What you’re looking at is yet another ropes course I will not be climbing. However, I must share it with you, because 1) it’s the world’s largest ropes course at sea; and 2) I’ve been watching other people try it for the past three days, from the deck of the brand new Norwegian Breakaway. Pinch me.

This is just the zip line part, at the end of the course.

I’ll be telling you more about the Breakaway – the largest cruise ship to ever homeport in New York – next week when I get all my notes and video together. Just on these top decks, there are a range of kid-friendly entertainment options, including the first Aqua Park at sea with five full-size water slides and twin Free Fall slides, and a three-story sports complex that includes this ropes course, a nine-hole miniature golf course, basketball court, rock climbing wall and more.

This is the Plank, where you walk several feet out OVER THE OCEAN.

Here you can see the mini golf course underneath the course. Where I watched.

This ship is over 1,000 feet long, and can carry 4,000-passengers. Un. Believable.

A round-up of BIG news highlights across the globe, and other BIG finds we want to share!

A FUN FIND!

I got to do something last week that I’ve wanted to do ever since moving to the Hudson Valley: tour Bannerman’s Castle on Pollopel Island in the middle of the Hudson River. In the early 1900′s, Frank Bannerman was the world’s largest buyer of surplus military equipment, and he built this castle to store it in! Public tours have started for the season. You can take a boat to the island, walk the trails, and enjoy amazing views of the castle, Bannerman residence, and the river.

Bannerman Castle, on Pollopel Island in the Hudson River

NEWS OF THE LARGE

News which caught our attention over the past month:

Nearly 200 new rides and attractions open this summer at more than 80 theme parks, water parks, family fun centers, zoos, aquariums, and museums in the United States and Canada, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Among the highlights we’re anxious to see is the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur at King’s Island in Ohio, which just opened for the season. Sauroposeidon is the length of three school buses and the height of a six-story building!

The Sauroposeidon is part of the “Dinosaurs Alive!” attraction at King’s Island

Later this month, the 160-acre Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, New Jersey, will unite with the 350-acre Wild Safari animal park to become the world’s largest theme park! The new Safari Off Road Adventure will take guests for a ride in an open-air vehicle for off-road animal interactions over rugged terrain. Look for a GBOGH first-hand report in June!

FROM OUR FRIENDS AND READERS

Now that we’re on Instagram, we find a lot of fun images of BIG things, like this SOLO cup that Sean posted. We asked if we could share it, and he was totally game! This is located in front of the closed SOLO plant in Springfield, MO. We’ll be sad when the building is sold and the cup is taken down.

Solo Cup, Springfield, MO

Sean has quite a few images of “world’s largest” stuff in his Instagram feed, including the World’s Largest Fork!

Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. Good: we were joined by 1,300 other people on the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in the world record attempt today to form the world’s longest chorus line. Bad: we were about 300 people short of breaking the record.

Not quite the world’s longest chorus line.

But we had FUN!! Not only did we score these awesome “I ♥NY” T-shirts, we got to dance to the tune from those “I Love New York” TV commercials from the 70’s. (Some of us are actually old enough to remember those.)

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PEZ Visitor Center, Orange, CT

I remember my first PEZ dispenser; do you? It was Snoopy, my all-time favorite cartoon character. The Boy started a collection several years ago, and R2D2 was the star of that show. It’s since been passed down to The Girl, and she’s glammed up the group with Hello Kitty and a princess or two.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

The kids and I drove over to Orange, CT to visit the PEZ Visitor Center, home to the world’s largest PEZ dispenser, as well as the world’s largest public collection of PEZ memorabilia.

It was one of those late summer days, when camps have ended and the first day of school is still weeks away. We were bored.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

If you’ve nibbled on a pack of PEZ at any time over the past 30 years, it was made here at this manufacturing facility. The visitor center is a new addition, acting as part museum, part attraction.

As soon as we got out of the car, I smelled the sweet scent of cherry candy in the air. Once we entered, our eyes went straight to a wall covered by rows of PEZ dispensers, and a PEZ motorcycle hanging from the ceiling.Beyond the ticket window, you’re greeted by a giant, 12-foot tall PEZ dispenser, topped by a boy’s head with a blue baseball cap. Adorable.

You’re free to explore this place on your own, and you’ll have to give and take. There are the decidedly kid-focused activities, like a create-your-own dispenser table, alongside the display cases of vintage memorabilia. There’s a fascinating historical time line across two walls which appeals those of us old enough to remember some of these earlier decades. Included here are bits of fun trivia.

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I’m becoming a little bit crazed about being part of group world record attempts. Remember last year, when we were part of the world’s longest Hokey Pokey line? Today, we participated in the world’s largest dental hygiene lesson! Sponsored by a local orthodontist, it took place at the Hudson Valley Renegades baseball stadium.

There was actually already a record in place – 250 people. Today, 374 people showed up on a sunny spring day, and sat on the field with our complimentary toothbrushes and floss.

The lesson was required to be 30 minutes long, but the orthodontist, “Dr. B,” and his staff made it fun.

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Since we’re on an historic preservation bent this month, we wanted to share Matt’s recent experience seeing – and hearing – the Wanamaker Grand Organ at Macy’s in Philadelphia. Built in 1911, the world’s largest operational pipe organ is still in excellent shape, thanks to its preservation group, the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ.

You may be wondering why Matt – not the biggest shopping fan – chose to spend his free time during a business trip in a twelve-floor department store.

