Holden and I tackled the old-timey carousel in Martha’s Vineyard this summer, and he was horrified for the most part. It was a super sweaty experience (heat wave!), too noisy and, to be fair, I had not properly prepped him on what to expect.
For my local readers, there’s a merry-go-round at Tilden Park that’s supposed to be great. The merry-go-round is big, slow, and pretty, having been lovingly restored. There’s another historic carousel that’s part of the Zeum in San Francisco and it’s indoors– a good winter outing.
Your challenge is to find a local (US-only, sorry!) carousel at the National Carousel Association website and bring your tot for a wild ride. Regardless of whether it’s actually fun for either of you, make sure to take pictures!
And can anybody tell me what’s the difference between merry-go-round and carousel anyway?
What a great site you have here! I love it, and will be checking back often to find more things to do with my 6 month old Lucy. Thanks for this
Hello,
Here is the difference between Merry Go Rounds and Carrousels
The Merry Go Round turn in a clockwise direction. I think it started in France, but they had rings you could grab. Most of the rings were made of steel, but there would be a few that were made of Brass. If you grabbed a Brass ring, you would get a free ride. Because most people are right handed, the direction of the ride was changed to counterclockwise and the name became Carrousel. There is not much information about this on the web, but if you search Carrousel with brass ring, you may find out more of the history.