Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Photo TR: Dutch Winter Wonderland


Recommended Posts

Several years ago, my now-fiancee Kelly, her daughter Lauryn and I began a tradition of visiting a theme park on Thanksgiving weekend. This year due to a travel conflict, we postponed the trip until the first weekend in December and chose Dutch Wonderland, a place I had never been (despite living just two and a half hours away) and that Kelly hadn't been to in about a quarter century.

 

To say it surpassed expectations would be an understatement. All three of us really enjoyed the park--it focuses on kiddie attractions, but it's not just for kids. Highlights for me included teaching Lauryn how to shoot at the shooting gallery, which I had promised her we would do the next time we saw one; riding the carousel as a family--something we rarely do; and finding out the bathrooms were just as decorated on the inside as the rest of the park was on the outside! It was nice that the crowds were minimal, as well.

 

We also had something extra to celebrate: After being unemployed for six months, Kelly began her new job that week!

 

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Happy holidays!

1.JPG.f5faf5cea882ebe6b34415acef059897.JPG

Welcome to Dutch Winter Wonderland!

2.JPG.688db29af03ba509b3ab73113a756baa.JPG

For Christmas, they turned the entrance castle into Santa's house (yes, it was still also a gift shop). No photos allowed of the big man, unfortunately, unless you cared to drop some cash to buy them.

3.JPG.4190b32ff99b972fc757061c14292bd7.JPG

It's just like a picture print by Currier and Ives!

4.JPG.d5ac76b866a7d2136465452079d33fb9.JPG

The carousel played Christmas music!

5.JPG.9d1661aeb3594a72f181c0570d243be0.JPG

These holiday dioramas were all over the park. It was a nice little addition.

6.JPG.2ac6c3f9fe64752796c132cb85d92232.JPG

I call this picture "Jason and Lauryn prepare to ride the Ripcord."

6A.JPG.ec3e2c6c12ea2dbc724f0b95da264d28.JPG

Going down!

7.JPG.8da18755c21d29cdaaa24962aec062eb.JPG

Dutch Wonderland has some awesome photo ops!

8.JPG.b76a5ac5197ab03a0c869ab20d33a017.JPG

Kelly and Lauryn love their new Amish family!

9.JPG.a18d0b28d8aa384772593ebab284036d.JPG

They're also pretty happy about their new Inuit family!

10.JPG.a58ce03ba37ada0a5aa8401170c375eb.JPG

No, Lauryn! Do not eat the giant chicken!

11.JPG.da6712f55190985137134242ce524753.JPG

"Grrr! I'm crazy polar bear! Gimme some fish biscuits!"

12.JPG.c9d7206f186ad37398008240a83d550a.JPG

Is it ironic that electronic dioramas are used to depict the ways of life of the Amish--who shun electricity?

13.JPG.046946cf24f6a23945c3f935755c3317.JPG

Push the button to watch them sand the bench!

14.JPG.8ee43e918dcb2b0b912da4fc280fed7a.JPG

But enough of that. You came here to see rides! Rides like the Crazy Plane! It's crazy!

15.JPG.c7ed0d18b1fd6bf6efedc7510a284c54.JPG

Come on, everybody! Clap your hands!

16.JPG.ef33ab7aabdd225b2d38efd4850a4ba5.JPG

This thing looked really cool spinning around in the dark.

17.JPG.f02cce790b9cb7770d250f8934d8cde1.JPG

Let us pause for a moment to remember the real reason for the season.

18.JPG.5ca6e5ff331bc7a8bfb0be21103422e2.JPG

OK, that's long enough. Now let's ride the Space Shuttle!

19.JPG.a74a7d4c6e0e309e55464672a26f1b1d.JPG

For me, this was one of the two coolest rides at the park (the other being the Dutch Wonder House): an original 1970s Astroliner! What made it even better was that they had replaced the movie screen and projector with a digital flat-screen TV... which showed a recording of the original scratchy, poor-quality 1970s 16-millimeter film! It's an awesome way to preserve the vintage cheesiness of this classic ride.

20.JPG.ae03a91ce0200ff07b2b52338254215c.JPG

Rudolph wants to ride the Astroliner!

21.JPG.f2f2d0abe923c7e37e674bb45fbd635c.JPG

The Voyager was kind of like the next-generation Astroliner, equally as cheesy, but not quite as charming. Basically, upon boarding you learn that a nuclear war has destroyed the world in the distant year 2000(!), and your job is to travel back in time to ancient Egypt to capture some sort of magic doohickey for reasons I didn't fully understand.

22.JPG.1ba5044d78b7e56bcb8f197244c4e2c1.JPG

Lauryn will take the traveling carnival rockets any day (though given the opportunity to ride a single attraction a second time right before the park closed, she chose the Astroliner).

23.JPG.579e6a1d5ca3df1357669eba77c3ca4a.JPG

Much like NASA, Dutch Wonderland's mission control is located inside a corrugated tin storage shed.

24.JPG.6bcce96173200de0d923f529ebe671f7.JPG

This actually was a cool little "value added" attraction in the park's space-themed area, with a handful of 1980s-era science center-type activities.

25.JPG.552ffdad241fe4ca3f249f7b3ac3b0e3.JPG

Space facts!

26.JPG.b32474dca7f495e00a10a10f73478517.JPG

We figured five hours would be plenty of time to do the entire park. Boy, were we wrong! We really didn't have time to sit through any of the shows, but we did catch the opening of the ventriloquist's act. She didn't move her lips, though that could be because with temperatures in the 20s that night, they were frozen in place!

27.JPG.35b805802f043f6608bbe96debe3de9b.JPG

I want to live in a birthday cake house!

28.JPG.3a35201dca19f98ebd6f74b2b3dedcd4.JPG

Hi Joey!

