Red River Ex

Yesterday, we were finally able to go to The Ex at the Red River Exhibition Park. This is when the park is transformed into an amusement park for around 3 weeks. So you have your usual extreme rides, kiddie rides and everything in between. Of course there are also games, shows, shopping and food.

We don't have a car yet so we had to take the buses the city provides specifically for the event. Plus I hate driving right now. We already took this bus on Friday from Polo Park, which is roughly half way there and it was really packed in the bus. So for today we decided to catch it at the start of the route. As expected the bus was filled-up very quickly. The bus driver didn't even bother to stop at Polo Park and after.

When we arrived, there were long lines. Good thing we already had tickets (ride-all-you-can). When I got in, the first thing I noticed were dogs practicing in an obstacle course. They have dog shows at certain times of the day. It wasn't time for that yet so we went for our first ride. We picked the drop of fear.
I was trying to scream like a little girl but I lost my voice halfway down.

After that we found that the dog show had started. There wasn't much room anymore so we didn't stay long. Here's some of what we saw.

I really wanted to see them go through the arches/bars.

What they lack in skill they make up with slapstick humor.

They also had a reptile show. There was no show at the time we were there but there were big snakes and crocs/alligators(?) on display.


Our next stop was the Giant Slide. I remember that back in the Philippines, we slid down using rice sacks.


This is called the Slingshot. We didn't ride it because it's $25/person. Maybe next year (with a lot of convincing from Mean).


After this we rode the smaller of 2 Ferris wheels. I think this was meant for kids, but whatever.


Then there was the petting zoo. I finally got to go to one after seeing them in US movies and TV shows.


Time to eat. Of course we have to have a hotdog. The other one's a candy apple.


What do you do after eating? Ride the Fireball of course!

Yeah, little girl.

Mean wanted to ride the Carousel. Not me :)


Time to ride the other Fireball. Mean was able to ride this 2 years ago. She really liked it and convinced me it would be fun. I hate her...

It was actually fun but when I got down, I needed to find a place to sit. I know, what a wuss.

I needed a break so we rode the big ferris wheel. It was meant to be a relaxing ride to relieve my dizziness but the idiot dad we were with was teasing his son by shaking the gondola. But yeah, I know, relieving dizziness by riding the ferris wheel isn't really smart.


After that, I no longer wanted to go on any "extreme" rides. I was dizzy and had a headache. I was feeling guilty since Mean still wanted to go. Well, she didn't let my wimpiness stop her from riding the Zipper. She would just have to find another person who was alone or the odd one out in a group because they didn't allow people alone in a compartment. Thankfully there was a guy right in front of us who was by himself. Apparently, all his friends were throwing up somewhere. He also didn't know about the 2 rider policy. Good for him and Mean.

That was the last ride. We were in the park for about 6-7 hours. However, we had to leave because of...

Bad Weather

While we were waiting in line, a guy was going around telling people that a thunderstorm was coming and there was a lot of wind, water and hail coming in about an hour. So we headed straight for the exits after the Zipper. We noticed there were 2 buses waiting outside which was strange. It turns out, Winnipeg Transit requested all "Not in Service" buses still on the road to proceed to the park due to the coming storm. And I think they were also about to shut down the park. It started raining a bit while we were on the bus, and it got worse as we reached the bus stop. Soon, the noise on the roof got louder. I could see mothball-like stuff dropping on a plant box outside. I guess this is hail. I've heard about hail in the Philippines but never new how it looked like. Thankfully, it seemed top be a mild introduction as they say there have been golf-ball sized hail in the past. Our bus finally arrived and we had to run under the rain with our damaged umbrella. Good thing the wind had died down or else the umbrella would surely have turned inside out. I was worried because we still had a 5 minute walk from the bus stop to our house. We would have to stay at the bus shelter for a bit if the weather was still bad. Lucky for us, by the time we reached our destination, it was only drizzling.

Well, this post got pretty long. Anyway, it was a great day. Hopefully next year, I won't be so wimpy so we could get on more rides. I'd also like to watch the shows they had there. Maybe also try some of the parlor games. And of course, I also wish the weather is much better then.

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