Life Stories

Walking up to the front entrance, you can't help but feel the excitement in the air. It's the start of an awesome day, you can see it in every face that approaches the turnstiles. Six Flags, Disney, Wonderland. It doesn't matter which.

There is simply no better place to venture on a date than to a theme park.

Funny as it may sound, there are few distractions at a theme park. Sure, you are surrounded by lights and all kinds of noise, cheering kids and a thousand ways to spend your money. But those are all in the background.

There is nothing demanding your attention in the way a television or movie does. Your attention is on each other, as a date should be.

Spend the day walking hand-in-hand. Share ice cream and caramel corn and cinnamon churros. Ride all the rides, the slow ones, and the fast ones. Be the 'damsel in distress', and the 'heroic Prince Charming'. Fight the 'dark side,' and explore worlds unknown. Marvel characters and action movie heroes.

On the jungle cruise ride at Disneyland, a rhinosarus pokes at men climbing up a pole to escape.
Scene from the Jungle Cruise boat ride at Disneyland.

Avoid the fast pass or lightning line or whatever that park calls it's skip-the-line pass. They are elitist anyway, and just a cash grab. Besides, there is no better place to chat and get to know each other than waiting in line.

I guarantee that a line will never seem very long when you are comparing bucket lists, and discussing the order that you would combine your lists of dream vacations. Quite the opposite, you will be much more likely to need to finish that conversation while in line at the next attraction.

Double date, My wife and I on the right, my sister and her husband on the left at Canada’s Wonderland.
On a double date at Canada's Wonderland, years ago. My wife and I on the right, my sister and her husband on the left. Photo credit to Kristen Williams.

I am widowed, and my wife and I used to love such places. It may be different going with someone else, but the magic you feel in a theme park is always real.

Your conversations will often be inspired by the attractions you are lining up for.

I recently spent a day at Disneyland, with a wonderful woman who happened to lose her husband last year. Lining up for the Jungle Cruise, one conversation started with "Would you ever want to explore down the Amazon River?"

"Never thought about that, but an African Safari is at the top of my bucket list." Boom. 25 minutes later, which seemed like 5, we were discussing and ranking our lists as we stepped into the boats. The places we both dreamed of going went straight to the top. That conversation had to be completed while in line for the 'Indiana Jones' ride next door.

Throughout the day, we talked about so many things. Families, both close and extended. Hopes and dreams, both realistic and fantasy. Personal stories, both funny and sad. While waiting for one of the 'Star Wars' rides, I even told her about that crazy night in Hamilton, Ontario, many years ago, when I was arrested by an under-cover drug squad. (No, I was not guilty, but what a story!)

A major benefit to a date at a theme park is learning about your partner. Not from their words, but from their actions. Theme parks require patience and courtesy, two qualities said to be in societal decline. Are they on display, and how naturally? Everybody goes to theme parks. Any prejudices will show themselves.

My sister in a ‘barrel of fun’, kissing her husband at Cedar Point, Ohio.
My sister and her future husband enjoying a date at Cedar Point, Ohio. Photo credit to Kristen Williams.

Want to know what your boyfriend REALLY thinks of children? There is no better place to find out. Watch how he interacts with them, and talks to the kids in line beside him. Ask a child what their favorite ride is, and they will tell you. Depending on the child's personality, you just might get an ordered list. And mom and dad will be thankful that for a few precious minutes, someone else is keeping their kid occupied while in line. Waiting is tough when you're eight.

There are a lot of rules in theme parks, and it's important to remember that the front line staff did not write a single one of them. I wanted a refreshing fresh fruit drink after the Tiki Birds. The kiosk was 'mobile orders and payment only.' Nope. I didn't download the app and had no intention of doing so, so I went somewhere else. There is no point in berating the women working the kiosk, as it was surely not their decision. It would raise a big red flag to me to see my date complain to the staff in such a situation.

The best part of a theme park date is that it's just so much fun. Be a kid again! Stealing a smooch while you are in the dark of the Haunted Mansion is how wonderful little memories are made.

Sitting in the front row of 'Leviathan', the highest and fastest coaster at Canada's Wonderland, you are cheating death a little. An incredible aphrodisiac, although I only have anecdotal evidence to support such a theory. Being thrown into each other on those old wooden coasters is great fun, and even more death-defying as you hear the structure creak and moan as you hurtle along the tracks.

At the end of our day, My date and I rode the Disney railroad. As we entered the queue, I requested the far back seat, only to find out that the train had long benches that faced towards the inside of the park. The operator was a woman of about 20, and to her quizzical expression I explained simply. "It's been an awesome day. We want to sit in the back of the train and make out."

Her expression said one thing. Old people are gross.

My date and I laughed our heads off as we sat and waited for the next train.

There is no better place to go on a date. Get to a theme park, and have fun together!