Self-fulfilling Sighting - and a lot of fun. ;-)

[PepperElf]

My boyfriend took me to a weekend carnival on base, where all the proceeds benefitted the local MWR (morale, welfare, recreation).

It was a TON of fun! First, we decided to get the ride-all-day armband cos ... each ticket was a dollar, and most rides cost anywhere from 3-5 tickets, while the arm band was just $20. And o boy did we go on well over $20 worth of rides, each!

And of course I was like, "Oooo I remember doing rides until I puked!" Something I mentioned a few times that day

So some sightings, but without too much drama, cos we were in a good mood

Lame ride
Some of the rides were lame. The Haunted House one was 2 minutes of sitting in a rickety old cart going through dark passages with nothing happening. Seriously. We were just glad we hadn't paid for the ride with tickets cos... the only thing that ride would have frightened would be a newborn infant.

Barker
The barkers for the stuffed animals were good. Too good. One roped my BF in pretty hard, cos the pricing on the darts was 2x - each dart you hit a balloon with cost you twice the last dart. But it was for charity so he's only wincing slightly. And now we have one semi-lame fire-turtle plushy, a weird looking dog plushy, and a stuffed buffalo. Yeah they had a buffalo... OK, unusual, but I'll take it.

He tried to rope me into playing too but I was like "No thank you!"

Gravitron
I swear I've never done this one before, but it was pretty cool. my BF & I cracked jokes about Craig Shoemaker's joke about the buddy who sunk to the bottom and puked... but no one did that. I had just wished the top had been open for a better view


Ring of Fire
I think I'll never go on this one again.

The kids ahead of me were a bit raucous and got spoken to by the ride-operator. First for not sitting 2 per car, and then for dropping their ticket stubs on the ground.

And to be honest the ride-operator was kinda fun. As my cart went by him he shouted "You're out of your mind!"

And why I'm thinking on never riding it again... My mouth started to water on the ride. And not in hunger.

The man asked me if I wanted to go again but I said, "No, my mouth started watering..." So he knew. Yeah the ring of fire is not where you wanna puke.


After that we walked around a little to let my stomach settle, and then tried what turned out to be my favorite ride:

The Drop Zone
OMG, this ride alone justified the arm bands, cos it was 5 tickets. And amazingly it didn't affect my stomach one bit... Instead I was too busy thinking, "hmm nice view but I'd rather see from the center seat next time..." until I got to the top. Until we dropped. Then it was 1-2 seconds of thinking, "O FUCK!" before the ride's brakes kicked in gently.

We rode that thing 3 times throughout the afternoon. The last time, I finally got the middle seat and the better view of the rest of the carnival (also the last ride of the day).


And now for the self-fulfilling Sighting
Yeah I puked.

On a ride too.

You'd think it would have been on one of those rough rides, the the original ring of fire, or the inverted spinning thing we tried after the drop zone (I did dry heave on that one though). But no. I puked. On the Gondola Wheel - same thing as a Ferris Wheel but you have circular carts.

We were almost done too, they had started letting people off. I tried not to, and thankfully it all landed on the step and it wasn't much - just half of a corn cog.


But apparently that's also how you guaranteed being let of the ride next. Yeah instead of having me sit there, sick, they circled through to let us off. And gave me a rag (my request) so I could clean it up. I was pretty embarrassed and apologized.

Oddly after that I was... mostly, better.


something like a gravitron
This is the one I always saw pictures of but never rode. Same thing as a gravitron but you get strapped in and the top's open.

OMG, that was weird. I thought the gravitron was odd, how the force kept me stuck to the side and lifted me off the ground a little... but this thing... I could FEEL my internal organs moving inside. that's fucked up... but kinda cool.

But after that I was like, "Um no more... well except for the Drop Zone!" Cos the drop zone didn't make me sick, even then. Then we left.


I wanted a drink to sooth my stomach a little, and maybe get some fluids inside, but... instead of paying their prices for drinks, we went to sonic. Ooo strawberry fruit slushy. Not that I could drink much of it at first, just tiny sips.

My BF thought it was the heat but I've been here a while now. I think maybe it was just not enough water and too many rides (or just the ring of fire). Got home, in the shower, and then curled up under a blanket until I felt better. And o boy, that sushy was big enough it never really melted much. So when I started feeling truly better it was there for me.



