Indoor amusement parks have been around for years, but with the recent bankruptcy of Cedar Point Amusement Park in Virginia and similar problems in other states, there are more people than ever before worrying about the safety of their kids going to these fun places. I used to work in the amusement park business for over thirty years and while some of the problems in the industry I had seen and heard about before were unique to the industry, there was a much bigger problem on the rise in the United States and Europe – it was the proliferation of dangerous amusement park equipment. The effects of this dangerous equipment can be deadly for kids and adults alike, yet there seems to be no real effort to change or regulate this type of amusement park equipment. This is something that needs to be changed and it starts with government oversight.
The rise of video games and other computerized amusements: has led to an increase in the number of accidents at amusement parks all over the world over the past few decades. This type of amusement park equipment causes a number of problems because of the nature of the material that is being used and even though most parents believe that they know better, it is usually not enough. Parents need to take a more hands-on approach with their kids when it comes to amusement parks. The problem isn’t that their children aren’t paying attention or they are being distractive; it is that they are being exposed to equipment that could end up killing them. Here are some of the dangers of video games and other computerized equipment in amusement parks:
Computerized equipment causes people to become more familiar with dangerous situations: Children who are confined to an amusement park with video games and other computerized equipment tend to think of it as a normal part of life, just like the television and the games that they play. The problem is that their bodies may be trained or conditioned to react in a certain way when faced with a dangerous situation, which may not have been the case in the real world. As adults, we realize that most situations that cause us injury aren’t really that dangerous after all, and that the danger that we are actually facing is the potential injury caused by the equipment itself.
Computerized equipment can be used to teach inappropriate behavior to children: It is already in our schools to teach good behavior to children. However, this same technology can be introduced into the amusement park to teach inappropriate behavior to children. Not only could this cause embarrassment for the park, but it could also cause legal troubles. Parents who have allowed their children to play with this equipment have a responsibility to make sure that it is only used in the proper manner.
Many operators of indoor amusement parks fail to recognize: that the equipment is providing entertainment and relaxation to the guests. Some operators see amusement park operators as people who just stand around instead of working. What these operators fail to understand is that the employees of the parks actually have to spend many hours of work each day to keep the parks operational and to keep the guests entertained. When this type of equipment is being operated by amateurs, the employees are likely to be tired, overworked, and frustrated, and this may result in them performing a less than optimal job.
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Indoor amusement parks are places where families should go to relax and have fun: We don’t want to discourage families from using these wonderful places, but rather we want to encourage them to use them safely. Children must be supervised when operating any type of amusement park equipment, and operators must always pay close attention to the equipment and keep their eyes on the children. We also strongly recommend that parents take an active role in supervising the children at all times when they are operating any type of equipment at any of our theme parks.