Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, but having spent my formative years working at a roller coaster/bumping cards/knock-down-the-milk-bottles
summer resort, I'm looking forward to seeing "Adventureland," the upcoming comedy about 
amusement park workers in 1987.
It opens April 3rd nationwide. For more info on the film, click here.
Want to join me for an advance screening on Tuesday, March 31, at Regal Galaxy 14? All you have to do is post a note here describing a meaningful, silly, romantic or absurd amusement park, summer resort or state fair experience you've had.
I'll randomly pull winners until the passes run out and contact them via e-mail over the next few days. Notified winners will be able to pick up their passes at IBJ's downtown offices.
Just keep in mind that the film is rated R, so leave the little ones at home.
Your stories?
amusement park workers in 1987.
It opens April 3rd nationwide. For more info on the film, click here.
Want to join me for an advance screening on Tuesday, March 31, at Regal Galaxy 14? All you have to do is post a note here describing a meaningful, silly, romantic or absurd amusement park, summer resort or state fair experience you've had.
I'll randomly pull winners until the passes run out and contact them via e-mail over the next few days. Notified winners will be able to pick up their passes at IBJ's downtown offices.
Just keep in mind that the film is rated R, so leave the little ones at home.
Your stories?
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We had a full morning of riding rides and eating junk food. Around 1:00 that day, we decided to ride the Haunted Mansion ride. To those of us who remember, this use to be the Smurf ride at one point.
Well, we waited in line, got locked into our casket and took off into the ride. I was on the right, our friend was in the middle, and Bryan was on the left. About a minute into the ride, our friend said that he had to use the bathroom. We were like, ok, hold on, it will be over soon. He was like, no, I have to go right now. We kept saying to him, just hold tight. Well, holding anything was not his strong point. Let's say that #2 couldn't wait, and he let it all out.
Bryan and I spent the entire ride holding ourselves up off of the seat so that we would not get messy ourselves. When the ride ended, we all quickly got up and ran to the nearest bathroom. I was completely useless as far as help, as I was laughing so hard at the situation.
Fortunately, Bryan brought extra cloths that day. Unfortunately, our friend was 6'4 and Bryan is about 5'5. Needless to say, our friend looked ridiculous in his cloths.
Sean
My niece was in a cheerleading competition there and it was the first chance that my sister and her family had ever had to visit. I had been there before and knew how to see the parks without waiting in lines, etc. I plannned out the whole vacation, trying to pack four parks into three days. I knew where to take short cuts, which rides to ride first, and I hustled the eight of us in and out and onto I ran them a little ragged, but we had to pack everything in so few days. The last day was our visit to The Magic Kingdom. It was March, and raining, and chilly. I put everyone in a Mickey Mouse poncho (some under protest) and we headed to the park. It was time to ride the log ride (the one with Briar Rabbit that has a long, wet flume at the end)....my sister was refusing to ride because she would get wet. Mind you it was raining and we were already wet. I told her - we are in the Happiest Place on Earth so shut up, get on your poncho, and get on the ride.
5+ years later, they still call me the Disney World Nazi!
But my silly romantic story involved meeting my first girlfriend during a neighborhood trip to Chicago's Great America in the late 1980s. The relationship was a roller coaster ride in itself, and ultimately derailed..but I always will have my memories of our many summer nights at the park.
2) Went to Disney World during one of its lowest attendance periods of the year - the second week of December. The temps dropped - we felt like we had the place to ourselves. We kept getting on the Tower of Terror - often riding as the only passengers in the car. We rode the ride 11 times that day.
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I also remember looking at the people who operated rides like The Scrambler or The Octopus, and thinking, Man, they have arrived.
My friend Dave and I laughed at how she could be this way at the Happiest Place on Earth as we had to take turns sitting with her on the rides.
It was like there was a storm cloud over her head.
We laugh when we talk about it now!!