The Lido Loop: Summer Tips and Tricks for Cruising and Theme Parks.

Welcome back to the Lido Loop! This week we’re diving into the biggest cruise and theme park headlines making waves across the industry. We break down the growing controversy surrounding cruise chair hogs and the lawsuit that could change pool deck policies forever, plus why Royal Caribbean’s “Perfect Day Mexico” project may be hitting major roadblocks. Carnival is making moves too, with upgrades coming to one of their private beach destinations and a brand-new security seal being added fleetwide across all Carnival ships except two and a certain state has something to do with this. 

On the theme park side, Disney fans finally get the opening they’ve been waiting for as Rock ’N’ Roller Coaster: Starring the Muppets officially launches, while Universal’s Epic Universe celebrates its one-year anniversary after a huge first year. Over at Busch Gardens Tampa, summer is heating up with a brand-new drone show and the return of free beer.

We also share our best summertime travel tips, including the best days to visit theme parks during peak season, which days you should absolutely avoid if you hate crowds, and how to prepare for the brutal summer heat in Florida and beyond. Plus, we talk about finding the best vacation deals — whether that’s through Groupon, Undercover Tourist, third-party ticket sites, or working directly with a travel agent to save money and stress.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to this week's episode of the Leto Loop. I'm your host, Jack McCraw. With me as always, my good friend, and happy he's got a three-day weekend, Jesse Barboza. How are we doing today? I'm doing great. How are you doing? Doing good. You know, happy Memorial Day weekend to all of y'all out there. Hope you enjoy the unofficial start to summertime. And speaking of summer, Jesse, we've got some good, big things to talk about as far as like tips and tricks for your best summer vacation destinations, whether it be cruises or theme parks. But what's the latest and greatest in the cruise news?

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah, so how a lawsuit may affect the cruising in the future. And Perfect Day Mexico seems to be a no-go. But what is a go is Carnival's new private beach that gets an upgrade. And Carnival puts a new sill on all their ships.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

That and we're finally done talking about Rock and Roller Coaster starring them up as which I'm sure you're happy about because that ride will be officially opening on the 26th. Epic Universe celebrates its one-year anniversary, and some potential changes could be coming to the park. And Busch Gardens is offering free beer once again, which I know you're excited to talk about. That and of course, Jesse and I break down the best tips and tricks for the summer for theme parks and cruises, all that and much more on this week's episode of the Lido Loop. So kicking off the show, we're going to talk about a topic that a lot of cruise people hate, and that is chair hogs. Now, Jesse, how do you feel whenever you go out there and then you see so many chairs taken up by like a towel or you know you know a bag or something, and they haven't been used in hours?

SPEAKER_01 1:50

That's probably the most frustrating thing about cruising is the people that put their stuff down, go throughout their day, they may show up four or five hours later and their towel's still there, never using the chair when people who actually want to use the pool, the best chairs around the pool, I guess I should say, they can't because it's completely full.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

But it looks like there's finally something being done about this because there was a lawsuit, and can you tell us a little bit what happened with that chair hog lawsuit?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Yeah, so a German tourist sued a Greek resort because of their family alleged couldn't get a pool chair during their vacation due to constant towel savings by other guests. He apparently claimed that guests reserved loungers at dawn. Chairs stayed empty for hours, his family couldn't use a pool era despite paying for the resort. The case apparently drew a a lot of attention because I mean, like we just talked about, like everyone wants to use the chairs, and if you pay for a resort, you expect to use the chairs, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:54

I mean, even on a local scale at your local pool, this this happens. I mean, it happens on a grander scale on cruises as well, resorts. It doesn't make sense that you know you can just reserve them for the rest of the time. Now I get it. If you're going into the pool or you're going into the ocean and you're coming back, that's fine. But these people are actually putting these, you know, any articles of items they have just on the chair, and then you know, you're supposed to like, oh, I guess I can't take that chair because it's being used and it never gets used for hours. This has happened of us on Carnival. I was just trying to watch a game on the main deck, and I had to go nearly to the top of the deck to see, like, oh, hey, there's one open chair right here. I hope I can take it. Or just in the pool area, especially, that's the worst. So, what happened with this lawsuit? And, you know, was there any sort of like compensation given to these people that sued?

