Samuel Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 After visiting a few regional parks recently (I don't want to single them out by name, as this applies to many different parks I've visited over the years), each modern rest stop on the highways during the trip out-classed even the best bathrooms in those parks. To me, this is an oversight of lots of parks, and I believe that having adequately-sized, clean, modern bathrooms can be a big factor in overall park quality. In fact, I would even prefer off-season bathroom renovations over new rides in some instances. Mystery puddles, unusual drips, 20 house flies to keep you company, stagnant air and poor ventilation, a lack of soap, a lack of ways to dry hands, backed-up sinks, backed-up toilets (yikes), size not designed to handle modern traffic (lines out the door), etc., are all not that unusual. Even with attendants cleaning, the effort in some bathrooms is like re-tracking Mean Streak every year: there's only so much that can be done. In addition, I think the family appeal of parks makes it more imperative to have clean and adequate bathrooms, when compared to sporting event and concert venues, where grimy facilities tend to come with the territory of raucous environments and lots of alcohol. This is all coming only from my men's room experiences, and I've heard horror stories from some women's rooms that sound far worse. I'm not suggesting that parks install gold thrones, but I do wish that more would upgrade to a modern airport or rest stop level of quality. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Mystery puddles... I just hate those. Along with peed-on toilet seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuckInSD Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Or when people leave wet toilet paper bits on the seat... Tho, despite being here in congested SoCal, I've actually found theme park bathrooms pretty sanitary. Last week when I went to SeaWorld, the bathrooms were godly in terms of cleanliness (at least from last time); dry floors, no graffiti or scratches, and it didn't smell that bad despite being near the sea lions. But I totally get just how bad theme park bathrooms can get. Disneyland on any day that isn't a school season Monday or Tuesday suffers in the toiletry department. ... at least we get treated to a show when someone poops their pants and the characters start dancing around the poop so nobody sees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I totally agree with you. One of the things I dread about US Trips is dealing with the restrooms in the amusement parks. They're just barely a step above China park bathrooms! It seems easy enough to staff someone to keep them clean and functioning; similar to airport bathroom situations. It really can ruin your park day playing the "find a useable toilet" game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I totally agree with you. One of the things I dread about US Trips is dealing with the restrooms in the amusement parks. They're just barely a step above China park bathrooms! It seems easy enough to staff someone to keep them clean and functioning; similar to airport bathroom situations. It really can ruin your park day playing the "find a useable toilet" game. Are China park bathrooms all squat toilets? I guess they are, just asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ^The majority are. And at some of the smaller 'parks' there aren't even doors, or dividers, just a lot of holes in the floor and Chinese people squatting bottomless around them. Still though most of the Happy Valley chain parks had better restrooms than US Six Flags parks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ^Something to be said for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ^The majority are. And at some of the smaller 'parks' there aren't even doors, or dividers, just a lot of holes in the floor and Chinese people squatting bottomless around them. Still though most of the Happy Valley chain parks had better restrooms than US Six Flags parks! Hmm... no dividers? I've heard of "troughs" in the floor, but I thought individual squat toilets tended to have dividers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Any thoughts? I agree with you! A lot of the park I've been to have been way below what I except in terms of hygien and service. All parks should be forced to build Gröna Lund restroms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 This thread speak to truth. It can actually put a serious downer on your day if you have to spend a good portion of it trying to find a bathroom that won't give you some form of illness. My personal experience for the worst toilets in this country goes to Drayton Manor. I actually refused to go to toilet on park and held it in until I got back to the hotel. They really were horrific. Im pretty sure those charts that show they have been cleaned and inspected just get signed straight away then the person who was meant to clean it just walks off leaving it in an horrific state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richards.adam Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My personal experience for the worst toilets in this country goes to Drayton Manor.. Word around the midlands was that Drayton was still on the up?! It's a family park so without basic, clean amenities it's on the back foot then? And only Apocalypse would make you need to go that quickly and hence toilets just next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My personal experience for the worst toilets in this country goes to Drayton Manor.. Word around the midlands was that Drayton was still on the up?! It's a family park so without basic, clean amenities it's on the back foot then? And only Apocalypse would make you need to go that quickly and hence toilets just next door. Well heres the thing Drayton Manor is on the up. I mean the hotel is fantastic, Thomas Land draws huge numbers of people, they have just installed an Air Race but they still fail on some basic things such as food and toilets. The worst toilets on park were by far the ones in Thomas Land, they made me want to throw up. As its been said before its not hard to ensure they are presentable so why so many parks fail at this I do not know. I don't think there was a single