2005 Park Trip Essentials

A loaf of bread, peanut butter, and a knife... but keep them in the car. It's a cheap meal if you don't feel like paying park prices for food, or just in case you spend all your money on the park's games of chance.

If you are on a trip to a non-local park, remember to hang on to your hotel/motel key. Don't lock it in the room! (No, I've never locked myself out of the room... at least not without someone being inside to let me back in.)

A Fanny pack filled with my camera, batteries, memory cards, glasses strap and yes my season pass.

I gave up on fashion, and switched to a fanny pack permanently after losing my rental car keys on S:RoS/SFNE in what I thought was a really really deep pocket.

On the bright side, I now know that if you lose your National rental car keys, they'll send a locksmith out to you at no charge.

*** Edited 3/24/2005 3:11:41 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

My Essentials:

Have a plan! Hitting rides with low-capacity and high thrill-factors first thing in the morning are essential for coaster trips.

Comfortable shoes. I once made the mistake of trying to break in new sandals at Disney World - blister city! The next four days, I was geekier than normal, forced to wear shorts with black socks and black leather shoes. (It was that or rent a wheelchair.)

Get some rest, especially on multi-day vacations. Since I turned 25, my body needs regular sleep or else the puniest little flu bug totally cramps my style. The porcelain bus is not my idea of the greatest thrill ride in Orlando.

Turn a blind eye to stupid expenses that you can't avoid. Yes, $10 is rediculous for a locker, but losing the glasses you need to drive home is much, much worse. Same thing regarding food. Leaving a park to find a cheaper lunch is a big waste of time -- just buy the $6 hamburger and pretend you paid $2.

Some good stuff on here that I didn't think about like digital camera and map for new road trips.

greatwhitenorth- That's really funny; the $6 hamburger and pretend it is $2. I'll definitely need to try that. Hopefully it makes me feel better. :)

I mean no offense by this question.

How would you have gotten around if you didn't have a map?

Oh, I didn't think of posting that one. Trip Tiks are my firend. :)

I triptik too, but every once in a while I'd wished I'd had a really good, detailed regional map instead. Normally this happens when some moron jacknifes a truck on the PA turnpike, closing it and routing me through God's Country aka the Laurel Highlands (which I actually know a little bit), but there are other times, too.

I always make sure I have a carabiner to attach my keys to my belt loop. That way I never have to worry about them falling out of my pocket.

If I'm taking a road trip out of state, I get the state gazetteer from the library. It's like an atlas, only much more detailed, with country roads and such.

If I'm going to a media-friendly park (like PKI or Cedar Point), I make sure to bring my business card so I can claim my free media tickets!

A lot of times I bring a couple dollars worth of quarters. That way, when I want to play a quick game of DDR, I don't have to struggle to cram a soggy dollar bill into the change machine.

And of course, bring $20 more cash than you think you'll need. Park ATMs are expensive.

EDIT: Oh, and one more thing. I always make sure to have a dose of Exedrin in my pocket. Not only does this take care of coaster-induced headaches, it also takes care of caffeine-withdrawal headaches, in case I don't have time to find coffee in the morning.
*** Edited 3/24/2005 3:44:54 PM UTC by Den***

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Den said:
And of course, bring $20 more cash than you think you'll need. Park ATMs are expensive.

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Also known as the "emergency twenty". I always have one stashed away. Emergency cash is always good to have on hand, and not just for park trips.

Well, I always carry my "coaster wallet" now. it's a small leather wallet wth essentials only: cash, season passes, ACE card, etc. I also carry my camera bag over the shoulder. MiniDV cam and digital still cam and extra tape and memory cards in it.

(I'm a photo taking freak ;))

If traveling through the Baltimore/Washington Area, I find this site particularly useful. It has a ton of useful information about lane coasters to how fast traffic is moving in one area of the interstate.

http://www.chart.state.md.us/travinfo/travinfo.asp

Wow, that's very nice.

DC has lane coasters? I want to ride one. ;)

Whenever I go to AAA to get a triptik, I always ask for the regional/state maps that I will need on the trip. And usually they'll mark those up with not only the route thats on the trip tik, but also all the construction zones as well.

This is not something to bring, but I now like to attach my key ring to my belt loop just like it was another key. My keys fell out on a Chaos ride and were caught by the girl sitting next to me. On Batwing at SFA I was not so lucky and it cost about $350 to replace them. Now they go on the belt loop. :)

If I am wearing my shorts with the zipper pockets then I can put them in there, and sometimes I will just put my car key in my wallet and the rest in the glove box, but if I take the ring in the park with normal shorts, they are on the loop.

I always have to have a MN Vikes shirt with me, I bleed the purple and gold.

Always have to get a magnet for my mother of the states I have visited, so she has a CP, Knotts, SF magnet, etc.

At least buy one shirt of the park so that I can remember being there (only one I haven't gotten was WOF but will get one)

Ditto on the cargo shorts with pockets, easy to store cell phone or camera and directions and maps to the park I am visiting if I have never been there before.

Gotta have the tunes for sure, must rock out to Weird Al, Evanescence, Metallica, etc (yes I said Weird Al)

See if the area you're visiting has a Dunkin Donuts and or Little Caesars nearby (sadly we lost both in my hometown so this is a treat)

See if the park you're visiting has a major league park nearby, this makes for a good day to relax and catch a ballgame

The most important thing is to have fun when visiting a new park, you may never get to go back.

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet: disposable hand wipes. Amusement parks are filled with germs! Wipes are small enough to fit in a pocket and come in handy when you touch gum by accident on a railing or right before you eat.

I also keep my money in different places. I keep some in my wallet (duh) and some in my pants pocket and bottom of my shoe, just in case I happen to lose some.

Small plastic baggies to hold my cell phone or camera when I go on flume rides that don't get you soaked. When I go on rapids or plunge rides I leave them with a non-rider.

carrouseler:

I bet the food-service workers LOVE it when you hand them a moist, fetid $5 bill that's been in the bottom of your shoe all day.

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carrouseler said:
Surprised no one has mentioned this yet: disposable hand wipes. Amusement parks are filled with germs!

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OCD? ;)

Hey, disposable hand wipes come in handy when you're at a crappy Six Flags park that's out of TP.

Um, er, I mean....