Directors Notes Episode 263 - Hysteria Land

A couple years back, we were on a European tour with a day off in Copenhagen. Our merch manager, Lucia, along with me and Cecil, went to Tivoli Gardens. If you’re ever near Copenhagen, I can’t recommend Tivoli Gardens enough.

It’s an old amusement park, and it’s gorgeous. It’s fun, too, though I’m telling you that from the point of view of someone who doesn’t really do roller coasters. The rides they have there are all pretty tame when compared to say Cedar Point or really any Six Flags. More of a Disneyland vibe in Tivoli, in terms of rides. 

Anyway, one of them was this small alpine-themed coaster that was all-ages. Fun, fast, simple, and not that scary. Anyway, Cecil and I ended up first in line for the next roller coaster car to pull up. We wanted to sit in the front row, so we waited by the marker that indicated that row.

As the cars pulled up, we began to step into our seats, when a 8 or 9 year old British kid ran in front of us shouting to his mother (in a very posh accent): “Mummy, I want to sit in the front row.”

At this moment, Cecil held out his arm, blocking the kid’s path. Cecil said quite firmly: “No. We are sitting in the front row.” And then Cecil stepped into the front row seats and I grabbed my spot next to him. Lucia was going to sit behind us, but she allowed the boy and his mother to sit there.

As the ride began, I heard the boy behind us say, “One day, mummy, I shall sit in the front row. I have always wanted to ride in the front of a roller coaster!”

Afterward, Lucia teased Cecil relentlessly for denying this child his dream, for crushing his hopes. It was very funny thinking of Cecil dashing this kids intentions, but to be fair to Cecil, he wasn’t wrong. There’s a line for a reason. And this kid tried to run around him to get something Cecil wanted. And honestly it’s good for kids (especially boys) to hear “No” every so often. 

I hope this child has had a chance to ride shotgun on a coaster since then. I think about him a lot. He seemed very sweet. 

I didn’t include this child or this scene in this episode, but it was still the inspiration for wanting to create some kind of Night Vale version of Six Flags. It was one of those episodes where the jokes just kind of flowed out, and those kinds of episodes are really really fun. Way more fun than the rides themselves.

Jeffrey Cranor
March 1, 2025

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