Prepare for fun

The refreshing rush Florida water parks

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 22, 2001

Robert Brown, theme park expert at the Web site About.com, offers tips for visitors to water parks:

• Bring an extra car key. Car keys are one of the most often lost items at water parks. If the water park does not offer lockers to its guests, consider buying a neck safe -- a small, waterproof compartment that hangs around your neck in which you can store your keys and cash while you play.
• Keep it soft. Most parks, including Adventure Island, prohibit swimsuits with metal buttons, rivets, snaps, or other such things that might scratch the fiberglass slides. Wear something smooth and soft that fits well, and that will stay on and in place when you are sliding through water at high speeds.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Just because there's water all around you doesn't mean you can't get dehydrated in the summer heat.
• Use a good waterproof sunblock, so that you do not lose protection as soon as you hit the water.
• Don't bring what you don't need. You cannot be sure your stuff will still be where you left it when you come back to your towel. Leave your wallet or purse at home. If the park offers locker rentals, consider that option.
• Sick children should not be brought to water parks. Some parks require rubberized pants for youngsters under a certain age, and parents should insure that their child keeps these pants on. No swim diaper or diaper cover will contain the contents of a soiled diaper, so infants and toddlers should be changed frequently. While water parks continually filter and chlorinate their pools, there is no treatment that can catch every contaminant instantaneously, so try to avoid ingesting any water while you swim.

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