Year 8 reward trip/Chessington/wimpy ds.

[Hakluyt]

Says it all really. Reward trips are a big deal at ds's school. Only a few get to go. Ds really really wants to go- but it's roller coasters and he hates them.

Do I

1. explain to the school and see if he can have the day off and I take him somewhere else,

2 just say tough shit, you're going and you can either go on the roller coasters or wait at the bottom and hold the other's coats 3 take him to a theme park and see if his roller coaster addict big sister can acclimatise/indoctrinate him first, 4 send him into school normally and he not get a "reward"

1. some other solution I haven't thought of.

Aren't there other rides? (Don't know as I've never been).

It's a reward - perhaps he should politely accept it and get the most out of the experience: take photos of his green-faced, dizzy friends getting off the rollercoaster at the end? Catch puke in a bag?

You might find he's fine when he's with school mates rather than family. My DD hated those type of rides until she went without me and she threw herself into it.

There's not an huge amount of really scary stuff at Chessington. I live quite near and people locally take their pre-schoolers because it's quite young-child friendly.

Thorpe Park would be a different matter.

There is loads to do at Chessinton besides rides, a sea life centre, small zoo. Aviary that you can walk into , horror maze ghost house thing, sea lion displays , a show, and non scary rides. He won't be the only one who doesn't like big rides.

Look at the website and the map of the park and different activities.

Don't contact the school, not cool !

Chessington is fairly tame - bit more exciting than Legoland, but not Thorpe Park by any means - but plenty of rides that aren't scary rollercoasters. I have a decidedly non-thrill-seeking y8 ds as well and I think he'd find enough to enjoy a day there.

There is only one really scary ride at chessington. The others are pretty tame (you only have to be 1.2m to do most of them, the park is really aimed at primary school children). So it won't be hard for him to avoid the bigger ones tbh, lots of other things to look at. Dodgems if he wants something they might all enjoy. Would he do a water drop ride? You don't get very wet, again it's 1.2m.

Slightly odd choice for a yr8 trip to be honest I would have thought.

Thank you all- I'll tell him it's all easy peasy and he's going! I was almost certainly going to force him to go anyway, to be honest- but now I can do it with a clear conscience.

Patricia-why? Because it's too tame? They went to Legoland in year 7! The year 9s are going to Thorpe Park.

I'd agree with Patricia - Chessington is really aimed at primary aged kids.

Yes - it's very tame, not really aimed at 12/13 year olds, very much aimed at primary school age - you can meet the Octonauts, for example. Thorpe Park is aimed at the older crowd, but also has a bunch of tamer things, so is actually good for that age.

Sounds perfect for my ds then! Shame about the other 19.......