Our Top Tips

As we go to theme parks so often we have generated some ideas about how to make the most out of your day.

Because we take fun seriously…

Making the Most of Your Day

For UK and European theme parks, consider the time of year before you go. What is more important to you; avoiding queues (don’t go in the summer) or going on all of the water rides (go in summer and queue, or prepare to be freezing cold and wet all day)?
Check the parks’ websites before you go for any planned closures of rides; you will be disappointed if you turn up and your favourite ride is closed for maintenance.
If you are taking children, check the height restrictions on rides beforehand. Are they tall enough to ride everything? And don’t think that you going on the ride with the child will make any difference. As we once memorably heard a ride attendant at Disney tell a parent “you going on with him doesn’t make him any taller, does it!”
For larger guests, you may need to check you can fit in the harness before you ride. There is often a tester seat at the beginning of the queue which you can check. Some rides – particularly in America – have modified seating for larger guests, but many don’t.
Taking one rucksack is usually useful, although we would recommend taking as little with you as possible. Key things to take include your phone for photos and entertainment in queues, ponchos/waterproof jackets for rain or water rides, money, a drink and of course, your park tickets! Putting your phone into a small plastic bag is useful if you are likely to get the bag wet.
Wear comfortable shoes, you will be on your feet all day.
Wear layers of clothing so that you can adjust to the outside temperature. Ideally clothes with zipped pockets if you don’t have a bag with you.
We both wear glasses but ensure we wear contact lenses when we go to theme parks so that we can enjoy all visual aspects of the ride without worrying that our glasses may fall off. Note that some fast rides require that people take off their glasses.
If you have long hair it is advisable to tie it up before going on rides, unless you like to look windswept!
Hayley in particular is prone to travel sickness and some rides (those that spin) can upset the stomach. We have found that if we take travel sickness pills at the start of the day this makes it much more comfortable.
The car parks can be huge – take a picture of the car park number when you park so you can find your car easily when you finish.
In USA theme parks in particular; if you are taking young children look out for a ‘child swap’ option, where one parent can stay with the child whilst the other rides, then they swap places.
Try everything! Go with an open mind and you may enjoy rides you never thought you would like. The technology of rides has improved enormously over the years and rides are much smoother and more enjoyable than some of the terrifying, jerky rides we recall from when we were younger.

Wodan at Europa Park

Avoiding Queues

Think about when you are going. Weekends and summer holidays are always busier with more queues. We always aim to go in June/September mid-week when it is still warm enough to be outside all day but not too busy.
Theme parks usually have special events, like Fright Nights at Halloween or other occasions where the park opens until later at night. If you don’t want to queue, avoid these dates completely as they get very busy.
Forward plan. Have a look at the map of the park online before you go, get an idea of what rides you want to go on and where they are in the park.
Find out the opening times of the parks and get there early – ideally before the park even opens. The parks are always less busy first thing in the morning.
Always go to the rides at the back of the park first; and be disciplined! We know it is difficult to walk straight past good rides at the front of the park when you first arrive, but everyone goes on these first. Going to the back will save you LOADS of time. We promise it is worth it because the queues at the back of the park are barely existent at the beginning of the day and when you make your way to the front of the park in the afternoon the queues there have died down too.
The only exception to our top tip (of heading to the rides at the back of the park first) is when there is a new ride that has recently opened. You will always queue for a long time for a new ride, but if you get in the park at the time it opens then you will queue less if you do this ride first.
Look out for Fast Track options, where you do not queue but get an allocated time to ride. At a few parks (Disney) these are free but you need to plan ahead to get to each ride to pick up your Fast Track tickets in advance. At most parks you will have to pay for Fast Track and this can get very expensive, particularly if you are in big group.
If you want to go on as many rides as possible and don’t mind who you ride with, single-rider queues are worth looking out for. These are usually quicker if the main queue is over 45 minutes long. They are particularly good on rides which you sit on in 3’s as most people go to theme parks in even-numbered groups (two and four are the most common). However, depending on which park you are at you may not want to avoid the queue! This may sound strange but rides at Universal (Orlando) in particular use the queue as part of the theming of the ride and the queues themselves can be very entertaining. Where there is a particularly big benefit from using the single rider queue we have noted this in the ride review.
Look out for electronic boards which display the current queue times for the rides, but do keep in mind that they usually slightly over estimate the times. Some parks have apps available, but the internet access at theme parks is not usually great.
If all else fails and the park is just exceptionally busy then try to target the biggest rides at lunchtime. There is usually a slight lull in the queue whilst most visitors stop for lunch. This does mean you will have to eat early, late, or in the queue!

Silver Star at Europa Park

The Fear and Embracing It: Moving from Fear to Fun

For many people, going to a theme park is as scary as it is fun. A certain level of fear is exciting, as it gets the adrenalin going and you may end up enjoying the ride more. But too much fear can be paralysing and prevent you from going on rides that part of you really wants to try.

Here are our tips from moving from fear towards excitement, to get the most out of your day.

If you fear the unexpected or the unknown, be prepared that lots of rides might be indoors and you may not be able to see the ride before getting on it. One way around this is to look for Point of View (POV) videos of the ride on the internet first, so that you can see what it does before you get on it. Joe found this very helpful before we first went to Orlando as he had not yet been on many rides. Hayley, however, prefers (and enjoys) the surprise of the ride and prefers to not know what is coming. So work out what is best for you.
Try it! See the experience as an experiment where you are working out what specific aspects of a ride you do or don’t like so that you know for the future. For example, neither of us particularly enjoy the free-fall drop feeling that you get on a drop tower ride, so we don’t generally go on rides where that is the only feature.
If you spend the ride worrying that the harness might come loose, you are not going to enjoy the ride. Try to relax into the seat and trust the harness, and concentrate on the feeling of the ride instead.
On the same note, put everything into a locker and remove glasses. Don’t keep anything in your pockets unless they zip up securely, otherwise you will spend the ride worrying about your possessions falling out and enjoy the ride less.
Remember that your body reacts the same way to fear as it does excitement: in both cases your heart rate will increase, you will get hot and you will be hyper-alert. If you can think of these reactions as excitement rather than fear, you are half way there to enjoying the ride rather than feeling scared of it.

