact that he rode a very big roller coaster that did THREE loops and didn't cry, and he said tonight that the best part of his day was riding the Mind Bender. I'm so proud. He rode ALL the kiddie rides (and there are lots), loved the train, loved the log flume even more, and drove a Hanson car with us as passengers. He didn't want to leave, but the park was getting more and more crowded, and we'd ridden everything he cared to ride by 3pm (not much of a wait when we arrived just before opening, so we didn't have much line standing to endure). It was different, taking him along. David and I love the big, scary coasters, and we rode the only one he was big enough to ride. It was hard to pass the rest of them by this year, but it was nice to not spend major time standing in line. We scored a few more superhero capes (the Flash, Green Lantern, and Superman) because they are less than $5 each at Six Flags and also a new Batman mask. Dennis 'flew' circles around us in his new capes as we walked through the park.

We stayed in a hotel that promised that it was walking distance from the gate, and it certainly was! We left our car there at the hotel and saved $15 for parking. Very nice. I can't believe we were done with everything so early--that was nice as well! We were back home before Six Flags even closed for the night. Dennis did a bit of trick-or-treating in the kiddie section, made his own Halloween mask, and admire the grisly and spooky park decor all day. We weren't there at dark (when the serious scary stuff started), and that's just as well. It was a perfect family outing, I think, and might have been more perfect if the Monster Plantation had been working. Dennis said "I love Six Flags and Disney World and the fair, too, but Six Flags is better than the fair!". Once we got home, he had to try on all his new superhero apparel and try out some new personalities, but he's gone on to bed now and we are about to do the same.