<p>I agree with the poster that said some of this borders on trollish.You are not obligated to provide anything aside from what is legally mandated. lol I never went to an amuesement park with my parents. My dad couldn’t be bothered and my mom was super paranoid that the rides would derail and we would all die or suffer some other tragedy and also thought they were a waste of money. She wasn’t big on entertainment at the time. But thank goodness they never dragged us to see rabbits or quilts or some hideous crafts! (no offense to any one who enjoys this )By the time I was a pre teen and teen I went with friends, often without any adult or parent present (scary!). I do remember those times as being really fun especially being out on my own with just my friends (13-14 years old!) But now I find myself thinking just like my mother and wouldn’t want to take my ( future if it happens) kids on any rides, all I can picture is a scene that would fit in Real life Trauma ER stores! I knew my parents’ view points on this and money so it wasn’t an issue when I was a child. I had a pretty good idea what my parents would say no to and what they valued or thought was worth money. Don’t your kids know this already? I learned at about 4-5. I guess some might rebel and whine but I didn’t , at least not at elementary school age.
I understood my dad’s apathy and preoccupation with other things and my mother’s fears pretty well and expected them. But I still do not fully understand the OPs. Not sure many entertainments or hobbies have a tangible value.</p>
<p>I read a pretty good essay by a kid applying to Caltech about his thoughts about physics and roller coasters…</p>
<p>I have vivid, happy memories of the small fair with rides that came to our town when I was a child. (Back then, I think the rides cost about 25 cents.) It seems to me that there are not so many experiences that can yield such good memories–even of the couple of times when I was terrorized by a kind of Ferris wheel with rotating cages that went upside down–for about $20.</p>
<p>Since people were reminiscing about amusement parks: Anyone go to the Enchanted Forest, somewhere near Baltimore? It was mainly for younger children, as I recall, and did not have much in the way of rides, but did have interesting displays (a nice set of Snow White scenes to walk past), and a very large slide that I think was out on an island. I think we went there twice, but it brings back very fond memories.</p>
<p>" Why do you think Disney Land/World is called the “happiest place on earth?” I mean it is hard to NOT be happy there"</p>
<p>Now THAT I can’t agree with. In fact, I have joked it might be the UN happiest place on earth. All those tired, crying, tantruming kids. What was that line from Aliens? "STOW that! " Hmm. I guess I’m an old curmudgeon. You’d think I’d have more patience…</p>
<p>We never did Disney – kids weren’t interested, neither were we. We used to go to Knoebels Grove amusement park in central PA – could buy by the ticket book or the wristband. When the guys were young, they had a deal where if you went in the last weeks of the season, you got free admission early the following season. </p>
<p>It’s an old-timey park in the woods, so we didn’t roast or burn. Wide variety of rides, at the time more for younger kids, though in recent years they have put in more adult rides as well. Great food, reasonable prices, fun day. I loved their bumper cars – which dates back to the carnival that came to town when my dad was stationed in Germany. That place had a great bumper car ride.</p>
<p>I also took the guys to the county fair every year til they were about 12-13. They didn’t want to do the rides there – thought they were too expensive and not as good as Knoebels. We saw all the animals (which S2 particularly liked) and got funnel cakes and root beer.</p>
<p>For other family vacations we’d go camping in western MD 2-3 times a year at a place where they could ride bikes, fish, canoe, go get ice cream/play on the beach with relative independence. We also did a number of national parks and as they got older, a couple of overseas trips with our frequent flyer points.</p>
<p>DH and I said yes often enough that when we said no, it was not the end of the world, and we didn’t get temper tantrums about it.</p>
<p>Haven’t read all the posts…whether or not you spring for any rides, AVOID many of the games. I just saw a Dateline segment that showed how so many of the games are rigged so that you can’t win.</p>
<p>Oh man-- I saw the previews and wanted to see that expose’ Ellemenope describes! Bummer that I missed that Dateline show. That said, is anyone really surprised that the games in the midway are rigged, especially at the honkeytonk traveling carnivals? And while it’s great to win a prize, the fun is, IMO, is the entertainment value and the time spent and shared with our kids simply playing the games in the arcade. Whether we won or lost is of lesser importance. That said, if the goal is to win a big stuffed teddy bear, apparently there are articles and guidebooks available on how to do it!! [How</a> To Beat Carnival Games - Beat The Bottle](<a href=“http://www.thedacrons.com/eric/carnival_games/carnival_games.php]How”>How To Beat Carnival Games - Beat The Bottle)</p>
