3. You do A LOT of walking

Many people aren't particularly keen on walking, or indeed any other form of exercise. But there are few better motivators than racing across Disney's Hollywood Studios, for example, to get to Toy Story Midway Mania before the queues reach unbearable levels. Some theme parks are relatively compact. But many of them are huge. At Epcot, for example, you'll walk some 1.25 milesif you trot around the World Showcase Lagoon from Mexico to Canada. A typical visit also often involves a lot of backtracking and zig-zagging to get from one ride or show to another. Exactly how far do you walk during a typical theme park visit? There are no concrete stats to go on, because every park (and visitor) is different. But here are a couple of Disney-related examples:

• Our friends over at Chip and Co found that they averaged 8.74 miles per day during a visit to Walt Disney World. They maxed out at 10.76 miles at the sprawling Disney's Animal Kingdom.
• The excellent Cheapskate Princess blog reports walking an extraordinary 21 miles in ONE DAY at a Disney park. Even on a less energetic day, the pedometer still registered some 4.5 miles.

So, you can probably expect to walk an average of 5 to 10 miles during a theme park visit. This will help you burn around 500 to 1000 calories, although this is very dependent on your weight and metabolism.

2. Rides help reduce stress

According to clinical psychologist Judy Kurianski, there are a host of mental health benefits for theme park visitors. For those in stressful jobs or personal situations, boarding a ride can provide an important release. Despite the exhilarating, high-tempo experiences offered by many theme park attractions, according to Kurianski they are still perceived by our brains to be "safe" and "predictable" - so riding them becomes therapeutic. Kurianski even suggests that rides can be good for our relationships, by exposing us to "good fear". This helps "cure troubled relationships" because couples seek each other out for protection and comfort.

1. They give us a natural high

That "good fear" has another benefit - it causes our bodies to release adrenalin and endorphins, which give us a natural high - the same kind of natural high that we get from strenuous physical exercise. Again, this can help our overall mental health, if we visit theme parks regularly. In fact, Kurianski's response to many people phoning her radio talk show in New York to discuss problems was simply to say: "Hey, go to a theme park." So there you have it. If you can steer clear of consuming too many burgers and ice creams next time you head to a theme park, you may just come home a little healthier than when you left!