The dirty culprit that plagues my husband at theme parks, amusements parks and carnivals alike: motion sickness. The affliction happens when the brain's equilibrium, or the inner ear, cannot make sense of the motion it is experiencing, and so it gets your entire body involved in an uprising. The result? Nausea, dizziness, clamminess, and sometimes even vomiting.
Motion sickness prevents its victim from enjoying a fun-filled day at a theme park, in other words a severe case of FOMO (fear of missing out). With area theme park prices soaring well above $100 a pop, it's in your best interest to nip it in the bud.
Pop a Pill: As you gear up for your day at the park, conventional medicine such as Dramamine (the non-drowsy kind) would be a great addition to your purse or pocket. Take the appropriate dosage one hour before your plan on hopping on a ride. Ginger can also be helpful, as well as acupressure bands.
Know Your Limits: Since our first incident with the simulator, my husband uses that as a jumping-off point. Before getting on a new ride, he will ask the attendant working at the entrance how it compares to his off-limits ride.
Pace Yourself: As you pinball from one ride to another, you may want to give yourself recovery time between high-stake thrill rides. For my husband, spinning rides and simulators are the worst, so we never do those back-to-back.
You Are What You Eat: We all know theme park food isn't the lightest fare in the world. But keep in mind that heavy, spicy, fat-rich foods may worsen your motion sickness symptoms or even induce nausea. Alcohol also plays a factor in that as well. So, that liquid courage may exacerbate the situation.
Let Me Out: Once you've committed to a ride, especially a roller coaster, there is not much you can do if motion sickness strikes. I'd recommend, sitting a few seats from the front row, which allows you to expect the motion without missing the exhilaration. If you feel motion sickness creeping in, try keeping your head from moving around, close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Enjoy the Atmosphere: Don't snub an experience because you can't do a ride. For example, the lead-up to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure (and Universal Studios Japan) is a whimsical tour through the Hogwarts Castle. Ride attendants allow visitors to do a walking tour through the castle which features animated characters, gabby portraits and the famous Sorting Hat. A lot of rides, especially the new ones, have these opportunities to enjoy the preshow and leave before the ride itself.
We use these tips so both of us can spend the entire day enjoying theme parts together. If you find nothing works, you can always call my husband who will give you the best benches for people watching around Orlando-area theme parks.
What motion sickness remedies work for you?
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For me, I'm mostly fine except in total spinner rides. Those got me as a kid, so I avoid them most of the time. This is especially true at a Six Flags type park, where it doesn't feel worth it. I'll still do things like Mission Space, but I have to really not overdo it.
While I've never found the need to take Dramamine, it's important to take it an hour or so before riding. Dramamine will do nothing for you once you're experiencing motion sickness. This is also extremely important if you are planning on doing a little ocean fishing while you visit.
Your husband is not alone in regard to simulators. A well written article!
Mexican Hat Dance, Knott's Berry Farm- A teacup ride that lasts too long
Fun Wheel, CAlifornia Adventure- Swining gondalas are scary
These days I do not do rollercoasters either, I don't get sick on them but my BP goes way too high, and I mourn the days that I could ride them. The last time I rode one was the yellow Scorpion at BG Tampa about 10 years ago and I thought my head was going to explode.
These days I warn all my guests about Forbidden Journey. I have heard horror stories about that one and tell them that if anyone has any kind of motion sickness issues that they need to stop and ask themselves if the ride is worth feeling sick the rest of the day.
So unfortunately, I now go to the parks for the shows and the gentle rides like Soarin'. I don't have any problems with that one but I have had friends get nauseous and super claustrophobic on it, go figure.
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