Are amusement parks good places to perform magic to strangers?

[The VIP Gentleman]

I mean logically, it would make sense:
-People in amusement parks are usually not in a hurry at all
-They are there to have fun, after all
-There are a lot of people to perform for
-You would probably gather a crowd of interested people by just performing for a few people

Of course, that’s logically speaking. Does anyone know if it’s actually a good place?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

The only thing I'd worry about is that the owners may not want you performing there.

When someone gets a ticket to go to an amusement park, they're going for entertainment. If entertainment shows up, they assume it's associated with the park itself. Then if you do something stupid/dangerous/off brand for the park, it could be a problem for the company that owns the park.

You have two ways you can approach that - forgiveness or permission. Asking permission is more professional but they can say no. Asking forgiveness means you definitely get to do at least a little performing, but you may also get in trouble.

 

[CWhite]

As a frequent visitor to the Disney parks, I can honestly say that even though it's a vacation, people are on the move quickly. Granted the Disney parks are Mega amusement parks.
The crowds, the heat and the hustle'n'bustle of getting to the next attraction would make it difficult to keep anyone's attention. Aside from doing something far out, which brings me to @ChristopherT point of getting in trouble.

 

[The VIP Gentleman]

Well, I know of an amusement park here in Denmark. It’s called “Bakken” (roughly translates to “the hill”, I think, and it’s apparently the worlds oldest open amusement park). There is free entrance (you can straight up walk in there, but you have to pay for using Rollercoasters and stuff), and as far as I know, it’s not really “owned” by anybody specifically (I think it’s community owned).

Would that be a good place, considering everything else?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Brief research tells me it's essentially a collection of business ("tent") owners that run all the booths and rides. So it does seem like a public space, and they do have performers there. That could be a good option, yeah.

 

[obrienmagic]

Having worked at an amusement park for 10 years of my life i can definately agree with what @ChristopherT has said. 99.9% of the time they will not want you to perform there at all unless you are under contract with them.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

In my opinion, it depends. I've found that doing some street magic is often appreciated by strangers around you in a long line. It's so boring that they'll likely be more welcome to the idea. Just my experience. I'd agree with the others for everything else though.

 

[obrienmagic]

Casually doing some tricks while waiting in line is fine i think. The issue is when you start approaching people as they are eating or walking by and asking them to stop and watch you. Especially if you take tips. A great way to get kicked out of the park lol. If you are just casually hanging out and showing people magic every so often it shouldnt be an issue. I would not target amusement parks specifically as a place to go out and be performing all thrxe time though. Pretty much any private property location will have similar issues.

Would be like performing at a bar. If i am sitting at the bar having some drinks and casually showing people magic it more than likely isnt an issue. I would ill advise going into a pub and tablehopping though. See the difference?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

That's what I was trying to get at, Michael. If you're just doing a quick trick or two for folks in line with you, sure. If you're approaching people to perform to, then you may be seen as a employee of the park, and that's a problem (unless you are an employee, of course). This can cause liability issues with the park owners and they're not going to like that at all.

The park @The VIP Gentleman is talking about is different to the ones in the US, though. More like a ... farmer's market of amusement? so to speak.

 

[Lord Magic]

I think that comparatively, just a normal ride-less park (you know, the one where the most exciting things are the benches kept there and nothing else?). Seems more casual-amazing-magicky to me...