A Daring Day at Disneyland

          One blazing summer day in Paris, Martin and his parents visited Disneyland. After lunch, Martin decided to walk around the amusement park by himself, while his parents were off at a nearby coffee shop. He was strolling around, when he remembered an interesting advertisement he saw a few days ago. The advertisement had displayed “the most extreme ride in Disneyland Paris” called ‘Hyperspace Mountain’. The advertisement had looked pretty promising, with flashy colours and bold fonts. Apparently ‘Hyperspace Mountain’ was exclusive to Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong, too. Martin being the coaster-lover he is, decided that he might as well at take a look at the ride. The boy took out his map and found the location of the roller coaster. He figured it would take him around 5 minutes to walk to Hyperspace Mountain, which was located in another section of the park. And so, he walked.

          The sizzling hot sun heated the crowded pavement. It was mid-July, during summer break, the time of the year when Disneyland was the busiest. As Martin got closer to Hyperspace Mountain, the street buzzed with liveliness. The smell of cotton-candy and caramel filled the air. There were large crowds of tourists, photographers, busy families, children and couples - people of all sorts. Further up, a wide building with a big blue board saying ‘Hyperspace Mountain’ could be seen.

          “That’s pretty neat!” Martin thought and walked to the hut-like building. Thankfully, the waiting line didn’t seem that long; the line stopped just outside the building, meaning the queue would be 10 minutes at best. Martin lined up, unsure whether he was scared or eager to go on the coaster. 10 minutes passed and the line retreated into the building. The interior of the building was dark and galaxy-themed, with ambient music flowing from all directions. As the lined shortened, Martin was disappointed at another entire floor of hallways appearing around the corner. The hallways seemed infinite.

          “Aww, shucks! That means another 20 minutes to the wait,” the boy huffed. It was too dark to see how long the hallways were. The musty and crowded atmosphere of the building bothered Martin. The thought of there being even more hallways annoyed him even more.

          After of what seemed like an eternity, Martin was finally next to go on the ride.

          “Shooooom.” The coaster arrive with a low grumble. Martin opened the safety gate and got in one of the seats.

          “Whew,” he let out a sigh of nervousness. He put on his seatbelt and braced himself for what was to come. And with a slight shudder, the coaster moved, onwards into the dark tunnel. As the coaster ascended and reached the top, everyone in the ride grew quiet. Martin felt his pulse beating and his mind haze for a second. He took a deep breath in. Then the ride started tipping downwards, towards the unending darkness. Martin clenched his fists and tensed. Slowly, the coaster tipped down.

          “Woohoo!” Martin shouted as the roller coaster dipped, dived and turned. People around were screaming and shouting. The only thing he could see was an occasional blue light or spaceship on the wall of the tunnel. Martin felt his adrenaline rushing; this was so fun! He wasn’t at all scared or worried anymore. All he had to do now was enjoy the ride.

          After that first inversion, the coaster dropped 2-3 more times. Martin’s favorite part was where they dropped while staying upside down. The ride lasted around 2 minutes. As they finished, the coaster exited out of the dark tunnel, back into the waiting room.

          “Wow, that was awesome!” Martin exclaimed. He felt a bit queasy and shaken, but he felt great. He strided along the exit and got out of the dark building. The sun was blinding, but Martin didn’t mind.

          “Buzz.” It was a call from his mother.

          “Yeah, mom?” He answered. “Yeah, I just finished the ride.” “Pff. Of course, everything was fine.” “Okay, I’ll meet you at the bench to the north side of the building,” he said and then hung up the call. He walked up to the bench and sat down, thinking about his day today. A bit hot, a bit nerve-wracking, but the experience was undeniable worth it. Martin had learned that giving a little time and dedication to do the things you love, will never disappoint you.