Tips visiting a Theme park

Tips and assistance visiting an Amusement Park

Australian Coaster Club would like to promote to all its guests to live an active and healthy lifestyle. We recommend that you eat a healthy diet, exercise and limit the late nights. Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption and avoid smoking; try to quit. Always wear a hat, t-shirt, sunscreen and sunglasses when outdoors.

Have you ever wondered why? You get home from an amusement park exhausted, tired and feeling sick; Unfortunately factors that are out of our control such as noise and crowds can have an effect your day. Fortunately good Amusement Parks and theme parks work hard to reduce the effect on there park patrons through services such as: fast lane systems, shaded areas, information on their brochures and website which will assist you with your visit.

We sure don’t want to tell you what do, but I can assure you every tip and advice I give; I have made similar mistakes and know it has definitely affected some of my visits at amusement parks. Remember we are only human we do make mistakes and if something happens that effects your day just see it as a lesson and learnt and don’t get down about it.

Plan your day

My suggestion is to get on the amusement park’s website; if you don’t have access to the internet contact the park and ask for a brochure to be posted, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. What you find on their website or inside their brochures they have information to assist your planning. So read as much as you can.

Always Plan your visit when the park is not busy, try and avoid weekends and public holidays. If you cannot, look at ways you can move around the park avoiding crowds the best you can. Have a plan so you can get through the park easy and get in the attractions that you wish to do with less hassle and stress.

TIP

Before your day begins; look at the brochure and work out which ride or attraction has the slowest line then participate in that attraction first, avoiding longer wait times later on.

I have found on my visits to good amusement parks; they always seem to get the high capacity (amount of people that can fit on a ride) rides queue move quicker, rides with lower capacity; which cause queues to move slower I will get them done first unless it’s your favourite ride and that is what you are there for.

Another thing you can do is start from the back and work your way forward as most crowds tend to congregate at the attractions near the front gate when the park open.

Plan where you are going to eat and what time; avoid normal meal times, as restaurants become crowded between 12.00 – 2.00 pm; For example have your lunch around 11.00pm and afternoon tea around 3.00pm.

Buy your tickets before the day; avoid lining up at a ticket box as this could slow you up. Look for any discounts you may get on park tickets through promotions on other products or newspapers etc. Become a season ticket holder and you usually get discounts for season ticket holders.

Tip

If the park offers a fast lane pass or other queue system; use this system they do cost but will make your day so much easier. These give you the advantage of not lining up

Organise to have enough money for the day prior to your visit and get some change for lockers, you don’t want to turn up and run around all the park shops looking for change, they might not have it.  Plan a meeting point if you or someone in your party gets lost from the group, they will know where to wait. I’d search for a nice shady spot where you can meet up. It’s important to charge your mobile phone; if on a pre paid phone put some credit into your phone, so you can contact someone if you get lost from your group.

Look at the safety requirement for each attraction, some rides in particular rollercoaster’s have a seat out the front of the queue line for you to see if you can fit on that ride. It is quite embarrassing to be asked to leave a ride because you are carrying weight and can’t fit into the seat; having been through that experience myself; it isn’t a nice feeling.

If possible avoid driving to the park use any shuttle bus or public transport as driving can be stressful. If you have to drive put petrol into your car the day before and make sure you know how to get there, use a street directory or visit websites such as: Where is and MapQuest.

Try to eat healthy food the days leading up to your park visit and drink plenty of water because you likely to have something at the park that is less nutritious.

Make sure you see a weather report for the day you are going to visit, so you dress appropriately; have your clothes ready for the day.

On the day:

Get up early to give yourself enough time to have breakfast and get ready to go and arrive at the park 20-30 minutes prior to opening. Have a good healthy breakfast, start drinking water; people should be drinking at least two litres of water, but you be walking around the park all day and possibly need to drink more water.

Wear comfortable shoes, but don’t wear new shoes unless you like pain. Ladies heels are attractive but they’re not suited for an amusement/theme park wear flat shoes. Choose comfortable clothes, as you will be standing and walking for up to 7-8 hours. Always wear a hat! Apply sunscreen and re-apply every two hours. You know all the risks in being sunburnt.

When the park opens get a locker first, as later in the day there might not be any lockers available and some rides require you put your personal stuff in lockers before you ride.

It’s now time to put your plan into action so good luck!!

Tip

Don’t rush you could do yourself an injury, or you could injure someone else. I can guarantee that most people in the park would not have a plan so you have more advantage than they would, avoid crowds.

Motion sickness

Motion sickness happens in the inner ear through a series of canals called the semi circle canals. Within these canals is fluid and when we move around, so does the fluid. This fluid sends message through the vestibular nerve to the brain telling it: how far, fast and direction we are heading in. Normally through these semi circle canals our eyes and other areas of the body our brain will detect the motion and helps us relax but sometimes on a boat, fast moving car, or a spinning amusement park ride our eyes are looking straight, but the body is moving in another direction and it sends conflicting messages to the brain. These conflicting message travels through an area called the postrema which is close to the area responsible for vomiting.

How to prevent motion sickness?

Unfortunately some people suffer more than others and one of the factors surrounding motion sickness is anxiety. The thought of tackling that big rollercoaster already starts giving our brain a conflicting message; people will start to feel sick because they can relate it to a previous situation the might have caused them motion sickness.

So if somebody in your group doesn’t feel well, or even scared to go on an attraction, we must not force them nor encourage them to ride.to reduce this feeling of motion sickness, it’s important to have a good night sleep the night before.

To reduce the chance of  vomiting have lighter meals and smaller meals throughout the day, have a good breakfast, but a few hours earlier prior to visiting the park. It is recommended, not to eat greasy food, or drink alcohol or have fizzy drinks. Visit your local GP or medical Centre and see if there is any medication that may assist for your motion sickness.

When on a ride follow the instructions given by the operator and observe signs on how to position yourself and never turn, or try to turn your head to the side. Always look forward.

What to do if Motion sickness occurs?

Relax and be calm. You may want to lie down flat so it can settle the fluids in your inner ear. Try not to concentrate too hard through your eyes. Once some of symptoms have calmed down have a light meal. Avoid riding any other attractions until you sure the symptoms have subsided. If you vomit make sure you drink water as you become dehydrated. If you are really not well, go to the Park s first aid office and get assistance and seek further medical help.

So I hope these tips and ideas will come to some use.