The United States is home to more Theme Parks and Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) than any other country in the world. From the large corporate parks, like those in the Disney and Six Flags families, to small family-owned and operated parks, the nation's landscape is dotted with acres of thrilling rides, attractions and much more.
Deals and Discounts
While the cost of a day at the theme park can run as much as $50 (before food, souvenirs and other charges), there are some ways to get a discount on the cost of admission.
If you and your family or friends will be taking an extended theme park vacation and flying to your destination, you may want to look into travel packages. Both Universal and Disney offer their own vacation services and can offer a variety of plans with features such as airfare, ground transportation, hotel accommodations (even at hotels away from their properties), theme park admissions, and meals.
AAA, or CAA in Canada, offers discounted attraction tickets through its offices and travel agencies. If you are an AAA or CAA member, call your local office and ask about discounts. Usually you must buy their discounted tickets for Disney World and Disneyland in advance. For many other parks, including Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, you can show your AAA card at the park's ticket booth for a discount. Buying in advance, though, will save you time at the park's entrance.
There are some companies that sell discount movie and theme park tickets through businesses' human relations or employee activities offices, as well as some credit unions and colleges. Similar discounters do the same for other firms. So, check with your employee or student activity office before you visit a theme park. You might find similar good deals.
Check park Web sites
Wherever your travels will be taking you, check the theme park's Web site for travel and accommodations information. Often, theme parks partner with other area attractions, hotel associations, chambers of commerce, and other tourism groups. If so, you may be able to find some special deals.
Safety Concerns
Debates about theme park safety focus on the greater speed and twists of rides, the adequacy of warning signs, access to injury rates, and who should inspect parks and investigate accidents. Recent studies by physicians, scientists, and epidemiologists have determined there's no evidence that thrill rides cause brain trauma, neurological injury, or death in healthy riders.
In 2001, more than 300 million visitors took more than 3 billion rides at fixed-site parks. Of those visitors, an estimated 6,700 were treated in emergency rooms, mostly for minor cuts, bruises, sprains, and strains, says the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That translates into roughly one emergency-room visit for every 50,000 park-goers, a rate that has remained fairly constant since 1997. Ride-related fatalities have generally numbered four or five per year since 1987.
This suggests the drive to the theme park is riskier then riding on a roller coaster.
Theme parks are a great way to experience the latest, greatest thrills and dazzling new technologies that imagination can offer and they can provide an exciting alternative vacation opportunity.
