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After I read about the proposal to bring Jazzland back to the New Orleans area, I won’t lie, I was super excited.
Who doesn’t like amusement parks? Roller coasters, cotton candy, and no clowns (they are for circuses and of the devil). As the summer months approach, I start about all the things I used to love doing as a kid during the break from school. Amusement parks were definitely #1 on the list, followed by beach vacations, swimming pools, cold movie theaters and spending weeks at a time at my friends’ homes.
As I ruminate on all these memories, I realized something pretty significant. Why doesn’t New Orleans have a water park? I mean, why do I have to drive to Baton Rouge, pay an arm and a leg for day passes, all so I can wait an hour in line for a slide that I can go down in 10 seconds? It just seems pretty crazy that no one is bothered by this.
Also, considering how ungodly hot it is in this town during the summer months, I am surprised that some smart businessperson or the city hasn’t thought about making one available to the overheated citizens of New Orleans. I’m aware of some ways people stay cool during the summer months with things like public pools at places like The Country Club in the Bywater (you can’t exactly bring the kids here) or paying for a hotel room just to use the pool (Who am I? Paris Hilton? We’re living on a budget here!). But why can’t we just have a fun place to head on the weekends with our friends and families that is close to home and filled with slides, rides and inner tubes?
If you’re broke and busy like I am, you can’t just jet off to the beach every weekend. Personally, I wouldn’t mind paying $40 for a day of fun in my own city. If they are going to re-open Jazzland, I wish they would consider implementing a water park for the city. So often, I have friends visiting or restaurant customers asking me what they can do with their children in this town, to which my reply is usually “Umm, leave them in the hotel and hope they’re there when you get back from Frenchmen?” They don’t usually get the joke but it is a real point of
frustration for parents.
I love New Orleans but if you’re not a drinker, gambler or fisher, it can be hard to find fun for the whole family in the city. In addition, the summertime is the slowest time for businesses in the city because no one wants to visit when it feels like the 6th circle of hell outside. Having a water park would make people from all over the South feel excited to come and visit the Big Easy, and help to boost restaurants, hotels and transportation businesses.
Plus, I could work on my tan which is something I really think the city should consider.
Would you like for New Orleans to have it’s own water park? Let us know in our Comments Section! Have better ideas for keeping cool in the summer, let us hear it!
