The Best Fair in the US - Part 3 The Rides

 St. Paul, MN

Donna and I made it into the local newspaper during our fair visit

We Rode Some Rides

The other day we went to the Minnesota State Fair and did so much we had to break it into 3 parts.  You can see the other two parts here and here.  Now normally I am not a fair ride rider.  They are usually too expensive, too rickety, and not my kind of fun BUT the Minnesota State Fair, in addition to carnival rides, has permanent rides that have been on the property for years and years.  These are the rides I gravitate towards.  

When we first arrived we saw The Haunted.  We chose not to experience this because it wasn't a ride, it was a walk through, but it is a very popular attraction for some of the locals.  The Haunted House is a privately owned attraction that is only open a small part of the year and employs about 90 temporary employees yearly.  

Is it The Haunted House or The Haunted Mansion?

The first real ride we rode on was Ye Old Mill.  It's a permanent attraction and is a water flume ride. We were expecting a sort of old school dark ride and what we got was a lot less!   I guess we would have had different expectations if we had known it had been around since 1915.  It is known as the "Original Tunnel of Love" by some.  

The couple in front of us was getting ready to "Make Out" on Ye Old Mill.

After paying our $5 each, we were loaded into a boat.

We were both surprised how rapidly the boat moved.  Apparently fixes were made so the boats wouldn't get "Swamped" and block the ride.

The ride was basically long stretches of pitch black areas that were very disorienting mixed in with brief views of weird displays.  I just barely managed to snap this shot.

At the end of the ride we were underwhelmed but kind of glad we rode it. 

If you aren't planning on visiting The Minnesota State Fair and want some spoilers you can watch this video.

Our 2nd and only other ride was The SkyGlider.  This is one of 2 Gondola style rides.  This one is more of a chairlift ride.  It was $6 and gave good views of the fairgrounds.  We were both surprised at how long the ride was.  

Waiting in the fairly short line for the SkyGlider

Apparently throwing underwear off of the SkyGlider is an old tradition that they are trying to end. 

While we were riding The SkyGlider it began to rain.  We were just about done anyway.  By the time we got to the car it was raining pretty hard and we were glad we got to the fair really early.  It was a great day and we would go again.

That's it for today.  If you missed, The Best Fair in the US - Part 2 Photos of Us, check it out.