THE AMUSEMENT PARK has something for everyone, whether you are a water baby Tor someone who loves heights, fast turns or relish hanging upside down.

We had to leave early because Wonder la was quite a distance from GCC and we were not particularly happy about losing out on our precious Sunday sleep. But once we got there, our sleep and crankiness was instantly forgotten. Before all else, we are happy to report that the park houses are very hygienic and the large changing room area also sells clothes for those who haven’t come prepared for water rides. The rooms are fitted with lockers so there is minimum risk of the usual “go on a trip, lose a valuable” situation. With all our belongings carefully tucked away, and our clothes changed for more comfortable park attire, we eagerly
entered the arena of rides!

The Dry Rides Before we hit the water, we thought we’ll try out the day rides in the park. We recommend that you do the same. We started with Maverick and it was a very promising start to our day of fun! But a word of caution, this ride is not one for the weak at heart. With our hair properly knotted and our heads dizzy with happiness, we moved on to the next ride. For those who also want a bit of an adventurous feel, make sure you try out the Net Walk. It is not exactly a ride but a bridge that connects rides on one floor to the rides of another. It is a very good exercise and clears your mind after a dizzy start.

Once we reached the top, we tried out a ride which is very simple in its concept but is also one of the most thrilling rides in the park, the Drop Zone. After having been strapped safely to our seats, we were taken high up and given a two second aerial view of the breathtaking area around Wonder la, and then abruptly brought back down. The feeling of displacement and the shock is something we cannot explain but it is a feeling we enjoyed thoroughly.

We then tried out lesser thrilling rides such as the Mixer and Techno Jump which are quite relaxing and a lot of fun. Other rides that we enjoyed were Y-Scream, Wonder la Bamba and the Crazy Wagon. The Dungeon of Horrors scared a few of us and amused the rest but it surely was a very entertaining ride. Three rides that were a bit of a let down were Jumping Frog, Termite Coaster and the Hang Glider. While Hang Glider does give you a very good view of the surrounding scenery, it is not very high on thrill. But the one ride the entire GCC World team gives full marks to, is Insanity. We, being the thrill seeking bunch, dared to try it out not once but twice. We should have realized that the name of the ride was a warning in itself. Wiser counsel evaded us and we ended up with reeling heads, a dizzy walk and throats hoarse from incessant screaming. Other rides which were theme based were also quite a lot of fun
such as Cine Magic, Crazy Cars, Pirate Ship and Sky Wheel.

The Wet Rides Having satiated ourselves with all that the dry rides had to offer, we moved on to the wet ones. We started with Wonder Splash, the signature ride of Wonder la. It was a
fun if very short ride. We then moved on to the main water park area. We began by splashing around in the play pools and then moved on to the wave pool where a lot of us, thanks to the giant waves, immediately learnt how to swim, and the rest of us swallowed a whole lot of water. Fun though these pools were, they weren’t enough to satisfy the ‘hooligan’ streak in all of us. And therefore, for a bit more fun the water, we moved on to the water slides. We started with the Water Pendulum and were thankful that this was a two-seater ride as it was
very high on thrill and left us very happy.

Having made a good start, we decided to brave a group of slides called the Bandit Krates. We were pushed through very dark and winding tunnels and were abruptly splashed into the water; we couldn’t have been more excited. Still feeling very brave, we moved onto the most extreme water rides, the Wavy Fall and the Vertical Fall. The ride was fun but we ended up with a few bumps on the head and a few bruises along the way. So let it be a warning to the rest of you. Try these rides by all means but be prepared for a few aches.

Other fun water rides were Harakiri, the Twisters, and the Boomerang and the Uphill and Downhill racers. A disappointment was the Lazy River, meant only for a lazy round in the tube. It can get a little crowded and maneuvering as the tube can be a bit troublesome. We ended the water park with a visit to the Rain Disco, which lived up to its name.

Wonder la is very well equipped with rest rooms and restaurants that cater to both pure vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and also snacks such as candy floss, ice creams, chocolates, fizzy drinks, and coffee stands spread across the park.

All in all, we came back exhausted but completely happy with the events of the day. It is a day that will remain with us as one of the best college memories and we would definitely love to go visit Wonder La again.