Theme Park travel tips :D

More personal reminders for stuff that worked and I'd like to remember, or it didn't, and I want to remember not to repeat it. Also for stuff I thought of that might be worth trying.

(Yes, the single-packs of gatorade and crystal light I made for our trip to Disneyworld years ago worked great. Of course, after I posted how I made them, it was only a couple years before... you guessed it... the manufacturers decided to make single packs.)

Yes, my family laughs at my compulsive planning (sometimes the planning gets you started on the enjoyment before you even get there! I was one of those kids who packed and repacked my school box the night before school started back, I was so thrilled.) but they always seem to be happy to benefit from it. I remember being laughed at for carrying my fanny pack, but they were all digging hungrily into it for the jerky and snack mix I'd brought along, while we were in line for 2 hours for Scooby Doo's Swampbusters ride.

• Sunglasses
• Water bottle (collapsible Platypus sport works best for me, because they squish up into your pocket when empty)
• Water bottle holder (o-ring on a strap or a carabiner)
• Cash
• Credit card
• cell phone (huge improvment over the two way radios we used back then! no roaming for me with nationwide long distance!)
• small washcloth or babywipes (tiny pack though - may or may not have been used)
• Snack mix - Cheez-it Twisters mixed with sesame oat sticks was VERY satisfying (what else to mix in? Pretzels? Nuts? Wasabe peas? LOL)
• Beef Jerky / Sticks (protein for lasting energy and salt for hydration)
• fruit chewy-gel thingees
• Big easy zip bag for tossing all important stuff into during a water ride
• disposable camera (not so sure about the wisdom of taking a digital camera yet)
• drink mix pouches (but last time the heat got me and I nearly passed out, so I had to get a soda to bring my blood sugar back up until I could eat. Plain water didn't help me, though it did go on my diet plan.)
• couple of bandaids (pretty sure all decent parks have a first aid station for more serious boo boos)
• tiny pack of tissues (somebody's always sneezing)
• Tylenol
• Sunscreen / lip balm

Now there is something to remember about some places. Seems like Six Flags always has some ridiculously expensive refillable cup that you can buy, but you get soda refills for the huge thing for $1. Sometimes you can even get them to listen when you beg them to go easy on the ice. (And then sometimes you get a smartass teenager who not only puts in as much ice as possible, doesn't fill the drink up.)