The Great D W

July 7, 2010

My family is not very big on traditions except when it comes to two simple letters of the alphabet -- D and W.   Doug and Diane Winters had 5 children: Eric Douglas Winters,
Karen Diane Winters,
Mark Daniel Winters,
Kevin Dennis Winters, and
Amy Denise Winters.
When we were younger and lived in Broomall, we'd make a yearly pilgrimage to the Dutch Wonderland amusement park. Little did we know, the Winters clan would eventually move to Lancaster County, where we proceeded to devote considerable amounts of our teenage summers working for minimum wage as employees of DW. (I started out at $4.10/hour and ended at $5.25/hour-- and I ended as a ticketbooth supervisor.) Oh, and even our mother worked some end-of-summer shifts for a few seasons.  If we had convinced Dad to retire early and join us, I'm sure we would've become official DW royalty. So a Winters Family Reunion just wouldn't have been complete without a trip to our second home. We older kids had fun reminiscing while our little munchkins had fun playing. Too bad Kevin, Katie, and Chris had already packed up and left town.

Here we all are, taking up the last car of the train. I was thankful to be a passenger instead of the engineer. Driving the train was fun at times, but I remember how much heat that engine exudes on a regular summer day. And we chose to go to DW on a record-breaking, sweltering hot day. Erin and I found a little reprieve from the heat in the Mother's Nursing Station, but I swear the air conditioner only brought the temperature down to 88 degrees. (Oddly enough, that "Station" used to be my old Info Booth. I was feeding Cora in the building where I lived for 2 summers while I rented out strollers, paged overhead for lost children, sold ponchos, and made Bubba Bear announcements).

I wish I had taken more pictures of the day. Ally enjoyed being in a place that caters to kids and loved running around with her cousins. She says her favorite rides were "the one that goes straight out" (the monorail), the Choo-Choo Charlie hand-propelled trains, and the Turnpike car. I know she had a great time in the kiddie splash section of the new water park. We also saw a dive show and met the DW Princess. We tried to milk Bossie the Cow, but her supply seemed to be udderly dried up. Thinking back, that was almost always the case. Some things never change.
My favorite quote of the day came when Ally followed Amy and me onto the spaceship ride. I knew she wouldn't like it, but she begged nicely and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. She confidently buckled herself into her seat and was all excited for the ride to start-- until the doors closed in preparation for take-off. In the darkness, Ally had a death grip on my arm and very matter-of-factly stated, "I shouldn't have come in here." The movie started and the ride began to move. Ally agreed to close her eyes and cuddle on my arm until it was all over. She didn't scream, she didn't even cry; she just held on very tightly and shook. I spent our simulated flight quietly consoling her and trying my best not to laugh. When it was over and the doors reopened, I carried her tired body out in my arms. She gave me a big hug, followed by a big kiss and then said, "I don't need to ride that one again." I agreed, as the experience had made me a little seasick.

Even when scared, Ally is still such a trooper. She usually pulls through just fine by closing her eyes and cuddling. (That's how she survived the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, too.) I know she's only 3, but I hope Ally has learned some valuable lessons from her spaceship misadventure:

Mommy will do her best to protect you.
Mommy can't always save you from your choices, but she'll stand by you and comfort you.
Mommy's always right. Believe her.
You really should've listened to Mommy in the first place. . .