We went on a couple of rides that Jack has been to scared to go on in the past. As we came out of Hex Jack said to me, Daddy we beat the curse and I didn't even cry. Last time we rode Hex he hid, cried all the way through and I guess we didn't beat the curse. We also rode Duel, which he insisted he was up for but we still had to talk him into, "It's not scary Jack because they give you a laser gun, so when the monster jumps out, you just blast him". He loved it.
Jack is no longer interested in places like Storybook land and all the kiddie rides and he wasn't quite tall enough to go on any of the bigger rides. This became more of a problem as being the first day of the season, many of the rides that Jack could go on we not working. They seemed to be breaking down one by one as soon as we arrived. Jack really wanted to ride Sonic Spinball but when we got to it we found that it was a 1.2m ride, not 1.17m like we'd thought. So I suggested that we get Jack measured, we'd only measured him at home a few weeks before and he was about 1.18m tall. He had to be 1.2m to ride any the bigger rides, we knew it wasn't likely but I hoped that maybe he'd grown a little more since then and was hopefully tall enough that we could maybe fudge it a little by having him breath in deeply or spike his hair.
So we set out to find a staff member with one of those batons or a triangle. I don't trust those height boards, I never have, I'm convinced that they're all different and all wrong. After a surprisingly long search we found a staff member to give us an official measurement. 1.19 and maybe a bit, very close but definitely below the 1.2m line, not fudgeable without lifts or something...
Jack took the news well and fought back the tears by hitting a near by playground. While Helen and I discussed our options. We were nearly out of rides and it was only about 10:30 and it was freezing. We decided to stick it out and make our way back toward the 1.0m rides that we knew were working, but first we needed to get Jack a pair of gloved because it was arctic.
"Gloves." I said to Helen in a sudden flurry of inspiration. "That'd do it."
We purchased the gloves near at a shop near one of the 1.2m rides and rushed Jack off to a staff free location where he could 'try them on'.
With the new gloves 'on' we pushed Jack up to one of the measurement boards and took a look... This could work. My only concern now was that it was still close enough to leave us at the mercy of a staff member's discretion but we could always use Jack's cutes if it came to it so we took our show on the road. A helpful staff member guided us to a baggage kiosk on the 1.2m ride where they confirmed Jack's height as 1.22m. They then provided Jack with a wristband, officially stating to any other would-be measures that he was over 1.2m, AND because they were having to close the ride soon they pushed us straight through to the ride. At which Helen snuck the gloves onto Jack's hands.
So Jack rode Thirteen, his first real roller coaster at Alton Towers. He loved it and would have gone several times had it not broken down, while we were still on it. He also rode Sonic Spinball which he adored and it looking forward to going on it again. The wristband was great, Jack just flashed it at the staff and they didn't question.
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| Officially a big boy. |
The one drawback to his newly acquired height was that at there are some little things that he still really likes, like Wobble World which has a maximum height restriction at 1.2m. It wasn't a problem today because we just made sure we went there last and took off the wristband but it will be a problem very soon. However the fact that this was possibly the last time he'd be able to go in there made him quite sad.
We're now looking forward to the rest of the season. This new height will open up a whole host of new experiences for Jack and bring some of the fun for Helen and I back as well. The knowledge of the write band will also serve us well for when we approach the 1.4m milestone.
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