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 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!

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.)

The Girl isn’t loving the snack I packed to sustain her.

Thanks to our “team” who came out to dance with us, including Matt’s mom Linda, my friend Fiona and her son, and my blogging buddy Sandra and her son!

On our Facebook page, some of you requested video. Let me just say…this was much more complicated than the Hokey Pokey we did last year!

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.

Did you know that PEZ was invented in Austria in 1927 as a breath mint for smokers? The name is a short version of the German word for peppermint, “pfefferminz.”

Among the displays — safely presented behind glass — are designs which have long been retired, as well as related merchandise used to sell PEZ. Many items brought back memories for me, including the costume sleeves made of cardboard which you would slip over the dispensers. I found a shelf containing tattoos and stickers from the 1970’s, including one with Bozo the Clown, which I recognized instantly.

The “vault” display contains the rarest dispensers in the collection, including a one-of-a-kind political donkey head dispenser presented to President John F. Kennedy during his visit to Vienna in 1961.

In the lounge upstairs, you can watch video clips of old PEZ commercials, and look at the display of 1960’s PEZ dispenser vending machines from the U.S. and Europe. On every wall are black and white photos and other ephemera showcasing moments in PEZ history.

For the kids, there’s also a touch-screen PEZ trivia game kiosk, and a video recording station where you can film a greeting and email it to friends and family. If you go on a weekday, you can watch PEZ being made and packaged through the large viewing windows which separate the visitor center from the production floor.

Of course, there is a gift shop, offering many hard-to-find PEZ flavors like chocolate, cola, and the “Sourz” varieties. There are bulk bins too, so you mix and match flavors. As for dispensers, you may find new or seasonal characters to add your collection. Strawberry Shortcake made the trip home with us that day.

How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list): ★★★★★★★

Seriously fun for a trip down memory lane, with several kid-friendly draws, but you only need about an hour or two to get through it all.

Hey YOU! Go BIG:

PEZ Visitor Center
35 Prindle Hill Road, Orange, CT
203-298-0201

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.

Next weekend, we’re trying for a THIRD! We’re going back to the Walkway Over the Hudson for a new world record attempt. This time, it’s the world’s longest chorus line. If you want to join us on Saturday, May 4^th, register here.

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!

What’s so fantastic about this grand instrument is not just its opulent design, but the amazing sound it makes. You can hear it being played – for free – every day at 12:00pm, and most evenings at either 5:30 or 7:00pm. Visitors are welcome to tour the console area and meet the staff following these 45-minute recitals.

So, close your eyes, and take a listen. No, seriously, close your eyes. The video is a little shaky.

And if you want a better view of those pipes, the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ give a comprehensive, two-hour tour of the organ on the last Saturday of the month ($20/person; reservations required).

The Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s
1300 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 241-9000

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.

Six stories high, Lucy was built with a 38-foot long body, 17-foot long ears, and 22-foot long tusks. She is the oldest remaining example of “zoomorphic” architecture in the United States.

Despite the novelty of her unique architecture, and the fact that she survived hurricanes, floods, and even a fire, Lucy eventually succumbed to neglect. Or nearly so. The land was sold underneath her, and so in 1969, a huge preservation and fund-raising effort began, allowing her to be moved to her current location and completely renovated.

Saving Lucy, circa 1969

The “Save Lucy” committee – a small group of local citizens – did it all. And their efforts continue today, more than 40 years and one million dollars later. Lucy has been thoroughly restored to her original splendor – inside and out – and designated a National Historic Landmark.

On July 20, 1970, all 90 tons of Lucy was towed down Atlantic Avenue. Photo credit: LucyTheElephant.org

Today, the best part about visiting Lucy is the 30-minute tour inside her interior rooms. Lucy isn’t animatronic, or 4-D. There’s no surround sound, moving walkways, or special effect lighting.

And that’s just fine.

The tour starts via a spiral staircase up her leg, to the small museum in her belly.

The Lucy Museum

You can catch a glimpse of the ocean waves through her eyes.

Looking through Lucy’s eye

You can see through the “pane in her butt.” The grand finale is climbing the stairs up to the howdah on her back, where you gaze miles out into the Atlantic Ocean and the shoreline.

