Sunday Special: The Enduring Power of Amusement Parks

About this episode

<p>Amusement parks are enduring vacation destinations for American families. The rides, the long lines for rides, the concessions, the long lines for concessions — these are practically familial rites of passage. Theme parks are also enormous moneymakers, with industry leaders such as Disney and Universal earning billions of dollars each year from their parks.</p><p>In this episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with Brooks Barnes, who writes about show business (including theme parks), and Mekado Murphy, a film editor and thrill-seeker who reports on roller coasters. They talk about the state of the contemporary amusement park and the ups and downs of roller coasters around the world.</p><p>On Today’s Episode:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/mekado-murphy" target="_blank"><strong>Mekado Murphy</strong></a> is the assistant film editor for The New York Times, and its unofficial roller coaster correspondent.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/brooks-barnes" target="_blank"><strong>Brooks Barnes</strong></a> covers Hollywood for The New York Times.</p><p>Background Reading:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/travel/universal-epic-universe-orlando-rides.html" target="_blank">Riding Your Way Through Epic Universe</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/movies/nightmare-alley-childhood-carnival.html" target="_blank">See the Real Live Man Who Grew Up in a Carnival</a></p><p>Photo: Business Wire/Associated Press</p><p> </p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>