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Yeah, so the German tourists actually won. They were awarded for they they got 14% of what they paid, which is uh $1,150, because I mean they didn't get the experience they wanted. Me personally, I'm if anyone out there wants to do a class action lawsuit, I'd be down with them for any cruise line because every single cruise line I've ever been on, no one enforces their rules. So, like right now, Carnival uses a 40-minute unattended rule, which I've never seen anyone in Carnival actually take any things up and put it somewhere. Do you think that law or that rule is just there in case they need to use it? I I th I think that's what it is. But I I mean a lot of cruise lines they want to feel like they're being mean because, you know, they don't want to try to make people, I don't know, like upset, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

And I feel like you know, suing is definitely a harsh reaction to this because I feel like this could have been handled between the guests in the hotel where that he could have gotten some compensation, like, oh, here's a you know guaranteed chair on us, or here's you know a free night stay or something.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah, I mean that that may have been the option. Maybe that's why he ended up suing because he did ask them to he may have asked them, but I don't know too much about that. But Royal Caribbean, they do have a 30-minute ban. And and Norwegian actually, they recently begun tagging the chair with a sticker. Uh, and then what they will do is they'll come back and remove the items. But I'm not I haven't even heard anyone actually saying that they actually got their stuff removed. Have you heard anything?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

No, I haven't. And you know, maybe that sticker's just there for a warning if you are in the area, like, hey, if you're not here in the next, you know, so so much time, we're gonna take your stuff. But i you're right, it does feel like cruises really don't want to like ruffle any feathers or you know affect the guest experience in a negative way, but at the same time, they're trying to accommodate these large amounts of people that want to use these chairs as well.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah, I did have noticed like on the on Carnival's newest ship, the XL class, there's loungers everywhere. So I'm thinking that they're trying to make up for they know the people are gonna hog them, so they just make sure they're plenty of places. But I mean, there's a reason why. I mean, if you're gonna hog a chair, why don't you like hog it where no one's using it, you know, or like in the back where no one really lays in the loungers? Don't hog it right next to the pool where everyone el wants to use it.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

I mean, yeah, that that's a whole topic we can do for another day, and like we could actually make a whole show about just you know, chair hogs and cruise etiquette, which that could be a future episode. But staying in the cruise news, Jesse, I hear perfect day Mexico is a no-go.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yeah, so as many of y'all already know, uh Royal Caribbean, they bought the Costa Maya port right now, even though other people still go there, Carnival still goes there, MSE uh and uh Norwegian, they still all go use this port even though it's owned by uh Royal Caribbean, because it's right now it's really not Royal Caribbean themed yet. What was gonna happen is they're gonna build Perfect Gig Mexico, which would be pretty much right next to the port itself. Uh the port was actually gonna be really nice. Me and you were just talking about this, Jack. It's it had over 30 water slides are supposed to be there. The tallest water slide tower in America, it was gonna have the world's longest lazy river, massive pools and beach club, capacity for 15 to 20,000 cruise guests.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

That's a lot of people. I was gonna say they're putting up like Schlitterbahn numbers for this water park that they were gonna build over here.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Absolutely. Uh they were supposed to open in 2027, but as of right now, Mexican government has pretty much rejected the current plan that they have. Because what they're saying right now is that they're getting backlash from environmental groups, local residents, reef conservation activists, and tourism criticism. So the reason they're saying damage reef, because apparently they have to like do some dredging to get even bigger ships, I guess, for this resort, which I don't know how true that is or not, because it seems like they can just use the existing dock. Maybe they're talking about having to build a second dock to account for 15 to 20,000 people, I'm guessing. Um, they apparently fear for pollution, you know, run uh you know, runoff. And then the mangrove, which is a type of plant that grows there, uh they're worried that it's gonna like destroy their fragile coastal ecosystem.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

