I hadn’t been to Gold Reef City Theme Park in YEARS. A friend of mine recently went on a business trip and stayed at the Theme Park Hotel. She mentioned that they had expanded the park slightly and added in a few new rides. After visiting Disney World, you aren’t really that interested in seeing other theme parks, but on a whim, I decided to book tickets and take Anastasia for her first Gold Reef City visit.
I recall how as a child I would count the days until we went to Gold Reef City. It was always such a treat. The car ride there seemed to take hours (20 minutes, actually) and the park felt huge. My love for theme parks was installed by Gold Reef City. I will admit, I was a teeny bit excited after I booked the tickets – not having seen the park in many years, I wondered what had changed and if my favourite spots were still around.
I was pleasantly surprised at how open the park was when we arrived. We did go on a Thursday outside of school holidays, so that counted to the park being less busy than a weekend. I would highly recommend a weekday visit – we hardly spent time in lines. In fact, we spent more time sitting on the ride waiting for it to fill up than we did in any line.
The park was exceptionally clean (impressed!) and the new rides are awesome. I loved the ‘High Flying Mavericks’, a ride that simulates the effects of G forces. As a Pilot I can confirm that this is exactly how you feel if entering a spin!
The kiddies section seems to be renewed too. I don’t really remember the rides that were there from my last visit, but Anastasia had so much fun! I particularly liked the fact that they had an indoor play area for kiddies who may not be interested in riding the thrill rides, and a jump (trampoline) park for anyone interested in doing that. Pro Tip – bring your own jump socks, otherwise you will need to pay R30 for socks to have access to the trampoline area.
Roaming the near-empty lanes of the park reminded me of years gone by. I noticed a few familiar landmarks (like the clinic!) and the cool homes showing what life was like ‘way back then’. The autumn leaves littered the cobbled streets and added to the nostalgia of the park. I was surprisingly awestruck at the level of detail in the park, and perhaps for the first time I truly appreciated the artistic efforts put into the design. Gold Reef City deserves a better stamp of approval than previously given by me – we enjoyed ourselves tremendously and will make sure to visit the park in the very near future once again!
Pro Tip: if you are visiting the park with little ones, try to take them in the week and out of public school holidays so that your day isn’t taken up by waiting in lines.
Did you know that you can get tiered tickets? Full priced for riders, a special kiddie ticket price, a ticket that is greatly discounted for non-riders, and then a pensioners ticket. Last but not least, you also get the opportunity to enter the park for FREE on your birthday! Make sure to bring valid ID with for this perk.
Pray and Slay,
#MotherMuses
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