[cartman]

So last weekend my cousin and I took his boys to Six Flags Over Texas. His older son is 9 and has ridden the "big" rides before. This was his 6 year old's first trip where he could ride the "big" rides. We started off slow, riding El Sombrero aka the Mexican Hat ride. This one doesn't get more than 15 feet off of the ground.

Next we went to The Conquistador, which is the ship that goes back and forth until you end up about perpendicular to the ground. The youngster loved it. Then we went on La Vibora, which is a kind of bobsled ride. He too loved that one.

So we decided to up the ante and take him on the Shock Wave. At the time it opened it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, and the only one with back to back 360 loops. I rode with the 6 year old. He was real quiet as we began the climb to the top of the hill before the first drop. I told him as we reached the top we'd go slow for a few seconds, then the loops would happen. After we went through the back to back loops, I looked over at him, and he had no expression. No fear, no crying, no happiness, no excitement, nothing. Just a blank stare. He just shut everything down as a self-preservation act. He didn't change the rest of the ride. Once we got off, he said he had a good time, but when we asked him if he wanted to get in line and ride it again, he said no, he'd wait until the next time we went.