Brooklyn Bridge Park Opens

A part of it, anyway. A very dense, sectionalized, kid-oriented part. Swing Valley (lots of swings), Slide Mountain (lots of slides) and a water park or sorts. Reminds me of a theme park, like Six Flags. Actually, reminds me exactly of Six Flags, as I recall it as a teenager. But it's hard to knock the place, since the kids obviously love it so. An instant hit with the parental set. "This is brilliant," said a Brit mom.

All the sections feature the most cushiony terrain I've ever encountered in a park. It's like walking on a sponge. Slide Mountain feature three elaborate slides and a couple web-like balls the kids can climb in and out of. Many tots loaded their fists and shirts with sand and cast the grains on the slide before they descended, to increase their speed. The sand did the trick, though it also lent a bit of a burn to the trip.

The water park was an interesting scene. There weren't just fountains and pools, but all sorts of chutes and mills and fancy, shiny renditions of medieval mechanisms. The park succeeded in getting the youngsters to slog away like 19th century laborers—and love it! See the two boys below, pumping their legs happily to keep the water mill running. Tell them what they were doing was work, and they'd stop in a moment.

More pictures below: