Are waterparks the answer to all of our questions? There are 3 aspects of life, probably more, that every person can benefit from.
In part 1, I am going to explain how waterparks cover all of these needs. In part 2, I am going to share my business pitch for elite waterpark social clubs.
Fun
No doubt. Water parks are a source of fun. I listed this one first because this is obvious. It is currently a use case for water parks if not the only use case currently. We all need a little more fun in our lives.
Self-Care
What is something that happens at waterparks that is extremely therapeutic? Besides laughter from all the fun you are having. Screaming! There are so many articles about the science of screaming and how it is therapeutic and wonderful self-care.
Some articles are coming up about “Primal Scream Therapy” which is not what I am referring to. I do not think that screaming at a waterpark is a place to work through your trauma.
I am referring to a release needed from daily anxiety, frustration, or stress. Screaming on the rides, I felt a release of tension and was brought back to a more centered, productive space.
I am not sure about where you live, but for me, there are not really appropriate places you can go to scream. If someone screams on the street, we assume they are nuts. If you scream in the comfort of your own home, a neighbor may call the cops afraid for your life. I guess you could scream in your car?
The best place to scream, we can all agree, is at an amusement park. On a ride, no one thinks twice about your screeches. It is actually encouraged. Does anyone else feel like a ride is more fun when you scream? Apparently, screaming (at the air, not at another human) releases endorphins which can create a natural high.
Exercise
Rides are large and cannot be built on top of each other which means that walking to each ride is a lot of steps. Also, rides need to start at a tall height so there is room to go somewhere. Each ride that I went on had a huge staircase. On top of that, Dollywood is located in the mountains. The steps we were talking about walking to each ride were sometimes up a mountain before the staircase.
The majority of time spent at a waterpark is standing or walking. We spend so much of our time sitting these days that I bet standing for a long period of time is refreshing for our bodies. Also, a huge reason people do not enjoy exercising is because it is not fun. Walking 10K steps or climbing for the sake of your health is not motivating, but doing it and having a ride at the end, makes it feel less like exercise.
Do we think there is a possibility, in the future, we can submit season tickets for waterparks to health insurance companies for a deduction? Clearly it helps people exercise in a way that could be equivalent to a gym membership. The waterparks can start handing out wristbands that track your activity to prove to insurance that it was great exercise.
While we are at it, do you think we can add laughing to the list of approved ab workouts? Not a giggle, but a belly laugh. I swear I’ve been sore before just from laughing. Not sure which one is less likely here, but thinking laughing is not going to get approved.
Challenges
- Make fun more of a focus in our lives.
- Brainstorm places where you can scream for relief, outside of a waterpark.
- Crack up for a few hours in one day and see if you have sore abs the next. Please report back.
