As a Busch Gardens Ambassador I am provided promotional tickets to conduct reviews but all the opinions are 100% my own. Don’t tell, I pulled my kids out of school early last week, and took them to Water County USA for an afternoon of fun before the masses were out of school. It was a beautiful day but I was still a little stressed about the adventure as I had never been to an outdoor water park with kids before. After surviving the outing I decided to share tips to survive a water park with your kids to you all.

Instead of listing things you should bring to a Water Park, what about what not to bring to a water park? Especially with the ages of my kids, minimalist is the key!! I saw people dragging bags around the park, no need really. I just had my locker key, sunglasses and flip flops.

1. Rent a locker, annual pass holders get a break and we fit 3 bags into the small locker

2. Get a Cash Band so you don’t have to carry money around. Link up the waterproof band to your credit card and go cash free for the day. If you are an annual pass member , it is linked to  your card so you get the 10% discount on purchases.

3. Leave your towels in the car or locker. Unless it is cold when you go, you won’t need to dry off in between rides.

4. Bring Flip flops and wear them in between rides,  there are places to stash your shoes and the concrete might get hot if you don’t.

5. Reapply Sunscreen often. Don’t forget to run to your locker every 90 minutes to reapply sunscreen. Even though there is a good amount of shade in the lines, the force of the water helps reduce the efficacy of the sunscreen.

6. Leave floaties behind. There are life jackets of all sizes available at every ride and all around the park.

7. Water is free. Not the pool water, but drinking water. Bring  a refillable water bottle.

8. Sunglasses should be secure.  I wore my sport sunglasses and they were not a problem on any of the rides. Did not use them on the Colossal Curl though? All the other rides they served like goggles.

9. Leave the make up at home.  It is only going to get ruined and who really cares anyway.

10. Pack dry clothes.  Leave them in the locker so you can change before you head in the car, especially if you have a good distance to drive.

11. Have fun. The rides are very kid friendly, almost all sizes can ride most rides. Feel free to be a kid! Now I have survived both outdoor and indoor water parks.

What survival water park tips do you have?