Chapter 4: Washrooms, First Aid, and Planning
Plan your route before you go.
Not your whole trip. That way madness lies. Just the next part of it. You don’t need to go into a day having all of your rides and routes mapped out (unless that is something you want to do, in which case, fill your boots!). You just need to know what the next step is.
This may seem like an obvious step to take, but it can be an easy one to overlook! If you’ve just finished a ride or a show, and are looking for the next item on your list to do, the natural thing to do is to start walking in that direction. And this can work. Of course it can. But it may also take you through the busiest parts of the Parks while doing it. Instead, what we tried to do (well, whenever we remembered) was to take a beat to consider where we were going and to look at the least efficient way to get there! We sometimes took the path most travelled, but often would go out of our way to avoid the most direct route.
Go to the Studios Park after 3 pm.
Why, you may ask, do the crowds in the Studios Park thin out after three, especially when there are signs all over the entrance to the Studios Park that say “consider coming after 3! There are fewer people here then!”? I have no idea. You would think that everyone would see those signs, turn around, and come back at 3, causing huge lineups and general consternation all around. But nope, the signs, despite seeming to be self-defeating, remain accurate. My recommendation? Unless you have a particular character meet to go to before 3, do as the signs say.
Water and toilets.
Seeing as you will be doing a lot of walking in the Parks, you’ll probably be drinking a lot of water. And, biology being what biology is, you’re going to have to deal with the consequences of this sooner than later! If you’re anything like me, you do best when you know where you can find the closest toilet. This guide is all about reducing stress, so, if you’ve never been to the Parks before, know that it is actually really quite easy to find a nearby toilet.
We’re going back to the app map for this one. You can select both “toilets” and “drinking fountains” in the app map. Though you can’t select both of these together. Perhaps to assist in not confusing the two of them, which could lead to… problems. Anyway, the app map is really useful in finding the nearest toilets and water refill stations to where you are. Note that, unlike the rides, these don’t have any approximate wait times that you can see if you select one on the map! For that reason, it is good to have a few options. We have found that the toilets nearest to the ticket gates of both Parks tend to be less busy than others, so we sometimes insist that the Expansion Packs use these ones when we pass by, to reduce the urgency of later trips.