Coaster Tour Guides

Organising Tips

As well as booking directly with hotels, airlines etc. check out travel websites such as Expedia and Ebookers. Prices can vary quite a bit with no one place consistently being the cheapest.

 Maps make life a lot easier for planning big trips. Write a list of the parks you must visit on a trip. Then get mark out and map where these parks are. You can then work out suitable schedule and see what is in between the parks such as sight see in a big city or another filler park to boost the coaster count. I have a map of Europe and the USA and have marked all the parks I want to visit on them. You can spot clusters of parks suitable for long weekends or for full holidays. For USA holidays Coast 2 Coaster is in incredibly useful. 

Once you know which parks and where they are be sure to check their website to see how many attractions there have that appeal to you. Make sure you allow enough time to do all the rides you want. You don’t want to carefully plan a trip but your schedule is so tight you have to miss out on something. 

While looking at a park’s website check out the calendar. Make sure that the park is open when you are going and that the hours of operation suit. It’s also worth noting if there is a local national holiday as that can lead to parks being busier and hotels costing more. 

I tend to arrange to stay in a hotel near the park you are going to that day. Staying near the park means you don’t have to get up so early to be there for opening. It’s during the first hour or so that parks tend to be the most quiet allowing more riding.  If you finish in a park earlier than expected you can drive to the next hotel and have more time to get a decent evening meal at the hotel, if you save the drive for the morning then you potentially have more dead time and less flexibility on in park time. The other advantage is roads tend to be quieter in the evening so hopefully reducing travel time.

General Park Tips

Wear something comfortable, try and avoid open-toed shoes especially if you plan to do Go Karting and dangly clothing or jewellery that could get caught in a ride mechanism. Combat trousers with zip pockets are ideal as any loose articles can be stowed safely and not left in a ride station where they could be stolen. Use plenty of sunscreen and wear a hat as you are likely to face a lot of sun exposure even on cloudy days.

Drink plenty of fluids, you are likely to be doing a lot of walking and standing so need to replenish lost fluids, especially on hot days. You don’t want to ride coasters when you have a headache caused by dehydration. Likewise if you do have a head ache take time out and rest, you won’t enjoy your trip if you keep rushing.

It’s always a good idea to choose a suitable meet up point should your group become separated. Perhaps back at the car at a pre-arranged departure time or somewhere for lunch.

Pay attention to all the rules displayed and follow any verbal instructions given by ride operators. Not following the rules could endanger yourself or others and lead to possible eviction from the park. Never line jump. And never try to dodge past height and weight restrictions, they are there for your safety.

Keep your arms and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times and remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop and you are instructed to exit the ride.

Always use the safety equipment provided and do not tamper with restraints to make them loose for any reason or remove any secondary restraints such as lap belts.

Virtual Queuing

Many parks now offer virtual queing systems which aid to reduce your time stood in queue lines. Examples of this system are Disney Fast Pass, Six Flags Flash Pass, Universal Express or Tussauds Fastrack tickets. If you know a park will be busy in advance then often you can pre-book these options. Alterntively if you don’t know how busy it will be wait until you arrive at a park and judge it on the day.

Most parks charge for the priviledge but in the case of Disney Fast Pass it’s free and should be used to maximise your time in a park, even on quiet days it can save long walks around meandering queue lines.

With the Fast Pass it’s worth noting while you can’t return to ride early you can return late and still be let on, so don’t rush to get back if you are in a queue for anther ride or eating lunch. You can only have one fast pass at a time or wait till 2 hours to obtain a second, if your return time has already arrived get another  Fast Pass before going for your ride.

Rather than cause chaos all queueing up together to get your fast pass send one or two of your of the quiekst members from your group with all your entry tickets to collect the fast passes. While they are doing that the rest of you could be ordering their meals, using the toilet or some other activity.

Look at the standby line time shown at the entrance of the queue. If it's just a few minutes and the return Fast Pass time is very close then get a Fast Pass. You can get in 2 rides in a short space of time and be able to get another Fast Pass pretty soon after. If the park is busy elsewhere though it’s probably best to grab a Fast Pass for a busier attraction and come back and stand in the short standby line.

Before getting a Fast Pass make sure the return time is suitable for you. On busy days it maybe several hours ahead. If you don’t plan to be in the park that long or intend to be over the other side of a park then use the standby line and get a Fast Pass for a different attraction.Look at the posted Fastpass return time.).

IF you do get a Fast Pass for much later in the day make sure you plan your route accordingly. You don’t want to be rushing back and forth across a park to make it to your allocated slot.

If you are park hoping and plan to return to a park it’s worth noting that Fast Pass machines are not linked between parks. For example you could have a collected a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom and hop over to MGM and get a Fast Pass for Tower of Terror. This may not be an effective way of avoiding queues but it’s worth bearing in mind if you were planning to park hop.