SF Great Adventure with a child – NEVER again!

Wow, that's right up there with your Dorney Park TR. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing. What a disaster. Thank God my all my kids love coasters and I don't have to go through that. I'd leave my kids at home if they acted like that. There is a big difference from seeing coasters on TV, internet, etc., and seeing it in person. I was giving you a 50/50 chance of a day like that. You never know how a kid is going to react to their first time at a major thrill park. Your intuitions were right, I can't believe it was that bad though. Only you would get stuck riding next to a mentally handicapped person on Nitro, who starts to wig out at the end of the ride. Well thanks for sharing, it was very entertaining

Sorry to hear about your day. Lol, I too would not go with kids as they are unpredictable. It's why I go to the parks with people my age or people who are enthusiasts.

I will say that pic of Nitro looks epic! Beautiful! Clouds and a coaster, I love it!

* This post was modified at 8/28/12 11:37:21 PM *

I understand the frustration. My little girl cried when we got home because she did not get to ride the Gadget-Go Coaster at Disneyland. The next time we went, she did not want to ride any of the kids coasters because they were "too scary". Hopefully she will come around.

-Tim

I’m going to be very honest here. You go to the park how many times per year and you can’t take one day to spend with an 8-year old and see things from her perspective? An 8-year old’s first day at a theme park should be special and not one where the adults are eating when they want to or telling them to get over it if she doesn’t want to ride a ride they want all while being forced to ride what she wants to alone. Are YOU kidding ME?

2 ½ hours and you were upset because all you rode was the scrambler and bumper cars? All she rode were those two rides and the tea cups (ALONE)…and had to sit while two adults were hungry for an EARLY lunch…and got told that she was a waste of a ticket and was told that she was going to have to sit on the side while some adult who goes to the park regularly rode what she wanted. How do you think she felt?

Let me stress, I got very little joy reading this trip report. In fact, it made me sick to my stomach a little to read how this young girl was treated, but I did want to point out this one section…

GoYanks34 said:

As we were heading to the log flume Krista slipped and scraped her knee – that was the end of that. Now she didn’t want to go on the log flume. At this point I didn’t care. I wanted to leave. I had enough of the whining and tantrums and wasting my entire day, my couppons and a day at GAdv.

I said I was going on KK and they went and played games. When I got over there the entire queue was full and my ankle was killing me so I wasn’t waiting 1 hour on line.

I swear I didn’t edit that at all.

Coaster316 said:

I’m going to be very honest here. You go to the park how many times per year and you can’t take one day to spend with an 8-year old and see things from her perspective? An 8-year old’s first day at a theme park should be special and not one where the adults are eating when they want to or telling them to get over it if she doesn’t want to ride a ride they want all while being forced to ride what she wants to alone. Are YOU kidding ME?

2 ½ hours and you were upset because all you rode was the scrambler and bumper cars? All she rode were those two rides and the tea cups (ALONE)…and had to sit while two adults were hungry for an EARLY lunch…and got told that she was a waste of a ticket and was told that she was going to have to sit on the side while some adult who goes to the park regularly rode what she wanted. How do you think she felt?

Let me stress, I got very little joy reading this trip report. In fact, it made me sick to my stomach a little to read how this young girl was treated, but I did want to point out this one section…

GoYanks34 said:

As we were heading to the log flume Krista slipped and scraped her knee – that was the end of that. Now she didn’t want to go on the log flume. At this point I didn’t care. I wanted to leave. I had enough of the whining and tantrums and wasting my entire day, my couppons and a day at GAdv.

I said I was going on KK and they went and played games. When I got over there the entire queue was full and my ankle was killing me so I wasn’t waiting 1 hour on line.

I swear I didn’t edit that at all.

