100 Years of Happy: Too much of a good thing

We finally made it back after spending a day at Hershey’s Park. We were supposed to spend a second day at the park, but Mother (my really hilarious Wanders Blog nickname for my wife) and I were just too zapped of life and energy.

Numbers One and Two dragged me onto several thrill rides that were indeed quite thrilling. I haven’t ridden so many roller coasters in years. By the end, I was completely zoned. I wasn’t the only one. As we boarded an evening ride on Storm Runner, the entire crowd looked like a bunch of well-fed zombies who had entered into some sort of Zen-like trance despite the fact that we were about to be hurled 400 miles an hour over, under, around, and inside out.

Our final ride of the night was on the smooth gliding Great Bear. It’s a hanging coaster where your legs dangle and you worry that you’ll lose a foot or something. This last time on it, though, rather than getting all worked up about the pounding and flipping and high-speed flinging, I successfully accomplished “fantasy transformation” – my mind slowly sputtered out, “Wee. I’m Peter Pan. I can fly… I’ve always wanted to be Peter Pan.” It was wonderful. I was so moved I almost cried.

However, I now want Walt Disney World to create a Peter Pan thrill ride coaster where you glide on your stomach at high speeds through a Neverland volcano, barrel roll through clouds, and skim over water. Call me, Disney; we’ll discuss.