So I mean these do seem like valid concerns, but I feel like there's a way to work around it. You know, in environmental groups, they're just looking out for the what's best for what they deem the environment to be. And this just happens all the time as far as you know any sort of cruise planning or any kind of like building for that matter. And I just think some of these hurdles will be cleared because it would be really cool to see that water park, but you know, both sides would just have to come together to get to some sort of agreement, which I mean happened at Celebration Key, happened at, you know, you the list goes on and on. I could list so many different ports that this has happened to. And you know, you can also build around the reefs. That's probably the best way to do it. But you know, I understand the I understand the frustrations and I understand from both sides, but a deal will be reached, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

So the new report that that Royal Caribbean is saying is that it's not completely dead. They're just gonna try to change what they're gonna how they're gonna make it, I guess. There's they they apparently they made a statement saying they respect Mexico decision, they still want to invest in Mexico, and they plan to work with the stakeholders or an alternative, which uh in my terms I think that means pay out more money. Yes, that's usually what it comes down to.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

It's like, hey, don't build it here unless you give us a little bit more money. But Carnival is using their money to upgrade their private beach. Jesse, you want to tell us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah, so Mahogity Bay, which is now renamed Isla Tropical, have now updated their I guess you need to call it their pool. It's they call the mangrove bay, which is pretty much a pool, which includes a it was 4,800 square feet pool complex. They have a swim up bar now, they have uh kids splash them, poolside loungers, premium cabanas, day beds, and they got Peninsula style uh lounging area in the middle of the pool. Uh this is a huge change because my Mahogiti Bay, which is now Isla Tropical, originally focused mostly on the beach, the chair lifts, shopping areas. Now it's now it's definitely updated, I guess you can say.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Would you say that you this need an upgrade? Because to my understanding, you went here last year when you were on the carnival jubilee. Yeah, that is correct.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Yes, definitely, because they did advertise that there's free chairs on this beach, but you have to walk to the very end where they overcharge you for drinks. Because I remember me and my wife, we both I think she got like a margarita or something like that, and I just got like four waters, and it was like sixty dollars. And and the margarita itself was a sixty dollars, right? I I'm pretty sure that's what it was. I mean, no, we got like a bucket, it was like four or five waters, but I definitely think that they needed to upgrade the the chair area too. It didn't say that they actually did upgrade it, but it does definitely seem like this will help more of a you know fun atmosphere on this private beach.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Yeah, it sounds like it's much needed, and you know, some of these beaches, like you're right, they do overcharge you, and you know, they will if you want a premium chair, you want a premium cabana, they'll charge you a hefty price. Even when we were in Celebration Key, there were some free chairs, but you know, you had to be pretty lucky to get one. Luckily, we went on like that rainy day, so there were a lot of abundant chairs, but I imagine on a nicer day, especially this you know private beach over here, you're gonna be very there was a shortage of chairs for sure. But luckily, hopefully this helps out and they need to reduce those prices too, don't they?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

I definitely think the the swim-up bar is nice because I mean who doesn't love a swim-up bar? I love being able to hang out in the pool. The only thing about Carnival's private beaches, it seems like, or their pools, I should say, is that it seems like their water is always freezing. You know, the same thing happened at Celebration Key when you were there, you didn't like the how cold the water was. Remember?

SPEAKER_00 12:18

I couldn't go past my knees, that's how cold it was. The ocean was warmer.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Yeah, I don't know. You would think that because of how long and big it is, it would stay like warm because the sun constantly beating on it, but I don't know, maybe they need to invest in some heaters to warm the water up just at least to be acceptable enjoying temperatures.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Oh, I completely agree. Now, granted, the time we did go was in the fall, so it was a quote cooler day, but you know, cool by the Bahamas standards. There's no reason why we should be in like 40 to 30 degree waters in the Bahamas unless it was like the dead of summer, which you know, in that case it was not. But another story that's happening right now is that Carnival is put new seals on all of their ships, except for two of them, Jesse. How come these two ships are so special where they don't get the carnival seal?

