Big Line, Small Bladder

[Fergasun]

Hi All,

This is my first post and I hope this is the correct place to discuss this topic (rather than the more general theme park discussion). I'm originally from Virginia and in my teenage years visited Paramount's King's Dominion. The first roller coaster I ever rode was the Tidal Wave at Ocean City, MD with an Aunt (my parents weren't big on coasters). Re-locating to Southern California and ~ 20 years later I'm the parent of a 8-year old (he turned 8 during the summer) and he has a pass to Six Flag's Magic Mountain (I may have gone ~ 2004 timeframe before this year).

 

The question I have is, what is the proper etiquette for handling my son's small bladder during long line waits? I will explain what happened in the three trips I've taken him on.

 

Trip #1 we didn't have any problems because we didn't purchase their "drink all year" cup. The downside of this is that he was ehydrated through the day and I was somewhat worried about his condition. He was so excited he didn't even want to eat. It was also in April which was cooler and he didn't get too hot.

 

Trip #2 I bought the $15 "drink all year" cup (with $0.99 refills, plus the ability to hold large amounts of water). I learned something about my boy: he would rather have an accident than leave the roller coaster queue because of his excitement. I was pumping him full of soda and water because it was 100 degrees this day. We had to re-wait in line for Goliath for 30 minutes, but shortly after getting off of one of their roller coasters he wet his pants and then tried to say the reason he was wet is because we walked through the mist-machines (yes, because everyone who does that has the "I wet my pants" stain). I was pretty embarrased, didn't have a change of clothes and I had to make an emergency trip to Wal-Mart to get him into clean clothes (it happened at the end of the day and we were done, but we missed a 3rd ride on X2).

 

Trip #3 was today and I tried to learn from my lesson. Before we went on any roller coaster, he had to "try to go to the bathroom". My strategy for the day was to use the flash-pass points as a "relief valve" and ask them to let us out of the queue and back at Flash pass (if necessary) and when boarding the train (in an emergency).

 

Things were going fine and we were able to ride Full Throttle (opening), Superman, Green Latern, and Apocalypse in the morning (before ~ 2 pm) without any issues (and with plenty of bathroom breaks). The problems started after our lunch when he downed most of a soda and water (he was drinking in line). He went to the bathroom upon re-entry (we packed our lunch) and we went to Colossus (30 minute-line) and he had to go to the bathroom afterward (his body language was obvious when we boarded the train), Ninja, then bathroom, then X2, and bathroom and then we lined up for Tatsu (1-hour).

 

When we reached the flash pass point on Tatsu I asked him if he had to go "No, I'm okay!" but right after we climbed the stairs I heard those familiar words "I have to go potty!" so we worked down and the security and crew on Tatsu understood and let us leave and get back in at the flash pass point. IMO great, but should not be unexpected customer service.

 

Next he wanted to end the day on Full Throttle (again) which at this point was ~ 1 hour and 15 minutes of waiting. And again he had a large amount of water in his system. We went before entering the queue. They were handing out tickets and when we got to the place where they collected tickets (also, near the flash pass area) I used that point as a relief valve and my son replied with "I have to go potty!" (at least he was learning). One of the staff members seemed to act like it wasn't okay for us to leave the line, even as I explained that we have numbered tickets and our number will be lower than anyone else when we return to the same spot. She said something like, "Only if its okay with the people in front and behind you.". (Quite frankly I thought it would be okay if staff intervened, similar to Tatsu, especially since I didn't want to get my original spot back). The other staff member at the Flash Pass gates was more understanding and I asked her when we left the line if it was okay. When we came back she seemed concerned about letting us get back in line and let use use the flash pass entrance rather than re-enter at the same point. This was awesome service beyond what I was asking for. I only wanted to re-enter where we exited, and she treated us like we had flash pass. At the end of the day I was completely happy that SFMM was accomodating and helpful and wish I had taken down the name of the crew-member who bumped us up on Full Throttle.

 

Am I the only person with a kid who will get so excited about roller coasters that he forgets about his regular bodily functions (like eating) and whose small bladder can't wait for 60 minutes? Maybe it's just easier to let him get hot and de-hydrated, but that's not ideal IMO.

 

My son will be going to Disney World, Florida and possibly Busch Gardens, Tampa with Grampa in the next month, so if there's anything I should know (like today at SFMM was a total abberation and most staff are jerks and aren't as accomodating) let me know.

 

PS. I enjoy the substitution on Ull-Fay Rottle-Thay

[rdngmikey]

I recently went to a park with three young family members aged 13,11 and 8, the trick is to go to the restroom before getting into line and of course everyone runs into the problem of asking a child if they have to go and they say no. One possible reason for this(other than the fact that they're children) is the fact that they don't see you running to the restroom and of course, most kids want to emulate their parents. Try this instead, before getting into any long line simply state, "I have to use the restroom." and take them with you. It probably won't work all of the time, especially in the beginning, however I've seen it work quite well for me.