<p>*** ETA, the more I think back on my own childhood and that of my kids, the more I smile as I remember fun times there. I remember going into one of the sideshows with my kids, beckoned in by a big sign that said “COME SEE THE MAN-EATING CHICKEN!!!” So in we went… only to see… a man… eating chicken! We still laugh about that. Memories of these family times are priceless. Who can deprive themselves/their kids of that? </p>
<p>SO, to the OP, wherever you are, go have FUN. Lighten up. Loosen up, waste a little money on entertainment. Movies these days cost almost ten bucks. This entertainment is in the same pricerange. </p>
<p>And remember, spend quality time with your kids and HAVE FUN.</p>
<p>
Absolutely, myturnnow. We did three Disney trips when our three daughters were young, and how I wish there could have been more. I will say that the youngest one melted down twice, not in tantrums, but in terror of things other kids would have taken in stride (including the memorable time she wouldn’t let me put her in the booth at the Sci-Fi Drive In because she thought the speaker was an alien. Odd child).</p>
<p>We somehow even made it through a 90-minute wait for Dumbo without complaint. My heart was sinking the whole time because she told me, in the trusting way that only a 2 year old can, that she was going to ride the Dumbo with a yellow hat, just like in the movie, because that was the real Dumbo. Only two of the 16 Dumbos had yellow hats, and I just knew we were going to be the last twosome on the ride. A long, long wait for me. I’m not one to believe in Disney magic, but it came through for us that day.</p>
<p>OP, don’t you want to have your own stories about the cute/funny/weird things your kids did at an amusement park?</p>
<p>Growing up, I remember one highlight of my summer was heading to Hershey Park with my mom’s BF & her kids (who lived nearby) with our report cards. Hershey used to give free admission for a report card with equiv of 3.5 (mostly As) and 50% off for 3.0s. All the kids would typically get in free (other family started what is now a huge private co w $1b+ revenues and is household name). </p>
<p>H & I grew up relatively poor, so neither of us went to Disney. Once we had ‘real’ jobs, some money and could take paid vacation, that was our first big trip after we were married! </p>
<p>It’s all about creating family memories. I often go for giving kids a budget and letting them decide how to spend it. </p>
<p>Don’t wait to create these memories, as once they get to be in their mid-late teens, getting them all together for vacations/trips can be difficult. (my life this summer!)</p>
<p>Counting Down–I went to KNoebel Grove once as a kid when we were staying at a friend’s cabin in the area.</p>
<p>My kids camp with a huge group of friends at the Phoenix Phall Phestival every October (basically under the Phoenix Roller coaster, apparently–unlimited rides all weekend.)</p>
<p>The Easter break when I was 7, we visited our cousins in Atlanta and they took us to Six Flags. It was unseasonably cold (around 40F) but for us Minnesotans, very balmy. The park was open and deserted. It was kid heaven. We didn’t have to stand in a single line, and we could go on the rides over and over and over. Never in my life have I been happier than I was on that day! </p>
<p>OP: I see no harm in allowing your kids to choose a couple of rides to go on at the end of the day. Make a deal and tell them them that if there is any whining or complaining, there will be no rides at all. Unless your children are preschoolers, they should be able to manage that. Also, a lot of carnivals have special bracelet days or two-for-one days. You could plan your trip to coincide with the discount times at the carnival.</p>
<p>HIMom, thanks for your good wishes. The Disney commission has been a really neat thing as she was obsessed with Disney as a child. She is working with the president of music for Disney, the guy who was responsible for producing all the music in the Disney movies and stage shows she has loved. Pretty cool. Next week is the real “test” when she presents the commissioned work before Disney and Pixar execs. In any case, she gets to go to Disneyland for free and cut all the lines with her boyfriend and her sister and hasn’t been since she was very little. </p>
<p>I mentioned that we took older D’s birthday party to our big fair in our state one year but I forgot that we also took her birthday party out of state one year to Great Escape and it was a fun birthday party.</p>
<p>In any case, I cannot imagine the OP’s kids at the fair to see the exhibits, but not allowed to go on the rides. It would be better to skip the fair entirely than to be teased by the rides right there. It’s like taking kids into a candy shop and saying they can only look.</p>
<p>Several people have made the point that this borders on trollish. I wish that were the case. If you are familiar with the OP, or read some of his previous posts, this is par for the course.</p>
<p>He doesn’t have an issue with amusement parks at all. He has an issue with amusement parks where the system used is tickets not wristbands. The anticipation of the issues this might cause so unnerves him (ie whining over number of rides set, tickets allowed, etc.) so unnerves him that he would rather simply not allow his family the experience at all rather then risk being uncomfortable. He’ll go to the fair and take his family to all of the things he finds worthy, but avoid the rides (which might cause him stress).</p>
