Tuesday I discussed what you should do when planning a trip to a park. Today, I will discussed what you shouldn’t do when planning a trip to a park.
The Don’t’s
1. Don’t intend to buy things from gift shops until later in the day – While you may find something you want to buy while exploring a gift shop, it’s best not to buy it if it’s before dinner time. You have to lug the item or items around the park all day, or go back to your car to drop them off. The best thing to do is go back and buy it before you leave for the night. Another option is to take advantage of any package pick-up program the park has.
2. Don’t spend time in a long line if the other rides you want to ride are empty – This seems like a no brainer, but people still make this mistake quite often. If you want to ride a roller coaster with a two hour wait, but you also want to ride a log flume with a ten minute wait, get out of line for the roller coaster and head to the log flume. If you’re constantly waiting in the long lines first, you won’t get on nearly as many rides as you may want to. Additionally, many roller coaster lines tend to die out within the last two hours of park operation, and if you’re in line before the park’s scheduled closing, you’re guaranteed a ride.
3. Don’t plan the day down to the tee – The best days I’ve had at parks were those where I went with the flow. Typically, I have an idea of what ride I want to start at, or when I go to a new park, I want to get on all the roller coasters. But otherwise, I simply go with the flow and see what the day brings. Planning things down to a tee just seems to hold people back from having the best day possible at the theme park. While planning ahead of time is nice, in the case of theme parks, don’t go overboard. Allow time for other things.
Having visited a majority of theme parks in the midwest over the past five years, I have found that doing these things can typically waste time and energy. By following these tips of what not to do, I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy the day much more.