Godsentone
Posts: 521
Registered: 3/31/2005
Rank: Gold Critic
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 6/10/2007 9:00:42 PM
Ok, I have to post on this site how my day at Alabama Adventure went. I guess you can tell that it didn't suck by the title of my topic. This was my first trip of the season, which I should have made earlier this year, but that's another subject.
Anyway, I arrived at the entrance to the park about 4:30 pm and I noticed something right away that made me smile BIG!!! The parking lot was full and I'm not talking about a good crowd, I'm talking about jammed pack. Cars and buses all over. I think I even saw a few campers and RVs. They had all lanes open at the parking booths and rightfully so, b/c people were still coming.
The guy, in the lane we went through (whose name leaves me), was very nice and joked as he noticed that my younger daughter was still napping after the short 35-minute drive from Tuscaloosa. He politely took my $8 for parking and we were on our way. I was very fortunate to find a good parking spot near the front entrance b/c some people were now leaving.
My Wife, 2 daughters and I made our way to the front gate to purchase the 1 ticket we needed to enter the park. I know you are saying that doesn't add up, but my wife and I had 2 complimentary tickets, my younger daughter got in free b/c she is 2, so that left us only paying $20.66 for a Junior/Combo/After 4 ticket. Sweet deal huh? If you buy the season passes, you can take advantage of even sweeter deals, especially if you live within a 2-hour radius.
We had a big pink bag with some of our belongings with us, so the nice security guard checked it out to make sure there was no food, drinks, weapons, drinks, or food, lol!
We proceeded through the turnstiles after giving the young lady our tickets. She in return gave us our stubs and the appropiate wrist bands. We didn't get a brochure so I asked a guy about them, thinking to myself that it was a silly question, b/c I knew my way around the park. He didn't have one on his person so he pointed me in the direction of guest relations and I told him we were fine.
The first thing I noticed when we entered the park was one of the many signs throughout the park advertising the 14-Concert Series Lineup, which I hope does even better than its successful run just a year ago.
We continued down Celebration Street toward Splash Beach Water Park for some wet fun. I'm telling you this is the perfect place to be on a hot summer day in Alabama. I was kind of shocked that we were not bombarded by the medi-I mean-the Alabama Adventure photographers. I also didn't see any of the 3 new characters walking along Celebration Street that were advertised in a brochure that I picked up from one of those interstate stops. I did notice that the shop that sells Funnel cakes had a line outside the door. Go figure, those things are good!
We arrived at the entrance to Splash Beach and located the locker rooms. With the amount of people that visit this park, AA really needs to invest in much bigger locker rooms or at least more locker rooms throughout. My wife and children made a pit stop as I waited patiently on the outside. I looked around to see if I noticed anything different or new that stuck out and I noticed the misting fans at the food stands. I thought that was so 'cool' and a definite plus.
After my family came out the locker room, we headed straight toward the old-new small childrens area, now known as Salamander Bay. As we entered, I noticed the little squirting machines that seemed to be quite a nice attention-getter. In Salamander Bay, which is formerly known as Quarry Bay, they have added several new slides and other water features that are all noticable by their bright decorative colors. This is where we spent a great deal of our time, which was fine with me, b/c it was HOT!!! I found 1 available chair under a large umbrella, so I took ownership of that spot. My wife took the first shift of standing guard as my girls feverishly played. By this time, I had to go to the rest room, so I went to the n
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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 6/17/2007 1:06:25 AM
Well, GSO, your enthusiasm for this place has me sold. I'm glad to hear it's drawing big crowds, and I reckon I'll join the throngs myself one of these days, as I've had Rampage in my sights for some time now.
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