Making the Most Out of You and Your Family's Theme Park Experience

I took a trip to a large theme this past weekend and while sitting on a bench, waiting for my children to finish on their roller coaster ride, I pulled out a pen and paper and started writing. I notated all of the items required for one to have the best experience possible at the theme park. The weather was over 100 degrees and I thought I would roast in the sun, but do not count it at all odd. This is what I do. I do it to make life easier for my readers.

Improve your experience and make the most out of your theme park visit when you plan to attend for the day.

Here are some suggestions:

~Never go to the park without bringing some type of discount. Coupons are one way to get a discount. You can get coupons to the theme park by obtaining them at your local fast food restaurants or by Googling them to get additional information. One should always be able to obtain coupons but if for some reason there are no coupons available, check into a possible corporate discount. This is only if you work for a large corporation, that you can use this alternative in lieu of coupons. Most of the time, you will only need to show your corporate identification at the entrance.

~Bring water, lots of it. The theme park that we went to, allowed us to bring in water but not food. Check the rules and regulations online or by calling in advance. Be prepared and don't allow for any surprises at the entrance of the park.

~Bring sunglasses for yourself and hats for you and the children, assuming it is hot.

~Bring aspirin/Tylenol/Motrin your choice of medication. The previous year, my son caught a migraine and I had to buy medicine in the park. I paid the price for a 2-pack of medication that I would have spent buying the whole bottle, if I were not at the park.

~Bring suntan lotion and mosquito repellent.

~Bring a designated amount of singles. I brought 50.00 in singles and distributed them evenly amongst the children. When their money ran out, they could no longer play the Boardwalk games. The year before, I had a talk with the children before we entered the park. I had already established that we would not be spending any extra funds on the "Boardwalk" games; but that they could ride whatever rides they chose to. They were not disappointed in my decision because they were too occupied with going on all of the rides.

~Get to the park upon opening or within ½ hour of opening. Let's face it; almost everyone has the same plan but few actually stick to it. We got to the park within ½ hour of it opening. Because of this, we were able to secure a good parking space close to the entrance (I will tell you why it is best to get parking close by a little later on in this article)

~If the park offers "preferred" parking, pay the extra money for it. I paid $10.00 more and got approximately 30 to 40 feet closer then if I didn't pay. Had I not have gotten to the park within 30 minutes of opening, paying the extra $10.00 would have put me about 100 feet closer than if I had not paid it.

~Do a cell phone check before you leave your home. Older children, who have the privilege of sporting a cell phone, should certainly have it on them at the park. In my case, I had my 3-year old with me, so I ended up taking her to the Junior section of the park. It was important that my older children had their phones because they were not with me. I instructed them that if they needed me for any reason, they should call me and also if I called any one of them, they should answer their phone, unless they were on a ride.

~Pack a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks. Leave the cooler in the car. This is one should park close to the entrance. I went out to my car about 4 times for various reasons. If I had parked far away, I would have skipped going back out to the car. These are things you sometimes take for granted until you get to the park and end up walking for hours.

I fed the children, right before we entered the park and advised them that we would go out to the car and eat when they were hungry. I already explained to them that the food was much too expensive inside the park, so they were aware that I would not be buying anything inside.

~Instruct the children what to do in the event one of them gets lost. Tell them to look for a staff member in the special theme park uniform. Advise them on the importance of avoiding approaching anyone who is not an employee.

~Allow the children to pick one souvenir. Designate a price, such as $5.00 or $10.00 and tell the children that they must adhere to that price by not choosing any item above that cost. To save even more money, skip the souvenir purchase and allow your child to bring home the theme park map or ticket obtained from the entrance. These items make for excellent reminders of their special trip when they decide to reminisce about their experience.

When planning a trip to the theme park, it is important to plan in advance. Putting the above tips into place, will allow you to make the most out of your theme park experience; this way once you get to the park, you can concentrate on the more important things...like having fun!