Ok, after riding the banana boats last year, I take comfort in knowing I did what I could to "warn" others.
I copied and pasted the post below that I had written after I had gotten off the Magic last year. I have also included links to other banana boat threads so you can be well informed ahead of time. There is more information about banana boats that you'd ever care to know in the links below, but when I was trying to make my decision on whether or not to ride them, I poured over every banana boat post in my quest to see if I'd make it through the experience alive.
I think I'm kidding.
I was hesitant to try this ride, but my 16 yo dd wanted me to (yes, I'll blame her
). We rode this last Fri. Never again! My arms still ache as I write this. I felt I had to hold on too tightly to enjoy the ride. My daughter loved it, but said she doesn't need to do it again.
I didn't mind so much the burning eyes from the salt water splashing in your face, it was the holding on so tightly and the fear of falling off that took away the fun. I know others love this ride, but it is not my thing. I ride TOT and Rockin Roller Coaster effortlessly, but will never do the banana boats again.
The lady that checks you in says if you follow the rules, you will not fall in. Don't believe that! It only takes one person to lean the wrong way, for most of you to fall in, no matter how tightly you hold on and no matter how diligently you lean to the center of the boat.
We were pretty far out, the water was pretty deep, about 35 feet (I asked) when someone in the front leaned outward and one by one, 11 of us flew off the boat and into the water. I scraped my leg and my arms are bruised, so it hurt a little. When I landed in the water head first, I didn't know which end was up. I swallowed sea water during the fall also. It's pretty funny now thinking about it, but I couldn't wait for the ride to be over as soon as it started going fast and getting very bumpy.
After the fall, as we bobbed in the water trying to catch our breath and make it back to the banana boat, I knew I couldn't go through that again, so I requested to ride in the boat. A teen girl who was also frightened, and her mom, also rode in the boat with the guys. One little girl, about eight years old, got back on the banana boat with no problem.
I can't say enough good things about the two gentlemen running the ride. They were awesome. They did say the sea was choppy that day and apparently, the parasailing for mid-afternoon got cancelled.
I think I'm glad I tried the banana boats. Now I will never have to wonder about them. It gave us a good laugh and a great memory! My daughter said it was quite a sight seeing 11 people flying off the boat in an almost domino affect.
She fell off too, but managed to hang on to the handle a bit. Edited to add that my daughter wore goggles, but I did not. I also noticed that closing my eyes to stop the stinging salt water made me less in control of being able to stay on the boat. In other words, I needed to keep my eyes open in order to stay on the boat better.
I just want to warn some of you who might be hesitant, that you should expect to fall off.
Tink
And here are the links to other banana boat posts:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=510441&page=1&pp=15
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=781271&page=1&pp=15
I think i'll stick to being a beach bum during our port stops.
