Anyone who’s ridden a rickety ‘ol wild mouse roller coaster at a state or county fair knows the unique brand of uncertainty and fear that comes with strapping yourself into a ride that came in on the back of a flatbed truck. The creaks, the rust, the unique personality of the person who took your money before tossing you into the car…
Somehow, Disney imagineers managed to recreate that fear and uncertainty despite the safety inherent in any Disney attraction. I don’t know how they did it, but I might actually be more sketched out by Goofy’s Sky School than the carny-delivered coaster on the side of the road.
The higher speed, the sharper corners, and the overall track design come together to recreate that carnival atmosphere. I’ll be honest, my fiancee and I kinda freaked out on this one. First of all, the car is tiny, and having to cram our bags in with us just led to the overall sketchiness. We looked at each other nervously as we zipped up the lift hill and realized we were in for an adventure. The hairpin turns were nuts, the track angling outward ever so slightly, adding to the feeling we were going to either fly off the track or pop out of the car. As our speed increased, we started to scream. And, if you’ve ever ridden a ride with me, you know I don’t scream (I actually laugh when I’m on coasters and clap on thrill rides).
Then came the drops. We already felt like we were going to fly from the car at any moment, and the quick, steep drops just decreased our confidence we’d escape alive.
By the time we arrived back at the station our hair was disheveled, our voices hoarse, and our minds set on never climbing into Goofy’s Sky School again! The theming, of course, is fun, and heck, Goofy is my favorite classic Disney character! But dang, that ride… it’s far more intense than I’d anticipated!
Have you ridden Goofy’s Sky School? Are we nuts for thinking it’s a crazy ride?