The Goodsell Family Blog: Dutch Wonderland!

This month we went to Dutch Wonderland for the first time as a family. Jason and I both have great memories of going there when we were little so we couldn't wait to take the kids. The night before we went we told Jake that we were going to do something really fun the next day and that we had to leave early in the morning to drive there. He was so excited the whole way there and was trying to jump out of his seat when we pulled up in front of the big castle. The excitement reached a new level when we got out of the car and he saw that grandma and grandpa were there too! Mady was really sweet because she didn't know anything special was going on...she was just really happy to see grandma and grandpa.

Once we got into the park it was all I could do to keep up with the kids as they were taking it all in. They wanted to go on all of the rides right away...and there was definitely no stopping them! I think we hit up almost every ride that they were big enough to go...some as many as three times in a row! Jason and I had fun going on a few of the rides with them...Mady and myself loved the Log Flume and Jason and Jake both agreed that the Sky Ride was their favorite. Although, I have to say overall I think both Jake and Mady were completely in love with the Frog Hopper.

I can't say enough about the wonderful time we had and the great memories that we created on this Family Day. The rides provided endless fun for the kids and we also enjoyed some of the cute shows they perform daily at the park. The best part is we get to go back for free! It rained for less than half an hour right before we were getting ready to leave and the park gave us free tickets to come back...thanks Dutch Wonderland for a great experience!

Family Picture

Mady with Grandma and Grandpa

Jake had so much fun on Choo Choo Charlie.

One of the first rides of the day was the Sky Fighter.

Riding on the Fun Slide with daddy!

Duke's Dozers...this one was way too slow in Jake's opinion.

They really liked the Panda Party ride...if I remember right this one went pretty fast and they loved pushing the loud buzzers the entire time.

Watching the kiddos.

The Frog Hopper was the hit of the day! The kids had such a great time on this one and they loved sitting next to each other. Jake was so sweet and kept checking to make sure Mady was doing alright. She looked so cute up there with her little legs barely hanging off the edge. One mom kept saying "Look at the little baby up on the ride!" Mady was so funny and started looking around trying to find the "little baby" since she definitely does not consider herself a baby anymore! We could have watched them on that ride all day and I'm sure they would have stayed on there.

Milking the cow...they were fascinated.

Mady and Grandpa...so sweet.

Jake was so serious during the Thomas & Friends show...he didn't take his eyes off Thomas once.

Mady was far less excited by the show...I think she watched for about a minute maybe.

Mommy and Mady on the Merry-Go-Round...I think all of us went on it about five times!

Jake was so excited about taking a ride on the train...The Wonderland Special.

Feeding the ducks...a nice break from the excitement.

The big guy himself...Duke.

Posing with one of the princesses.

We watched one of the diving shows, A Dragon's Tale, towards the end of the day. The kids were so impressed watching everyone jump into the water from way up high and they loved the silly storyline and how the crowd kept getting splashed with water.