Carnival rides have always fascinated me. They are so thrilling and the ups and downs so unexpected. With a real carnival ride, you just never know what’s coming next, even if you’ve ridden it a hundred times. There’s always something different and so satisfying when you experience a really great ride.
You know the kind. The experience begins long before you get on. Your mind is filled with anticipation and excitement. You can hardly wait, the endorphins and adrenaline pumping through through you until you are about to explode. That’s when you know that you have a true thrill ride and not some run-of-the-mill carnival attraction.
Unfortunately for me, my first experience was pretty run-of-the-mill, one that wasn’t much of a thrill at all. It was very predictable and safe, in fact… I might even say routine. I took my first spin when I was 18. I know, a little late to the party. Most people go for their first ride long before this. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to the carnival; it’s just that the opportunity never came up.
Rest assured, I really wanted to go for a ride long before 18, but I couldn’t find a decent ride that was open. So I had to make do with the side shows, and yes, the occasional freak show instead.
I guess that’s all part of growing up. You think you’re ready to go for the ride of your life. You may have even imagined what it would be like many times in the privacy of your own home. But out in the real world, you find out that all the rides are closed for the season, at least to you.
Eventually I found one that was open. I didn’t even ask to go for a ride on that particular day. The ride operator decided on the spur of moment that it was time for me to enjoy the Tunnel of Love. I tried to get off, and eventually did. It seemed like a pretty terrific, and I went back to it again and again in the days, weeks and years to come.
But I didn’t really have anything to compare it against. It seemed enjoyable enough. Why, I could even change places now and then and get to go on a slightly different ride. One moment I was on the fire engine, going round and round in a circle, occasionally hearing that ever so satisfying bell ring. The next time I was allowed to do the motorcycle and even the speedboat.
Eventually I figured out that it was basically the same ride every time. Sure, it would vary a bit now and then, but it was still the same old basic ride.
One day I mentioned the carnival ride I was on to some friends. They told me that the rides on the other side of the midway were far more satisfying. In fact, they were so good that everyone riding ended up screaming at the top of their lungs every time they went for a spin.
You know how it is when you find out the grass is greener on the other side of the theme park. Now that I knew there were indeed better rides, I had to try one out for myself.
I don’t usually like to compare, but I have to say that in my case the other rides out there were freaking awesome. Some of them went up and down real fast, some rolled over unexpectedly, others were of the sit and spin variety where you had to be strapped down in the interest of ride safety. I won’t even mention the ones that fly forward then slowly go back. Downright titillating I must say!
Then there are those very special rides that you never want to get off of. Well, you do want to get off, just not off of. You just keep going up and up and up, higher and higher, until you can barely stand it, then you scream at the top of your lungs as you come down the other side because you’re totally on overload emotionally and physically. You never want it to end and when it does, you’re spent. There’s nothing left and you definitely don’t want to check out any other rides.
The sad part is, I thought my first carnival ride was like that. If I had never heard about the other wild rides from my friends, I probably would have thought this was the way all carnival rides were. Take the same ride around and around in the ol’ fire truck and hope to god the bell clangs a couple times before it comes to a largely unfulfilling and often fruitless end.
But the dark truth is, there are some great rides out there. Freaking amazing rides. Ones that would put some of the tamer ones to shame.
That’s where life parallels DisneyWorld, I guess. If you never leave Fantasyland, you may think that Peter Pan’s Flight or the Mad Hatter Tea Cups are the most thrilling rides you’ve ever taken. But then you head over to the Land of Tomorrow and you ride Space Mountain a couple times. You may even really like Space Mountain and think it’s the best ever. But then you head over to Hollywood Studios and you jump on Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Nope, that’s the best ride. Well, until you take a couple turns with the Tower of Terror.
The good news is, you eventually find the kind of carnival ride that gives you a thrill a minute every time you take it for a spin. You may even be lucky enough to find that really rare attraction, one where the ride is ever changing. One moment it’s Thunder Mountain Railroad, the next it’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
Me? I’m just glad that no one has ever complained that they spent the night with me riding “It’s a Small World” after all. :~)
In the Emerald City, dreaming of my favorite carnival ride of all time, a definite E Ticket in my book,
– Robb
In case you totally missed this, we’re talking about doing the horizontal mambo, the Hokey Poke-me.