park on the Scandi trip that didn't have acceptable standards in their toilets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sf-Dad Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I must say one thing SFSTL seems to get right is clean bathrooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmeister Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I just got back from Raging Waters in San Dimas, and their bathrooms were bad even for water park standards. Also, last time I was at Belmont Park, the men's room had one doorless stall and a urinal in each of their main restrooms on the midway. They might as well not have a sit down toilet at all if they are going to have no door because I can't imagine anyone using it. The Legolands all seem to have clean restrooms though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) This is when I am most glad that I am a man & feel very bad for the ladies because I would definitely be playing the 'find a clean toilet stall" game too. I have thought several times that I would not want to have to go into a stall and have to sit on a toilet when I see dirty sinks or toilet paper on the floor. For the most part, Cedar Point's bathrooms are always clean and it seems like there is someone in them constantly mopping and cleaning. But I had to duck in to the one at the Soak City entrance (nearest the campground) one time and what I saw on the floor and wall of one of the stalls was most appalling. I skipped out and went to another one that was perfectly clean and stopped back at the same one later in the day...the same nasty mess was still there! I then reported it to one of the campground employees and hoped that the situation was resolved quickly. I assumed that it was because this bathroom is not normally used by guests when Soak City isn't open (which it wasn't) and perhaps it isn't as on a strict of a cleaning regimen as other restrooms in the park. I have seen similar things in airports and even where I work. I don't think it's so much that the employees aren't keeping up with cleaning as much as the disgusting things that people can do in between the scheduled cleaning times. Like Elissa eluded to...the parks almost need to have an employee at every restroom just constantly cleaning them all day. Of course it could be avoided if people were just humane and cleaned up after themselves, washed their hands and placed their used supplies in the proper receptacles. Seems simple enough, but based on some nasty things I have seen in restrooms, some people obviously still feel the need to live & act like total neanderthals. Edited August 10, 2014 by Philrad71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Growing up in China, I almost cried when I saw Ocean Kingdom's bathroom. Seriously Chinese parks really need to improve their bathrooms and make them Chimelong clean. As for no dividers, where was that? I'm surprised I haven't seen one growing up. Is that in the North? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 ^Yes, it was outside of Beijing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heth Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 When it comes to bathrooms my best...er....experiences have been in Efteling, with the Disney and Universal parks being close. Clean, well maintained and often themed (if only slightly). I thankfully recall no awful toilets at any park I've been to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFEV Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Sadly, I'm pretty sure Elissa is referring to these "authentic" Chinese theme park (ummm....) "experiences" near Beijing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 ^ Still cleaner than many Six Flags bathrooms I've been in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Oh my god! That's truly disgusting! I would rather hold it until I die. I saw some really nasty thing at SFOT's bathroom as well, can't get that picture out of my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 My worst amusement park bathroom experience (other than holding it for an hour after seeing that Chinese one that Dan posted!) was at Alabama Adventure about 10 years ago. It was truly terrifying. There were just all sorts of bodily fluids all over the floors, walls, toilets, sinks, no toilet paper or paper towels to be found and about 45 people in a bathroom with eight stalls. Keep in mind, none of those eight stalls were useable! My most surprising amusement park bathroom experience was at Six Flags Mexico. You can only imagine my thoughts of Six Flags + Mexico + Toilet so when KT told me she needed to go I was apprehensive to say the least. We walked in, there was a friendly attendant, it smelled nice and clean, all clean toilets, toilet paper, soap, paper towels, and everything worked. It was quite the pleasant surprise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laqueefa Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 ^ Still cleaner than many Six Flags bathrooms I've been in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generic Name Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Sadly, I'm pretty sure Elissa is referring to these "authentic" Chinese theme park (ummm....) "experiences" near Beijing: Still better than the bathroom in the dorm I stayed in my freshman year. SFNE's restrooms were alright; at least the ones I went in which were near the skylift. The most surprising experience though was at the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton; fairs usually mean disgusting restrooms but here they were clean and well taken care of. There were even paper towels in the dispenser! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenflames Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I remember there was one time I attempted to use a bathroom at SFA (in the Gotham City section), and I almost threw up because of how disgusting it was. It looked (and smelled) like there was a burst pipe, because the whole thing was flooded with sewage. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen a theme park bathroom as nice as the Tangled ones in Magic Kingdom. I didn't even have to use it, but I just went inside to marvel at how pretty it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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