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I understand you aren't used to thunderstoms, yet I find your excitement for such a common weather occurrence way over the top (sorry for my bluntness).
I mean, it's just some rain, thunders and lightning, so what? Does it deserve news headlines?
Having said that, and ignoring the unlikeliness of my being in a waterpark, my reaction would be a combination of annoyance (70%) and amusement/awe (30%).
Ask a transplant about their first earthquake and you will get the same mixture of responses!!
ive experienced so many thunderstorms that it doesnt excite me at all... this year i think ive experienced about 6 or 7... last one about 2 weeks ago
i just dont care, some lightening and flashing as per usual, no big deal :P
You guessed right: My reaction was 99.8 percent of excitement/amazement! My friend was rather annoyed with 1) having her waterslide time cut short and 2) about how excited I was getting and pointed out that ppl came to enjoy the waterslides and said that I was embarrassing her when I was getting giddy and laughing when the thunder became louder and closer.
I was also disappointed that I didn't have my iphone with me to record the t-storm. My friend and I both left our phones in the hotel room because we wouldn't be able to take pics when we would have to leave the phones in the water park's locker anyway as we both spend the day in our bathing suits and in and out of the water. She gets rather annoyed with me when I spend time browsing FB and posting updates on what I'm doing anyway when we're on the go anyway.
Anyway, as for being a weather geek, that contributed to my excitement but I think even a non-weather geek who's never experienced an up close thunderstorm and who's grown up in a climate where they hear thunder from a distance maybe once or twice a year, would have reacted to the t-storm with a some combination of awe, excitment, and fear with the amount of each depending on their personality. However, I don't think anyone I know personally, over the age of 12, would have gotten afraid to the point of hysteria like that British woman (okay- it was acceptable for the two kids to get scared because after all, they are children, but the mom was in her late 30s or 40s and was extremely panick-y and shaken and screaming in her British accent and almost to the point of tears herself).
My friend said my excitement and laughter was actually worse than that woman's fear because people cannot control their fear but people should be able to contain their excitement and I should be aware that the most of the guests came to enjoy a day at the waterslides and my saying, "I hope that lightning hits the ground so I can see what it feels like!" was disrespectful to the other guests' wish to have as much waterslide time as possible and also disrespectful to the several children and two adults who were showing a lot of fear/hysteria. She accused me of only thinking of myself so it led to a little squabble between us afterwards but thankfully we made up and had a nice rest of the trip.
As for the other 0.2 percent of me; 0.1 percent of me was a tad disappointed that the t-storm didn't hold off until both of us actually went down the Downhill Double Dipper (We were 4 people away from the front of the line when the evacuation happened). The other 0.1 percent experienced the slightest bit of fear when I actually heard how LOUD that thunderclap was. My friend said she also wished she had her iphone with her to so she could record my laughter and giddiness and post it on fb to show her Texas friend's and relatives how I excited I got.
Anyway; I'll still say the thunderstorm was one of the many highlights of the trip along with the swimming in the warm ocean, seeing dolphins close up, riding the awesome rides, and seeing alligators. I was rather disappointed with the hurricane simulation at this attraction- Hurricane Experience Exhibit. It was too tame, contrived, and short.
I hope that next time I go to Florida (I will definitely go again), I get to see lightning strike the ground right in front of me! (I'll be safely under cover of course).
My reaction to a t-storm in a waterpark? "Finally I have a reason to get the hell out of this crappy tourist trap. I'm going somewhere where a beer don't cost $10!"
Party pooper! Waterparks are a LOT of fun! I love thrill rides and swimming so what could be better than a combo of the two?
I understand you aren't used to thunderstoms, yet I find your excitement for such a common weather occurrence way over the top (sorry for my bluntness).
I mean, it's just some rain, thunders and lightning, so what? Does it deserve news headlines?
As I told my friend, I can react however I want- I'm on vacation. If I had relocated there and was at work when I saw my first close up thunderstorm, I would have hidden my excitement and awe, to a certain extent, in order not to look like an idiot and embarrass myself in front of my new co workers. I am aware that for the locals, t-storms are as normal as the sun rising and setting. However, I'd like to see a native Floridian who has never seen snow react to a) a rare snow flurry falling in Orlando and b) relocating up north for work and seeing snow fall for the first time at work. I wonder if the reactions would be different based on sharing the new experience with others around them vs being the only one new to snow.
FYI- When we had a much further away thunderstorm during class in California, my professor stopped class to let us watch lightning from the window and everyone oohed and aaaaahed over each thunderclap and flash of lightning- the transplants from the Eastern U.S snickered at us. But thunderstorms are so rare here that they are worthy of stopping everything to watch.
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