Amusement Parks

[lexinonomous]

Amusement parks are a common destination for family outings and an all around good time. With popular parks, such as Disneyland, they tend to get over crowded. This results in long lines and more time to be surrounded by strangers. This can cause a person to stress, even if it is the expectation when coming to an amusement park. It's hard for anyone to deal with the crowds.


What happens if you suffer from social anxiety? Amusement parks might not even be an option. You may find yourself feeling even more overwhelmed than the next person and want to leave the area as soon as possible. You might handle it gracefully, so long as you don't have to communicate with strangers. You may just not attend.


Do you find yourself anxious at amusement parks?


How do you handle it?

 

[Eva]

Yes, I find myself feeling very anxious at amusement parks. I have tried going anyway, but it is just not fun for me. My anxiety makes it impossible for me to have fun at amusement parks. I used to go every spring, but have stopped going because I could not enjoy myself while dealing with all the crowds of people and my anxiety because of it.

 

[rz3300]

These might as well be the opposite of fun for me. On top of the social anxiety I am not a big roller coaster person, and spending all that money to feel scared and sick just makes no sense to me. This is one where I am not ashamed to come and out and publicly state my disdain for these places, though, so I think that is a good thing for me. I will avoid these as much as I can until the day I die.

 

[amy88]

I hate crowds, and basically every theme park is crowded - that's just the way they are


We went to Universal Studios last year and I just about had a full blown meltdown - we left after about an hour and a half.

 

[gracer]

So far, the last time my family and I went to an amusement park, I never really minded the crowd because I was busy with my own world while they were also busy with theirs. I much prefer things that way rather than going to some sort of gathering where you are really expected to interact with someone in some way.

 

[rootle]

I don't find that amusement parks bother me at all. I find it difficult to deal with people who I know and recognise. People who are complete strangers to me really aren't a problem. Sometimes I feel awkward in public but only if the place I'm at is somewhere quiet and serious. Loud, energetic atmospheres don't bother me at all to be honest.

 

[Autumn]

I'm the same way, I hate crowds. I am a huge amusement park nerd and have a great passion for them, so it's not fun when I get anxious at the crowds. My fiancé and I are wanting to take a trip to Disney at some point and I'm afraid I'm just not going be able to handle all the people and I'll just get all grumpy.

 

[shcoo]

I have two solutions to this: wear mirrored/opaque sunglasses and take drugs. Not good advice for everyone, I know self-medicating is bad, but it has worked wonders for me. I use drugs in moderation (less than once a week) and instead of making me more paranoid in a crowd at an amusement park or music festival, they make me enjoy it way more. It even makes the outdoor heat more bearable. Of course, I always have to bring a friend and designated driver with me so we usually go in large groups. The sunglasses also help with the insecurity. You don't feel like people are judging you if they're not making eye contact with you or reading your emotions through your eyes.


Last time I went to an amusement park, I rode about six rollercoasters and had a blast.

 

[Robilas]

So far' date=' the last time my family and I went to an amusement park, I never really minded the crowd because I was busy with my own world while they were also busy with theirs. I much prefer things that way rather than going to some sort of gathering where you are really expected to interact with someone in some way.[/quote']
Same goes for me. I really prefer large, crowded places because I can feel almost "hidden" in the crowd. Nobody really pays attention to me and I can focus on having fun without expectations from the others. As long as I am with a group of friends I'm feeling safe and having a lot of strangers around doesn't bother me at all, since I'm not expected to talk to them or anything. I actually prefer larger places for this reason.


On top of that, I love riding rollercoasters, it's a lot of fun and cathartic!

 

[gracer]

Same goes for me. I really prefer large, crowded places because I can feel almost "hidden" in the crowd. Nobody really pays attention to me and I can focus on having fun without expectations from the others. As long as I am with a group of friends I'm feeling safe and having a lot of strangers around doesn't bother me at all, since I'm not expected to talk to them or anything. I actually prefer larger places for this reason.


On top of that, I love riding rollercoasters, it's a lot of fun and cathartic!

I totally agree. You can have fun without having to impress anyone because everyone has his/her own thing when in an amusement park. Like what you said, being in amusement parks gives me this "hidden" feeling as though I'm invisible and no one minds what I'm doing. To add to that, the thrill of playing games and experiencing the rides can also keep the mind preoccupied without having to think about anything else but yourself and having fun.

 

[kelden]

Not all anxious people are deterred from enjoying amusement parks. Me for example, got anxious only under some overwhelming social interactions, like speaking to a public or something similar. But the amusement parks are neat, there are crowds and torrents of people, and although I don't like crowds, you are not the center of the attention. Just relax and focus on enjoying the amusement attractions. Don't participate or get involved in any kind of contest going on there.

 

[joshposh]

There are large crowds at amusement parks. A lot of people are walking about and the lines go as far back as 3 hours. I've been to Six Flags many times and sometimes you can wait half the day waiting in a single line. There is a high social scene where complete strangers are clustered together and that might affect the social challenged individual.


For those that get anxious in these moments I would suggest you not go alone, but in a small group of trusted friends. That should help somewhat to shield you from the strangers walking about. But for the most part people there are more fixated with the rides and not who's standing in line in front of you.