The things an enthusiast will do to ride a new roller coaster. You know, like go to a local church carnival for a Wisdom Rides powered coaster called Go-Gator? Don’t judge! While so many of you are out there getting Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT), some of us have to settle for it’s lesser gator brethren. Well, when we’re allowed to ride it, that is.
Before you call me a credit whore, know that the reason I was at the carnival to begin with was for my nephew, Sid. My mom, Donna, and I kicked around the idea of taking him and seeing if he had any interest. In the past, he’s had an aversion to rides at a couple fairs/carnivals with his mom and my brother. Maybe he’d want to do them with me though? He loves YouTube and knows I have a channel about riding roller coasters. So maybe riding with me would give him some extra courage? It was worth a try. We’d soon find out.
Getting Our Butts Kicked
It was in the mid-90’s on Saturday and by time the rides began running, we were already feeling the heat. Having a few minutes before things got underway, we scouted out the ride offering and Sid seemed excited to ride a few. He also said he was thinking about riding another one. That made me happy. We picked up our wrist bands and made our way to the first ride, Go-Gator.
Go-Gator
First up was Go-Gator. I had my Go-Pro on and I was going to take a seat toward the back for a back row POV where Sid could also be seen riding. I knew I could ride because I asked one of the staff prior to opening. I was told, “Yes. That’s not a problem. You can ride.”
Walking into the station I asked the ride operator if I would be allowed to wear my GoPro while riding. I never like to assume that I can. He said no. With that answer I took off the GoPro and hand it to my mom. I go to board again and am told no once more. Apparently the “no” wasn’t for the GoPro. The no was for me riding. He said whoever told me I could ride was wrong. Oh Well. I ended up having to sit this out, but that didn’t stop Sid. I’m glad he wasn’t scared to ride by himself.
While Sid got underway, I grabbed a spot to film some off-ride and vlog content. It was always my aim to shoot this in addition to the now-cancelled POV. I thought Sid would love to see a vlog about our day and see himself on YouTube. Heck, after being told I couldn’t ride, Sid and I talked about him filming the video later on that day before leaving. I thought he’d love the idea of having his very own coaster video on the channel would be something he’d be proud of and brag about to others. Sadly, we never made it back over to the coaster. You learn why that is soon.
Surf City Beach Party Fun House
After a ride on Go-Gator, Sid was eager to run through the Surf City Beach Party Fun House. Wow! Say that 10 times! I don’t know if that’s the official name for this fun house, but that’s what’s on the façade. Something else I’m not sure about is if the fun house was also a Shaw & Sons Amusements attraction – the company running the rides at the carnival. The fun house didn’t take the tickets or wristband for entry and had a $2 admission fee. It could have also just been an upcharge attraction. Who knows?
Now, I’ve always loved old school fun houses and dark rides. While I know these small traveling types are nothing compared to your larger, permanent installations, I still find them fun. I guess that’s the kid in me since I used to run through these things at every beach town I visited as a child. These days Sid can run through them. I walked. I also filmed it too. Check out the walk-through POV down below.
Sizzler
Upon exiting the fun house, we were face-to-face with Sizzler. Sid wanted to ride and since these types of rides have never bothered me before, I didn’t think twice. Well, “before” was the key word in that last statement. This ride got to me!
Maybe it was the heat? Maybe it recently getting over the flu? Or maybe it was the speed and duration of the ride? Whatever it was, my neck was hurting, my vision blurred, and my stomach was about to empty the wrong way when we came to the end. Of course Sid, who was the one I was most worried about riding anything that day wanted to ride it again. I looked at him and said, “You’re on your own this time buddy.”
I walked off and my mom watched Sid do another long cycle. More power to him! The idea of riding it again even right now makes me feel blah. I’m getting old!
Tempest
After a long pause, Sid wanted to ride Tempest. Of course it was another spinning ride. I don’t think I’ve ridden this type of ride before and I was hoping I’d be okay after Sizzler. I wanted Sid to have a good time though and was going to take one for the team. We boarded and soon found out our fates.
One long cycle spinning clockwise didn’t kick my butt. Sid seemed to be having a good time again, although he told me I was smashing him a time or two. Good old gravity.
When things slowed down, we figured things were over. Nope! Time to go the other way. On this second cycle, I started to feel sick again. I shut my eyes and it helped. That’s when I noticed I didn’t hear Sid laughing or being vocal. I looked down and saw him staring at the floor. Uh oh!
Once this ride came to an end, I walked Sid over to the grass and the poor guy got sick. I made sure to tell him that it happens and that he did good riding all these wild rides today. I don’t want him being scared of rides and know getting sick is something he might remember next time he goes to a carnival or park.
Final Ride Counts
Go-Gator (1: Sid)
Sizzler (2: Sid, 1: Patrick)
Surf City Beach Party Funhouse (1)
Tempest (1)
Saturday Gave Pause to Sunday
After how I felt leaving the carnival and even a few hours after getting home, my plans to run out to an amusement park on Sunday were easily nixed. My original plans were to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) on Sunday with Greg and Chris. That fell through, so I thought about going to Kings Dominion by myself for Tumbili and to shoot some off-ride content. Ultimately I decided not to chance the heat, a possible thunderstorm, and feeling the way I did again a few hours away from home.
Unless some random plans take place over the next few days, this will be the only trip report for the month of May. Regardless of how things played out, it was a fun few hours with the family. You have to appreciate the little things once in a while.
St. Clare Church Carnival Photo Gallery - May 21, 2022
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
