How to win at Theme Park queues
We love visiting Theme Parks but one of our biggest frustrations is the queues, especially when visiting in high season.
Having visited a couple of American theme parks, I do think more could be done in the UK to make fast pass entry easily accessible for everyone, without having to pay a fortune for the privilege.
We have been to two theme parks in the last week and despite being inset days for us, we still had to queue around 80 minutes for some rides and although many theme parks have installed activities for the kids to do, or television screens, there are other ways to help keep the kids occupied.
5 ways to keep the kids occupied in Theme Park queues
Heads Up!
Our favourite game to play whilst waiting for rides is Heads Up!
Heads Up! is an app game that can be downloaded on your Smart Phone (available on App Store and Google Play), which sees you trying to guess what word is on your phone whilst your friends try to describe it.
From naming celebrities or animals, to singing, to silly accents — guess the word on the card that’s on your head from your friends’ clues before the timer runs out!
The kids have great fun doing it and you often find fellow queue members jumping in to help if they are struggling to get a clue.
Kinetic Flow Rings
Probably the best £5 I have ever spent is our Kinetic Flow Rings.
Kinetic rings are similar to a slinky, except that instead of forming a helix/spring shape, the kinetic rings coil through themselves to form their unique shapes.
They fold flat for transport, but when open you can roll them up and down your arm, pass them onto someone else or even on to a post or tree branch. There is something strangely calming about them and they keep the kids occupied for ages.
They are nice and cooling when it is hot, too.
Rubik’s Cube
Like the Kinetic Rings, something that keeps their hands and minds busy, without taking up too much space is a Rubik’s Cube and there are lots of different ones to choose from, from the traditional cube, to the orbit puzzle ball.
The Animal Game
If you don’t want to carry anything with you, another game we love is the animal game.
The youngest player starts by thinking of an animal and then next player has to think of a different animal beginning with the last letter of the previous one.
This game can also be adapted to be played with almost any subject from Bands, to TV Shows and Films.
Pokemon Go! / Wizards Unite
Pokemon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite are augmented reality mobile games that see you catching Pokemon or joining the Ministry of Magic to complete wizarding challenges.
Believe it or not, theme parks are brilliant places to play these games as they are packed full of locations to complete the tasks, plus the kids get points for all the walking they do too.
How do you keep the kids entertained in theme park queues?
Laura Dove
This is so useful and I so wish I’d read this before we did LEGOLAND this summer. 1 hour 30 we waited for some rides!
Laura
I’m stealing these ideas for next time we fear the queues. We do play eye spy and they do have Pokémon go now so I’ll put this to use.
Cristina Petrini
Absolutely brilliant and also incredibly interesting!
fashionandstylepolice
We vlsited LEGOLAND and waited close to 2 hours to get on some rides. My phone and snacks came to the rescue.
Newcastle FamilyLife
Some great tips, my kids are so impatient so we tend to stick to rides with short wait times when we visit Theme Parks xx
kumamonjeng
The ride in the theme park can be very long especially during summer or holiday season. Glad there are a number of games to keep the kids busy and entertained.
Rebecca Smith
These all sound like fantastic ways to keep kids entertained in theme park queues – they can take so very long!
Rhian Westbury
I don’t often go to theme parks but the queues can be ridiculous. What a great selection of ideas to keep kids entertained.
Brianne Tursi Manz
Here in the States, getting a fast pass (where available) is so convenient. I’m surprised this hasn’t caught on in countries abroad! I will say the places we’ve been where it’s not available, our kids are pretty chill, but, I have seen some kids get pretty impatient waiting in line!
Heather
The hardest part of our theme park visits are the lines! I love these ideas to keep the kids occupied!
LuciWest
Some fun ideas to keep kids from getting too bored while waiting. Whenever I think back on my visits to Disney when living in Florida as a teenager decades ago, the memory of standing in never-ending lines comes to mind first. Ugh. Now I could bring my phone… 🙂
Holly Castillo
Great ideas!
Alex Ryder
Great ideas and useful for when we take our nieces on days out. I wish these things had existed when we were younger!
Jasmine Hewitt
it seems to me fast pass doesn’t really work when everyone has it, which they usually do!
Marysa
All those lines at the theme park can be so frustrating – as an adult, I get so frustrated! These are good tips for surviving all that waiting.
Lisa
The lines at theme parks is what puts me off going! You’ve given some great tips here.
Kristal
These are such great ideas on how to keep the kids occupied while you wait in line. I will have to try this with my kids.
Agnes Vazhure
That sounds fantastic and clever! My nephew loves playing in theme park. As well as I am. We’ll surely use this brilliant idea.
Angela Wright
Queues are the worse! Great tips. My son carries his rubix cube everywhere he goes, he is always on it. When waiting somewhere we always like to play the alphabet game with Countries, Cities or animals
Laura - Dear Bear and Beany
Wow 80 minutes is a long time! We’ve always been really lucky with queues when we go to theme parks.
Olivia Jade
I think most of these are really useful for adults too, haha especially some of the smartphone games x
Jenni
This are amazing ideas, the kinetic ring looks so good
Catherine
Great tips and ideas to pass the time. Those long waits are the worst but you made the most of it!
Val
Wow, 80-minute queues sound horrible. But hey, great job at keeping the kids well entertained, thanks for sharing these tips!