Amusement Parks are awesome, and you need to go to one, ASAP
Buuuuuut what about the lines?! Okay, okay, I hear ya. The lines at amusement parks suck. No two ways about it, but let me tell you why they are simply a necessary evil to an incredible experience that you're missing out on.
On Disneyland's opening day of July 17th, 1955, Walt Disney welcomed the world to the park with words that will forever ring true about what a day at an amusement park is supposed to be about. Disney spoke to those in attendance and the television audience watching around the country, "To all that come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."
Almost 68 years have passed since Walt spoke those words to the world, and I'd say he knew what he was talking about. His hope for Disneyland to become a source of joy and inspiration to all the world has been fulfilled not only by Disneyland, but by all amusement parks throughout the world. The parks are for everyone to enjoy, always have been and always will be.
As for my own love towards amusement parks and roller coasters, like with most things I am passionate about in life, I have been fascinated with these glorious places and extreme rides since I was a little kid. Even before I was tall enough to ride the big rides, I was in awe of the incredible structures at amusement parks. And once I was tall enough for those rides, I still remained scared for a year or two before I was ready to get on them due to being intimidated by the sheer magnitude and size of those engineering marvels. At the same time, those feelings of intimidation and amazement were lighting a spark of curiosity inside me of what it would feel like to ride those beasts. I vividly remember having two roller coaster books that I spent many nights flipping through and I remember the countless hours I spent watching the Travel Channels many specials on amusement parks and rides. As I grew up, my love for parks and coasters only increased as I conquered my fear of those "big rides," and I was lucky enough to experience major theme with big league rides parks without any limitations. However, the older and older I got those visits became less and less frequent, as that curiosity and wonder towards the amusement park industry dwindled year over year.
I still enjoyed going to the parks and riding the rides but going to an amusement park was pretty low on my summer priority list as I got older. So if I went a year or two without going to a park it wasn't even a thought. A shrug of the shoulders at most. It wasn't until a trip to Kings Island this past summer that would bring that wonderful fascination towards amusement parks that I had had as a kid right back. My girlfriend and I spent an open to close day at Kings Island for their 50th Anniversary season and had an absolute blast. A day that ended up being nothing short of perfection. You know when it's just your day and everything seems to work out for you, this was one of those days. Yes, it was a dead Tuesday in the middle of the summer so the lack of those horrifying lines was not a factor on this day. We rode our favorite rides multiple times, had extra time to spend at the water park, enjoyed some great food and desserts, saw an awesome parade, and witnessed one of the best fireworks/drone shows you'll ever see. I left Kings Island that night with just one question on my mind, that being, what is better than this? What is better than a place where I can scream my brains out on a ride dropping 250 feet to the ground speeding through its course at 80 mph? Where else can I go upside down in a car and not be in a serious accident? Where else can I go that will have more enjoyable parades, shows, and fireworks shows? The answer is there is nowhere else. A day at an amusement park is pure fun, a day to worry about nothing else but having a ball. I'll even go as far as saying that riding a roller coaster specifically is provides more uncontrolled joy than anything else you can do in life outside of skydiving, bungee jumping, or other similar more extreme activities. For me, an amusement park provides some of the most memorable, exciting, and most importantly fun moments we will ever have in our lives.
There is no better evidence of the joy provided by the rides at amusement parks than the classic on-ride photos. When you get off a ride at an amusement park, you will find a picture of yourself on the ride that you can purchase at one of the 1,000 gift shops inside any given amusement park. (I've counted at each park I've been to and there are at least 1,000 shops at each one) As you're scanning those screens to find your picture, you will notice that no matter how big, small, young, or old the people in the pictures are, you will find that they all have a similar look of on their face. A look of uncontrolled joy. You could stand and look at those pictures all day long and you will continue to see some of the happiest faces imaginable. Completely involuntarily, their faces will show nothing but happiness. That feeling of euphoria from riding a roller coaster or other thrill ride was once a common feeling for most of us growing up. Our lives as kids were filled with exuberance and stress free moments that brought us that aforementioned euphoria. Unfortunately, that feeling and those moments become harder and harder to come by in our lives as we age and life naturally becomes more mundane. Riding a roller coaster gives us that joy that we all need in our lives so badly. A day at an amusement park brings us back to our youth, and for at least one day, gives us a day in which we can worry about nothing but having fun.
