Camden park, West Virginia!!!
Looks like this place is the place to be for our family every summer.
It's become a family tradition since last summer (when we moved back to USA from Singapore!)
Can't believe it's been a year and 2 months in the USA and lots has happened since then.
So this summer we are back to Camden Park!
(Since it's only about an hour from my in laws place n we were visiting them)
There's many reasons TO visit Camden park and there's many reasons NOT to!
Reasons TO visit:
1) It's great for SMALL kids.
The rides are catered mostly for small kids!!!
There are only a few rides catered for older kids.
Sienna (who's 5+ yrs old) rode on ALL the rides except for 2. 1 of them is the biggest roller coaster ride there (which she wasn't tall enough) and the other one is the haunted house ride (she was tall enough but she was just too scared to ride it).
Skyler (who's 3+ yrs old) got to enjoy and ride on most rides too! (Only a handful he couldn't)
2) It's FREE for kids 3 and below!
So Skyler was free last year and this year...
3) Lines are short!!!
Just imagine queuing up with small kids under the hot sun.
But since lines were short, it was a "breeze"!
No whining, complaining... the only one we queued up and waited for 20mins was the water log ride. It was slow moving since the logs can only fit 4 at a time. The rest of the rides, we queued up only for 5 mins and then we were on it the next round!
Some rides they could just unbuckle n off they went to choose a different car/bus/motorbike n repeat the same ride without having to queue up as there weren't any lines!!!
4) The park is just "big" enough.
The park is just the right size for SMALL kids.
Sienna & Skyler walked the whole park themselves without having to sit the stroller!
(we brought the stroller as usual just to dump our "barang barang" aka stuff...)
The rides weren't far from each other...
5) Sneak preview of Disney trips in the future!
Since Sienna & Skyler are too young to ride on most rides n remember Disney to really enjoy it to the fullest, Camden park is a good preview!
6) Location...
Located only an hour away from my in laws place.
Perfect since we were already visiting them during the summer holidays!
7) Their ice cream!!!
It's one of the biggest soft serve cone servings I've ever seen.
1 cone was shared by all 4 of us. It was super yummy n creamy.
Perfect to end our day especially on a hot day!!!
Their funnel cakes were filling my nostrils from afar n calling my name... this momma had to just walk away from additional calories...lols!
Reasons not to visit:
1) Adults have to pay!!!
Each adult is $22!
So even grandparents, uncles, aunties, etc tagging along to see the kiddos having fun still have to pay. N they can't enjoy all the rides. Just a few!!!
2) It's an OLD antique park built in the year 1902!
So don't expect the rides to be super smooth... lots of squeaking sounds!
3) Toilets!!!
Following point no. 2) above, don't expect the toilets to be hotel standard!!!
4) No water fountain...
5) No shelters!
Be prepared to stand under the hot sun and be sun tanned while queuing for the rides...unless you bring an umbrella and poke everyone in line... this "aunty" here refrained herself from embarrassing Mr. Hubby...lols! we were all "50 shades" darker from the aftermath!!!
6) Their cable car ride didn't have any seat belts n the handles can be lifted up!
We (the parents) were NOT a fan of this ride since there was NO belt that secured us in... just a bar that can be opened and closed any time during the ride!
We weren't aware of this before hand until we were whisked up to our seats!
We had to hold the kiddos extra tight...
Surprisingly the kids sat still the entire time n enjoyed it so much that they wanted to ride it twice!!!
Tips:
1) Go on a Sunday or after 5pm every weekday (print a coupon from their website and bring it along) to get a $5 off each adult ticket.
2) No food and drinks allowed in the park.
But we pack some kid friendly snacks n some water bottles in our stroller. No problems with that. Of coz don't pack an entire picnic meal... food and drinks can be bought inside!
3) Load up on sunblocks, drink lots of water to stay hydrated.
Bring umbrella, hats, sunglasses, etc...
4) Wear slippers/flip flops...
Don't wear nice covered shoes especially on the water log ride as your shoes will get soaking wet!!!
***Ahem... Mr. Hubby***
Bringing extra clothes is not needed as the hot sun will dry it in no time...
5) Bring a stroller!
Not that Sienna and Skyler will want to sit in it any more, but it's for the parents to load our stuff in it!!! So we didn't have to carry any of it...
6) Check the weather!!!
It's stated on their website that no "rainchecks" or refunds if it rains!
We checked before hand and the weather said cloudy but we got some drizzle. But do note that they don't close the park when it rains only when it starts to thunder!!!
7) Don't go on rides that require additional charges like the paddle swan boats, carnival games, putt putt, and the newly opened real life pony rides. Your kids would already be exhausted from going on the other rides (some, more than once!)... you wouldn't wanna waste time, money n energy on the paid ones!!! Sienna & Skyler were happy enough that they didn't notice all the paid ones...
8) Sit at the end of the train.
On the train ride, be sure to head to the last cabin so you can enjoy the ride "smoke free".
The exhaust gas/smoke was blowing from the front of the train.
We had the most enjoyable time this time compared to last summer.
The weather was super nice... cloudy, cooling, breezy!!!
Lines were shorter.
The kids were bigger n could enjoy most rides.
Skyler still talks about the rides even days after the trip!!!
But this time round, their cousins and grandparents weren't able to join in the fun!
If not it would have been triple the fun!!!
Verdict: a MUST visit place for small kids!!!
This momma approves...
Here's a video that Mr. hubby made from last year and this year...ENJOY!!!
Year 2016:
Year 2017:
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