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, so all of the new ships that come in out of dry dock will get this new Bow Crest logo or seal, whatever you want to call it. Uh, the first this first was seen on Carnival Legend and also Carnival Magic when they came out of Dry Dock. Um, basically, it's a logo that has their the whale tail on it, and it underneath it says From Sea to Shining Sea. It's definitely a patriotic thing. They're kind of establishing them as like America's cruise line, and of course, with it being the 250-year anniversary of America, they're just kind of reinforcing that.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

That's certainly a nice touch, especially to celebrate America's 250th. I know we talked about in last week's episode, Disney is trying to do that as well with stuff going on in Epcot. But there were two ships that did not have SEALs. Now, are these two ships not American, Jesse?

SPEAKER_01 13:57

They're definitely not. They're not saying they're not American, they're just saying they're more Texans than anything. Because, you know, Texas, you know, everyone that lives in Texas, they kind of got this um pride against I don't know what you call it.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

They think us as Texans, we love Texas more than we love America. We understand Texas is part of America, but Texas comes first, America second. And it seems like these cruise ships are doing the same thing because, to my understanding, there's already a Texas seal on these ships, and that's why they can't have the seal for this one.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah, so Carnival Jubilee, which I remember seeing that, it's a Texas star that they currently have on their ships, and then of course, throughout the ship is Texas themed throughout it, and also the new Carnival Tropical that would be coming out in 2028 will have it as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Just like that song goes, God bless Texas, and of course it looks like Carnival is as well. I'm glad that they're keeping the Texas theme, and like they realize that this audience is very much a part of their entire market. Because yeah, we've talked about in the past, Florida is definitely their number one priority because that's where they have the most ports. But you know, like we said as always, Gallison is the fastest growing cruise port, and of course, there's such a loyal Texas cruising fan base that Carnival wants to keep them happy as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

So for theme park news, for the last time, Jack, what's going on with the Muppets?

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Well, firstly, let me ask you, are you tired of talking about the Muppets, Jesse? Yes, this will be the last time we talk about the Muppets on this podcast for sure. Barring something crazy where Disney builds a brand new Muppets attraction or Muppets Land or Muppets Hotel, yes, this will be because Rock and Roller Coaster starring the Muppets will officially open on March 26th. So at the time we're recording, it's not officially open, but Disney has released everything from the POVs to the new animatronics revealed to how exactly this ride is going to be. They've even announced like the ride songs that comes with it. So the big takeaways from this is that there's essentially, you know, it went from Aerosmith to the Muppets, like we talked about in the past. There's now a Jim Henson tribute artifact. So there's definitely references to the original show and stuff from the previous attraction. So, you know, the ride itself features all the members of the band. The animatronics are Statler and Waldorf, and you know, there's a scooter animatronic with penguins running the you know producers, because you know, like it's just like you know, producer Allie, she's like the penguin producer of this show. So it's essentially the same ride, it's just re-themed. And you know, Rock and Roller Coaster is the only inverting coaster in Walt Disney World, and you know, it's a great Vacoma, they take really good care of it. It's one of the smoothest Vacoma coasters I've actually ever been on. So it's definitely nice that they're keeping it up to date. And you know, they I guess they could have just chose a different band, but you know, I guess this is a way to make Muppet fans happy because they shut the Muppets Land down in Hollywood Studios to build Monsters Inc. Now, don't you think that's a better replacement than the Muppets? Uh, yeah, definitely. Monsters Inc. is uh 100 times more culturally relevant, even though the last movie came out what 2013. Yeah, it seemed like they would be focusing more on Monsters Inc. instead, right? Yeah, and I think that land is supposed to open in 2027, which will definitely give Hollywood Studios more attractions. They're gonna build a door roller coaster. You know, that scene in the first movie where they're hanging on the door and going through the doors. Yeah. They're gonna bring that to life. But the reason they have the Muppets over there is hey, we're moving the Muppets from here to here. And I I I am a little tired of talking about the Muppets too, but this definitely looks like an amazing attraction. And, you know, I think as long as this ride is maintained, like this will ride will stand the test of time for generation to come, even with a Muppets theme.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

