WHY THEME PARK TRAVEL CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

There’s always something heavy in the news these days. The weight OF IT finds a way to sit on our shoulders. Climate worries, conflicts, rising prices, uncertainty about the future… it all creates this idea that the world is a bit too much right now and yet, I’m strangely optimistic.

Not because the problems are small but because every time I visit a theme park, every time I travel to a new place, every time I see people from all walks of life queuing for the same ride… I’m reminded of something powerful:

Theme parks show us who we are when we choose joy.

They are these rare places where labels fall away. Standing in line for a coaster, no one cares about your politics, nationality, accent, identity, or background. You’re just a person waiting for your turn to scream your lungs out and somehow, that simple moment brings people closer than most things ever could.

A Global Community Connected by Coasters

Technology has made the world smaller but theme park communities make it feel closer. We swap tips with people in Missouri about Dollywood. We rave about the latest Disneyland rides with friends in California we’ve never actually met. We message someone in Florida asking where to find the best Halloween snacks. We watch POVs from Japan, cry at fireworks in Paris, and celebrate new coasters everywhere from Tennessee to the Netherlands. Theme park fans are already living in a global village  one where the language is excitement.

Travel Makes It Real

It’s one thing to scroll through photos of Silver Dollar City.
It’s another to stand there yourself, hearing the bluegrass echo through the mountains.

It’s one thing to watch a vlog of Dollywood.
It’s another to walk through Craftsman’s Valley and feel that unmistakable warmth in every detail.

It’s one thing to dream of Halloween in Florida.
It’s another to actually be there, shoulder to shoulder with strangers who are just as thrilled, or terrified, as you.

When you travel to theme parks abroad, something shifts. People stop being “those over there” and start being “the family who kept laughing through the rain,” “the cast member who made your day,” “the stranger who traded their place in line just to make your kid smile.”

Theme parks put a face to the world and once you’ve seen those faces, you can’t un see their humanity.

We Are More Alike Than We Think

Sure, cultures differ. Parks differ. Food differs (sometimes for the better, sometimes… questionable).
But the heart of it, the joy, is universal. Whether you’re in the Efteling, Disney California Adventure, Dollywood, Europa-Park, or Magic Kingdom:

Everyone wants the same things.
To feel safe.
To laugh.
To forget the world for a moment.
To share something magical with the people they love.
To be reminded that life is bigger than the headlines.

Theme parks don’t just show our differences, they show our sameness.

And That’s Why Theme Park Travel Matters

No, traveling the world won’t fix global warming. It won’t stop wars. It won’t make waiting times shorter (sadly).
And it definitely won’t serve your breakfast in bed — unless you’re staying at a Disney hotel, then maybe. But it can do something quieter and just as important:

It can soften the walls between us.
It can make strangers feel familiar.
It can turn fear into curiosity.
It can remind us that joy is a universal language.

And perhaps most importantly, it can inspire the next generation. They’re already choosing connection over division and together, we can solve any problem.

So yes — I believe theme park travel can change the world.

Not by solving the big things, but by changing the small things inside us. When we stand together in the dark before a launch. When fireworks light the sky above strangers who suddenly feel like friends. When we all scream, laugh, or cry at the same moment.

Theme parks remind us: We either experience this world together, or not at all.

To quote Maya Angelou, because she said it best: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”

And if there is any place where the world feels like it could become friends, it’s in a theme park queue.

With Love,

Jolanda