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Father's Day silliness at 'One Flag' park

By Robert Niles
Published: June 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
The kids went all out this morning at Theme Park Insider world headquarters, fashioning "One Flag Amusement Park" from their rooms upstairs.

My tour began with park president Brian and "Pumpkin Princess" Natalie, decked out in her orange dress and wig. They led me to my first ride of the day, "Electric Bullet," where the kids spun me around in Brian's swivel chair while I shot his plastic cap gun at blue star targets they'd taped around his room.

But before I could ride, I had to watch a shot pre-show and safety spiel that the two had recorded on our Flip video camera. Yes, they did warn me to "keep my hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times."

Good kids!

After racking up the high score on Electric Bullet, I was walked over to Natalie's room for the "Fishing" carnival game, where I hooked a pair of AYSO dog tags on my line.

Then, it was into the bathroom for "Spider-Man's Challenge," where I had to cross the room without touching any piece of the web of yarn they'd threaded across the it. I bumped the wall the first time, and Natalie played a warning spiel that they'd recorded on the Flip. The second time through, I made it across, earning the "Congratulations" spiel.

After that, we took a quick break at the snack bar, where they presented me with the "Father's Day Special," peanuts that they fried in sugar on the stove top earlier this morning. Not bad, actually.

My final ride was downstairs, in front of the TV, upon which Brian screened his "Terminator" ride. I sat in another swivel chair, which Brian shook and swayed in synch with the film. ("It's like The Simpsons Ride!" he exclaimed.)

The movie, shot from the Terminator's point of view, offers half a dozen scenes of chasing and shooting at Natalie, who played a different character (in a different costume) in each. In a nice touch, Brian shot the whole thing holding a piece of red plastic over the lens (to match the Terminator's POV).

On my way out of the "park," I was presented with a hand-written sheet of coupons, good for free rides, snacks and meals upon future visits.

"You'll have to come back next year," Brian said, "when we'll be celebrating our first anniversary."

I most certainly will.

Readers' Opinions

From 75.23.173.2 on June 21, 2009 at 5:40 PM
That is ADORABLE!!!! Your kids have great imaginations!!
From Anthony Murphy on June 21, 2009 at 5:49 PM
That sounds so great!
From 98.212.83.236 on June 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
What great imaginations. You are one lucky dad..they put a lot of effort into that too!
From rick stevens on June 21, 2009 at 7:24 PM
Your kids are really creative. Sounds like you had a great Father's Day. I always love the homemade gifts far more than the storebought ones. From one father to another, Happy Dad's Day!
From Brandon S on June 21, 2009 at 7:49 PM
That is so cool that your kids came up with that. You have some great kids it sounds like.
From Wok Creative on June 21, 2009 at 10:57 PM
That sounds great! Very creative thinking and a lot of work put into it. The sugar peanuts sound good, too.
Seems it was a very Happy Father's Day at your house!
From James Rao on June 22, 2009 at 3:22 AM
Thanks for sharing your Father's Day fun, Robert. Your family is amazing. It is days like yours that make us fathers realize that, yes, it is all worth it in the end.
From Amanda Jenkins on June 22, 2009 at 6:57 AM
How sweet!!! As a teacher, I am very, very, very impressed with their creativity and imagination. I know how proud and touched you must have been with your "park" day.
From Joshua Counsil on June 22, 2009 at 7:11 AM
If you took any video footage of the day, they should preview it to theme park employees during training to show them the meaning of dedication.

I'm surprised you rode the simulator so late in the day. The lines must have been terrible.

From Robert Niles on June 22, 2009 at 9:57 AM
"One Flag" doesn't do much marketing, so the park was pretty empty that day, to be honest.

But, yeah, I had to tell 'em to turn down the simulator a notch, after eating the sugared peanuts. Plus, I didn't want to break my chair. ;-)

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