Here are a few things I discovered about Six Flags New England in Springfield, Massachusetts. If you leave 13 towels and assorted other belongings piled together on two chairs in Hurricaine Harbor water park and forget that the water park closes at 7:00 PM, the park people collect all belongings and bring them to the Lost and Found near the park’s main gate. But, what ends up at Lost and Found is a bit different that what was left behind. Thirteen towels becomes four and a tan pair of child’s sandals possibly walked off with the missing towels. Somehow, an extra pair of sunglasses did end up with all the stuff that was recovered.
Despite the water park snafu, which I have to say has something to do with the thunder and lightening storm that sent us to take shelter under the thatched umbrellas in the water park in the first place, Six Flags is a great day activity for a multi-aged crowd. While the five-year-old went on the kiddie rides in the The Wiggles section, the older kids headed off to the roller coasters. Not just the older kids, but the kids at heart as well. I talked my best friend to go on the Superman: Ride of Steel roller coaster with me even though she swore up and down that under no circumstances would she ever get on it. Two hours after her declaration, there we were, our hands gripping the lap bar, heading towards the sky.
The Superman: Ride of Steel roller coaster is a massive steel thing that’s been named the “Number One Coaster in the World.” For the biggest thrill, sit on the left. That’s the side without the catwalk railing. I can vouch that it feels like being on the edge of the world without any barrier to falling off. I had the brief thought, “Ya, know, I don’t really like this all that much” as I took in the unobstructed view of the Connecticut River. That thought flew out as we flew down the first incline. At the end of the ride that lifted us slightly out of our seats on a couple dips, my friend opened her eyes and said, “That was fun. I’m glad I did it, but never again.”
The Batman: The Dark Night ride coaster that made upside down loops suited both of us more and I’d have gone on it again if we didn’t have to go retrieve our stuff, or what was left of it. [The photo is from The Coaster Critic who blogs about rollercoasters.)
* As a note, the park had nothing to do with the missing stuff. It was totally our fault since we left it for hours on end. Moral of the story: Lock up belongings, or at least remember the water park closes before the rest of the park does.