Among my earliest memories–and we’re talking about when I was around two years old or perhaps even younger if that’s possible–I distinctly remember being entranced as I sat on the sand at Revere Beach. The Boston area’s answer to Coney Island, the boulevard across from the ocean was filled with clanging, colorful, and kinetic amusements. While the other kids were making sand castles and toddling in and out of the surf, I would often have my back to the water, absolutely mesmerized by the Cyclone roller coaster, the double Ferris wheel, the Tilt-A-Whirl, and the other attractions that beckoned. (Sadly, the rides and arcades have long since vanished from Revere Beach, a fate that has befallen many seaside amusement areas.)
I don’t know why I was so immediately and inextricably drawn to the midway mishegas, but my passion only grew as I got to actually experience the rides at Revere Beach and visit parks throughout New England and beyond. I was smitten. My love for and fascination with the amusement industry endured into adulthood. I never got a job at a park but would often daydream about finding a way to combine my avocation with my vocation, even as I pursued other work. In my 30s, through a confluence of circumstances, I talked my way into writing the cover story for a magazine about the Back to the Future– The Ride attraction that once graced Universal Studios Florida. It was a giddy, gratifying experience that completely hooked me and kicked off my unlikely career as a theme park journalist.
Some 34 years and countless features and articles later, the train bearing my writing and reporting career is pulling into the station. This will be my last regular, weekly story. (I may emerge from my retirement stupor to pen a special article every now and again, so don’t be surprised if I occasionally pop into your email inbox.)
As with passengers who have just experienced a sublime coaster, I’m beaming as I look back on my journey writing and reporting about the attractions industry. I’ve loved the ups and downs, the thrills, and the exhilaration. It’s fitting that my penultimate article, about Halloween Horror Nights, took me to the park where it all began, Universal Studios Florida. It’s been fascinating and gratifying watching and writing about Universal’s Florida upstart all these years as it evolved from a single theme park into the burgeoning multi-park resort it is today. It’s been just as fascinating to witness Universal’s ascension as a worthy, global rival to the industry’s big cheese, Disney.
Much has changed about parks and attractions in general in the decades I’ve been covering them. The substantial advances in technology, the eye-popping scale and scope of many projects (and the eye-popping budgets that make them possible), and other factors have led to wildly impressive, enchanting attractions that far surpass the E-Ticket rides of the past. The trend to create richly themed lands devoted to single intellectual properties, established by Universal with its first Wizarding World of Harry Potter outpost at Islands of Adventure, has given us deeply immersive, transportive spaces. Roller coasters have broken once-unthinkable records, and designers have introduced intriguing innovations and created remarkably smooth ride experiences.
And, oh the food! Previously, it was often an afterthought. Now, food has become as much a part of parks’ storytelling missions as the attractions and shows with highly themed goodies and restaurants taking center stage. Scrumptious options abound, and today it’s just as possible to have a wonderful, high-end dining experience as a hamburg and fries during park visits.
It’s not all positive, however. I’m dismayed by the way that prices have escalated at parks, making it difficult, if not impossible, for some folks to visit. I’m also troubled by optional, costly skip-the-line programs that have bifurcated park guests of different means, especially at the destination parks, into haves and have-nots. Hey, I get it. Parks and the corporations that own them are in business to maximize profits. But by targeting the flourishing upper middle class and largely abandoning the middle class that was once its primary audience, parks no longer seem to be egalitarian melting pots where people from all walks of life can have fun together. This, of course, isn’t the exclusive province of theme parks. Sporting events, concerts, theatrical productions, the travel industry, restaurants, and more increasingly cater to the folks on the upper arm of the K-shaped economy in which we find ourselves.
I’m really bothered too by the ways that some parks require guests to constantly use their phones to navigate those skip-the-line programs as well as check wait times, make reservations, access tickets, and perform other tasks. Of course, people don’t need much encouragement to bury their heads in their screens, whether it’s at a park or virtually anywhere else, these days. It astonishes me to see masses of people waiting in lines, walking along paths, dining together, and elsewhere in parks preoccupied with their devices and ignoring each other. For crying out loud people, instead of recording and watching a park’s nighttime multi-media extravaganza through your screens, put your phones in your pockets. Ooh and aah along with the family and friends who are right next to you. Be fully present and engaged as the spectacle unfolds.
I know I sound like the crotchety old fart that I am, but I truly believe that we need to embrace and hold on to parks as the inherently social places they are meant to be. And by social, I don’t mean social media. I mean they are a bastion where we can gather in real life and experience joy and wonder together.
If parks have evolved over the time I’ve been covering them, journalism is almost unrecognizable from the industry I entered some three-and-a-half decades ago. Consider this: When I began writing about parks and attractions, tick-tock was the sound an analog clock made. There was no Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, or any social media. Heck, there were no smartphones or even high-speed internet. It has been heartbreaking to watch traditional media devolve and see the newspapers and magazines that have published my articles become shells of themselves or disappear altogether. Not to get too preachy, but a vital Fourth Estate is essential for a functioning democracy. The algorithms and social media to which people now turn to for “news” seem designed more to distract and divide, rather than inform us. Give me hypercoasters, not hyper-polarization.
