There is a bit of planning that goes into visiting a theme park whenever you decide to go. However, this planning is complicated when you are considering going on a Sunday or another holy day (inside or outside of the pandemic). In this entry, I will describe some of my own experiences both before being ordained and after being ordained.
I suppose there is always the question, “Is it morally permissible to go to a theme park on a holy day?” As a type of entertainment, our approach should be similar to questioning whether we attend a sports game, a theater show, or a movie on a holy day. I think most of us don’t have scruples about going to any of those on a Sunday, so it seems like it would be morally permissible to go to a theme park on a holy day. All Christians are instructed to keep holy the Lord’s Day (i.e. the Third Commandment). For Catholics, this is specifically lived out through going to Mass on Sunday. How does a Catholic stay faithful to attending Sunday Mass while also going to a theme park on a Sunday? In this day and age, almost every parish (outside of the pandemic) has a Saturday vigil Mass. This can be a good choice especially due to the relatively high cost of going to a theme park for a day (for a family of four, it could be about $500 for tickets alone). When you got to a theme park, you want to make it as much of a full day as possible, so fulfilling your Mass obligation on Saturday evening is helpful. Another option is to go to Mass early on Sunday morning and then go to the park. I chose this option in Paris as a deacon/seminarian before going to Disneyland Paris Resort. I knew I was going to be at the Resort until 10 p.m. (so option 3 wasn’t going to work). In addition, the evening before I was busy hanging out with friends, so I couldn’t do option 1. Going to Mass early on Sunday makes a long day even longer; however, it does give a real good grounding to the day. A third option is to go to Mass on Sunday evening (assuming there is a Mass like that near the park). The advantage to this option is that you get to the park near to when it’s opening when the crowds are very light, which allows you to do a lot of rides in a short time. However, unless you are used to going to Sunday evening Mass, your Sunday might feel a little out-of-whack. In addition, you are more likely to fall asleep during the priest’s homily after a long day at the park. In summary, I think option 1 is best, then option 2, and finally option 3. The most important thing, though, is that you get to Mass. In college, I once spent a Good Friday at Disneyland during a trip with my college pep band (for the NCAA basketball tournament). It was the only day that we could spend at the parks. True, Good Friday isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation but it falls in the Holy Triduum, the holiest days for Christians. Although I did not go to a service on Good Friday, I went to The Mass of the Lord’s Supper the day before. I fasted and abstained from meat at Disneyland that Good Friday. If possible, I would try to avoid going to an amusement park on Good Friday due to the focus that should be on prayer and fasting that day. Now as a priest, I have greater flexibility as to when I say Mass and pray on a day I’m going to an amusement park. My preferred time to say Mass is before I leave for the park, although I’m willing to do it after being at the park (such as what I did when I drove directly from LAX to Six Flags Magic Mountain. If I’m saying Mass for others, I also ask for input from them. Well, I think that covers what I wanted to talk about. Some other time I’ll write a post on praying in a theme park (especially discussing how I am faithful to my times of prayer while at a theme park).
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Disclaimer: I have never been to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando. It first opened in February 2001. The park seems to get pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor (average rating: 4.0). Guests seem to really like the shows there.
It is also well-known that right before COVID, the owners (Trinity Broadcasting Network) stated that they were considering cutting some of the live entertainment due to the the deficit they were running the park at (to a tune of $2 million). They were looking to find more investors to help fund the park. That seems like a reasonable thing to aim for; after all, even a resort Disneyland Paris, had a lot of outside investors. There are no rides at The Holy Land Experience. Maybe the owners and the guests would agree that it would seem inappropriate to have rides there, because it would take away from the realistic approach they are trying to do in the park. Now for my opinion. Orlando is certainly the City of Theme Parks. But it is even moreso the City of Rides. As a priest, I should have a strong desire to get to this park. But when I only go to Florida every 3-5 years, I am going to head to the parks with rides. If Holy Land Experience wants to get more interest in its park, then they should re-consider their rule of not having rides. Should they add roller coasters and Dumbo-style rides? That probably shouldn’t be their first priority. The Holy Land Experience park prides itself on attention to realistic detail, so dark rides seem the way to go. Just adding one or two would require a serious up-front investment (as well as maintenance), but I think it would pay dividends. They would want to contract the design of the project out to a group like Sally Rides, which specializes in dark rides. We find ourselves at an interesting dilemma: Disney and Universal have shied away from rides with much of a religious focus (other than maybe some sleeping monks in Spaceship Earth) and The Holy Land Experience has steered clear of rides. If The Holy Land Experience took a leap of faith (pun intended), they might find out that there are many people who would be interested in such rides. Being a priest is my calling. It’s a joy and an awesome blessing! Sure there are the difficult days and circumstances, but every vocation has that (and none of us can get away from Covid).
I didn’t enter minor seminary after high school, because I was focused on Civil Engineering. I’ll have a post at some point about how Disneyland and Walt Disney World influenced me to study that. I also desired to be a Disney Imagineer growing up. I really took a personal interest in Imagineering in high school when Disney was going through a phase of building a number of theme parks around the world. Theme parks were really exciting and seemed to be places that brought people a lot of happiness and delight (although I was bit oblivious to the cost!). I wanted to bring themed rides to life. Moved by that desire, I designed a few rides on my own as the pictures here show. I will describe them in future posts. A Christian theme park or ride might sound rather odd. Chances are that you’ve never experienced one yourself. Other entertainment genres, though, have their own Christian versions. For example:
Music—praise and worship, others (like Lifehouse) that are not overtly Christian Movies—Passion of the Christ, The Prince of Egypt, Overcomer, Fireproof TV Shows—The Chosen, Veggie Tales, EWTN There have been a couple of attempts at Christian theme parks. The Holy Land Experience in Orlando operated for many years before closing recently (I could write a whole post on why that failed). Kentucky has the Ark Encounter. The Bible Museum in Washington D.C. is mostly a museum but it has some immersive, multimedia experiences, too. I think there is an untapped demand for high-quality Christian theme parks/attractions. If someone like Disney or Universal doesn’t capitalize on it, other parks like Silver Dollar City or Dollywood or a brand new one could step-in to become the leaders in this niche industry. “Blue Sky” refers to a brainstorming idea without constraints. It’s sometimes called “pie-in-the-sky.”
A Blue Sky concept for Walt Disney World (WDW) I would like to explore is the concept that it would become Bible World—the entire resort themed to different elements of the Christian faith. The parks would be focused on the following themes (obviously there are many details still to be worked out): Magic Kingdom becomes Miraculous Kingdom.
EPCOT becomes the Center for Culture.
Hollywood Studios becomes Heavenly Studios.
Animal Kingdom becomes Creation Kingdom.
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