She was throwing tantrums and being a brat from the minute we walked into the park. We ate then because there was a THUNDERSTORM and we had to get inside. She had fries while we had our lunch and we were stuck inside anyway. There was lightning, thunder and it was down pouring. I suppose we should have let her play outside and see how close the cloud to ground lightning got to her. She ate when she was hungry later on - no one stopped her from doing that. She didn't want to ride ANYTHING except the scrambler, tea cups, blackbeard and the bumper cars (and to play games). This was a kid who BEGGED me for 2 years to take her there so she could ride the roller coasters but she wasn't tall enough. Once she hit the 54" height that's all I heard all summer so I took them and she refused to go on everything. She was in a seriously bad mood from the minute we entered and there was no talking to her or calming her down. EVERYTHING was a chore so don't tell me we treated her badly. You have no idea what we had to put up with the entire time we were there.

And I'm not going to vomit to accompany a kid on a ride - I can't go on spin rides or I THROW UP and I'm sick for the entire day. You think I should've gone on a ride that makes me sick? That's ludicrous. We were standing right there waving to her while she rode. And as for Nitro and ET her mother had a handicap pass - we walked right on - it wasn't like she was waiting on a 45 minute line. It was 5 minutes that she had to wait and with ET she was with her mother. The only time she was alone was for 5 minutes on the Nitro exit ramp and you make it sound like it's child abuse.

As far as the quote you put we were walking to go on the log flume when she slipped because it was wet. It never drew any blood - just a scrape. I took her to the bathroom and cleaned her up, had her laughing at it and she was fine. When we were walking back to go on again she threw a fit because she wanted to play games. So she did with her mother and I went to check out KK. Don't see anything wrong with that. She got what she wanted and no one forced her to ride the flume.

Remember, I was assured she loved coasters and would be riding them all day. I never really expected her to go on KK or ET but some of the others, yes. On the way in she said she loved hills and by the time we wanted to ride Skull Mtn she hated them and wouldn't ride anything with a hill from then on (before she rode anything). She also said that the swings were her favorite ride but once we were on line for Sky Screamer she decided she hated them and didn't want to ride anymore. She was purposely being difficult, trust me. I know this kid.

Jen

GoYanks34 said:

We ate then because there was a THUNDERSTORM and we had to get inside. She had fries while we had our lunch and we were stuck inside anyway. There was lightning, thunder and it was down pouring. I suppose we should have let her play outside and see how close the cloud to ground lightning got to her. She ate when she was hungry later on - no one stopped her from doing that.

No, but you still bitched about it. She’s an 8 year old girl who wasn’t hungry for an early lunch, then got hungry later. I’m failing to see why this should have made your day a disaster. The whole tone of your trip report came across as if your day was ruined because she didn’t want to ride enough rides. She’s 8!

GoYanks34 said:

She didn't want to ride ANYTHING except the scrambler, tea cups, blackbeard and the bumper cars (and to play games). This was a kid who BEGGED me for 2 years to take her there so she could ride the roller coasters but she wasn't tall enough. Once she hit the 54" height that's all I heard all summer so I took them and she refused to go on everything. She was in a seriously bad mood from the minute we entered and there was no talking to her or calming her down. EVERYTHING was a chore so don't tell me we treated her badly. You have no idea what we had to put up with the entire time we were there.

Been there multiple times. Took a rare vacation day from work once to take my cousin for his first time to Hershey only to find out in line for Comet that he didn’t want to ride any coasters. Didn’t ruin my day. Scrambler, tea cups, blackbeard and games are all fun things to do. Also sounds like you were in a seriously bad mood from the beginning, too, except you were the adult.

GoYanks34 said:

And I'm not going to vomit to accompany a kid on a ride - I can't go on spin rides or I THROW UP and I'm sick for the entire day. You think I should've gone on a ride that makes me sick? That's ludicrous.

No, I don’t think you should have ridden it. You’re making this all about you. I’m saying, what about her? An 8-year old having to ride tea cups alone isn’t a disaster but the day you described didn't have to be either.

GoYanks34 said:

The only time she was alone was for 5 minutes on the Nitro exit ramp and you make it sound like it's child abuse. .

Same explanation as above. I’m not saying leaving an 8-year old at the station is child abuse, but how do you think it made her feel and affected her behavior? She wasn’t exactly having fun on the station so I wouldn’t expect happy happy joy joy from her.