Okay, it’s time for me to stop ranting and get back to how grateful I am for a career that has given me so many blessings. I’ve been to hundreds of media events across the country and around the world where I reviewed and reported about new parks, new lands, and new rides and attractions. I’ve been behind the scenes, made multiple visits to Walt Disney Imagineering, and got sneak peeks of works in progress. I was the first person, other than park employees and ride manufacturers, invited to board the roller coasters, Mako at SeaWorld Orlando, Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, and Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. (Fun fact: The day I rode the Wonder Woman ride, the park was closed to the public. Jeffrey Siebert, who was general manager at the time–and is an all-around mensch–also arranged to open Iron Rattler because he knew I loved it. The two of us had the coaster to ourselves for three glorious rides.) I was also the first to ride Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain and got to share my experience on CBS Mornings, one of my many TV appearances. Speaking of TV appearances, did you know that I was mentioned in the final episode of “Gilmore Girls?” This crazy career has given me incredible opportunities.
For example, I’ve been able able to meet and interview a host of celebrities and notable folks, including Jimmy Fallon, John Lasseter, Neil Patrick Harris, Stan Lee, and Hulk Hogan. I used to tease Pete Owens, who has been at Dollywood for many years, that I would visit the park if he could arrange a hug with Dolly Parton. One day he called my bluff. She was everything I imagined she would be: funny, refreshingly frank, warm, and utterly charming. I’ve also had the good fortune to sit down with giants in the industry, such as Marty Sklar, Thierry Coup, Tony Baxter, Alan Schilke, Josh D’Amaro, Bob Gurr, Joe Rohde, and Bob Iger, whom I interviewed at the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland. In addition to writing for general audiences at many publications and outlets including USA Today, About.com/TripSavvy, the New York Post, the Boston Globe, Vox Media, and right here at About Theme Parks on Substack, I also have enjoyed covering parks and attractions for people who work in the industry at IAAPA’s trade magazine, Funworld.
There are so many people who have shown great kindness and helped me along the way. I wouldn’t want to start naming them for fear that the list would be too lengthy, and I might forget somebody. But I thank you all. This is an industry that is devoted to the art, science, and magic of fun, and the people in it are themselves fun and big-hearted. It has been quite the trip being part of this wonderful community.
There is one person whom I want to single out, however. My lovely wife, Martha (yup, we are Martha and Arthur, which rhymes when uttered with a Boston accent), has been incredibly supportive and my biggest cheerleader. When I approached her 34 years ago with the harebrained idea that I wanted to become a theme park journalist, it posed great risks and challenges. We had two young children, a mortgage, and bills to pay. Unlike today, where hordes of writers, podcasters, influencers (ugh, don’t get me started), and others churn out a torrent of content online, there was virtually nobody covering parks and attractions as a beat back then. But Martha gave me the green light, stood by me in the early years as I struggled to make a go of it, and remained there for me every step along the way; for that I am forever grateful.
And then there is you. I’m especially indebted to those of you who chose to support my work as a paid subscriber here at About Theme Parks these past four years. That has meant a lot in these precarious times for journalists. Some of you have been with me even longer. Yes, I’ve savored the adventures I’ve had, the places I’ve gone, the folks I’ve met, and the things I’ve been able to do. But I’ve really enjoyed bringing my adventures to you, the readers. At their best, theme parks tell us stories that become cherished memories. Thank you for trusting me to tell you stories about this beloved industry. I’m so glad that we’ve been able to share our passion for parks and attractions together.
It’s been a whirlwind for me, a wild and wonderful multi-decade journey that almost feels like a dream. I still visit Revere Beach. Yes, the rides are all gone. But if I close my eyes, I can hear the click-clack of the Cyclone climbing the lift hill and the screams of the riders whispering in the ocean breezes. For a moment, I’m a toddler again sitting in the sand, watching in awe as the tumult of the amusements unfolds across the boulevard.
I’ll see you at the parks.
Comments are open to everybody. Please feel free to join the discussion.
A beautifully written send off, with lots to reflect on. The theme park world will be a little less wise and joyful without your weekly insights, but I look forward to whatever you feel like creating in the years to come. And finally, it would be a dream come true to, as you suggest, see you at the parks. Hopefully one day we can catch a ride together and celebrate this crazy hobby of ours!
It's always bittersweet to hear a content creator you enjoy is moving on to other things, but it's awesome that you can now hit the parks without worrying about a deadline. :)
As someone who doesn't get out to the parks nearly as often as I'd like, it's been wonderful to experience new attractions through your writing and appearances on CoasterRadio. Your enthusiasm and excitement for the industry always came through in your articles, and always with an air of positivity and optimism. I think that's wonderful in the age of social media, where negativity and cynicism often speak the loudest.
Enjoy the heck out of that retirement, it is well deserved. Still hope to see you one day at the parks! Wishing you all the best!