Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! It is a day to celebrate love of all people, especially the ones closest to you in your life. Some may say that it’s a huge racket by the greeting card companies, and that could be true, but we hear at BTT do have a special spot in our heart for the holiday. Love is all around Behind the Thrills and really the motivating factor for what we do with the site.
There is something about theme parks that does lure people to fall in love. Maybe it’s the fantasy of being swept away by your Prince Charming in front of a castle, becoming a super hero and saving the day, or maybe it’s simply taking in the beauty of nature as you gaze into someone’s eyes for the first time. It is no surprise that theme parks are one of the top places that people pop the question. It’s something out of the ordinary, there are usually some great ways to do it, and a lot of times parks will go out of their way to help.
Ways we’ve heard people have popped the question:
- At Disney World, Jack Sparrow came walking by and had the bride to be go on a “treasure hunt” with him to find her man on one knee ring in hand.
- Universal Orlando-Blue Man Group has a huge finale with touching music and the Blue Men in glowing face. In the middle of the performance a Blue Man grabs the woman while another places the man behind her only to have her turn around and have him holding the ring.
- On the holding brake on Sheikra-Can you imagine? ::In a rushed voice pointing down::: “Will you marry me?” “YEESSSSSSSSSAHHHHHHH!!!!” We heard it was much more romantic than that.
- In front of Cinderella’s Castle during Wishes
- During the Finale of Illuminations
- On top of the Contemporary resort during Wishes
- Surrounded by members of the Chainsaw Drill Team during Halloween Horror Nights-kind of hard to say no to that.
Before I had said that love is the reason that we do Behind The Thrills, and while yes we love theme parks, more importantly we love each other. As most may know, the shadowy duo in our logo is myself and my wife Racheal. We are the husband and wife team of Behind The Thrills. This website is the culmination of our love of theme parks and our love for each other. And yes, I did pop the question in a theme park. It was Feb. 5th 2009 and we had just finished dinner at the California Grill on top of the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Maybe it was the way that the fireworks made her incredible eyes sparkle, or maybe it was just the magic of the whole evening, or perhaps the chefs had slipped something extra in my chicken. Whatever it was, I dropped to one knee under the fireworks on top of the hotel and asked her to marry me. The answer was an immediate yes with tears rolling down her cheek. It was quite possibly the most magical moment of my life. It’s something that we still try to live today as we write about parks, go to parks and love each other. It’s love.
But don’t think that it’s just for getting married! That’s just one way theme parks can be romantic. Disney makes a great romantic date, Universal makes for a great first date, and nothing says love like Shamu!