So on Universal News, it seems like Epic Universe just celebrated their one-year anniversary.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yeah, it's kind of hard to believe. I know that was a park that you and I were very interested in going to with your family and everyone last year. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do it just because of the timing, and you know, of course, we had a much better experience at Islands, but Epic Universe has now been open for one year as of May 22nd. So some of the things that they had, they were given out, you know, collectibles like lunch bags, coin purses, and vinyl soundtracks. You know, you can get temporary tattoos. Super Nintendo World had new apparel and you know a new golden power-up wristband to celebrate the one-year anniversary. So, and then they also unveiled a new character called Captain Uh Keiko, who is it's it's a teddy bear that looks like a galaxy. It's uh it's just it's cool that Universal has a new original character that they can debut and they don't have to deal with all this IP. But you know, Epic Universe brought in a record-breaking profit uh for Universal, and then it's kind of like, you know, rising tide rises all ships, Disney of of course got more business out of it. So did SeaWorld, so did the pretty much the city of Orlando, because it was the first new major theme park open in the last uh 25 plus years. So it's definitely something you know we're going to go to at some point, and it's good they're celebrating their one year anniversary, but something I kind of wanted to bring up, Jesse, is that things could be changing at Epic Universe. So as of right now, it's just like any other theme park, you buy a ticket, you get in, and then you can go experience all the lands and rides. Well, this is just a rumor, but Universal is potentially testing more like an open concept where you walk into Epic Universe and you can get in for free. But if you want to go to Super Nintendo Land, the Dark World, Harry Potter, or Isle of Burke for the How to Train a Dragon Land, those could be separate additional charges. Now, would that be something that you'd be interested in? Because I know your son is a big, you know, Super Mario fan, so it'd be cool if he could just do that and then save you a little money, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Yeah, I guess especially if we already gonna visit like Islands of Adventure and we want to go see Epic the same day, we're like, well, we don't have we don't want to pay for a whole another ticket too. We can just go and visit Nintendo World, you know. I definitely think that that's definitely been beneficial. Depending on the price, because if it's like $50 still for a ticket per person, I still don't think that's worth it.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah, I it would I think it would have to be substantially cheaper just for that to even work. Because, you know, let's just say an average ticket for an average day is $150, and you want to spend $50 to go to just one land. It's like I'd rather just spend the extra $100 and be able to go to everything.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

I mean, if if it's about $30 a person, that's probably reasonable, I feel like.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

And I think this is just another way for Universal to give guests more options. No, like I said, this is just a rumor, and this just could be something that they are testing out, but you know, going to a land by land basis really only works at Epic Universe simply because everyone starts in the central hub, and if you want to go to any of the other four lands, you have to go through like a portal. And so it it makes sense how this could work, because you could have someone mandating. There's only one way in and out of those those lands, essentially. Like this wouldn't work at Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios just because you know there's no way to regulate traffic like that, or Disney for that matter. So this could potentially be game changing for Universal, but like I said, that's just a fun rumor. And then all right, Jack. We are now going to talk about the porton stuff. How can I get free beer? So, yes, Busch Gardens has announced not only a new drone show for their summer, but they are bringing back free beer. Now, this used to be a thing back in the day at Busch Gardens, especially when they were actually owned by Anheuser Busch, that you could get, you know, a free seven ounce beer when you go to the parks. So is the free beer only at the drone show or is it like throughout the day? It's throughout the day. Those those two were just announced at the same time. So like we did in a previous episode, we talked about SeaWorld having a drone show. Now, you know, Bush Gardens owned by SeaWorld, they're bringing that drone show over to Bush Gardens, Tampa as well. So but how you can get the free beer, this is very important. Uh you can guest 21 Up can get a free 7 ounce draft beer per visit. If you're an annual pass holder, you can often get two free beers, which annual pass is only slightly more. So you're you're you know you're getting more value in free beer right there. Uh it's typically served at the Overlook tap room and safari overlook area. All you need is a valid ID proving you're 21 years old. So this promotion is going to run through May 22nd through August 9th, 2026. It'll you can start at 11 a.m. and until about 90 minutes before the park closes. You know, they want to make sure you sober up before you drive home.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

