American Holidays: Crazy Rides and Long Lines

“Roller coaster” was the popular name for the most popular and “scary” attraction in Hydropark, which in the 80s was almost the only roller coaster in the whole of Ukraine. There I developed a craving for attractions and amusement parks, recalls Heinrich Karpinsky in a blog for VOA.

Фото: Depositphotos

Of course, once in the USA, I could not help but take the opportunity to experience real “roller coaster”. True, I managed to do this only when my own children reached the age when they could ride there.

Amusement parks in the United States are popular places for family leisure. Some of them, such as those in Florida, are available year-round. Others open in the spring, with the onset of warmer weather.

The variety of parks here is amazing. Fans of attractions can find a park in any price category - from 20 to 300 dollars per day per person. Interesting parks don't come cheap. For example, a park ticket Universal it will cost 100 dollars a day, that for a family from 4 a person will cost almost five hundred dollars a day, not counting food (usually bad and expensive fast food) and souvenirs. If you buy tickets for several days, then in terms of one day it will come out a little cheaper.

Many parks have a specialization - parks with simple attractions for children or, on the contrary, fast and high roller coasters for teenagers and adults. There are water and theme parks where children can dive into the world of their favorite cartoons and films, meet their favorite characters and walk through the streets of a fairy-tale city.

Фото: Depositphotos

It would be a mistake to think that such parks are only for teenagers or families with children. In the parks you will see a lot of young people and people over 60. While the former compete with teenagers on fast roller coasters, the latter share queues with children 6-10 years old on attractions for children.

140 million visitors per year - only in Disney parks

Theme parks are one of the popular vacation destinations. Many families spend a week or more there and spend as much, if not more, than at ocean resorts. Over the past 50 years, the entertainment industry has developed very seriously to ensure that visitors do not get bored even during a long stay. Large amusement parks are surrounded by hotels ranging from luxurious to basic. In addition to attractions, the parks also have various shows, restaurants and, of course, shops.

Parks' designers are very serious about creating a thematic atmosphere. For example, in one of the most famous "islands" of the park Universaldedicated to Harry Potter, you literally fall into the magical world of Hogwarts. In this, the creators of the park also help visitors dressing accordingly. I personally personally the presence of a large number of people in mantles and with magic wands makes me feel like a “stranger tourist”.

Фото: Depositphotos

The attractions in such parks are works of architectural and engineering art. The parks compete with each other to see who can make the tallest, fastest and scariest ride. For example, in the “Hulk” attraction, which picks up speeds of up to 108 kilometers per hour, twists you 7 times and sometimes creates overloads of 4 g, a trigger mechanism is used that is more complicated than the catapult on old aircraft carriers. By the way, an electromagnetic catapult for launching aircraft from aircraft carriers for the fleet was developed by the company Disney.

And all this is a huge business. Company parks only Disney for the year 140 million guests visit. The parks company division has 130 thousands of employees and makes 3 a billion dollars a year in profits.

Фото: Depositphotos

There is fierce competition between the parks. The largest players in the market are: Disney, Universal (Comcast), SeaWorld and Six Flags. Each of these companies offers something different from competitors. For example, Six Flags specializes in fast and high rolocoster, SeaWorld known for its water representations as well Universal - Harry Potter.

If you love to ride, you also love to stand in line

Holiday in the park begins with a queue. Sometimes it seems to me that amusement parks were designed precisely to test the ability of people to wait.

Imagine that you live in Washington and decide to have a rest with your family in the park Universal Studios in Florida. First you will have to wait on the highway, because at this time there are many people who want to get to Florida and the highways are overloaded.

Well, you got to the hotel and stood in line for registration or, if you were hungry, then in line at the hotel cafe. It is likely that this will be the end of the first day of vacation. You go to bed with the intention of getting up in the morning, drinking a quick coffee, jumping on the bus that runs between the hotel and the park, and having a blast on the roller coasters.

Фото: Depositphotos

It is forbidden! The first line you stand in is for coffee at Starbucks, about 20 people. Next - to the bus. After unloading from the bus in an orderly manner, you come to the “security” line. And we haven’t even reached the park yet. There is also a queue at the entrance to the park. Finally, you are in the park. Can I ride? No, please queue for the ride.

The administration of the parks, of course, is trying to do everything so that the queues do not destroy your rest. First, there are boards in the parks that tell you how long to wait in line for each attraction or show. You can download the free app on your smartphone, which will give even more accurate information about the queues. If someone came alone, then there are short queues for single visitors who are brought to families and companies who come in an odd number. You can also buy an express ticket and go to the rides in their “queue for the rich”.

At the end of the day, all you have to do is stand in line for the bus - and at this point the day of queues and roller coasters can be considered over.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Top 25 places to visit in Los Angeles

How to take a child on a rainy weekend in New York

The cost of the most popular US attractions

5 Tips to Avoid Queuing at Disneyland

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