All of this thoroughly enchanted our five year old as much as it did me. For different reasons, true, because The Girl doesn’t yet appreciate the ability to literally walk through history. And she doesn’t yet understand the role we all have to play as volunteers when preservation necessitates action. So we’ll keep traveling. And someday, I’m confident she will.

Lucy the Elephant

9200 Atlantic Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402

(609) 823-6473

Lucy’s Pane

A FUN FIND!

Matt called me from his guys’ weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he went to watch the college basketball MAAC tournament in mid-March. “I’m at the Basketball Hall of Fame, and a huge basketball is part of the building,” he said. “Google it and see if it’s the world’s largest.”

Well, it isn’t. The world’s largest basketball is actually part of the architecture of the Women’s National Basketball Hall of Fame building in Knoxville, Tennessee. But this one is pretty cool in its largeness, too! It’s a steel, three-level, hemisphere-shaped dome. The 80,000-square foot interior contains a full-sized basketball court, as well as exhibits.

NEWS OF THE LARGE

News which caught our attention over the past month:

The Norwegian Breakaway, the largest ship ever constructed in Germany, has been completed and is on its way to New York City, where it will be the largest cruise ship to depart from the Port of New York. The ship, over 1,000 feet long, can carry 4,000-passengers.

The Norwegian Breakaway

The Bay Lights, the world’s largest LED light sculpture, has been installed across the Bay Bridge West Span in San Francisco, California. At 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high, the collection of 25,000 white LED lights will be on display through 2015.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, the world’s largest rattlesnake roundup, took place March 8-10 in Sweetwater, Texas. The event, which drew more than 40,000 visitors, began in 1958 as a way to control the local snake population (yikes.)

FROM OUR READERS

We received a nice “hello” in the form of an email from the Tourism Director in the City of Greensburg, Kansas. Stacy just wanted to share some of the BIG stuff in her community, including The Big Well. The world’s largest hand dug well, The Big Well is 109 feet deep and 32 feet across. Completed in 1888, it was not only the town’s original water supply, but a marvel of pioneer engineering.

The Big Well, Greensburg, KS

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.

Invented by Robert Jemison Van de Graff, this generator was constructed in 1931. The design is basically two 15-foot aluminum spheres atop two 22-foot columns. It was an atom crusher. How it works is relatively simple to understand: a negative charge travels up one of the columns at 45 mph on a rubber conveyor belt. When it gets to the top, it looks for the closest metal to connect with – the other sphere – and travels through the air to reach it.

As part of the show, the presenter stood inside a metal cage, which was elevated near the sphere. The lightning struck the cage, but she was untouched. She explained the cage acted as an electromagnetic “skin,” grounding the charge and protecting anything inside it. The same effect takes place any time lightning strikes an airplane or car. It’s not the rubber tires, as I had always assumed.

Inside the cage, and untouched. Photo © Nicolaus Czarnecki

After the show, we spent a few additional hours at the museum, and still didn’t get to see everything. There are three floors of exhibits at this museum, and plenty of intriguing exhibits for all ages.

Making and running “Echo Base Bobsleds” in the Innovative Engineers exhibit

For kids 8 and under, the Discovery Zone is a two floor space of hands-on experiment-type exhibits focusing on animals and basic science principals.

Examining fossils in the Discovery Zone

How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list): ★★★★★★★★

A great facility, and an exciting lightning show. The effects may be too intense for really young children, however.

Hey YOU! Go BIG!

Boston Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, MA

617-723-2500

For Photo Friday today, I wanted to show you some. First, Annie at Practical Adventurology recently attended Carnaval de Nice in France, one the world’s largest pre-Lent celebrations. It’s been taking place since 1873, but is now known for the spectacular, immense floats. These figures were about six stories tall!

Carnaval de Nice

During a getaway to Knoxville, TN, Karon at All Things Lifestyle discovered one of our favorite “world’s largests” – the world’s largest Rubik’s Cube! The cube was a gift from the Hungarian government for the 1982 World’s Fair, which was held in Knoxville. It is ten feet tall, and weighs 1,200 pounds! There are a few more details about it in this post, which was one of our first posts ever here on GBOGH. Glad to see it’s still there!

World’s Largest Rubiks Cube

Thanks for sharing, friends!