I can’t help it! I had so much fun at Edaville Railroad that I’m going back for a second day.
The Edaville Festival of Lights is a midsize amusement park with a carousel and Ferris wheel and a lot of kids rides. But the main attraction is a train ride that takes you in a big loop through the forest, with over 7 million holiday lights. It definitely makes you feel awed and happy like a child, enough that I went last year even though I don’t have any kids of my own. I am my kid!
That being said, the idea is apparently unique. I didn’t see anyone there without kids in tow on Friday. The weather was warm, 55 degrees at night, and they placed me right at the end of the queue for the train ride. Unfortunately, the people there are a little crazy about getting on that train, and all the stanchions and chains create a social barrier. So that’s another reason why I’m going out. This time, I’ll plop myself (with permission) right in the middle of all the action.
Like any holiday lights attraction, Edaville is open after dark this time of year. Shooting video at night creates its own challenge, even with all the lights, but I got some great video. I even took the camcorder on the train ride and shot the fireworks that capped the evening.
I also discovered some secrets about Edaville. It’s a generic holiday attraction that doesn’t feel too religious, but they don’t avoid songs with Jesus on the loudspeakers. And I managed to find one creche scene, tucked waaaaaaay in the back on the train ride. A big statue of Santa and his elves contains a good book for all the good children. But also a bad book, which is equally filled with names. I thought Santa and Jesus were a bit of a pushover on the good/bad thing for children but apparently not.
Amongst the holiday lights is a diorama village, one-quarter size, that contains a masonic temple. (The Masons! They’re behind everything!) And there’s a semi-private place where mothers can nurse babies. I wish I were a baby again just for one night.
So I’m going back today, and I’ll have a lot more to report (and a ton more questions) tomorrow. Meanwhile the HP Envy and I are still best friends. At night I was even able to run video constantly and show off the unit, and the battery lasted fine for over 3 hours of screen display.
If you want to enter to win the HP Envy laptop, subscribe to this blog and I’ll choose a random winner on Wednesday. If you’re still waiting for your answer, hang in there! I’m almost done.