GoYanks34 said:

As far as the quote you put we were walking to go on the log flume when she slipped because it was wet. It never drew any blood - just a scrape. I took her to the bathroom and cleaned her up, had her laughing at it and she was fine. When we were walking back to go on again she threw a fit because she wanted to play games. So she did with her mother and I went to check out KK. Don't see anything wrong with that.

She wanted to ride the flume, then she didn’t, and you were fed up with it. YET..you went to ride KK and changed your mind for nearly the same reasons she did. I was pointing out the hypocrisy.

GoYanks34 said:

Remember, I was assured she loved coasters and would be riding them all day.

So what? An 8-year old changed her mind. Sucks to be you, I suppose. You’ll just have to rely on those memories of all the other times you’ve been to the park recently to get you past the disaster this day was. How does she feel? Young girl looking forward to a day at the park and then gets there and discovers she can’t do it. Unless you want me to believe this was some multi-year cunning plan on her part to ruin your day.

I seem to have the exact opposite experience when I go to the park with my 8 year old nephew. Unless I'm with him, with someone who hasn't been to a amusement park in many years or someone that's experiencing the park for the first time, I just haven't had that much fun this year. Sure, I enjoy going to parks with gad198, but I just generally like hanging out with him anywhere, no coasters needed.

I've been to Kings Island hundreds of times, so the luster of going wore off a while ago. Nothing makes me happier now than doing whatever my guest wants to do and seeing them smile and hearing their opinions of the rides and park. Yeah, my nephew can get pretty moody and annoying at times, mostly when my parents or sister go with us, but hey he's 8. I was 8 once, so I understand how frustrating it can be to have to deal with adults. Heck, I'm 38 now and I'm well aware that there are times that I not that enjoyable to be around because of either my mood and attitude or combination of both (attimood?).

Now to be fair, he is my only nephew/niece. Has been going to amusement parks since he was 2, so he's somewhat accustom to lines, walking and knowing when we eat. He only sees his "Uncie" about 5-6 times a year since he lives about 2 hours away, so when it's just the two of us, he is very well behaved. He has absolutely no fear of any ride, no matter of height or speed. His biggest problem is that he is very short for his age and gets disappointed when he can't ride everything. He also wants to know every thing about every ride (manufacturer, height, speed, ride time, year it was built, etc.) he has ever been on or has seen on television. Which, of course, I have to try and answer since I created this enthusiast monster.

Wowzers. It really sounds like you have never been around a young child. While I'm not one to coddle my kids and I don't stand much for brattiness... you make your report sound like you don't much care for whoever else you're with, you're just there for yourself. That's fine, but go alone. You're not going to have the same day with a kid as you would by yourself or with a buddy.

So she's never been on a real adult coaster before and you can't understand the idea of an 8 year old being excited but unsure, intimidated, scared and overwhelmed by the prospect of riding it? Do you not remember riding for the first time as a young kid? I remember my first ride on Viper at Darien Lake somewhere around 20 years ago like it was yesterday. I was scared to death. Everything is bigger and scarier when you're 8.

You apparently wanted an 8 year old to cater to you rather than you being excited about helping her do some pretty cool things she's never experienced. Well my friend, she's 8 - you're supposed to be the grownup.

None of you were there are obviously NOT getting what I am saying. We didn't berate her and ostracize her for not going on the rides - the only time I or her mother said anything to her was when she said she didn't want to ride ANYTHING and didn't want to leave the remote controlled boats that we were giving her money to play with to make her happy. How is this about me? I went on the scrambler, bumper cars, that stupid Tango ride by ET and watched and waved and took pictures of her on the tea cups and Blackbeard (her mother rode with her). How is it about me when I say "what do you want to ride?" and she says the swings - they're my FAVORITE!" then after 15 minutes on line she starts to cry saying she changed her mind and doesn't want to ride anymore? I simply said "are you sure because if we get off we're not coming back to this side of the park until later?" and she said yes so we got off line. How is it about me when we rode that Tango thing and she said it was too slow so I asked her if she wanted to ride the pirate ship but we can sit in the middle so it's not too intense and she says YES! but when we get all the way over there she decides she doesn't want to ride it?! I TRIED! Just because I wrote my inner thoughts in my TR doesn't mean that I would be cruel to a child - she was UNBEARABLE and I was actually pretty good considering I don't particularly like children who are acting like spoiled brats, which is what she was doing. I rode 3 coasters all day and it's about me?! If it were about me I would have rode them all. I even asked her if she wanted to go on the Dark Knight! Yeah, it was all about me when I asked her if she wanted to go on the coaster I loathe the most in that park to try and make her happy. There was NO MAKING HER HAPPY.

