The Art of Attractions: The Park ‘N’ Wrestling Connection
I love professional wrestling. There, I said it.
Combing the UHF airwaves as a youngster in the 1960s, I discovered the squared circle and was hooked. As with theme parks, rock music, silly movies, Italian ice, and other childhood fascinations, I never lost my passion for wrestling’s peculiar pageantry and its curious blend of athletic competition with way-over-the-top showmanship. Call it a severe case of arrested development, but I suspect I’ll be watching spandexed competitors fly around the ring and pretend to brutalize one another well into my golden years (much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife).
There is a fair amount of crossover among my fellow wrestling and park fans. Call it the “park ‘n’ wrestling connection,” a play on words of the “rock ‘n’ wrestling connection” that capitalized on the popularity of Cyndi Lauper and MTV in the 1980s and catapulted the pseudo-sport into a cultural phenomenon. There are even a number of wrestlers, such as Cody Rhodes, one of the principals of the red-hot All Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion, that are die-hard park fans.
One of the most noteworthy combatants who craves coasters is Mick Foley. Now retired, he is a pro wrestling legend who performed as Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love. Foley’s brutal style resulted in death-defying acts of near-insanity, a barrage of broken bones, and some of sports entertainment’s most ultra-violent matches.
The hardcore hero has a particular soft spot for Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. Foley remembers, with vivid detail, visiting the park in the early 1960s. He returned as an adult with his family and was struck by how well-preserved and captivating the charming Christmas-themed park was. He continued to visit, including a solitary jaunt, during which he trudged through the snow at the shuttered park.
“My wife thought I was nuts,” Foley laughs as he recalled the mid-winter adventure.
“We have many loyal fans,” says second-generation owner Elaine Gainer, “but nobody besides Mick has ever come here to wander around in the offseason.” Nonetheless, she understands his affection for Santa’s Village. “It is like coming home,” Gainer says. “For people like Mick who romanticize about their childhood, it’s important that we give them the opportunity to reminisce.”
Foley agrees and sees parallels between theme parks and wrestling. “I think a lot of adults enjoy wrestling because they have fond memories of watching it as a kid. Like Santa’s Village, it brings them back to a place of innocence.”
As you do your capital planning, remember the mystique of parks, especially ones that have endured for generations. Yes, it’s important to invest in the latest, greatest attractions, but it’s also critical to retain and celebrate connections to your past.
I’ll see you at the parks. I’ll be the one in search of Italian ice and imploring you to have a nice day.
A lifelong park fanatic, Arthur Levine has been writing newspaper and magazine travel features about the industry he loves since 1992. He’s been the Theme Parks Expert at TripSavvy.com (formerly About.com) since 2002, and is a regular contributor for USA Today.
