Friday, April 15, 2011

Tigers, Whales, and Fighting Birds

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I can't believe it had been four years since our last trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Well, based on the post I did about it after that trip entitled "It's No Disneyland" maybe it's an every-four-years kind of place.

We went there during our Spring Break last week. And actually we had a great time. Lots of stuff for young kids and it was not crowded at all. But despite the fact that the workers were not on strike this time . . . didn't make any difference. I could not understand any of the instructions they were giving and they looked quite nervous and confused as they pushed the buttons to operate the rides.

On one ride the worker guy said "Do not go in the orange jeep. It is not working." I think the seat belt was broken. But when we got to the front of the line there had a been a shift change. And the girl said nothing about the orange jeep so people climbed on in. I kind of want to tell you that someone broke an arm because of it, but the truth is the ride was 2 minutes long and went in one circle at 1 mile per hour so even if the vics had somehow fallen off the ride . . . well . . . probably not even a chipped tooth.

The park had quite an intense schedule for visits with the theme park characters. Unfortunately, none of the characters signed up for it.


But we did run across Bugs Bunny (which scared Jordis out of her mind) and Shouka.



Before I tell you we went to the killer whale show, let me tell you how torn I am about the whole concept. I mean, I have seen Free Willy. I don't think wild animals like that should be held in captivity. But we did go to the show. And I did watch it. But I did not buy the art work done by the whales. And if there were a gate that opened into the ocean to free Shouka I totally would have opened it.

My dad and Elijah chose to set in the "wet zone" and they got worked.



The rest of us sat in the dry zone in front of two Amish couples. For reals. The husbands dressed normal and the wives were all Amished out. Not really sure how Amish can justify going to a theme park . . . says the girls who doesn't believe in holding killer whales captive and making them do tricks in front of a crowd while blaring hip hop music.

One of my favorite attractions at the park was the enclosed bird area where they capture and inbreed parrots. Then they charge you $2 for an ounce of sugar water to feed to the birds, the birds land all over you, and then fight each other for the food. Once again, inner turmoil.

After one large brawl that took place on Lydia's arms the worker guy said (and I heard him tell this to multiple people):
"Some of them are brothers and sisters so they just fight like brothers and sisters." Riiiiight.

We also went to the tiger show, another conflicting experience for me. But I absolutely loved when the tigers did not do what the trainers asked and instead just looked at the audience with a death stare. Yes Tiger! Be who you are!


Jordis holds no convictions about wild animals held in captivity, but she was really concerned about her Bubble Gum chapstick during the whole tiger show.


I did not feel torn about sharing a funnel cake with my husband. Because there are no natural ingredients held captive in that bad boy.
However, going on the teacup-type ride with Lydia afterwards was something I do regret. I am not 14 anymore, that's for sure.

The girls were super excited to leave.
So it's no Disneyland on many levels - but part of that is good. Free parking and the tickets for the park were $30 each instead of $3 million.

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7 comments:

Lisa Stone said...

Love it! Looks like you had a great time...regardless of all the inner turmoil! :)

grey rose (they/them) said...

you are hysterically funny! what a fun family day!
as a kid, i was always horrified at sea world, the circus etc. because i wanted the animals FREE. it really disturbed me. now, like you, i just go and have inner turmoil/guilt.
thanks for the review, we will skip this stop when visiting your fine state;)

Tara @ The Adventures of MommyHaha said...

Isn't being torn all day over serious moral issues worth it for one big, honkin' funnel cake?

Jen@Scrapingirl said...

Mmmm...Funnel cake....I totally forgot, what was this post about anyways???? :)

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sandi said...

loved this post! the way you write about everything normal things just makes me laugh. i get conflicted over caged animals also. we have been to sea world (florida) but have not taken our children to the circus. something about the way they are made to travel constantly just does not seem humane.

TDM Wendy said...

I'm glad you guys could all relate to the inner turmoil... and funnel cake. Good takeaway.
Thanks for understanding my hypocrisy.