I guess they finally found a spot to give out all the extra bud light they had.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Yes. No, yeah, this kind of brings a good question. Do you drink at theme parks? Because I'm not really the type of person that does that just simply because one, it's hot, two, it might slow you down, but I mean you might have a lot more fun on the roller coasters. Typically, I really don't drink too much at theme parks, like you said, because it's hot. But hey, a free beer is a free beer. Yeah, I'm not gonna turn it down. I mean, can you imagine having a beer when you're riding the you know Shikra or Kumba? I mean, I especially Iron Quasi. I I I can't imagine how that rush feels when you're actually intoxicated. Maybe one day we'll do it just for a social experiment. Or it may make a lot of people sick. I think that's a that's a very hit or miss thing. I think you might ruin your time over there more than enhance it, but you know, that's something I guess we'll never know. So, but yes, that does make me want to go to Busch Gardens a little bit more, especially for the free beer. But and this is only a summertime promotion, and you know, this is where we're gonna talk about some of our favorite things to do during the summertime. So, as we said earlier, Memorial Weekend is traditionally the unofficial start to summer, and this is when a lot of families and are going on vacation. So, you know, you and I and your family have been on cruise in the summertime in the past. How would you say going during the summertime differentiates between then and going, let's say, in the fall or winter when you've gone previously?

SPEAKER_01 24:28

So typically, me, I'm definitely an off-season guy. I like to travel off-season for uh for multiple reasons. First off, it's not as hot, right? Especially in Texas, us in Texas where we have multiple hundred days plus throughout the week. Try being down here in August, it's miserable. Yeah, it is super hot. And then again, like when it goes to theme parks and cruise, I don't get me wrong, I love kids, but there's kids everywhere. If you want to get in the hot tub, kids in it. If you want to, you know, go play basketball, kids. If you you're waiting in line somewhere, there's a bunch of kids. You know, I well, the person who who loved kids, I just don't like them everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

That's why you've never been on a Disney cruise, amongst other reasons. But yes, and would you say that it's traditionally more expensive just from a cruising perspective to go on cruise during the summertime than it is in the off-season?

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Oh, yeah, it's definitely way more expensive because that's when everyone wants to travel. You can definitely expect on the ships to be a lot more packed, not just with kids, but in general, because every single ship pretty much sells out during the summer. It's not like off-season where they're trying to get people to fill the ships all the time.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

And I think that's why you see such a drastic price difference in, let's say, the first week of September, you know, sometimes early in October before Halloween. That's when, you know, one kid are back in school, so there's a lot less families that are traveling. But I think summer is still a fun time to go if you can. But it sounds like you don't really like traveling in the summertime. Is that kind of what I'm getting at, Jesse? Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

I mean, first off, it's hot everywhere, of course, you know, like we talked about. And I'm gonna go say it again, a bunch of kids everywhere. Uh, a lot more expensive. It's just, I don't know. Everything's about it to me is not great to travel in the summer.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

