I’m a mum and playing ‘rollercoaster bingo’ can make theme parks MUCH easier with kids

A MUM has revealed her trick to making a theme park visit with kids much easier – and it involves playing “rollercoaster bingo”.

Mum-of-two Emma Stretton, who dubs herself a “savvy saver,” explained that the best way to avoid long queues is to go to the rides at the back of the park as soon as you get there.

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The 37-year-old, who has joined forces with Blackpool Pleasure Beach said: “From my experience, the rides at the back of the park tend to have fewer people in the morning as visitors go on the rides nearest to the entrance as soon as they arrive.

“So start at the park of the park first and make your way forward.”

However, she said it can be “tricky” to get little kids to walk past all the rides and not go on them when you first arrive.

Instead, she said playing “rollercoaster bingo” can make this easier.

Emma said: “It can be tricky to get little ones to walk past all the rides and not go on anything as you walk to the other side of the park, so sometimes we play rollercoaster bingo to see who spots which rollercoaster first.

“We write down all the rides we want to see and go on during the day and cross them off as we go.

“It saves time in the long run as you avoid some of the longer queues and the kids can get excited spotting all the rides they’re going to go on.”

“This system also applies to the most popular rides in the park, as the queue for these will build as the day goes on. Planning your route strategically can avoid getting caught in queues.”

If you want the ride to go faster, you should also save them for the end of the day, according to experts.

Theme park designer Brian Morrow told Mental Floss: “A coaster running in the morning could run slower when cooler.

“The wheels are not as warm, the bearings are warming up. That could be different by 2 pm, with a slicked-up wheel chassis.

“Those first trial runs [during the testing phase] can be slow because everything is just so tight.

“A lot of coasters don’t even make it around the track. It’s not a failure. It’s just super-slow.”

Sitting at the back of the rollercoaster can also make it feel faster, according to a theme park worker.

And here are some of the weirdest theme parks you can visit in Britain.

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