Summer vacation is ending. School is starting. And people are getting back that daily grind. This week has been all about family at my house. My brother and his daughter are visiting from out of state so we decided to have a family outing at Six Flags and fueled up with an easy chicken snack beforehand.
We decided that we were going to take our toddlers with us to Six Flags and that meant that I needed some serious pre-park planning. I looked into the FAQs for the park and realized that we wouldn’t be able to take drinks, snacks, or food of any kind in the park. You can take one bottle of water per person, but that’s it.
One bottle of water was not going to cut it for our kids. And I didn’t want to go broke buying park food, so I headed to Sam’s Club and grabbed a couple of things to eat beforehand and during the 1.5 hour car ride there.
Tyson Chicken Fries were the perfect pre-park meal for my family. Being in ‘fry’ form made them all the more appealing to my little ones. And all of the adults gobbled them up pretty quickly too. It only took about 15 minutes to bake them up and then I wrapped some in a napkin and put them in a plastic cup for easy eating in the car. The kids enjoyed their fun #ChickenFryTime in the car. My backseat has the crumbs to prove it.
Initially, I thought about tailgating at the park but you can’t tailgate at Six Flags Great America. I’m not sure if this is the case at every Six Flags park… but the one in Gurnee, IL does not allow this. I know in the past, we were able to tailgate and even have small grills but the rules must have changed.
It was a good thing we got the kids fed and full before heading to the park because once they saw Kidzopolis they were jumping out of their strollers and running wild.
Six Flags Great America has lots of ride for kiddies 36″ and over. They need to be with an adult, but the rides are a lot of fun and not overly scary. Except maybe the tea cups. Oh how I wish I could share with you the terrified faces of the three 2 year olds while they rode the tea cups. I couldn’t help but laugh as they clutched for dear life and squished into each other. They were, of course, accompanied by amused adults. 🙂
If you’re going to Six Flags any time soon, I suggest you take with you a Grandma. That’s right. At least one Grandma who is ready to  pacify the children and rock them back and forth while they fight against their naps. I happened to take my mother, who is the Grandmother to 11 kiddies, and well versed in the antics of toddlers.
This little terror decided to skip her nap and throw an hour long fit instead. Nothing a little funnel cake and some lemonade couldn’t help, though. I know that a long day out in the sun made the kids extra tired and irritable and if we hadn’t eaten before arriving they would’ve been even more cranky.
It doesn’t hurt to have some other adults with you, too. I didn’t actually get around to getting on any rides other than those wild kiddie ones. But my brother (orange shirt on the right) was able to get some rides while we watched his little blonde cutie, Veda.
All in all, it was a pretty awesome day at the park. The weather was perfect and the lines weren’t astronomical. We managed to keep our spending down by munching on some Tyson Chicken Fries before heading to the park. It’s also a great post-park meal. With chicken meals costing about $11 each at the park, it’s definitely a money saver eating beforehand.
You can expect some tantrums, meltdowns, and overly tired behavior if you take your toddlers… but feeding them first and planning to have extra help can make all the different in the world for your trip to Six Flags.
I completely agree with your suggestion to bring a grandmother. Our family travels to Disneh regularly with 2-4 toddlers and their Nana is always a valuable resource!