Pat told me when they went to get lunch she said she wanted a burger so they got on line for 15 minutes at Johnny Rockets but when she got to the counter she said she changed her mind and wanted pizza - she was doing this ALL DAY. This is NOT acceptable behavior. I fail to understand how allowing her to change her mind after the fact about EVERYTHING all day is about me and acceptable? She was DELIBERATELY doing this because she was getting away with it. The rides, I can understand being apprehensive about but food, shows, even going to the bathroom, I don't think so and if you allow your children to dictate to you they way she did on a regular basis it explains the problem with the youth of today. This was not only about the rides people. It was EVERYTHING.

Her own mother was appalled at her behavior but she didn't want to make a scene in public so it wasn't only me. I know this child well - I was in the delivery room when she was born. She was in one of her moods and being a spoiled brat. She is normally an awesome, fun kid but she has her moments and Monday was one of them.

Jen

I can see both sides of the story here. My son is now 11 and I rarely take him to amusement parks unless I know he can handle the rides. I made the mistake of bringing him to HWN a few years back and the schedule made him and my infant daughter miserable.

I found that lowering my expectations entering any park with a child makes the day much more bearable.

My son has now done MOST of Cedar Point. I told him he wasn't allowed to go unless he rode EVERYTHING.

I want to make sure he has fun and I get my money's worth.

I have been to SFGADV more than 70 times since my 1st visit back in 1978.Now every park is different but whenever i visit a major theme park i go up the exit & i show my SSI disability card & they give me a time frame to back to ride the coaster.Right now he is 24 now but one of my friends he went with me to SFGADV 7 years ago when he was only 17 years old back then.Now just like me he is a coaster enthusiast too.The reason he went with me is so that he can avoid the lines & board the coaster thru the exit.& that,s the only reason why he went with me.

now most of the rides that we did i would have done it anyways even if i would have gone myself.Some of the rides that we did like the bumper cars & blackbeard i went on it only for him & one other flat ride that,s not there anymore i did it only for him(that ride with 2 rows of seats in the boardwalk section near the parachute jump & SUF & at some other parks the same type of ride sprays you with water)those were the only rides that i did only for him.& the only reason why this friend of mine went with me is because he knows that with my disabolity card if he comes with me then he can avoid the lines too & that,s the only reason why he went with me.

Now as far as goyanks34 getting annoyed & calling it a disaster this is what i would have done if i would have been in his shoes.I would have said to myself like this.From all the times that i have been to SFGADV i would have said to myself this time i will be going for the 8 year old girl & i will do whatever rides the 8 year old wants to do.
Like when she threw a temper tantrum at skull mountain i would have said to her like this.Which ride do you want to go on?Do you want to go on skull mountain?yes or no.If she would have said yes we would have stayed there.If she would have said no we would have left the line & i would have asked her which ride she wants to go on & i would have taken her to the ride that she says she wants to go on.I would have said to myself like this.From all the times that i have been to SFGADV
if i go one time for somebody else it,s not so bad.If i go to SFGADV & i don,t do my favorite coasters i say to myself i will do my favorite coasters next time.