In the coming days and weeks that followed my amazing day at Kings Island over the summer I began to come to the realization that not a lot of adults go to amusement parks. I hadn't ever thought about this before, yet quickly realized that most of the adults that you see at an amusement park are there to chaperone kids. This realization got me to reminiscing on how growing up and going to Kings Island that no matter what year or time of year I would go, I was sure to see at least one person I knew from my hometown at the park. Mind you, my hometown is two hours away from Kings Island. I know a lot less people these days but I knew going into my day at Kings Island this past summer that the chances of seeing someone I know or knew growing up were virtually zero. People simply stop going to these literal fun parks as they get older. So it got me thinking again, how did we all become so boring? How did we grow up and decide that a night out at some overpriced fancy restaurant is a more desirable thing to do than go to an amusement park? How did hitting a golf ball into a target become a more fun way to spend a day with your buddies than experiencing some intense positive and negative G forces? How did sitting on a beach reading a book become something we look forward to more than experiencing the feeling of your stomach in your throat as you plummet down those awesome first drops a roller coaster provides? The list goes on and on of things we choose to spend our time and money on as adults that are significantly less fun and fulfilling than spending a day at an amusement park. It truly baffles me how we as a society have deemed something as awesome as this as being something that is not for adults.
But what if you don't like rides? Well, while my main interest in going to an amusement park is the rides, I understand that may not be everyone's thing. The great thing about these parks is that there is something for everyone and anyone can find a park or a certain day to have an incredible time. I personally got to experience this over Christmas break when my girlfriend and I spent a day at Sea World in Orlando, FL. On top of the awesome rides we got to enjoy, we saw a dolphin show, an orca show, a sea lion show, a firework show, a Seasme Street show, a parade, and the best ice skating show I've ever seen. Full disclaimer this was the only ice skating show I've seen, though I see no way it can be topped. In addition to all of that, we got to see numerous aquatic animal exhibits and became totally immersed in the great theming throughout the park. For those keeping score at home, that's 6 shows, 1 parade, 5 roller coasters, and countless marine life encounters all in one day. Nowhere else in our lives can we go to experience a full day quite like that. While Sea World does offer more than most parks in terms of variety, every major amusement park around the nation offers similar unique experiences. Parks are constantly running one of a kind shows, fireworks displays, light shows, and special events to enjoy. Parks also offer some very unique and fun dining experiences year round. And come October, every amusement park nationwide transforms into the closest thing you can experience to Halloweentown, as park workers dress up in scary costumes, parks offer multiple haunted and not so haunted houses, and fog fills the air to create the perfect Halloween atmosphere. Halloween is one specific example of the distinctive, fun, and creative days provided by amusement parks that have zero to do with any rides at the park. So I ask, where else can you go to open your imagination in the way an amusement park lets you? Where else can you be transported to Hogwarts and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Where else can a little girl feel like she is a Disney Princess in a Disney movie come to life? Where else can I go to Jurassic Park? Where else can I feel like I'm part of another world like Pandora? Where else can I hop in a time machine and suddenly be in the old west or in the future? Most importantly, where else can I go that makes me feel like a kid again in the way an amusement park does?
So at the risk of blabbing on any longer, I simply want to say I hope that whoever has read this will now consider a trip to an amusement park this upcoming summer (on a weekday). I promise you won't regret it.
*Here is my list of the Top 20 amusement parks to visit in the United States. I've made two lists, each broken up into a Top 10. The first list is my top overall parks in the country. These parks have some of the best rides in the world, but offer so much more than just rides. Whether it be shows, theming, atmosphere, or something else, these parks are the ones I would recommend to people who may not be extremely into thrill rides. Even as someone who loves roller coasters, I would much rather go to almost all of these parks before going to a park on the second list. The second list is the parks I would visit if I am just trying to experience some of the best thrill rides in the world. These parks have a lot of intense roller coasters and other rides. While they still may offer shows and some other fun things throughout the park, they are mainly focused on the rides.*
Top Overall Parks
- Islands of Adventure, Orlando, FL
- Magic Kingdom, Orlando, FL
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Orlando, FL
- Disney's Hollywood Studios, Orlando, FL
- EPCOT, Orlando, FL
- Sea World Orlando, Orlando, FL
- Silver Dollar City, Branson, MO
- Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
- Busch Gardens Tampa, Tampa, FL
Top Thrill Ride Parks
- Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH
- Hersheypark, Hershey, PA
- Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA
- Kings Island, Mason, OH
- Carowinds, Charlotte, NC
- Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, TX
- Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, IL
- Kings Dominion, Doswell, VA
- Six Flags over Georgia, Atlanta, GA
