Not so much negativity today. I'd like to offer my apologies to the fine Wisconsin Dells for venting my general frustration in the direction of their tourist trap.

We started today with a standard 'moving by noon' departure and made our way toward Marshall, Wisconsin and more specifically, Little A-Merrick-A.

I had no idea what to expect other than not much. This was perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises of the trip thus far. I don't think I've had the pleasure of visiting any other park with such charm and such friendly employees that really made you feel at home. I wanted to kiss them all - softly and on the lips. (well, maybe not, but you get the idea)

We got our wristbands and went right for the Swiss Toboggan. My daughter and I vowed never to ride another one of these after Conneaut Lake Park, then rode another at Lakemont Park again vowing to never ever ever ride one again. Now faced with another we decided to just do it.

The cars on this thing were small. Really small. Anyone who has ridden a Chance Toboggan coaster knows how tight the cars can be, but these were short as well. I'm only 5'8" with my shoes on, hair spiked and rounding up and I had to slouch and bend my head a bit forward to get in under the roof of the car.

Surprisingly the ride wasn't nearly as nasty as our previous experiences with these coasters. Nothing too rough and the sheer terror of expecting the worst made it a 'giggle ride' for both of us.

My son marathoned the Little Dipper for a good 10 or 12 laps before we prodded him along. The kids did a couple kiddie flat rides and we made our way to the back of the park taking a run on the Bumper Boats and Go-Karts. On the way we stopped for a lap on Mad Mouse. What can I say? It's scary for all the wrong reasons and again made for silly 'giggle fun' rides. The car just slamming ther bunny hops at the end and jarring both the car and rider is classic. Not a good coaster by any stretch of the imagination, but a sick amount of fun for the sadist in all of us. Then we made our way back for a train ride (my little guy really digs trains and we always have to take a ride if the park we're at offers one)

I can say without question that Little A-Merrick-A has the single greatest train ride at any amusement park anywhere even parks I've yet to visit! You cricle the front of the park, make your way to the back and keep going. Soon you pas through a tunnel and upon exiting fid yourself in a whole different world. The park is hidden behind a small hill and ahead is nothing but farm. The train runs the course of the farm and the property offering rustic views of the ground, the animals, the buildings, a creek - the whole farm thing. And the ride is long. Really long! We so thoroughly enjoyed it. On top of that it was obvious that those in charge cared for the train and took great pride in its care. All in all, I was flabbergasted. Good, good stuff. A few more flats and corn so good my wife had to call people on her cell phone after we left and tell them about it and we had pretty much done the park in less than 3 hours.

We could have easily stuck around, but felt like keeping the down time to a max as we end these next 5 days with a lot of park after park after park stuff. So we headed off for our hotel in Kenosha.

We got to the hotel right around 6pm and checked in. Our room was dirty, worn and sad looking. On top of that the TV and the internet service were essentially non-functional. We asked to be moved and the next room, while better, was still unacceptable. I plugged the laptop in and checked for Mariott properties between Kenosha and Six Flags Great America (our next stop) and found availability at a Courtyard just a few miles away from the park. We had almost booked this hotel originally but opted to try to save a few bucks by staying in a non-Marriott property in Kenosha (ahem...Comfort Suites...ahem) against our usual philosophy. In defense of Choice Hotels (of which Comfort Suites is a part of) many of their properties can be really nice, the problem is consistency. It's very hit or miss. Unfortunately, this was a miss. We are a little worried however because we pulled the same cheaper booking thing a couple more times down the line. We'll see, I suppose. On top of that the staff was very apologetic and did their best to make sure we left happy even though we were leaving. That's a big plus.

At any rate the Courtyard was a definite improvement, but still a little iffy. A few minor cleanliness issues that were easily overlooked although no one can seem to stomach the piss smell on the balcony for more than 60 seconds at a time. Maybe it's just the area? Who knows?

We scored some dinner at Denny's and settled in. The plan is to get to the park at opening (ha, right!) and play it by ear. We'll see how it goes.