2005 Park Trip Essentials
When I go to parks I always say 'less on you the better'. Lockers are cheap or just leave stuff in the car.
Also count me in on the zipper pockets on shorts. In one pocket is a hard case for glasses in the other is wallet with only the needed things. Season pass and money. All else locks in the car.
Satellite radio is a must if you are driving long distances. (where many radio station/cd changes are annoying)
Used to do a cooler in the car with lunch until last summer at SFA my lunch was how shall we say smelling the car up when I went back to the car due to excessive heat. (gave the lunch the quick heave ho into a nearby trash can and got lunch with a couple extra bottles of water to rinse the cooler before riding rides again)
Gatorade and any pain med. when you are dehydrated you will drink warm Gatorade. Pain med for as said before the coaster headache. *** Edited 3/24/2005 6:44:38 PM UTC by dragonoffrost***
If relatives are coming along, they always insist on packing a cooler with cans of soda and straws and a shopping bag full of snacks. Of course, this gets put in the trunk for the trip to the park, and once we get to the park, no one wants to wait around to snack. (And yes, the older folks still tell us we can't go on any rides till an hour after we eat.) So we usually drink a warm soda before we head home.
Gum- BigRed for me. If any kids are along, some little candy or snack. Kids usually get hungry for something sweet within 45 seconds after they enter the park gates. (No you can't have that $4.00 cotton candy, eat this instead)
Shades, and I have one of those little cords to hold them on. I keep it in my pocket and only attach it for the rides themselves.
A few tissues, just in case.
Light colored t-shirt and darker shorts are preferable. Those funny little wet patterns you get from riding water rides don't show up as much on dark shorts. IMO, it's also uncool to wear a shirt from the same park you're visiting.
Sunscreen. This goes on in the parking lot before going into the park. I don't carry it around with me.
Bug spray. Same as above. Love that DEET.
Important note here-- while applying the above two, or waiting for others in the party to do so, I always ALWAYS sure to check what section I'm parked in. The only thing geekier than wearing a fanny pack is walking around a parking lot keys in hand trying to "summon" your car. Of course, usually by the time I leave the park it's only me and a handful of other cars anyway, so I have no trouble seeing where mine is.
Resident Arrow Dynamics Whore
A few tissues, just in case.
...Deja Vu/TTD/The Chiller: Batman isn't open.
MiniDV camera. That goes in a waist pack (sorry, Jeff...) which is secured to me either with TWO straps, or with a wire-tie put through the buckle to make sure it doesn't come apart. No, I mean it: the bag can't come off...
Neck cord for eyeglasses. This normally rides in the camera bag. It's literally the only thing that will fit in the camera bag with the camera in there. These goofy things are pretty useless themselves, and if you cinch them tight they actually make eyeglasses LESS secure, but some ride operators are insistent, so... No case, by the way. I don't take the glasses off to ride. Besides, they're a size 62 frame, and they don't fit in any of the hard cases I have around here.
Sandals. I used to get a pair of $30 Birkenstock knock-offs each year, and they were great (and they held up about as well as the $100 Birkenstocks would, but were a lot cheaper!). As of last year, though, I haven't been able to find them. Park "experts" tell you to wear comfortable shoes and socks, but I find that the sandals are far more comfortable as my feet don't drown in their own sweat all day.
Normal kit, with mods. My normal kit consists of my wallet (containing cash, credit, and season passes), my Victorinox Spartan, a Zebra ball-point pen, loose change, keys, electrical tic-tracer, Leatherman PST, and a company telephone. For the park, I typically leave the Leatherman, tic tracer, and keys in the trunk of the car, unless the park uses me_al detectors at the entrance, in which case I also leave behind the pen, Victorinox, and loose change. The phone is a new addition to the kit, and I haven't quite figured out how to deal with it yet, but if I am in range I really can't leave it behind. Oh, and I have to carry a key to the car trunk. :)
The car contains certain support equipment, including a cooler full of Coke™ and of course a good road atlas.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
*** Edited 3/26/2005 3:33:35 PM UTC by RideMan***
I totally agree with you on the sandals statement. Besides the benefits you already pointed out there is that great fealing of riding an inverted or tower ride barefoot. Love the feeling of wind rushing between my toes. The only downside is having to walk over to the side and place them in the bins and then retrieving them after the ride.
I'm also in the camp that only takes one key into the park with me. I stash it in my wallet and then throughout the day get worried when I don't feel that lump in my front pocket until I remember that it's not supposed to be there.
