The 4th of July is upon us, and if your parents were like mine, you went to the amusement park on America’s Birthday. I remember sweaty, un-air conditioned station wagon rides to Hershey Park, Dorney Park and Great Adventure (if you called it Six Flags, you were not from New Jersey). Occasionally, the amusement parks tried to kill us, as anyone with Action Park Alpine Slide scars can attest, but for the most part, we had a good time.

Once, I convinced my Mom to ride the log flume with me at Great Adventure. Her scream of “Shiiiiiiiiiit!” as the ride descended put Butch and Sundance to shame. The best part of that log flume ride was standing on the bridge in front of it. The wave of water emanating from the ride splashing down was so powerful it knocked girls out of their halter tops and bathing suit bras. A neighbor of mine lost BOTH parts of her bathing suit, rendering her butt ass naked and very popular. I can still see her crack as she ran off to find cover.

Reminiscing about log flume induced nekkid butt led me to ask “does anyone ever have a good experience at amusement parks in the movies?” That led to this list of 10 movies with scenes at an amusement park. Decide for yourself if a good time is had by all, and have a great 4th of July.

10.) National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)



The quintessential family car trip movie. The Griswolds pack themselves into the Wagon Queen Family Truckster for a cross country trip to Wally World. After suffering one mishap after another, the Griswolds arrive at their destination only to discover that it’s closed. In fury, Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold character punches the talking Wally World mascot statue in the face, something most fathers want to do to Mickey Mouse when they see how much admission to Disney World costs. The Griswolds do get to ride the rides, though, and a happy ending was had by all, except yours truly. I hated almost every minute of this movie.

9.) Escape From Tomorrow (2013)

Speaking of fathers going crazy at Disney World, here’s a movie about exactly that. Shot guerilla style in the Happiest Place on Earth, Escape was a hit at Sundance and shown at this year’s EbertFest. It will make you look twice at anybody pointing a camera at an amusement park. Are they secretly recording their own guerilla movie? The world may never know.

8.) Jurassic Park (1993)

Even if you had never seen Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel, would you really have gone to Jurassic Park? Regular animals escape from the drive-through safari all the time, so do you want to risk that with velociraptors and T-rexes? Unless Fred Flintstone was sliding down the backs of these dinosaurs, I wouldn’t be caught within 100 miles of this place. Hell, even Sam Jackson, who survived Snakes on a Plane, was no match for the attractions at Jurassic Park. What was their slogan? “Come for the rides, stay to get eaten?”

7.) Escape from L.A. (1997)

This is kind of a cheat. Snake Plissken doesn’t go to any amusement parks, but this Paramount release gives us a shot of Universal Studios Hollywood under water. I bet the wave that hit it knocked off somebody’s bra and panties. I was disappointed in 1997 when New York City didn’t turn into a maximum security prison as Escape from New York predicted. Escape from L.A. takes place in 2013, and the year’s not done yet. Based on this film’s ending, all I can say to that is: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

6.) Despicable Me (2010)

Supervillain Gru, about to be seen in the sequel to this film, finally warms to the three charges he “adopted” when he takes them to an amusement park. Assisting in Gru’s icy heart melting are a 3D rollercoaster ride, a catchy Pharrell Williams song and the ultimate revenge on those rigged games of skill. I love the moment when Agnes looks at the stuffed animal Gru has won for her and says “it’s so fluffy! I’m gonna die!!”

5.) Bebe’s Kids (1992)

Robin Harris’ classic comedy routine about bad ghetto kids at Disney World gets a toothless, though intermittently funny cartoon rendering. Featuring Faison Love standing in for the deceased Harris, and Tone Loc as a baby, Bebe’s Kids changes the location while making the amusement park itself more terrifying than anything in Harris’ routine. I remember two things about this movie: there’s an animatronic Abe Lincoln, and the MPAA inexplicably rated this PG-13. In my review, I half-jokingly said Bebe’s Kids “is rated PG-13 for Blackness.”

4.) Strangers on a Train (1951)



I guess technically this is a carnival, but I’ll include it because Hitchcock stages one of his most memorable murders at the site. As she is strangled, the victim is reflected in her fallen glasses. Later, the climax of the film takes place on a runaway carousel, where Robert Walker and Farley Granger fight over that unfortunate misunderstanding about murdering each other’s least favorite people. This is certainly the most dangerous, and most violent, park experience on this list. Brian DePalma pays sort of homage to Hitch’s amusement park ride carnage in The Fury.

3.) Hairspray (1988)

Leave it to John Waters to stage a race riot at an amusement park. To his credit, he plays it straight, not for laughs. Shot at Dorney Park, Hairspray’s Corny Collins Show outing turns ugly when Tracy Turnblad, that troublemaking hair-hopper, attempts to integrate the show. Waters chooses the scene where his lead male gets kneecapped to give the actor his “Joan Crawford moment.” On the DVD commentary, Waters tells us the pocketbook-swinging extra “really was hitting people…HARD.” She obviously was a method actor.

2.) The Warriors (1979)



Walter Hill’s 1979 classic caused riots when it was released, leading a panicked NYC to demand the removal of all advertisements on the subway. Radio DJ Lynne Thigpen serves as our Greek chorus as the titular gang attempts to make it back to their home turf at Coney Island. When they get there, they find some loony fool with bottles on his fingers uttering one of the most memorable movie lines of my generation. And these guys think they had a hard time? The last time I went to Coney Island, someone peed on a ride and all of us got splattered. That was two years before The Warriors came out. As unforgettable as The Warriors’ journey is, I think my spinning journey through piss trumps it.

1.) Adventureland (2009)



The movie that proved Kristen Stewart can act takes place in 1987, a pivotal year for me. I was 17, and Greg Mottola’s film successfully captures that melancholy feeling I felt back then. Jesse Eisenberg’s place of employment reminded me of the aforementioned Action Park, where I saw young adults go through the paces of worthless employment. Of course, nobody ever caught fire at Adventureland. My cousin burst into flames at Action Park, and I vividly remember a teenage kid not unlike Eisenberg’s character nonchalantly putting her out with a fire extinguisher. He acted as if it happened all the time, that it was business as usual, a feeling Adventureland perfectly captures.