It was too good to be true, but there it was, all in the commercial. Palisades had the rides, Palisades had the fun and in just thirty seconds it was clear that there was no where better to be than this place: Palisades Amusement Park in Palisades, New Jersey.
The commercial aired quite a bit, but for some reason it would crop up whenever my parents were NOT in the room. I’d yell for them to come in. THEY HAD TO SEE THIS! There were rides and a POOL (the world’s largest salt water pool) and all kinds of things to DO!!!! But, alas, by the time they came in to see what all the fuss and shouting was about, the commercial had aired. Gone. Poof. My sister and I could only hope they would see it one day and take the hint: we wanted to go there.
Then one day it happened. I had been sleeping in the back seat of our car when suddenly I was woke up by shouts of “We are here!” We were in a parking lot. A big one. Where were we? I had thought we were going shopping. My sister pointed to the billboard outside the car window. PALISADES AMUSEMENT PARK. It was too good to be true. Our parents saw the commercial! They had taken us on a surprise trip! We couldn’t believe our good luck.
The park is no longer there, and I don’t remember much about that day other than the incredible happiness I felt in that parking lot, my sister getting sick on a ride I coerced her into going on that required two people and some soft icecream with sprinkles on top, but I do remember the theme song, word for word. Do you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVgEP8pOWQ
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