I took my kids to Valleyfair (an amusement park an hour away from us) today. While we were there, I made some observations watching other park guests. I've had these same thoughts on previous trips to various amusement parks.
1. If you have a dress code, ENFORCE IT! Valleyfair's dress code, copied from their website, says: In keeping with the family image of Valleyfair, guests are required to wear shoes, tops and pants/shorts at all times while inside the park. Swimwear tops are acceptable if they are of modest style. Clothing that disguises or alters a person's identity and clothing or exposed tattoos with profanity, illegal substances and other suggestive or offensive material are prohibited.
Get real. Do you know how many girls I saw, who were probably 13 or 14 years old, wearing super short shorts with a string bikini top? Seriously! I can only imagine the thoughts running through the heads of every man who saw them. These girls should not be allowed on the rides without a top, or a "modest style" swimsuit. We aren't at the beach, for crying out loud. As the mother of an 8-year-old girl, I would not want my daughter parading around dressed like that.
2. The teenaged couples who stand in line making out. Ugh. I wanted to tap them on the shoulder and tell them to get a room. This behavior is completely inappropriate. I am not against PDA (public display of affection) at all, but let's be a little considerate. When there is a young child standing behind you in line, grabbing your boyfriend's butt and putting your tongue in his mouth is NOT okay. Learn some manners.
3. Many parents are much braver than I am. There is absolutely no way I have the energy to bring an infant, complete with stroller, diaper bag, and all. I wouldn't even be able to handle my 2-year-old. She wouldn't get much out of a trip there anyway, and neither would I if I had to take care of her.
4. People need to stop being so gross. I don't like walls covered in gum, and I don't consider it funny to spit from the top of a ride.
5. Smoke in the smoking designated areas. I am a smoker. I would NEVER walk around in a crowded place that is full of young children with a lit cigarette in my hand. I wonder how many times someone has accidentally bumped into that hot object? And not everybody enjoys the smell of it. The park is nice enough to set aside areas for smoking. USE THEM.
These are just some of the random thoughts I had while there. Obviously, #1 bothered me more than anything else. I just think girls need to stop letting themselves be turned into sex objects, and enforcing the "family image" at the park would certainly help.
What are your thoughts?
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Comments: 27
I totally agree with the PDA!!!!
I know Joslyne wont be wearing swim suits like that when she is under my roof ;)
THe only place better for people watching is a county fair or the beach.
People watching can be both fun and disturbing! We went the the amusement park last week and we saw ADULTS making out in front of us in line, children everywhere! ICK!
I have a really hard time going to amusement parks and even community fairs for the same reason. It's obscene! The profanity, the lit cigarettes being blown into childrens faces when it says "no smoking", the crude gestures and OVERLY intimate PDA (now I hold my husband's hand and give him pecks out in public, but looking like you are having sex with your clothes on - or putting your hand under the other persons clothes in public is just obscene), just grosses me out. I have no desire to be overcharged for every little thing, either.
I do, however, love Disney World and I am looking forward to moving down there in the fall for about 2 years. :)
Disney is awesome & you won't see any of that junk there either!
i agree with all your points and i will add that most of these places sell alcohol as well. drunk people and children dont mix.
Really? You can't buy alcohol anywhere in PA but a bar or a liquor store/beer distributor. It would totally bother me to see alcohol sold in a place where kids play.
Yep, Valleyfair sells beer. I worked there for a few months several years ago and actually served beer.
couples who stand in line making out."
Ewww at any age!
Good observations, Jodie. The dress code should definitely be enforced, and spitting from a ride should mean being expelled from the park.
I know my kids wouldn't go out wearing anything like that...and they don't dress like that around the house either!
It's terrible how kids and adults act, and dress, in public.......I feel the same way you do.....Guess that modesty is a thing of the past.....anymore, sadly to say, "anything" goes.
I completely agree. It seems like the younger crowd, doesn't care. They want to break the rules and it doesn't matter what others think. No respect.
Ugh. The first one is the reason I told Raegan she's not allowed to own a bikini this year. She has a tankini, but the bottoms are shorts, and the top comes to just above the waist line. She's 13. My step-mom thinks I'm overly conservative about it, and says that you might as well get the use out of a bikini while you have the body for it. I think it's too sexually encouraging towards older boys who might not realize (or care) that she's only 13.
If she were 16 (as my niece is), I'd likely be a bit less tight about the whole bikini thing. But for now, I want her covered.
You are very right spanky and you did the rigjht thing. I would do the same too.
I applaude you for sticking to your guns!!! My future daughter will have the same rule. There are just to many pervs and petifiles out there to allow our girls to show flesh at any age under our comfort zone as parents.
Some parents too dress inappropriately for their girls. These days parents no longer dress thieir kids in age appropriate clothes. As the years roll by, things get worse and worse. If you have your own, train them. Hopefully when we train them they would be better for us in future. This society isn't what we grew up in.
I've seen some older woman wearing similar clothing (or lack there of) at amusement parks and other public places. Regardless of their size, there are some I just want to walk up to say just because they make in your size doesn't mean you should buy it.
I agree on all points!
The family amusement park we have has a similar dress code and they actually enforce it. They have people standing at the exits of the water park portion and they won't let people out if they aren't covered (a one piece with shorts is okay, but if the top is part of a "two piece" bathing suit and shorts, you still have to put on a shirt....no bellies allowed). Any of the ride operators have the authority to ask someone to put on a shirt or shorts, etc, if they happen to take them back off later....and I've seen operators do it, too.
That's wonderful! I am thinking about writing a letter to Valleyfair and asking them why they don't enforce their dress code.
Crazy how people let their kids dress...my daughter isn't even allowed to OWN anything like that.
If they have rules, Valleyfair should enforce them.
I saw a young lady at the eye doctor when my wife was getting glasses the other day. She had on a really short skit, made out of a pair of pants. When she sat down you cold see her....panties, what there was of them..
ewwwww
Taking a baby to the amusement park never bothered me.
It is really annoying when people "forget" where the trash can is. And spitting on other people is rude and disgusting. So is smoking around kids.
Any place with a dress code should enforce it. Why would they put it there in the first place? That might have made me call to complain.
I do agree that it might be worth contacting the people who own Valleyfair and mentioning how disappointed you are that the dress code is being so blatantly broken.
I'm not terribly conservative about clothing, but there are certain standards of decency to which people (both female and male) should adhere.
I actually saw a girl yesterday who was so over the top in her appearance (think a trashier version of Paris Hilton) that it made me intensely uncomfortable. She was an older teen, but it still was completely inappropriate at any age-- even more so when hanging out at a garage.
PDA we were kids once,, he he he
I have bben to valley fair,, that place is fun, yet I am not one to enforce rules,, if they dont then I wouldnt go back
I am hoping Cedar Point isn't that bad. Some of the things I see make me uncomfortable for my kids.