Throughout my years (and there have been plenty of them, trust me), visiting Theme Parks no matter what time of year has been up my proverbial street. They're exhilarating, joyful, and downright fun. Add in the unique theming each one provides, and it's a perfect mix of happiness for this lady. But is there a time when you must cash it in and say goodbye to the rides, laughs, and neon lights? Nope. Here's why I'll never be too old for theme parks.

My Age Progression With Theme Parks

In my younger years, visiting a theme park was about how many rides I could hop onto in one visit. I, along with my riding buddy, would zip from kiddie ride to kiddie ride, enjoying the delightful sounds and pleasant vibes (and maybe a tiny thrill or two) they'd always give. I remember my older sister (six years older than I am) being tall enough — and brave enough — to tackle some of the more intense rides with a pang of envy.

She'd hop on the Gravitron, and I'd stand with my mother, trying to fix my focus on her as she spun while tilting high in the air at a dizzying rate — while my next ride would be the Tilt-a-Whirl where my father would yell out, “Lean!” dozens of times per ride so we got the maximum spin. Fun, yes, but not the level of thrill I was seeking.

My next level of theme park evolution was when I was tall and old enough to get on the big rides. I remember that scared-but-happy-but-terrified feeling like it was yesterday. I was heading to our local theme park with the high school marching band for the day (I played first part clarinet, thank you very much!) and already had my ride buddy locked down. She'd been on the big rides plenty of times, but I was a complete newbie.

My first ride was the Kennywood Racer, a roller coaster with tandem tracks that raced each other to be the first train back. Back in the '80s, it had very thin seat belts (which I thought were leather for some reason), and as we flew down the first hill, I felt myself come up out of my seat a bit. I loved everything about that ride so much that it fueled my passion for theme parks.

Family Theme Parks and Twenty-Something, Childless, Married Couple Fun

In theme park speak, I've been called a “Disneyphile” more times than I can count. If you have yet to read the term, it's someone who lives, eats, and breathes all things Disney. And while some may take that negatively, I enjoy having the word associated with me.

When planning a wedding, some couples choose their honeymoon destination based on beaches or beautiful scenery.

When locking down a location with my ex-husband, I had my sights set on Walt Disney World. As a child, I remember seeing the commercials and the magical images of both children and adults and prioritizing the destination on my travel bucket list, even in my 20s. He happily agreed, so off to Orlando we flew.

And it was magical, even if we didn't ride any rides. I didn't have the pleasure of visiting as a child so that specific level of magic — where princesses were real and Mickey and Minnie Mouse lived on the t.v. — I did miss out on. But I was still enthralled by the immersiveness each park offered and barely slept because I didn't want to miss a moment of theme park fun. Simply walking around, trying out its restaurants, and watching the nighttime shows was reason enough for me to be incandescently happy.

We did ride several attractions, though. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was my first Disney roller coaster, immediately followed by Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom. When we arrived home, I promised myself I'd take my family there one day.

Hello, Walt Disney World and My Thirties

And I did, although many years later and, by then, in my 30s. Between visits, a new park had opened (hello, Animal Kingdom!), new resorts had been open for guests staying onsite, and countless restaurants to delight our palettes, giving me even more reason to visit like it was my first time. With a new husband in tow and two daughters anxiously counting down every mile from Ohio to Florida, I couldn't wait to share my love of the parks with them.

A few months after arriving home from another Disney trip to the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” I entered a contest from a family travel website on a whim. They offered a small Amazon gift card in exchange for honest Walt Disney World attraction reviews. By then, I was well experienced with the parks, so it was a no-brainer option to write a few lines and get some Amazon cash. Those honest reviews allowed me to put my almost-forgotten “Creative Writing” class in college to good use, and I was offered a role with the company as a family travel writer.

With a new role and a will to share knowledge of theme parks and travel, I had an even bigger hunger for visiting theme parks. I began to travel almost nonstop and gave up substituting at local elementary schools in exchange for assignments. By then, I was nearly 40 years old, and compliments of still having a taste for travel and a love for excitement, I began a travel website. Sand and Snow features everything from family travel to couples' vacations and girls' getaways. And, yes, there's plenty of theme park content, too.

Hello, Fifties!

Last year, I thought hitting my sixth decade would be rough, but honestly, I didn't feel any different than the day before when I was in my forties. And that year, by summer, I had visited nine theme parks during the spring season. My daughter and I went everywhere from (of course) all four Walt Disney World parks to Universal Orlando theme parks, Hersheypark, Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, and Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, to preview what was new, fun, and noteworthy.

In this decade, I have noticed a waning in thrill rides for me and a return to simply enjoying the theme park vibe. I'm all about good food, creative festivals, and holiday-themed weekends (if you love Halloween, Cedar Point's HalloWeekends is undeniably my favorite haunt) as opposed to feeling my facial skin tighten as I zoom down a coaster hill or feeling my eyes water from high spinning attractions.

I've reverted to enjoying the moments in an amusement park and not looking for a thrill to make my day. And you know what? I'm not mad in the least. I'll happily watch my now-college-graduated daughter take the thrill ride reigns from me and hold her bag until I spy her in an exit queue. I'll sit and watch the shows and musicals a park provides in exchange for waiting in a ride queue for an hour.

And I'll love every minute of it. Will I continue to visit theme parks when I’m well into my seventies and eighties? There's no doubt you'll find me there, quad cane and all.