Favorite Theme Park Thrill Ride in Pasr 23 Years

 Today, 23 years ago back in 2003, I proposed and took Will and Rebecca down to Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Georgia.  My aim was to provide the kids a fun thrill ride experience and to face my fears about the effects that gravitational shifts and inversion made on my body and sense of well-being.  As it was, we all went on Pharoah's Fury, Double Shot, Boomerang, Hangman, and Cheetah.  Seems like they enjoyed themselves, and so did I.  After leaving the park late that afternoon, we got on I-75 south where a concentrated thunderstorm hit us, impeding my vision as I struggled to keep a clear field in front of us.  This experience opened the way for us all to boldly go on as many thrill rides as we could in the two years ahead, including Busch Gardens, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, two more visits to Wild Adventures, and Cypress Gardens.  My favorite destination was Busch Gardens, with Montu, Kumba and Gwazi being my favorite coaster rides( add Scorpion for Busch Gardens).  The Hulk coaster, along with Ice and Fire, were my favorites at Universal, and we got a kick out of going on the Jurassic Park boat/slide ride. Doctor Doom's Free Fall terrified Melissa and made me quite uneasy.  From 2005 forward, our theme park visits slowed down and henceforth so did our venturing out on thrill rides.  When I drove to Hollywood to visit my father, I took pains to stop off at Boomer's on Stirling Road, where I went on their Dania Beach Hurricane wooden coaster until they finally shut down the ride.  My all-time favorite wooden roller coaster was Thunderhead at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which we enjoyed on our summer 2006 visit there...Boomer's Hurricane was runner-up.

My all-time favorite roller coasters are Montu, Kumba, Thunderhead and Gwazi, but, speaking solely of thrill rides, my favorite in that group has to be Power Surge...found mainly at Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens.  Well, we'll see if, on any future visit(s), we discover one or more of these fine rides.  The only remaining thrill ride I've gone on in recent years is the Royal Caribbean's Abyss dry slide, which plummets the rider quickly ten levels, from 16 to 6.  Well, maybe I'll try it again should we go on that huge boat again. Oh, and if you see it, put me on Wild Adventure's Aviator again..

Checked YouTube about Theme Park Rides in General Vicinity

The other day I did a search on various theme park rides.  My all-time favorite one is Power Surge, a circular ride moving around an axis that lifts you up and tosses you around, upside-down and all, in your seat high off the ground as it rotates...satisfyingly disorienting you for its approximately two minutes of duration.  When my kids were growing up, two theme parks we visited had Power Surge: Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia and the renovated Cypress Gardens in Polk County, Florida. It was one of the several then-scary rides at the former on that fateful Sunday in March, 2003 that I braved myself to ride on as a challenge to myself: after all, Will and Rebecca had no problem with them!  Since that time I've completely flip-flopped on theme park rides and became an ardent fan, but the children are grown and going to these parks just hasn't been high on our agenda in recent years.  I think the last roller coaster I've ridden was the Dania Beach Hurricane wooden coaster off Stirling Road on the north side of Hollywood in southern Florida where I grew up and would later visit my father. Now the Hurricane is no more and...correct me if I'm wrong...there are ZERO coasters remaining down there. On YouTube I found a posting that shows POV on all of Busch Garden's major rides, including several newer ones I've yet to experience. I think they're the best Theme Park when I consider their distance from my Gainesville home (they're in Tampa), the number of quality rides, price and their shows and amenities.  But for now I'm glad to see the rides on YouTube.  By the way, Montu, Busch Garden's hanging steel roller coaster, is still my all-time favorite coaster and number two all-around ride, behind Power Surge (which you can also "kind-of" experience in a virtual way on YouTube).