Tips for a successful theme park visit

Park specific advice can take a little more research on forums, blogs etc. But for most parks, there are a few general tips that work practically anywhere.

1. Arrive early: Usually the first hour in a theme park can be golden as crowds filter in, and sometimes you can “beat the crowds” and ride a handful of attractions early in the day with minimal wait.  This is called “rope dropping”.
At certain really popular parks, this could mean arriving an hour early. But hey, its an hour spent waiting when you’re not paying, in exchange for saving a couple of hours later in the day.
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2. Do lower capacity rides first: For example in a water park, you might have an extreme freefall slide that does one person at a time, versus a racer slide that sends down 8 people at once. You can probably leave the racer for later in the day because high capacity rides have less chance of building up a long line.
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3. Have a list of things you want to ride: Many theme parks have leading star attractions that you simply don’t want to miss, but there are also hidden gems too. Have a read through the park website and see what other people’s highlights were on social media. Check things like show times as well, since they might only run a few times per day.
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4. Install the parks app before visiting: The app will usually list wait times and features a digital map (many parks no longer offer paper maps). Use this to your advantage. If there’s something you don’t want to miss and you see the wait is short, go there! Or if the wait time is too long, don’t waste time walking across the park, it can wait till later. Some parks offer virtual queuing, where you can reserve a time to ride instead of waiting in line, and often the app is the only way to take advantage of this.
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5. Take advantage of single rider lines: Some rides have a separate entrance for single riders, though anyone is welcome to use it. The deal is simple, you save time bypassing the main queue and are allocated whatever seats are left over after loading from the main queue. But you wont get to choose where you sit, and you’ll probably end up on a separate vehicle to your companions. A little momentary separation, but you can use the time saved to potentially ride something else together instead.

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6. Travel light if possible: though if you have young children this may not be possible. Keys, wallet, phone, sunscreen, and comfortable shoes. You’ll be doing plenty of walking so lugging a bulky bag around may become tiresome. Many rides require loose items to be stored before riding, so having to deal with large numbers of belongings can be annoying too.
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7. Explore! See what is down that pathway, or through that archway next to you. Take the time to read inscriptions or look closely at the theming. Some theme parks were designed hidden areas to explore off the beaten path (But don’t go out of bounds!) and immense levels of detail, and you will be well rewarded for your explorations.

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Gavin Seipelt is a Sr. Attraction Designer at Pico Play with over 10 years of experience creating engaging experiences for themed attractions around the world. He holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Queensland and has visited 200 theme parks worldwide, combining a passion for attractions with deep industry expertise. Gavin’s skills span master planning, 3D modeling and theming, allowing him to bring creative and practical solutions to every project he works on.