On particularly hot days I sometimes take my camelback along. But it depends on which park we're visiting. I don't take it if I'll have to constantly get it in and out of a locker. It isn't worth all that hassle. But if the park allows you to bring backpacks into the lines, having the water and a few snacks definately helps during long waits. But again, this is something I rarely take.
I wore sandals exactly once to a park (SFGAm). While it was awesome riding B:TR barefoot, I ended up with strap-shaped blisters all over my feet. Ow. Never again.
I wear them all summer long, except for when I'm working. When I lived in Oregon, I wore them all year long. Love my birks!
Sunscreen big bottle
Six Pack Disposable Rain Gear
Glasses strap (Wife lost glasses on the Mummy and had to go to HHN wearing prescripion sunglasses)
Family service radios 14 year old hates it when people think he is hanging with uncool parents.
Ziplock Bags mentioned earlier
Couple of small bags of trail mix
Park cup hanging from strap
Ball Cap (when not on head)
Dry Socks in ziplock bag
Disposable camera or two
Tissues/Wipes/hard candy/breath mints
Annual Pass ,One credit card,cash,Drivers licence in wallet on lanyard around neck.
The most expensive thing in pack is the radios (pair was 40.00)so I am not out a lot if someone picks it up or I forget it after riding.I can hang on the rail by exit if they do not let me ride with it on.
The one thing I never forget to bring is sunglasses. This started after my first trip to Cedar Point and I rode MF at dusk and came away with a small insect colony on the lenses. They also make for some great onride photo shots.
But at parks, it is increasingly annoying dealing with my case on coasters. You should see it. It looks like a dump truck has ran over it several times because of being smashed on coasters during high lateral Gs. But it gets the job done as I've never had my sunglasses or regular specs bent, broken, etc. However, riding coasters constantly adjusting it in my pocket to spare it "the" deadly blow gets old fast.
Unfortunately my eyes are sensitive to bright light so going without my sunglasses and hence a case for the other pair is out of the question. I'm do for an eye exam soon and I'm seriously considering transition lenses so I can have one pair, ending the need to carry a case. My screwy eyes don't do well with contacts so specs it is for now. Any transition wearers out there? How do you like them? *** Edited 3/26/2005 1:23:02 AM UTC by OHIcOaster***
For the most part, they're great, although they have presented some difficulties when shooting video, as it's hard to see through the viewfinder when wearing dark glasses. You don't notice that they have darkened, until you look into the viewfinder and it just isn't as bright as it ought to be. :)
They can also cause problems on cold days: When it is 30 degrees out and you go from bright sun on the midway into the Flight of Fear queue you suddenly discover that you can't see a thing for a minute or two. They get darker when it is cold than when it is warm.
I'll probably spring for them on my next pair of glasses as well in spite of that little nuisance.
They are not as dark as proper sunglasses, but for someone who has never wanted to mess around with sunglasses, they are an excellent alternative.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
The salesman didn't have a lot of good stuff to say about transitional lenses. He did inform me that the problems that my friends originally had with them, dimming in bright indoor environments, had been solved. But apparently, and Rideman or PKIdelirium please correct me if I'm wrong, the tansitional lenses don't darken in cars if your windows are tinted. Considering that's the reason I wanted sunglasses, I opted out.
As far as carrying a protective case. I always do and it doesn't bother me much. I don't wear glasses on most coasters, therefore I want to ensure that they survive the various rides while in my pocket. I view it as a necessary evil as I'd rather put up with adjusting the case during a ride as opposed to forking over another several hundred dollars.
If I visit a park during a really hot day, I consider taking my bottle clip. I found this handy dohicky at Target mixed in with an assortment of keychains. It is your standard rock climbing style clip with a rubber circle attached to it to hook onto a sada/water bottle. I NEED water on hot days, or else I will get very sick on rides.
Zip lock bags were already mentioned, but I find it importiant enough to re-mention. Who wants their wallet or cell phone to get wet on a water ride? I recently saw (at Target) a multipack of super thick, double zip Ziper bags that was especially designed for keeping things like wallets dry while swimming.
Sometimes I take a change of clothes (Target sells some decent clothes at a good price) in a backpack (if you don't already have one, well you know...), and the first thing I do at a park is to find a locker for it.
Humm...I wonder where Dex works? :)
EDIT: Sandles also, because I hate to walk around in wet socks after a rapids raft ride. I won't say it. *** Edited 3/26/2005 6:01:29 AM UTC by dexter***
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