Tips for Water Rides

If you plan to do the water rides, do these in the morning as the queues are much smaller then.
Only go on them when the weather is hot enough for your clothes to dry out, as it is horrible to feel wet and uncomfortable all day.
Planning what you wear is important if you intend to go on water rides. White clothes tend to become see-through when wet which can be a bit embarrassing as you walk around the park waiting to dry off. Jeans take ages to dry, even in hot weather. It is usually a good idea to wear an additional layer on a water ride so that you can take it off afterwards and still be comfortable for the rest of the day.
Alternatively, buy a poncho. All parks sell them (usually right outside the entrance to water rides) and they are ideal for throwing over the top of your clothes to keep dry. Some people think this misses the point of water rides but we disagree (Joe, in particular). In our view, there is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy the ride without wanting to get soaked.
A quick tip on ponchos. Those sold in Orlando will only cover halfway down your arms and legs as they are designed for people wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts in the Florida heat. These are not always the most effective in cold, northern Europe.
Where the boat has more than two seats in a row, sitting towards the edges will always be the wetter areas.
We have found that in parks within mainland Europe it is common for people to reach over the sides of the boats and try to splash water on other people in their group. For some people that seems to add to the fun but if you don’t want to get caught in the cross-fire, sit towards the back or avoid sitting with large groups.

Dragon Khan at Portaventura Resort

Value for Money

For the majority of theme parks, tickets are much cheaper to buy beforehand online than at the gates of the park on the day.
Most theme parks have annual pass options, where you can visit as many times as you like in a year for a set price. The annual pass usually pays for itself after 2-3 visits so is worth considering if you go regularly. You usually get other perks and discounts at the park if you have an annual pass too.
Places like Orlando have a wide range of multi-park tickets available which will cover an entire holiday and offer massive savings. Make sure you buy in advance.
Where possible, buy a refillable drinks container at the start of the day for free/cheap refills as this will save you lots of money on drinks (particularly if you get one and share it).
Look into any ‘all day dining’ options and consider if these are good value for your group.
Some theme parks don’t let you take in your own food or drinks, so check this out beforehand as they may make you throw them away before you can enter. This is most common in the USA.
Most theme parks now charge you to park your car at the park. Be aware that this is an extra expense that soon adds up. You can get to most parks in Europe by bus/public transport to avoid this issue. In the USA, going by car is often the only option.
You may have to pay extra for some activities/facilities in the park (such as lockers, virtual reality headsets and certain additional activities), so bring cash with you.

Tips for those going to Orlando for the first time

Orlando is probably our favourite place on earth. It hosts some of the best theme parks, rides and experiences, where you feel completely immersed in another world. If you're considering going, here are some thoughts that might help you plan your trip.

We have found that the best time to go to Orlando is September (after Labour Day). This is because the weather is great and the queues are short! Summer is very hot and very busy, and October-November is very busy with Halloween events, then December is very busy with Christmas.
We generally stay off-site, not only because it is so much cheaper but also because there is a lot of good accommodation very nearby. Nothing is small in America, so often we end up in a 3-4 bedroom condo or house to ourselves, for less money than a hotel room on-site. We like Vista Cay and Compass Bay, as two good examples of resorts to stay near to the the action. That said, there are some benefits to staying on-site too (like early access to parks), so it's worth looking at all options.
In the evenings, there are entertainment areas near to the parks that have multiple restaurants and bars which can be fun. In Universal this is City Walk and in Disney it is Disney Springs. If you intent to eat at Disney Springs, it is advisable to book dinner reservations, as these are bookable 60 days in advance and do get booked up. There are also lots of places nearby that offer a similar atmosphere. We like Pointe on International Drive or the 192 in Kissimmee for different restaurants like Olive Garden.
You can often get cheaper park tickets online if you buy multi-park tickets from other retailers. We generally use the Orlando Attractions website to buy tickets for Universal (all three parks), and then Busch Gardens, Sea World and Aquatica combined tickets. These allow you unlimited access to the parks for 14 days and are therefore great value.
For tickets to Disney, we found much better value tickets were available on the USA Disney page (accessible when you are in the USA) than on the UK Disney page. So we generally buy tickets when we arrive.
You can easily drive to the parks, but be warned that parking is expensive. Uber's are easy and often cheaper.
If you are going to Orlando with young children, do your research. Rides have all different height restrictions at different parks. Disney is a big favourite for children in particular and you will need at least one full day in each park. However, if you are a group of adults and mainly are visiting for the 4-5 rides in each park, it is possible to buy park-hopper tickets and do more than one Disney Park in one day. We generally have two Disney days to go to all 4 parks on each holiday. The Universal parks have fewer rides dedicated to young children and are great for teenagers and adults. You will need more than one day in each park to fully experience Universal.
If you like rollercoasters and bigger thrill rides, definitely check out Busch Gardens and Sea World. These parks both have bigger and more thrilling coasters - see our pages for these parks for more information.
We would highly recommend fitting in some waterparks during your visit. Our favourite two are Volcano Bay (Universal) and Aquatica (Sea World). Both are excellent parks with lots of different, fun slides, plus rapids, lazy rivers and relaxation areas. Both of these parks have a lot more going for them than the Disney waterparks.
For more tips on each of the individual parks in Orlando, see the USA section of this website. Enjoy!