That time 7 years ago yes when i went to SFGADV with my 17 year old friend yes most of the rides that we did i would have done even if i would have gone myself plus i did not pay for the admission of my 17 year old friend but if i would have had to do only the rides that my friend wants to do it,s not so bad.I would not have lost sleep over something like this.I would have just said ok so this time i will go for the 8 year old & that would have been it.This is what i would have done if i would have been in the same situation as goyanks34.

skc2000

I can see the point some of you are trying to make, but I totally understand Jen's frustration. If my kids would have those type of behavioral problems at an amusement park, not only would we leave, but that would be the end of amusement parks for the summer. My kids know that they can't get away with that crap, and we are there to ride coasters, flats, and have a good time. If those 3 things are not getting accomplished, then we might as well not be there. If they want to throw tantrams and carry on, they can do that at home. When we are at parks, I always ask their opinion of what to ride next. I try to make everything a group decision and satisfy everyone. Apparently satisfying this little girl was impossible. Weather she was overwhelmed by the experience or was having of those days were everything was upsetting her, that is still no excuse to have that type of behavior. I don't know this little girl. I'm not picking on her. I'm just putting myself in that situation if one of my kids acted that way. Someone mentioned you can't have the same type of amusement park experience with kids that you would have if you were there by yourself. That is totally incorrect. Read my TRs, my kids are usually with me and we still ride everything that I would if I was there alone. We do ride more flats than I usually would, because my daughter loves them, but we ride all the coasters first. I will retract that previous statement. I don't have the same park experience with my kids, I have a better one when they are with me. Some of you may call me a strict parent, and that's fine. I'm trying to raise my kids to become responsible, independent, well behaved adults. My kids are not perfect. My 2 boys can be a handful at times, but not at parks. My daughter is very mature for her age and very seldom do I have any problems with her behavior. Someone else mentioned that the day should be all about what that little girl wanted. Once again I totally disagree, thats the worse message you could send. This world doesn't revolve around one person. Life is full of compromise, kids need to know that. They can't get their way all the time, if they do they become spoiled brats. Everyone's feelings and desires have to be taken into consideration. To sum it up, I totally see why Jen was so frustrated. I wouldn't have put it with it for as long as she did.

* This post was modified at 8/30/12 8:28:42 AM *

I'm not making any judgments and there's been new info released since the original trip report that reduces any sickness I may have had.

I mean, if you look at the original trip report it went blackbeard, which Jen was glad got rained out, then tea cup, which the girl had to ride alone (for good reason), and then Skull Mountain, where the girl threw a tantrum. Jen then said she told her she was wasting her ticket and said she'd have to go to the other end of the park so Jen could ride the rides she wanted. Having just that information like we originally did, I would consider that as not only being looking out for yourself and not for the girl but being actions that would quite frankly upset me.

I'm a big believer in life is short and do what makes you happy. There are plenty of things I enjoy that I wouldn't do with an 8-year old. However, a lot of Jen's comments about not going with the girl until she got assurances she would ride the coasters and then concluding that she'd never go with a youngster again until they've already been there seems to imply that Jen is out for herself at a park. Again, nothing wrong with that, but I would have also thought that the opportunity to see a place you love through someone else's eyes would be something to cherish and not turn away or see as a nuisance.

* This post was modified at 8/30/12 10:26:38 AM *

Your experience with a kid at a park reminds me of my girlfriend test - if I date a girl, she has to be able to keep up with me in a park, or at least not complain about being hot or tired.

Only one has passed the test so far!

- Pat-O

Your daughter reminds me of myself when I was a kid. My family went to Bush Gardens Tampa, Sea World Orlando, and Holiday World. I was scared to death to go on everything.

But its coming soon for me to Great Adventure. Is it real busy usually the last weekend of September? It will be my first Coaster trip. I'm going from there to Knotts Berry Farm then Magic Mountain.

rollercoastersfreak said:

But its coming soon for me to Great Adventure. Is it real busy usually the last weekend of September? It will be my first Coaster trip. I'm going from there to Knotts Berry Farm then Magic Mountain.

Fright Fest will be in full swing that weekend so you may be OK in the morning but it will get packed by late afternoon/early evening. May want to budget for a Flash Pass.

Sounds like a great trip! Have fun!

Jen