29.JPG.04e77f372cfeaba901ab4db9b1f8dde4.JPG

This was, by far, the best haunted swing I've ever ridden. The closeness of the walls made it much dizzier than any of the larger ones I've been on.

30.JPG.916d70e90e5fa4d571bd48c9fe561854.JPG

A tiny church? I wonder what could be inside.

31.JPG.98f72140f204be428c771b82b610858c.JPG

Why, it's a Bible kiosk! That's right, kids. Forget Disneyland, Six Flags and Universal Studios--come to Dutch Wonderland and read the Bible!

32.JPG.8bd915a99d471c94c2caf0feef51f9cd.JPG

This was another seasonal attraction that seemed really cool that we didn't really have time for. Oh well. We can decorate our own cookies at home, anyway.

33.JPG.02dbb27c64df72df5cd25f379f1defc8.JPG

The polar play area was full of plastic-and-foam ice blocks that kids could stack and climb on. Lauryn wanted to stop for a few minutes and try it herself, but Kelly wouldn't let her, as the place kind of smelled like dirty diapers, and she didn't want her daughter getting E. coli for Christmas.

34.JPG.aeffe831aad606a0f92c54d9a50f1ed5.JPG

Teacher says every time a bell rings, there's some little kid pulling the rope at the other end.

35.JPG.eea5b9e3019112e8d962cfb1d83eadff.JPG

Another simple little attraction that kids love. It's a shame more parks don't have stuff like this.

36.JPG.19494936949c21e93fbe43d344b56470.JPG

Now this school has some class! (ba-dum-ching!)

37.JPG.a4f5f6f3f9c379beb56716f707467215.JPG

Look! It's Prince Dill Weed!

38.JPG.2d9a7d121b72ec9a86bf1b0d18803773.JPG

Yet another great holiday attraction that we missed out on due to time. Oh well. At least we got to see the strolling carolers pass by the smores stand.

39.JPG.5fb1c99fece39b494b9abdf12951e47a.JPG

Dutch Wonderland had a collection of kiddie flats I had never seen before, including these bulldozers that allowed kids to raise and lower the front-end scoop.

40.JPG.381f446b6bc7259f313f4dced0571e36.JPG

Hmm... bees... honey... something tells me these bears weren't always painted in the panda style.

41.JPG.dca1b47149b661732cabaa1caee56171.JPG

With freezing temperatures, none of the water rides were running; alas, our search for the Lady Gay was fruitless. However, the sky ride was operating, offering a great--if absolutely chilly--overhead view of the park's decorations and synchronized music and light show.

43.JPG.1adabe9c4ca63fe56cc2c82514672513.JPG

The reindeer refused to come out of their shed into the cold--and I refused to jump the fence and go in after them--so this is the best photo you're going to see of them in this TR!

42.JPG.14feeeac680e9fc38d133cd83c9dba60.JPG

Lauryn was only a passenger in the monster trucks...

44.JPG.7ffd834569c263a69508a3010f8a639e.JPG

...but she got to drive the antique cars! We began the theme park season this year with a meltdown when she was half an inch too short to drive similar cars at Six Flags America by herself, so she was elated when she measured up during her final park of the year!

45.JPG.8134d8571aa140d2b1bc8e1576d50026.JPG

Also, no stopping, lap sitting, making the car stop or sitting in laps.

46.JPG.e581afbd0d53fc04dea6b7fd5829a3ae.JPG

We ended the evening with a roundtrip on the park's train.

47.JPG.81e0a1b6002b71a18372c094e257fd60.JPG

We passed through a mine shaft with some neat little dioramas; unfortunately, we were going too fast for my camera to take adequate photos. Then, on the far side of the track, we passed this. Which is fine and all... except there were no other references to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" whatsoever (at least not that I noticed). It was kind of odd--like they really wanted the whole poem, but this was the only section they could afford.

48.JPG.590e9190dd73fd5f996df9d5f40a8e6e.JPG

Goodbye, Dutch Wonderland! Thanks for a great evening!

Edited by printersdevil78
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I considered going down there this past weekend to see how it is, but decided against it since they didn't have many adult rides open, but from going past the place it looks really lit up!

 

I could always go next summer and get my Joust and Kingdom Coaster credits and see how much the place changed since my last visit in 1997.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was definitely worth the money. I was there last weekend and their light show is top notch. I just pray that Palace keeps this going as it's extra money in their pockets.

 

Chris, the place is alot better than it was in 1997. I'd say it looked no different in 1997 than when I last went as a child in 1994 (except with the addition of Pipeline Plunge). I was was amazed at how much better it looked when I came back in 2008. I never rode the Joust as I didn't know how to feel being an adult on there with a bunch of kids, but I guess that shouldn't matter too much as I'm pretty much like everyone else here...a coaster enthusiast lol! But the Kingdom Coaster, without a doubt, does pack a punch even though it may look tame. I highly recommend checking it out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I considered going down there this past weekend to see how it is, but decided against it since they didn't have many adult rides open, but from going past the place it looks really lit up!

 

I could always go next summer and get my Joust and Kingdom Coaster credits and see how much the place changed since my last visit in 1997.

 

Maybe next year with new owners, they will consider opening up the coasters for this event? I haven't been to Dutch Wonderland since 2003 and would go back if I could ride coasters in November or December.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^Nope, I've worked at a snowball stand, a newspaper and a university, in that order, but I've never worked at an amusement park.

 

^I don't think it's up to park management whether or not to open the coasters; I think it's up to the temperature. As cold as it was that night, I was surprised more things weren't closed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took my daugther to this event a few years back and we had a great time! The park with even it's changes, has stayed true to what the park should be. I went as a kid and it still feels like the same exact park. I have alot of memories there as a kid and being a father. Hopefully the park doesn't change with the new owners.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/