Yesterday, I visited a theme park, Great America, for the first time. At my age....old....it was more like 'better late than never'. I've been in both Disney World and Disney Land, multiple times, but this was my initial visit to a Six Flags Great America.
I had no idea what to expect. My only impressions coming from those ads that I have seen on television with humans being whipped around, over and under, backwards (not really - it only seems as if they are being propelled backward), and straight up and down........all at dizzying speeds. As I walked the park and watched these death-defying roller coaster rides, all I could wonder is how many people get hurled upon from people above them. With all of the junque food readily available at every turn and step, there must be those who lose their 'cookies' while on the rides.
There are many vignettes stored in my memory from yesterday. First, and foremost, would be the sensory overload that a person is subjected to as one walks through the grounds. Visually, there are zero boring or muted colors. Everything seems to be in primary colors, elevated to cornea-burning levels - especially the stuffed animals, hats, capes, and other furry objects. Even the ever-present basketballs, that were EVERYWHERE, had some 'hot' color on each one. If one wanders into the dozens of memorabilia shops (or cash depositories, as I would characterize them), everything is in bright colors, often with highly-polished surfaces that further exaggerate the color. Common, colored-stones are even buffed to a Simonized-shine (Does that word 'date' me?) that would reflect a person's visage perfectly.
That is just the visual portion of the experience. Then there is the auditory.
Every so many feet, (not yards.......only feet) the pulsating beat of the latest rock/rap/or R and B song is being 'pumped' out at ear-splitting volume. Not just one song, each forty feet, but a different song each forty feet. I felt as is I was being propelled through one of those tubes at the drive-in bank lane, each inch blasting a different hit record. If that is not enough auditory stimulation, there are the 'barkers' at each game or merchandise 'hut', hawking their wares or games. These people are not just talking loudly, their voices are amplified, and not softly, either. Add to that, the photographers every few feet, approaching EVERYONE to have their pictures taken, and you have the recipe for a schizophrenic experience. Oh, and did I mention the screams and squeals from riders as well as the din of voices from the hordes of people EVERYWHERE around you?
The final auditory impression was an irritating one, although perhaps only to me. All employees you approach at a Six Flags theme park are instructed, as they end their conversation, interaction, or transaction with the public, to say, "Have a Six-Flags' Day." Catchy, maybe, the first one or two dozen times, but after a while I wanted to hold up my hand, in a motion to stop the person talking, and simply say, "I know, I know.....".
In conclusion, to all who will read this posting:
Have a Fix-Slags' Day!
Ancora imparo
