What to do when kids are SCREAMING to be heard
story by Kimberly Rily, photography by Mitch Rily
As a family, some of the most anticipated events of the year are trips to amusement parks. Whether these trips happen only once during the heat of the summer, over spring break, or regularly on weekends, memories are made when kids meet some of their favorite characters for the first time; when Junior is finally tall enough to ride the fastest rides with Dad; when little Jenny rides the carousel 12 times in a row; when the family gets that great picture of everyone going over the crest of the roller coaster together.
Unfortunately, memories are also made when Jenny and Junior scream at each other because they don’t want to share a soda or when the kids throw up on the Tilt-a-Whirl after eating too much cotton candy. They’re made when Jenny cries until she’s blue in the face because she didn’t get a doll and when Junior suddenly changes his mind about the roller coaster at the crest of the hill. These aggravating memories are made when the two-year-old needs a nap and the five-year-old doesn’t want to wait in any more lines. We all have memories of those trips — trips ruined by tantrums, screaming, frustration, exhaustion and just plain crankiness.
Families love amusement parks. Hands down, they are one of the best places where everyone — babies, kids, teens and adults — can find something to do. But the children who make parks so fun with their enthusiasm can also make a trip to an amusement park a living hell if they’re not happy. I’ve seen signs that read, “If Mom isn’t happy, nobody’s happy.” They should make another one, “If the toddler isn’t happy, nobody’s happy… and you’ll all be deaf from the screaming.” So how to keep your smallest, most easily frustrated people happy is an important task if you want to keep coming back for more fun.
A NAP A DAY KEEPS THE TEARS AWAY
Like the Boy Scouts say, you’ve got to be prepared. The best first line of defense against crying kids are the parents, or whoever is bringing the little tykes to the park. Erin, from Kansas, came prepared when she brought her nieces and nephew to Walt Disney World. They brought a backpack filled with books about the park and their favorite characters so they could read in line. She even had the oldest one teach impromptu lessons on things they’ve seen around the park. Elle, traveling from Australia, announced her best idea is to come with backup. “There were three adults and one child and it was the best idea that we had. That way, no one missed out on anything!”
Marion, another mother, emphasized, “I think that being proactive goes a long way towards nipping meltdowns in the bud. Kids get tired; kids get hungry, and kids cannot do a marathon all-day excursion the way adults can. If you stay [at a hotel] on property… it is easy to go to the park in the morning, come back to your room for lunch and naps by the pool for an hour or two, and then go back to the park in the late afternoon.” Not expecting too much of little ones is definitely important. No matter how grand the theme park, how extensive the design, how smooth the ride, or how popular the characters, if your little customer is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, nothing is going to keep them from becoming an exploding little bomb of frustration.
Parents can have meltdowns, too. Obviously, many parks are not inexpensive. It can be frustrating for the parents to have paid $40 or more per person to have a fun time with the family, and someone is ruining it by screaming, whining and complaining. You really can’t expect too much from someone who’s under 52 inches tall and less than five years old. Adults can get just as excited as kids about taking their family to the park, but they need to have realistic expectations and be ready to handle kids affected by excitement, hunger, fear, and of course, short legs. If you go in prepared, your day will be more enjoyable. A local southern California park-goer, Christina, told me her tips for keeping her three young children, McKenzie, Nick and Ty, happy. “If we think Nick’s going to be hungry at 12:00, we start looking for places to eat at 11:00.” If you’re local, you can buy season passes in order to go more often and not have to spend the whole day. Since her two boys are under three, they only had to pay for their daughter. Different parks occasionally have different price ranges for children based on age.
SOB STORIES
Sometimes the most unexpected things can adversely affect kids. On one trip to Disneyland, a three-year-old named Katie spent the entire morning proclaiming her bravery. “I’m gonna touch Tigger’s tail! I’m gonna touch Tigger’s tail!” she told me over and over again. When she finally reached Tigger standing on Main Street and got up to him, she screamed bloody murder and couldn’t get away fast enough. The friendly Tigger had all of a sudden turned into the frightening Sher Khan in her eyes.
Christina was surprised by one thing her daughter found scary. Not a ride, not a looming, bright-orange bouncing tiger, but a toilet. “The new automatic-flushing toilets scare her. So, we go into the baby centers. They’re air-conditioned and have small toilets with the flushing handle.” Sometimes things are added with much expense to enhance the parks, and for some people, it actually hinders their park experience. It’s surprising what kids will react to.
PARKS CAN KEEP THE TEARS AWAY
Kids will be kids, but how can parks help assuage their toughest customers’ fears? An amusement park’s job is not only to entertain its customers, but if it does its job well, it can also provide other ways to alleviate boredom, help dissipate meltdowns, and keep everyone pacified. There are many aids already provided at parks across the country. Universal Studios has Front Of Line Passes or V.I.P. Tour passes that allow visitors to skip to the front of lines. Disney’s Animal Kingdom has nature stations at several locations around the park – places where kids can sit down at a kid-sized picnic table and periodically see creatures like tarantulas, geckos and scorpions (safely enclosed in small plastic habitats, of course). A system that’s been around for a while at most parks is the hand stamp, allowing guests to return later in the day. You might think it’s simple, but it’s a benefit that allows families to leave the park and take a break, a nap in the car, or have a snack in the picnic area.
Park design can also be entertainment. One parent I spoke to said she went online and printed out a list of “hidden Mickeys” located around Disneyland. Her kids enjoyed looking for them as they ran around. Parks often build special sections just for their smallest guests. Whether it’s Toontown, Shamu’s Happy Harbor, or Nickelodeon Central, these areas cater to the interests, ability, and safety of their youngest riders with rides and attractions built specifically for a kid’s size and level of enjoyment. More than ever, rides are including videos as part of the “pre-ride entertainment.” These are great when the videos are long enough to span a guest’s wait in line. But this “entertainment” becomes tedious when repeated over and over. Thus, something that was supposed to make the wait easier to bear just grates on guests’ nerves. Video entertainment needs to be long enough to encompass the entire wait.
Chris, a former employee from a southern California theme park, empathizes with park-goers. “The worst thing is for a parent to be in line with their kids on a hot day.” That’s why everything from the line until the ride has been designed to be cohesive, in order to help kids stay focused on the ride, and not the wait. Chris explained that everything guests encounter in line, whether it’s a recording, a location, or something an employee says, is important. “We were trained that everything you say is part of the theme. Even if it sounds ridiculous to you, it helps make the experience magic for the kids.”
How can park employees as individuals help families with small children? One thing employees can do is warn parents ahead of time that a ride might be too scary, avoiding situations before they start. Chris told me, “The ride I worked at had four warnings total, in line and before the show. If things became scarier than expected, we had stickers to give out to the kids to help cheer them up.” Christina recalled, “I’ve had people at the ride talk to the kids in line when they’re getting antsy.”
In order to keep families happy and returning, parks need to go that extra mile to stave off the waterworks. It’s up to parents to calm their children, but, of course, everyone wants to have a good time. Between families, parks, and individual employees, there are many ways to deal with the situation when kids turn on the waterworks.