<p>In this situation I wonder…who are we afraid will loose their cool when things don’t go as planned, the kids or the Dad? With kids the answer is easy, you stick firm to your original plan and move on. Kids don’t learn limits by never being put in situations that they might react poorly, they learn by having firm limits set and always sticking to them. Yes, sometimes that means the kids pitch a fit. You’re the parent and deal with it. You can’t avoid this chapter in parenting by avoiding situations where you have to enforce a ‘no’. If on the other hand the children do relatively well with the ticket limit or 3 ride system, however dad is unable to relax because it just isn’t his preference (by his own admission earlier in this thread), well then it’s time to evaluate how you deal with things in your life that are out of your control. Take offence with me if you want, but it might help to talk to a professional to learn some coping skills in this area. You started a previous thread in which you talked about overreacting and asked how other people dealt with this.</p>
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<p>I hope that Mrs. Engineer4life is a great balancing factor in your life. You need it. Some of the most magical times in my life, the ones I treasure most, are when things didn’t go as planned and I had the ability to simply go with it (which honestly isn’t in my nature). Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. Be careful or you’ll miss the best parts.</p>
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<p>You just made me think about science day at Great Adventures.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I am of this mindset;</p>
<ol>
<li> You will never have a second chance to raise your kids</li>
<li> You are never going to see a Brinks truck following a hearse</li>
</ol>
<p>That being said, this is an opportunity to create a life long memories for your kids. I am amazed at sometimes i am just chatting with my D and she starts talking about the stuff we did together when she was a kid. A lot of times, I get really emotional, because she does remember them so fondly.</p>
<p>Set a budget for what you are going to spend. Ride the rides, eat some funnel cake and see the exhibits. Let them run, scream, play and have a good time. Money comes and money goes and I am sure that you have spent more money on less.</p>
<p>Going to the fair can be an expensive proposition. As many other posters have suggested already, when the children are older you can choose to give a certain amount of cash to each child to spend there and above and beyond that anything comes out of their own pocket. I don’t recall expecting my parents would spend money for me to get to go on rides at the fair. I will also say I think it’s a little creepy that someone mentioned she would have plotted to destroy a vase if she didn’t get her way. Perhaps this was said in jest? Anyhow, I grew up fairly near a couple of major amusement parks so I got in my share of fun stuff, and I feel better if I know the ride has been standing a while. 
Maybe pick a favorite or two?</p>
<p>blueiguana,</p>
<p>my thinking is somewhat parallel to yours.</p>
<p>What’s been on my mind is the whole purpose of the outing…</p>
<p>is the purpose of going to the fair just to see and do what Engineer4life considers 'worthy" or is it to have a fun day for the entire family? Somehow I don’t think that children are excited about looking at quilts or pies (unless dad buys some for them to eat…but then they might get really sticky or messy, so can’t do that…)</p>
<p>Maybe the OP and his wife should separate for a few hours while at the fair, an wife and children could go have fun on the rides, while OP visits the exhibits that are interesting to him? That way meltdowns could be avoided on all sides. His children won’t melt down because they are bored looking at quilts, and they won’t melt down because they want to go on the rides, and OP won’t melt down because he is not controlling every second of their experience and not suffering while they go on a few rides.</p>
<p>Of course, the whole scenario could be avoided if the family just didn’t go to this particular fair.</p>
<p>Find another way to spend a nice family day in a way that is a treat for everyone…maybe a nice picnic at a state park, or a day at the beach or a day at the zoo? Or even a day at a local Six Flags?</p>
<p>When I was a young parent I was very intense. I served homemade blueberry muffins at my older daughters fifth birthday party ( which went over about like you might expect) :o, I tried limiting sugar and food coloring ( which prompted my mil to stock up on Capri sun & gummy worms:rolleyes:) and we spent way more on books than we did on toys.</p>
<p>None of which I am apologizing for, I think my instincts were good, but I was raised by two quiet, serious people who preferred to spend their free time in museums and listening to classical music. I think both my parents would have been better off if they laughed more.</p>
<p>Which is what I now have as a priority.
