The end, for now

I don't really know what to say about Dorney Park. It's hard to come up with much that's new. Even if you haven't been to this particular place, amusement parks are an integral part of growing up in America and everyone knows the drill. When I was a kid, most parks had a moderate admission cost and then you paid per ride. The was one place in New York called Freedomland where it was pay once and ride as much as you want, but it was unusual. At the Disney parks, you bought a book of tickets that included a set number of tickets for the big, medium and small rides, so once you'd done the big ones you'd have to settle for the less thrilling attractions ("Oh Mom, do I really have to do "It's A Small World"again before I can go back on Space Mountain?"), because nobody would buy you more tickets until you'd used what you had.

Now it's $50 to get in, ride as much as you want, and for another $50 or so they'll even let you cut the lines. How egalitarian of them. It wasn't crowded because the weather wasn't great, but I rode some coasters with another chaperon and some kids.

Eventually, my mind started to wander and I noticed that the only people there were school groups. So what would happen if there were some sort of disaster and the only people left on earth were those of us fortunate enough to be at Dorney Park that day? What sort of society would develop with a couple thousand middle and high schoolers and a couple hundred teachers? Would we treat the spectacularly ugly midway prizes as idols and pray to them? Would we fight over the last hot dog?

Fortunately, we weren't there long enough for me to go too far down any of those paths of thought. We got home without incident and the trip was over.

For the seniors, I think the best thing about these trips is the opportunity to just chill. Most of the kids I know are so highly scheduled that they barely have time to breathe, much less sit around and play Taboo or Apples to Apples. Or, as one girl said, lie down on every couch in the hotel. For the chaperons it's a chance to see the kids in a different context and to live the glamorous life at hotspots like Split Rock Lodge (my hotel review to come).

Next year I'll probably be running the trip again. I can hardly wait.