Dinosaur ride at the zoo

All summer the kids have been begging to go on the dinosaur ride at the zoo.  The zoo has a little 5 minute boat ride through some wooded area that changes themes year to year.  Last year it was a Pirate Adventure.  My kids had no desire to see that and in fact were scare to go back near the kangaroos because you could hear the booming cannons from the boat ride.  This year the theme is dinosaurs so they have really wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, all passengers must be old enough to walk in order to ride.  Which means we could not go on the boat ride until either a) Laney learned how to walk or b) David was able to join us at the zoo so one parent could hold Laney while the other went with the older two kids on the ride.  Last month, on an absolutely beautiful Saturday, we were all free and decided to go to the zoo to check out that ride! Unsurprisingly, just about every other person in Columbus decided to do the same thing.  Usually going to the zoo on a Tuesday morning, I was definitely not used to the crowds of a perfect Saturday afternoon....

We beelined it for the back of the zoo where the dinosaur ride was.  When we got there, the sign said "30 minute wait" but while we were standing in line for tickets, the sign was changed to "45 minute wait."  The kids were really set on finally going on the ride, so we decided to do it anyway.  They actually have a great set up for kids while they have to wait in line because every few few there is an animatronic dinosaur to look at.  We learned about paleontologists and the different eras that the dinosaurs lived in.
Here are some dinos that we saw along the way.

It's a nest!

We were in line for a long time!  I was really impressed though because neither Eliana nor William got whiney about the long wait.  They were both so excited about finally being able to go on the ride. (I guess having to wait all summer made this wait seem shorter!)  Which is really good because the 45 minute wait turned into over an hour wait... David though we were never coming back.

But we finally made it on the boat! The wait was worth it for me just to see the kids' faces.  Will said he wasn't scared, but he held onto my hand very tightly, and every time we came upon a new dinosaur (most were meat eaters with sharp teeth), he would squeeze my hand even tighter.

Look at Ana's face! I think she might have gotten nervous a couple of times too.

 We literally only had time to ride the boat and then turn around and go home.  But the kids might just say it was one of their favorite times at the zoo!