The Best Ways to Spend Your Dallas Downtime
May 20th, 2009
Whether you’d prefer to spend your Dallas time racing dragsters or touring a Nineteenth Century village, the following guide presents the city’s most entertaining options.
Zero Gravity Thrill Amusement Park
This thrills-only attraction promises “Extreme Rides for Extreme Family Fun!” Of course, they apply the term “family” in a loose and nontraditional sense; kids have to be over 10 to take on the Zero Gravity experience. Rides include the “Nothing but Net,” which is a 16-story, parachute-less freefall onto a waiting net below, the “Texas Blastoff,” which flings patrons into the air for twists and flips, and classic Bungee Jumping. If you’ve got a steely reserve and an iron stomach, this is the amusement park for you.
The Fair Park complex, a National Historic Landmark and treasured bastion of kitsch, is comprised of nine museums, several performance venues, various relics of the annual Texas State Fair, and the Texas Star, which is the largest Ferris wheel in North America. The vicinity is also a prime shopping and dining destination, and the park hosts regular flea markets, antique fairs, and bazaars. Families will especially enjoy the grounds’ multitude of available amusements; the Dallas Aquarium and the Texas Discovery Gardens are among Dallas’ most kid-friendly spots.
The Sixth Floor Museum commemorates both the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the life and times of the man himself. Located on the very floor from which Lee Harvey Oswald presumably shot the President, the museum is a favorite of amateur political historians and conspiracy theorists. Exhibits showcase JFK’s political commitments and incendiary speeches, journalistic records of the tragedy, and home movies of the event. Perhaps the most intriguing holding is the Memory Book, an ever-expanding catalog of visitors’ impressions of the President.
Speedzone’s many motorsports-centered attractions include a family friendly go-cart track, a wild and free-form “slick track,” over 100 assorted video games and simulators, and, most importantly, a 300-horsepower dragster racecourse that enables participants to go from 0 to 70 in about 3 seconds. Participants describe the latter feat as a once in a lifetime experience. Should you tire of driving, the park also offers the “Fireball” Looping Rollercoaster, an innovative six-story thrill ride.
Dallas Heritage Village and Old City Park
Dallas is committed to preserving its strong ties to the Old West past, and Old City Park is its consummate effort. Unlike a standard museum, the Heritage Village presents its holdings as living history. That means that visitors should expect to speak with costumed, funny-accented historians who aim to replicate the social atmosphere of the Nineteenth Century. These knowledgeable guides will lead participants through various frozen-in-time offices and trade outposts, as well as the popular 1860s Living Farmstead.
Cheap rates here on hotels in Dallas, or anywhere, so you can enjoy your downtime even more.
Categories: Destination Guides