[YOLO]

-Make sure he goes to the bathroom before going to the parks.

-Ask him if he has to go potty and if he says "no", tell him to try anyway.

-If his disposal of bladder is really that bad, tell him to go every hour.

-Do the rides with longer lines first during the day, and the ones with shorter lines afterwards, do re-rides at end of day.

-Make sure he uses the bathroom after the park visit.

 

Also, you may need to tell a doctor about that, because once every hour honestly does not sound normal. When I was his age few years ago I always just went twice a day.

 

I want you also to know that your kid is VERY brave to ride all those coasters! I thought I was brave at 10 when I stopped being afraid of big coasters, but 8? Wow!

[darklingscribe]

It might be worth it for you just to spend the extra dollars on some sort of skip the line system if the park has one, I see that they allowed you to reenter at the flash pass entry points, but just buying a pass at the start might give you more time outside of the lines to use the facilities without trying to constantly explain yourself to park staff.

 

But by doing this you'll be putting off your headaches until a future date when he can hold his bladder, but then he might be use to the flash passes and would start hounding and asking you why did you stop getting them.

 

* Edited for clarification, been sick all week and seem to be running on 1/3 brain power.

[netdvn]

From personal experience, I'd lay off any caffeinated drinks and stick with water since those tend to go right through you. Plus water's free. For something sweet, I'd stick with lemonade/fruit punch for most occasions and sports drinks if it gets too hot. Unless it's really hot and you're able to sweat the water out, don't force your kid to drink too much either. Otherwise it'll go right through.

 

If he wants soda, get some in between rides (during meal times) when you have plenty of time to find a restroom.

 

And as always, bathroom breaks before and after you ride usually work.

[darklingscribe]

From personal experience, I'd lay off any caffeinated drinks and stick with water since those tend to go right through you. Plus water's free. For something sweet, I'd stick with lemonade/fruit punch for most occasions and sports drinks if it gets too hot...

 

Good suggestion, the more electrolytes the better. The caffeine ins most sodas is a diuretic which will make him want to use the bathroom more while electrolytes will do the opposite and encourage his body to hold onto the liquids for a longer period of time.

[robbalvey]

My strategy for the day was to use the flash-pass points as a "relief valve" and ask them to let us out of the queue and back at Flash pass (if necessary) and when boarding the train (in an emergency).

A couple of thoughts on this matter...

 

Is it "ok" to leave a queue and return to your group? To be honest, it depends on the park and the situation. If you're at a "family park" like a Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Legoland, Dollywood, etc, someplace that caters to children and families, this sort of behaviour is acceptable IN AN EMERGENCY and ONLY under certain circumstances. For example, a ride breaks down, a line ends up being MUCH longer than originally posted, the line is extremely long, and the line is EASY to get in and out of without disturbing other guests or requiring help from staff. IMO, if any of those factors do not apply, then you should just leave the line, do your business, and get back in at the end.

 

Here's where it's NOT acceptable - You hop in a line with your child, where you didn't even try to make a bathroom break before getting in line, you've waited all of 15 minutes, and he has to go. At that point, you're inside a show building or covered queue that is difficult to get in and out of, you just leave the line, go to the bathroom, eat those 15 minutes, and get back in line at the end.

 

But if you're at more of a "bigger kids/adult" park like a Six Flags, Cedar Fair, etc, where they aren't really geared for children and line cutting is already an obnoxious problem, I don't think I would ever find it acceptable to leave and re-enter a line. Perhaps there is a case-by-case scenario here, but who knows. The reality here is - suck it up, leave the line, go pee, get in the back of the line like everyone else. Security is NOT there to baby-sit you and escort you to the bathroom and back again. The Flash Pass lines were NOT created as a way to re-enter a ride because someone in your party had to leave the queue.

 

If this is a known problem, IMO it is your responsibility to do something about that does NOT impact other guests. This is a perfect reason to use the many "virtual queue options" that are offered at parks. Sure, it might be an added cost, but what would you rather have? An enjoyable day at a park, or a memory where you had a child that wet themselves and a situation that you now have to deal with?

 

Something else to consider, if you know your child can't go an hour without peeing, don't get a line that is one hour and fifteen minutes. We have a six year old and we pretty much can predict her bathroom schedule. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean. You know what the warning signs and alarm bells are. If you're "looking for a strategy to leave the line and come back" then perhaps you shouldn't get in line in the first place.

 

End of the day, no one likes line cutters. No one. I can feel your frustration. We have a child. And there have been probably less than a handful of scenarios in our hundreds of parks we've visited with her in six years where we have needed to leave a line to take her to the bathroom, and then come back.

 

In summary, and like others have suggested as well, take lots of bathroom breaks, DON'T buy that all-you-can-drink cup and "pump him full of soda", use the virtual queue systems, and don't get in lines that you feel might be too long for your child's bladder.

 

Hope that helps.

 

--Robb "I feel like this should be common sense." Alvey

Edited August 22, 2013 by robbalvey