After months of anticipation Rada and I finally visited Storyland, the ‘Disney World of the Northeast’. (though comparing Storyland to Disney World is like comparing ballet to disco.)
The 3 hour drive was grueling, but Storyland was a delight. There was Humpty Dumpty, Mother Goose, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Red Riding Hood, and more. I kept saying to myself, ‘this is a literary experience’. Visitors could actually talk to the little old woman who lived in a shoe. She was sitting in the shoe, happy to chat about all her children. There were fun things to climb on, and animals to look at. The only casuality of the weekend was my camera which sustained water damage (in an embarrasing incident which will not be related here) so there are no photos to post. Instead, I will steal liberally from other websites.
The highlights of the day were the carousel:
The whiriling teacups:
Riding on the ferris wheel:
and finally…. meeting Cinderella in her castle. The ‘castle’ had turrets and moats on the outside and a ballroom inside. A young woman dressed as Cinderalla greeted visitors and invited children to sit on the throne at the head of the hall (while parents took pictures). The walls of the ballroom were lined with mirrors and fake gold trim and there was dancing music in the background. Permeating this elegance was the faint aroma of diapers and baby poop. It was charming.
For me, one of the nicest things about Storyland was the lack of lines. It was possible to spend a entire day in the park without waiting in line for more than 5-10 minutes. And this was a Saturday in July. To be sure the popular rides had long lines, but there were so many other things to do, it was easy to pass them by.
After Storyland, we rounded out the weekend with a dunk in Echo Lake:
and a trip to the Hartmann model Train Museum:
where Rada, Emilie and Zachary ran Thomas and Percy on their tracks and then took a train ride around the museum.
It was a fine pilgrimage.
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