The first have of my Friday was great and it was about to get better because a bunch of us were headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the Haunted Lagoon. It’s kind of a haul to get there (read it’s on the other side of the island and there is only one way to get there, driving the perimeter of the North Shore which takes about 45 minutes), but after last year’s inaugural visit, I was hooked.
I was really impressed how they transformed the place and all the costumes were great.
However, this ride was WAY different than last year for sure.
After walking through the 3D haunted house, which was a new feature, the eight of were sat in the front of the 30 or so people canoe. Kind of reminds me of the thing you sit on at Disney’s Splash Mountain.
We were warned that we could get wet, people jump into the lagoon, so we were advised to put our phones away. Since I did this last year I knew we would get a mist here or there but nothing major… or so I thought.
The ride was similar to last year, but with several upgrades. They really do a great job here! Creepiest part is there are a ton of lil kids dressed up and playing along. Gives me the willys!
There are a series of bridges and water ways that the ride goes under. Many have people lurking in the water, fog screens, but this tunnel was one of kind.
As we entered the dark tunnel, there were several things hanging from the ceiling. Then all off a sudden, our feet started to get wet. “Hmm,” I though to myself, “This is new. I knew we would get sprayed, but if I had known about this new gimmic I wouldn’t have worn jeans.” Well within seconds we all went from wet ankles to wet butts. We were literally sitting in water.
Next thing we knew, the lights went on, masks came off and people were yelling for us to exit to the right! We were sinking! It took us a few minutes to realize this was NOT part of the ride and that we indeed had to abandon the ride.
Already soaked, I was not looking forward to swimming to the side. I realized it would be a swim because once my friend’s 6ft husband stepped out of the canoe and the water was up to his chest. I knew my 5ft frame would be underwater! Luckily, my hubby had stashed his iphone into my purse at the beginning of the ride and as soon as I felt water creep up my body, I put my purse over the head. Thank God!
It was really pandemonium and we were all a lil scared at this point. The PCC staff was quick to respond to our mayday call, and once I entered the water, someone on the steep muddy bank grabbed by purse so I could hoist my soaking wet body onto to land. I felt like Shamuu.
Once I was out of the yucky water, I realized there were several small children on board and one of them got completely submerged! Poor things. The PCC staff was quick to bring out towels, clothing and hot food. The hot soup made me laugh. It’s not like we were in freezing cold water, but it was still a nice gesture despite the fact that we do live in Hawaii. My friend Kerri and I had a good chuckled and chalked our sinking up to the two of scarfing down a grilled cheese and chicken sandwich while we were waiting in line.
I also noticed the size of the people on our ride. There was a family of 13 large mamajamas sitting in the back. Probably not a good idea to place the heaviest people in the bag and even though each canoe can seat 35, when one person is the size of three people that rationale doesn’t really work.
What also cracked me up was when they asked us if we wanted to get back in the canoe and finish our ride! Many people were like heck no, but myself and a few others (excluding my PO’d hubby) decided to finish the ride. Heck, we already paid and walking around soaking wet didn’t seem very appealing either.
Lucky for my friends and I, none of our stuff got damaged. For our troubles we got free T-shirts, panchos to sit on in our cars, a full refund and complimentary dinner and show tickets. These things only happen to me, I swear!
