While reminiscing the good old corona free days, I thought back to when the local amusement parks/carnivals existed. The crowds of people, the smell of deep fried foods everywhere, loud game noises, and the hot summer air made me quite sad that those had to be postponed for quite some time. For those of you who still remember how the Last Fling was like, or perhaps the RibFest, these favorite rides of mine might spark some deep memories in you, and possibly have you agreeing with me as well.
#1: Freak out
This ride is definitely my favorite to go to when I see it at any local amusement park. The line for this is usually really long, wrapping around the sides of the gates, making it seem unworthy of waiting for. In reality, however, 16 people go on the ride at one time, so it’s deceiving in its looks. Out of all the rides at these parks, this would be deemed (I would say) as one of the “scarier” rides, but only in comparison to the rest. The ride spins in circles while also proceedingly getting higher by swinging up to different sides, kind of like a pendulum. The one thing I like about this one in particular is when it halts just for a second or two up at the highest peak, and whether you’re facing down towards the ground, or up towards the sky, this can probably be the most frightening moment for you.
#2: Kamikaze
I remember being afraid to go on this ride until just a few years ago, as it was the only one out of all the other rides at the Last Fling to have you go upside down at one point. This ride would just move a line of people in circles as if you were part of a yoyo’s around the world trick. The first time I went on this I remember feeling shocked after at how “unscary” it actually was. I had come to the realization that when you move in that circular motion, it doesn’t feel any different than moving normally (upside up). Sometimes though, if the employee likes to play around, they will pause the riders at the top for a few seconds; THAT is when one may become fearful, as all the blood is rushing to your head, and your grip starts to loosen.
#3: Gravitron
Honestly, the best part about this ride is seeing the smaller children either stick to the panels and not be able to get up, freaking them out, or when some people don’t have a care in the world and just end up going towards the middle of the ride rather than in their strapped up slots. This is also a good ride in the sense that it allows many people to go at one time, moving the line quicker, and you get to see the different reactions of everyone while you’re spinning around almost perpendicular to the ground. You can also feel all your face fat move around with this ride (or maybe that’s just me with my particularly fat face), which I deem as fun because it’s something that happens uncontrollably due to the different gravitational pulls. The duration of this ride is also seemingly good, as it goes on for probably up to a minute or a bit over, which is way longer than some other rides.
#4: Pirate Ship
Last but not least, this ride always gave me the heebie jeebies, as I swear I was about to fall face forward onto the track whenever it would reach certain high points. The bars to hold you down barely did anything at all, especially if you have thinner thighs that basically did not touch the bar whatsoever. There would be no upper body strap, so all you could do is grip onto the bar by your waist and pray for dear life. This ride also had a long line during the busy times of the parks, but there were also many seats making it go by faster. I have a love hate relationship with this ride, as it makes me scared (which is good), but because I could actually just plunge to my death due to the insufficient safety measures. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure the height requirements for this ride was around 5 feet, so for the ones 3.5 inches shorter than me, I don’t know how they did not fall. I’d still recommend this ride, however, as it is one of the classics there that you must try at least once in your life.