Life is very,very short, sometimes much shorter than we expected.
The aunt of one of Ds childhood friends is very ill with a young daughter, she is so intense she makes me look like Lucille Ball! I hope she is making as much time for being silly as she can.
[last crusade | Seattle](<a href=“http://www.king5.com/home/Former-Seattle-city-councilwoman-Cheryl-Chow-last-crusade-166974376.html”>http://www.king5.com/home/Former-Seattle-city-councilwoman-Cheryl-Chow-last-crusade-166974376.html</a>)</p>
<p>Experience joy, wherever you can find it, even if that happens to be stuck at the top of the ferris wheel. Which is about my speed for rides- I used to love the roc-o-plane and the roller coaster, but not a big fan of inversions.</p>
<p>My kids were also in 4-h, although their club was responsible for the ponies at the zoo. A few kids showed horses at the fairs, but because of quarantine rules, they couldn’t show the zoo ponies so they were horses they borrowed or owned.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to a county fair in years, but it is a real part of our cultural history, and full of fascinating and curious exhibits.( & you couldn’t pick a better place to people watch)</p>
<p>Even though I was a little much on the health food, I always did value experiences over stuff. We belonged to the children’s museum, the science center as well as the zoo, we had season tickets for decades to the children’s theatre, and the kids did fun stuff in the summer not academic( although the fun stuff once they were young teens was giving pony rides& going to camp)</p>
<p>They’ve also each had at least one birthday party @[enchanted</a> village/ wild waves.]( <a href=“http://wildwaves.com/]enchanted”>http://wildwaves.com/) which is a much more manageable size than Disneyland, & should be much closer to you 
( not knocking Disneyland, although I liked Knotts Berry farm better)</p>
<p>Maybe what you are asking for is permission to be silly.
Go ahead!</p>
<p>Of COURSE I remember the Palisades Park jingle! 
That was an impossible dream too.</p>
<p>My business partner is an engineer. Very good dad, but very controlling. He watches EVERY nickel especially when it comes to spending it on his kids. Our families went to the Ringling Circus when his D was five and my D seven. His D begged him to spend $10 at the clown face makeup booth after my D was made up. He argued that there was no way he was going to fork over $10 for .05 cents worth of grease. I offered to pay, since it was our lax parenting style that got the drama rolling.
Nineteen years later the only picture he has on his desk is of his little smiling five year old covered with .05 cents worth of poorly applied grease paint.
If the OP is still listening: Please let loose. You never ever know what’s going to be important years later.</p>
<p>There is never an obligation to do anything with your kids. If the rides are too expensive (whether or not you can afford it is irrelevant), then don’t do them. However, I think it is important to do things with your kids that are fun … it doesn’t need to be at this particular fair, but do take them on a few carnival rides. You say: “My wife and I are very busy people, primarily busy with doing things with our kids. Things like hiking, fishing, bike riding, playing in the park, and other normal family activities.” It sounds like you are doing the right thing … making memories. Just remember to do things your kids want to do, too. If they would like to ride a roller coaster, or ride a pony, or stop at a tourist spot, or see the mummies in the museum — take their cue. </p>
<p>We exposed our kids to as many things as possible: concerts (classical to rock), museums (history, science, art, kids’), amusement parks, camping (not a family favorite, but we tried it), oceans (definitely a family favorite!), skiing/snowboarding, bike rides, parks, canoeing, tubing, walking in the woods, tourist traps, camps, etc, etc. The exposure to many different things — even things “we” might not have been all that thrilled to do — made memories AND allowed them to find the things in life that interest them. </p>
<p>My friend died last fall. She didn’t have much money, but she found a way to expose her girls to so many different things. They did fun things, and they laughed often. They have incredible memories of their mom and the life they had while she was on this earth. Life is short. Have fun! :)</p>