Matt has grown up hearing his grandmother’s story about working at “Wanamaker’s,” (now Macy’s) when she was 18. To offer some context, Matt’s grandmother is now a sound 100 years old, so this was back in 1931! She was a seamstress by trade, and worked at the time for a hosiery company, demonstrating how to mend silk stockings.

Hearing her tell it, you realize that this was her first real adventure as a young woman in the big world beyond the small New York suburb she grew up in. Her eyes still light up when she recounts the grandeur of the Wanamaker Building. So Matt wanted to see it for himself, and share in her excitement.

So Matt wasn’t there to shop (not even a little something for his wife); he went straight to the organ. What you see from the central courtyard is only a partial view of the organ’s 28,500 pipes. The largest pipe is more than 32 feet long, and so wide that a Shetland Pony was once posed inside for publicity photos. The smallest pipe is only a quarter-inch in length.

The musicians sit in a massive console which has six ivory keyboards and 729 color-coded stop tablets. There are 168 piston buttons under the keyboards and 42 foot controls. The console weighs 2.5 tons, and the entire instrument weighs 287 tons!

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I suffer an incurable case of volunteerism. It’s a genetic link to my mom, whose hand is always raised to help. So, while visiting Lucy the Elephant in Margate, New Jersey was a treat because she’s such an iconic American roadside attraction, it also offered reaffirming satisfaction to see what sheer dedication can achieve. Lucy, the world’s largest elephant, only stands today because volunteers took action.

Lucy the Elephant, Margate, NJ

The United States may not have a long history, comparatively speaking, but it’s still worth preserving. In large part, the task of historic preservation falls on people who donate their time to the cause. Think about the small-town historical societies and the weather-worn historic sites in your area.

And then there are those retro roadside attractions, chock full of quirky charm, of which I’m completely enamored. Aquarama, Cypress Gardens, Cyclorama…we have lost so many. To me, they represent travel in a simpler time. Speed wasn’t a measure of entertainment, and authenticity wasn’t obscured by technology. The claim or status of a “world’s largest” meant a little attention; the potential to lure customers.

That’s how Lucy was born. James V. Lafferty, Jr., a real estate developer, commissioned an architect to build him an elephant-shaped building in 1881 to draw attention to the land he hoped to sell in South Atlantic City, now Margate.

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Photo Credit: Museum of Science, Boston

Hooray for spring! This winter has not been especially kind, especially to Boston, which suffered a lot more snowfall than normal. But, as we found out on our trip this past summer, Boston has several indoor attractions which offer a fun day out of the house. One of them even has a “world’s largest!”

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

Boston’s Museum of Science was high on our priority list, because it houses the world’s largest Van deGraff generator.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

Of course, none of us knew why we should be excited about an electric generator, or anything about a Van de Graff generator in particular, but frankly, my search for “world’s largests” in Boston wasn’t very fruitful. (Although the Mapparium, a gigantic walk-through globe, was really cool!)

So in this case, we somewhat hesitantly planned to visit a generator, solely “for the love of the blog.”

Are we glad we did!

Okay, what was so cool about it?

You can see the generator at any time during your visit to the Science Center, but you’ll want to schedule the “Lightning” show in the Theater of Electricity into your day for a demonstration. During the 15-minute program, a staff member will explain its background and purpose, as well as how and why it works to generate currents. The added bonus is the sneaky lesson on electricity, and the PSA on how to avoid being struck by lightning.

Sparks fly between the generator’s two 22-foot columns.

When the generator is fired up, you have front-row seating to a lightning show. And, by the way, lightning is LOUD. Bright blue flashes of light shoot from one sphere to the other with staccato pop/whip sounds. At first, The Girl slapped her hands over her ears and cowered. But she came around quick; it was too exciting to miss any of it.

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Poor Matt. He’s been doing a lot of the “heavy lifting” for the sake of the blog lately, like when we sent him out on a tightrope 70 feet in the air in November. Last month, we sent him up a circular staircase of 228 steps, to the top of Absecon Lighthouse, the third tallest lighthouse in America.

Well, someone has to do it.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

We spent a cold President’s Day weekend in Atlantic City, New Jersey, WITH the kids. Despite those obstacles, we still had a great time, and found plenty to do. One of our stops was the Absecon Lighthouse, the tallest in New Jersey and the third tallest in the United States (topped only by the Cape Hatteras Lighhouse in North Carolina, and the Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Florida).

Okay, what was so cool about it?

The lighthouse has been decommissioned since 1933, but it’s still lit every night, and open for tours daily.

Absecon Lighthouse, Atlantic City, NJ

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All I knew as we approached Trenton, NJ was that we should be looking for the world’s largest tooth, based on an address listed on RoadsideAmerica.com. As we approached, I saw signs for “Grounds for Sculpture,” and excitedly noticed several other over-sized artworks.

This 15-foot tall tooth isn’t on the “Grounds for Sculpture” proper, but it’s nearby. It actually sits unceremoniously on the side of the road, in front on the Congoleum warehouse. There was some trepidation as we parked, but we figured we would be okay on a weekend!

“Tooth” by Seward Johnson

That’s when The Boy struck with this zinger, delivered with a smirk: “We should go see if there’s any plaque with the artist’s name.” BAM!! Bless him; he inherited his mother’s wit.

Of course, there was a plaque. The piece is officially called “Tooth,” by Seward Johnson. It was made of aluminum in 1982, and is on loan from The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.

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