Bryan Thompson: Amusement Park Design

October 08, 2007

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Kids are adrenaline junkies. That's why I get along so well with them. I love the fact that my 5 year old niece Bailey adores amusement parks.

She's just like her Uncle that way. When she was a teensy 3 year old she climbed onto the Legoland Water Trampoline. She jumps up and down, she wipes out, then she just laughs, dusts herself off and did it all over again.

Now she wants the fastest and craziest rides they'll let her on. No Disneyland "Teacups" or "It's a Small World" For Her." We'll be on an honest to goodness rollercoaster and she'll wind up comforting me. It happened on Seaworld on the Atlantis Roller Coaster. When the ride broke mid-cycle leaving us hanging mid-air. Bailey just giggled as we held on and made up songs to pass the time. It was what my Mommalou did with me when she needed to distract me. It worked. Bailey never knew something was wrong with the ride. As soon as we got ourselves free she wanted to do it all over again. No way.

I wish she could have been with me when I went on my most recent trip to an Amusement Park. It was to Universal Studios. I went there solo and it was awesome. The "Back to the Future" ride was closing. But before it rode off into the sunset there was a special tour.

I made sure I got a ticket that allowed me unlimited front-of-the line access to the ride and a close-up look at all the movie sets from the "Back to the Future" movies parts one, two and three. I convinced the tour guide to let me "hang" from the clock tower just like Doc Brown did in the movie. By the time the park closed I had a stomach-ache from all the herky-jerky time travel in the flying Deloreans. I didn't care.

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