5 Ways You and the Family Can Stay Safe if You Go to a Theme Park this Summer!

Summer is upon us, but this is one like no other in anyone’s memory. That’s because Covid-19 is here. While the pandemic is still going strong in many parts of the country, some families face boredom and a desire to go on vacation.

It’s hard to find a middle ground between safety and kid-friendly activities. It’s challenging to explain to your children why they might not be able to go back to school in a couple of months, or why you guys can’t visit grandma across the country.

It’s true that open theme parks are out there, though, and many people still plan on going, pandemic, or no pandemic. If you plan on following their lead, you should take some safety precautions. Here are five to keep in mind.

Drive Rather than Fly

You don’t ever want a summer vacation accident, and you’ll want to take any precautions to avoid sickness or injury for yourself or your loved ones. That means you should drive to the amusement park rather than fly.

Flying right now is dangerous because:

• You and your family are in an enclosed airplane with recirculating air
• It’s challenging to leave your masks on for an entire multiple-hour flight
• You have no way to know whether you or someone else has the virus, but you’re asymptomatic

The unfortunate reality is that flying isn’t the safest choice right now, even if it’s convenient. If you can drive to the venue rather than fly, then do that. If you feel like it’s too far away, then consider going somewhere closer.

Stay Hydrated

Once you get to the amusement park, you and your family might be looking at sweltering temperatures. Summer’s height is approaching, and in some states, temps in the 90s are not uncommon.

Make sure you brought enough water along. Most theme parks will allow you to carry in unopened water bottles. If not, you’ll have to buy them there. Make sure:

• You and your family drink eight eight-ounce water glasses per day, at least
• You stay out of the direct sunlight for very long during the day’s hottest hours

Wearing sunblock is helpful, so bring that along as well. If you have fair skin, then you want to reapply multiple times.

Never Leave Your Kids Alone

In the amusement park, you need to keep track of where your kids are at all times. If you have teenagers, then they’re old enough to be somewhat autonomous. With younger kids, though, you don’t want them wandering off by themselves.

There are occasionally going to be some individuals who have malicious intent, and you want to keep a close watch on your loved ones. As long as you can see them, they should be fine.

Wear Masks

As the coronavirus is still around, the theme park you chose is probably going to mandate mask-wearing. That’s as it should be since doctors know that wearing masks keeps the virus at bay.

Bring your masks with you to the theme park and make sure that you, your kids, and everyone else in your party wears them. That’s a safety measure for you, but also everyone around you.

Again, you don’t necessarily know if one of your group carries the virus, but you won’t know because you’re asymptomatic.

Practice Social Distancing

Most theme parks are also good about having marks on the ground or in the ride lines indicating six-foot distances. These are there so you can stay six feet apart from those in front of you and behind you.

It might seem a little silly or excessive, but these times are unprecedented. Infected numbers going up indicates that these measures still need to be in place, and more than anything else, you want to keep you and your family safe.

It’s challenging getting through this time of year, so long known as vacation time, without doing all of the things that you’d typically do. It’s easy to think that everything is back to normal if you don’t know anyone who has the coronavirus.

But it’s still a real threat, and if you are braving an amusement park, you have to do all that you can to stay healthy. While things like sunscreen and hydrating remain essential, there are additional precautions this year that you must consider.

Stay safe out there and watch out not just for those in your party but also for the vacationers around you.