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I was wondering why most water parks don't allow water shoes on slides? It can't be a safety issue because I have been to some smaller parks, like public swim centers, that don't have an issue with swim shoes. But all of the big parks here on the west coast have strict no footwear rules.

 

And while we are on the subject, when it comes to combined parks like Wild Waves, Silverwood and Elitch, why don't they allow swimwear on the theme park rides? Why do they make you change?

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I was wondering why most water parks don't allow water shoes on slides? It can't be a safety issue because I have been to some smaller parks, like public swim centers, that don't have an issue with swim shoes.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess it's because the shoes put more wear and tear on the slides than bare feet do.

 

Maybe smaller parks are unaware of this, or don't care as much?? Or don't get enough traffic for it to be an issue?

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And while we are on the subject, when it comes to combined parks like Wild Waves, Silverwood and Elitch, why don't they allow swimwear on the theme park rides? Why do they make you change?
I think that this is an issue of looking dressed. I would be permitted, I assume, to wear long trunks like shorts, but that's because they look like shorts. If I wore a speedo, even with a shirt, I wouldn't look dressed and would be asked to put on regular clothes.
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Some parks allow you to wear swim wear on theme park water rides, some don't. The park I use to work at didn't allow it simply to be consistent with all rides. Many flat rides are completely exposed to sun light and those seats get very hot. A girl in a bikini top/bottoms or a guy going shirtless can get burned very easy on those rides. Instead of having people try to argue "well we wore this on THAT ride, why can't we on THIS ride?" our management just had a blanket "shirts, shorts, and shoes" requirement on all of our dry park rides.

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The thing that shocks me most is how many water parks don't allow goggles on water slides. A good pair stays on really tight and I think it would allow me to enjoy some of those speed slides more where I end up closing my eyes to avoid getting the chlorine in them.

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The water shoe part just came up a few days ago at our local town park, we had asked management that very question and the answer was: 'people'. They used to allow water shoes but had to ban it because it was progressing from water shoes, to sandals, to flat out sneakers and other 'regular' shoes (yes, I live in an area where people think wearing sneakers while IN the water of a water park is ok). It was ultimately more efficient to just put a blanket ban on footwear on the slides.

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The water shoe part just came up a few days ago at our local town park, we had asked management that very question and the answer was: 'people'. They used to allow water shoes but had to ban it because it was progressing from water shoes, to sandals, to flat out sneakers and other 'regular' shoes (yes, I live in an area where people think wearing sneakers while IN the water of a water park is ok). It was ultimately more efficient to just put a blanket ban on footwear on the slides.

So they can't clarify what constitutes a water shoe, but they have no problems specifying what is swimwear. Makes sense.

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The water shoe part just came up a few days ago at our local town park, we had asked management that very question and the answer was: 'people'. They used to allow water shoes but had to ban it because it was progressing from water shoes, to sandals, to flat out sneakers and other 'regular' shoes (yes, I live in an area where people think wearing sneakers while IN the water of a water park is ok). It was ultimately more efficient to just put a blanket ban on footwear on the slides.

So they can't clarify what constitutes a water shoe, but they have no problems specifying what is swimwear. Makes sense.

 

It made me laugh that you said that because they do have swimwear rules too, but they don't enforce them or at least don't enforce them often. I think the shoes are just an easier target. "Got something on your feet? No slide for you" rather than go into detail of what constitutes a bathing suit and not just a regular pair of shorts.

 

The things I've seen at this park, my goodness. Instead of People of Wal-Mart I think I could do a People of Water Parks.

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On top of all the above:

Slide Wear and Tear

Clothing rules

 

I've heard it's also a safety issue as the shoes have much more traction than skin does. Best way to explain this is think about if rubber were to hit a dry spot of the slide. You would potentially lock your legs and sprain/break them.

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I was wondering why most water parks don't allow water shoes on slides? It can't be a safety issue because I have been to some smaller parks, like public swim centers, that don't have an issue with swim shoes. But all of the big parks here on the west coast have strict no footwear rules.

 

Silverwood generally doesn't have a problem with water shoes on slides. But they don't want sneakers/boots/hard sandals on slides because of the risk to damaging the fiberglass slides or people slowing themselves down while going down the slide.

 

And while we are on the subject, when it comes to combined parks like Wild Waves, Silverwood and Elitch, why don't they allow swimwear on the theme park rides? Why do they make you change?

 

Swimwear that looks like a shirt/shorts/shoes are okay (t-shirt and swimming trunks). Swimwear that looks like a swimsuit (only a speedo, bikini top and skirt) are not. Because we want people to dress appropriately in the (family!) dry side. Some people are fine wearing skimpy clothing. Many people are not. Traumatizing small children is not the goal.

 

And shoes are required in case of an evacuation off of a ride that may require walking down black metal grate stairs (Corkscrew) or through gravel and bushes (Thunder Canyon).

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Traumatizing might not be the best word, but the point still stands: you should be expected to dress appropriately for where you are at. You go to the beach or a pool expecting swimwear. You do not go to a theme park expecting that.

 

Also, as far as restricting what can be worn on waterslides...anything that creates extra friction is a potential hazard.

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Some parks allow you to wear swim wear on theme park water rides, some don't. The park I use to work at didn't allow it simply to be consistent with all rides. Many flat rides are completely exposed to sun light and those seats get very hot. A girl in a bikini top/bottoms or a guy going shirtless can get burned very easy on those rides. Instead of having people try to argue "well we wore this on THAT ride, why can't we on THIS ride?" our management just had a blanket "shirts, shorts, and shoes" requirement on all of our dry park rides.

 

I think the thing that makes the least sense to me is how Cedar Point allows guests to wear swimsuits on all of their water rides in the dry park, but no other Cedar Fair park has this policy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just visited Kings Island yesterday and it seems that they have loosened their policy this year. While I didn't ride Congo Falls, it seems that they are now allowing you to ride at least Race for Your Life Charlie Brown and White Water Rapids in your bathing suit so long as you have some type of shoes on, where as in the past you've always had to be fully dressed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I believe that this is a "HOT BUTTON" issue when it comes to what you can wear when riding a water slide and what you must take off. I can understand taking off my shirt and water shoes when it comes to riding a body slide and even an inner tube ride, but one time when I got on a family rafting ride called Zoomer at Kings Dominion, I was told to take my shirt off. I didn't understand why I needed to; I was riding a family raft ride, not a body slide! Maybe I'll just stick to Log Flumes, Rafting, and Shoot the Chutes.

 

On the subject of needing to remove water shoes, I removed mine before heading over to a water slide, and my poor feet felt like they were on fire! All that hot sun baking on concrete will do that to you. And even pre-wetting your feet won't work because they will quickly dry out and get hot within a minute. I just wanted to cool down in the water, not do any fire-walking while walking to a water attraction.

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