I recently visited a very popular and huge theme park down south a few hours from where I live.
It’s the middle of summer, so it’s theme park season for sure, but it was particularly hot and humid when we took our trip down there.
High temperatures in the afternoons would reach into the ’90s, and evenings what scarcely did below 80°. As we toured the park I took an interest in all of the different kinds of climate control options that the park used to accommodate guests. I was curious because I will be going to school very soon to become an HVAC technician. The first thing I noticed is structures strategically placed at regular intervals throughout the park that offered shade. Nearly all of these areas also had fans and mist machines. You’ve probably seen these fan and mist machine combinations if you’ve ever been to theme parks in the summer. It’s a very effective way of cooling off customers as they explore the park. I also started to realize that water themed attractions may very well be a necessity rather than merely an option that offers variety. Theme park designers kill two birds with one stone by cooling off customers while simultaneously thrilling them with an enjoyable experience. Of course, having bathrooms and water fountains at regular intervals was also very helpful. This is all very nice, but of course one of the greatest allures to taking a break to catch lunch or dinner is definitely the fact that the restaurants are nearly all air conditioned, and the air conditioner is designed to be particularly powerful and refreshing!