So moral of the story - avoid the ring of fire. Cos that's what made me sick that one time I'd mentioned before.
And if you puke on a ride apparently they let you off next. Not that I'm recommending it cos it sucks.

[SongsOfDragons]

They're probably used to clearing up vomit off their rides. The idea that you asked to clean it up was also probably unexpected. And IIRC, your body would release feel-good hormones after being sick...

Love carnivals. There's some pretty good ones round where I live - one in my town, one in the close city Southampton on the common. I love giant Enterprises, the swinging-chair roundabouts. Steel wild mice coasters are a good surprise, and Twists are becoming boring, though the good ol' Waltzers are always, always fun.

I like static theme parks, as they tend to have rides that don't need to be folded up into a semi. The second closest to me (Thorpe Park) can be gone round in less than a day and has some monstrous coasters (SAW!!!) and as well as being an okay price to get in, every year they give out these 'free ticked with one full paying adult' vouchers which we use between us as essential half-price vouchers. ^^

[Mel]

I haven't seen a Gravitron since I was a kid. I LOVED that ride and I'm always so sad that the traveling carnival never has it anymore when they come to town. *pouts*

[bhskittykatt]

The Ring of Fire is my FAV!!! I always have trouble getting friends to ride it with me, though.

[PepperElf]

lol. yeah i may never try that one again... or at least save it for the last.

my BF suggested it'll be better at the bigger park though. maybe i'll try it there. but not at the little ones.

cos =

[wagegoth]

One time riding the octopus left me reeling for an entire day. I had ridden them before, but this time I was in a car that kept spinning. That ride seemed to last forever; either the operator was a sadist or thought giving the girls an extra long ride would give him an in. Dumb.

I remember at one point hearing a kid in the car across from us screaming, "I'm going to puke!" He was blond and his face was an amazing shade of tomato. That was the only thing that broke through my nausea haze.

The carnival was in the field across from the apartment I shared with my grandmother, which is how I managed to stumble home. I ended up half-reclined in the recliner for a couple of hours, until I figured I could lie flat in the bed without the sensation of the mattress trying to helicopter me up.

That feeling is why I have never understood why people would willingly get drunk.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I will always credit the Gravitron from killing my interest in amusement rides.

I used to love them. Then I rode the Gravitron at the local Kiwanis club carnival, puked like I never puked before, had to be driven home by my parents, barely made it home before puking again, and I spent the rest of the afternoon/night asleep.

The Tilt-A-Whirl is enough to make me nauseous and even roller coasters get to me. I guess I must just get motion sick very easily.

[Primer]

Back about 1979, I spent 2 weeks with a carnival. I will NOT get on any rides ever again unless it's a PERMANENT amusement park, and even then I'm leery. The carnies were fairly conscientious, but the structures were all beat up, and most repairs had been jerry-rigged. I do have to admit that carnies are a really close knit "family," though, and they "adopted" me right in. Kids tend to think it looks glamorous, but it's really a very rough life.

I'm rambling. I'll shut up.

[bainsidhe]

I remember riding the Tempest and younger sis turning an interesting shade of green. You hear people talk about it, but that was the first time I'd ever seen someone actually turn green. On the other hand, younger bro became seriously sick after riding the Gravitron for the second time. Right after the Tilt a Whirl and other rides I dragged him to, of course. Good thing Mom was around so I could dump my sibling and ride the spinny rides I enjoyed. I love a lot of amusement rides, but the Super Swings and the Big Slide will both always hold a place in my heart.

[Dasota]

My dad refused for years and years to go on fair rides with me as a kid. Luckily for me, even though I was an only child, I'd make friends with the kids in line around me fairly quickly. Then one time about when I was 14-15, I got my dad on The Scrambler. That's when we found out my dad's blood pressure was a bigger issue than we thought. He had to sit for at least 2 hours afterward and chill out. I never asked him again to get on a ride with me.

I like the Gravitron. The only time I refused to go on it was when the batch of folks ahead of me came off the ride and one kid had it shirt and face covered in puke. The image wouldn't leave me alone so I couldn't get on that ride.

I had a lot of issues for a while about getting on rides and make me go upside down. Thinking about it, it's probably from that double hammer like ride. When I was little, it was some tiny carnival in the parking lot behind the grocery store. I was the only one on the ride, and I must not have been tall enough for it because I slipped out of the seat enough that it freaked me out and I wouldn't get on anything that would flip me upside down till I was 18 or so.