Visiting crowded places like the zoo, county fair, water, theme, amusement parks, or other local events can be a daunting task with your kiddos, but I have a few quick tips to help make your trip out a more enjoyable one!
Tip #1 Take a Before Pic of Your Child
This pic is not only a photo of your child from the day of your outing, but dualy serves as a safety measure as well. If you little gets lost in a crowd or separated from you, having a photo from that day that is easily accessible on your phone is perfect to help quickly identify your child. Security professionals have told me parents in a panic tend to have a difficult time articulating what their child was wearing so having a picture on hand can be a lifesaver in the event that your child gets lost.
Tip #2 Take a Pic of Your Parking Location
This may seem insignificant, but has been a lifesaver for us especially when you are visiting a place with marked parking areas. Taking a quick pic of the where you parked can help you find your car faster after a long day of fun!
Tip #3 Pack Drinks & Snacks
First, be sure to check to make sure wherever you visit allows you to bring in food. We ALWAYS pack outside food when we are can! We love to pack water, granola bars, fruit, chips, and crackers. This allows us to enjoy a little something while we wait in lines and in between meals. Not only does this help curb the hunger, save time, but also money eating snack foods that are marked up and cost a pretty penny. This allows more moola in our budget to treat ourselves to big meals and desserts while we are away from home.
Tip #4 Bring Ponchos
When in theme parks, we love water rides rain or shine! I know that sounds crazy, but when you are only visiting for a small amount of time you want to enjoy everything. My youngest son and I aren't interested in walking around in soggy clothes and packing extra clothes that need to be carried around can be a huge hassle so I always keep a couple of ponchos on deck. I get mine from the Dollar Tree since they carry them year round and they are so affordable. When we are done using them we give them away so others can stay dry too!
Tip #5 Use Entertainment to Your Advantage
This is the best tip especially at Disneyland and California Adventure! Most people that visit theme parks enjoy watching parades or other scheduled entertainment, but if you've seen the show before you may want to forego watching it again and take advantage of the time to get on rides instead. We find that since many people are waiting for the entertainment a few hours prior and during, rides times are much shorter.
What are some of the things you do when you take your kids out? Please share!
