The North Pole

I almost forgot about one of my favorite Colorado Springs attractions: The North Pole! This is a one-of-a-kind amusement park nestled just up into the foothills. The theme is Santa's Workshop and all of the rides have been painted in the winter theme. There is even a pole that is filled with liquid nitrogen or something tha makes water condensation freeze to it and create a "North Pole" that people can touch and carve markes into.

One of the neatest (and most thrilling) attractions at the North Pole is a gigantic ferris wheele that is said to be "the tallest in the world" only because Denver and neighboring cities are already a "mile high" in terms of sea level. So the ferris wheele isn't really that large, it's just strategically placed ;)

There is a smaller train that goes all around the park for the youngsters and even a ski gondola to give an ariel view. Every time my family went I spent tons of time on the "flying ride" for lack of a better name. This ride was made up like one of those spinning swing rides except instead of a swing there are little carts that have a large fin fixed to the front and the back. The rear fin is fixed and functions much like the tail of an airplane; keeping things stable. The front fin is on a vertical hinge that allows the rider to control air flow around the cart as the ride spins. My Dad and I would ride this ride and really push the limits for how big of swoops and swings we could achieve. Great stuff! I hadn't really seen a ride like it until recently at Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver. There is a Batman ride that functions much in the same way but isn't nearly as thrilling because you can't get the cart swinging as out of control. Half the fun of the ride at the North Pole is that the cart would actually start jerking and bouncing when you swooped high enough. You would go really slow on a downswing and then yank way above the cliffside (where the ride was perched) and feel like the tiny cables connecting you could snap at any moment!