Photo TR: Route 66 Carousel Park, Joplin, Mo.

Carousel Park in Joplin runs a Father's Day special. Dads ride free when you pay for at least one child. So, with it being so close to us and not having ever been there, we decided this weekend was a good opportunity to check out this small local park. Overall, the park is definitely geared to young children; about half the rides have a height max of 52". There are some really cool old school rides here, though, that give this park the feel of an expanded county fair midway. We had a great time, and took lots of photos.

We went first to Go Gator. My youngest, who just barely meets the 36" height requirement, thought it went too fast for her. The other two loved it. Max 52" on this one.

Ah, much better. This gentle spinning elephants ride was just the thing.

Next came the Tiger Terror coaster. New credit!

I think I can safely say this was the first time I'd been in a tiger's butt.

This last curve jolts you from right to left. Anyone with a left elbow injury, be warned. Anyone without a left elbow injury, this ride will fix that problem.

Decent kiddie coaster overall, though. My older two loved it.

This is a Zamperla mini train ride. Everyone loved it. It's one of three rides in the park with no height requirement.

The Ferris wheel was not running due to high winds. It's just a normal size wheel, but it's the tallest ride in the park. The wheel boasts views of Route 66, which is right next to the park, but frankly isn't very scenic in this particular spot. The bumper cars next door were only running 4 cars at a time, but that was plenty for the practically non-existent lines at this park.

I don't do Tilt-a-Whirls, so I took pictures.

Yep, this is a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car Tilt-a-Whirl.

Next to that is this dinosaur ride. This was my youngest's favourite.

The ride alternates lifting the sauropods high up, then lowers them and raises the triceratops.

This is the coolest observation tower I've been on. I've never seen anything like it. You get in these pods, in this case themed to birds, and it slowly spins around the middle column as it rises.

You can see everything from up here. This is Tiger Terror, the mini golf course, and the parking lot.

This is the fabled Route 66. Really.

The salvage yard across the street. I did mention previously this isn't the most scenic part of the Mother Road.

The park isn't exactly scenic either. This is looking west down the midway. On the left side is a giant slide. I love those. You ever get a bit of airtime on the final drop.

The Mermaid next to it is a spinning teacups ride. We split up for this sort of ride. My wife and my oldest two ride in one car and spin to their heart's content. I ride with my youngest and we do not spin much. I don't do well with spinny things.

And now, the titular carousel. I'm very happy about being able to use the word titular. It's a fun word.

Off the midway was this fantastic 18-hole mini golf course. Great variety, some easy and some challenging. Plenty of trees over the course, too, so it was much cooler here than in the midway.

Next to the go karts is the Jumping Pillow, a big inflatable bag in sand. The little ones jumped while my oldest and I were in line for the go karts.

The park's only water ride is the bumper boats. Very welcome in the humid Missouri summer heat. The boats are all equipped with water guns, and they let you stay out there for quite a long time, so you get soaked.

On the other side of the parking lot is the go kart track. This was the only ride we had to wait for, and it's a great track. The karts are fast, and there are plenty of curves and even some slight grades.

Tiger Terror THROUGH THE TREES!!!

Nice Little Park, thanks for sharing.