On our last ride on the Expedition Everest rollercoaster in the Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, half way up, and pointed at a 45 degree angle to the sky, our coaster car stopped. Dead. My immediate thoughts were, “we’ll start again soon..real soon..any minute now..wait, we’re not starting..well, the PA will come on and tell us what to do..any minute now..besides, workers will come and help us down..except there’s no sidewalk, just tracks..and we’re practically on our backs, how will we get out of our seats?” Then the biggie: “the other cars aren’t stopped..I can hear them coming!”
All of that took about 2 seconds
I wasn’t scared yet, but I was getting there. The other cars were definitely not stopped, but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer. We didn’t understand it and I was close to scared by now.
The little fella behind me started to cry
He was terrified and his mom couldn’t quiet him. I thought maybe if I spoke to him, he’d be so distracted by the friendly stranger that he’d stop crying. I looked at his mom for permission and started talking to him, saying that the nice men were going to come get us because the computer told them to. That we’d walk on the track and that he’d have the easiest time of all because he was small and strong.
It worked
He and I both felt better. The nice men did come get us because the computer told them to. I think the lesson is: when you’re stuck or worried, help someone else. You’ll both feel better.
Where’s the last place you were stuck? What did you do to get out of it? Click “comment” and clue us all in.
Leave a Reply