If you do have kids, it's probably the best time just because that's when they're out of school. And, you know, I think that's when you know families start to have that flexibility when they get that vacation time to use so they can go. But yeah, if you can travel in the off-season, it's certainly better to do so from a cruising perspective. Now, from a theme park perspective, you're kind of depending on where you live, you only really can go during the summertime. You know, us down here in Texas, Fiesta Texas is open most weekends. I think they close about two months a year in January and February just to have, you know, ride maintenance. And I think the same thing for six flags over Texas. But unless you live in the greater Orlando area or Southern California, chances are your local theme park is not year-round. And you know, like those two areas in Southern California and Orlando, every single theme park is open every single day. So you guys are not part of this conversation. But go anywhere in the Midwest or in the north, you know, take Cedar Point, for example. They're only open from May to October just because it gets so cold in Ohio that they can't, you know, operate. Same with Valley Fair, Worlds of Fun, you know, a bunch of other Midwestern parks, King's Island. So yeah, that does limit your options, but I would say the best times to go if you're gonna go to the theme park in the summertime would be on weekdays. And you know, that always doesn't work with work, and I get that, but you know, I think you'll have a better experience because the parks will be fully staffed during the summertime, and they'll try to have the you know ride operations as you know high as possible. And you and I have been on to even Fiesta, Texas on Memorial Day, and we didn't have a single problem.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Yeah, that was actually very surprising because I remember going there expecting to be a lot of crowds, and it was like for the most part pretty dead on the start of Memorial Day, which is pretty much like you said, the start of summer. Kids are already out of school, so you would think it would be really packed, but I'm sure like 4th of July and all those holidays, they're definitely packed.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Oh, absolutely, and that's what's kind of my next point was like you know, to avoid the major holidays in the summertime, especially 4th of July. Uh, we went to Schlitterbahn over here, 4th of July weekend, and it was just a madhouse. And there is that drive that people want to go to a theme park, go to a water park during the summertime because that's the best time to enjoy it. Uh, but you know, going to theme parks in the summertime can be stressful in the sense of the heat. Like it's not just Texas, everywhere is hot. So some of the tips I have, like when we went to Universal, even though it was October, we still I still brought some you know liquid IVs that I just put in the water to get you that electrolytes to keep you hydrated. That's probably the number one thing is you're gonna be sitting in the sun all day.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Yeah, one thing I did, I don't know if you remember, and uh when we went to Six Flags, is we brought those fans that like you got little fans, personal fans, like a little spray water bottle. And that actually didn't that was nice until I think my kids lost their fans like on the second ride at the time.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

I was gonna say, yeah, that along with the you know their sunglasses and hats and everything, they're just oh they fell off Superman. I don't know what happened. Yeah, it was yeah, it was good for you know the first few minutes, you know, after you got off Iron Rattler. But yeah, I I think staying hydrated is definitely one of the most important things when going to theme parks during the summertime.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

And of course, definitely use sunscreen and all that. Uh I always forget sunglasses. I always forget to use sunscreen, and then I regret the next day usually when I can't even get a shirt on.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

For me, it's mostly my face. Like that my ears and my nose are the two things that get burned the most. And you know, with me being partially ginger, I bake in the sunshine. Partially ginger? Yeah, yeah. I'm only partially, you know. I have half a soul, everybody. Uh, another thing to look out for this summer for theme parks is look to find the best deals. So, you know, we talked about this in previous episodes. Groupon always has sales, especially for like SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. You know, Six Flags always has these, you know, summer sales that they because they just want to try to get people in and out of the parks as much as possible. But if you're looking to go to the big theme parks like Universal or Disney, you could try some third-party sites like undercover tourist or even just talking to your local travel agent to try to find the best deals to get to these theme parks. Now, speaking of kind of the other bigger parks, I think those are more equipped to deal with the heat and you know, the elements rather, because a lot of the rides have indoor cues. You know, when we went to islands, that was prevalent in pretty much every attraction with the exception of a few, wouldn't you agree? Oh, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

That that made it like you can easily stay the whole day because you're not like exhausted at the end of the day because you're sitting in line in the sun. And the rides actually the whole day weren't really too crazy either.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Yeah, I think the longest we had to wait was like Spider-Man. We wanted to ride the second go round, but you get to one, if you get to Islands of Adventure early in the day, you know, you essentially can ride everything. The only thing we didn't ride was Hagrid's because it it got up to a three-hour wait. I think when we were leaving, it was a two-hour wait, but you know, almost everything from you know King Kong, Hulk, Spider-Man, most of the Dr. Seuss attractions, Harry Potter, are all have those indoor cues that you know you can stay air conditioned, you can you know be get out of the sun. Even Jurassic Park, to some extent, the River Adventure, their cue is outside, but there's so many fans, there's so much shade. I mean, they make it look like you're in a jungle and you know, cool, not just you know, baking into the Florida heat, which that's definitely very thought of when it comes to uh Florida heat.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Is there any other parks that you can think of are very similar that are great to travel during summer that you can beat the heat easily, kind of like Islands of Adventure?

SPEAKER_00 31:49

I would say Disney. Um I've been to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios recently, and for the most part, I mean, yes, most of our queues do start outside, but there are a lot of indoor queues because they have the pre-shows, especially anything Star Wars related. Like when you go to Galaxy's Edge, it's very heavily shaded. Number one, number two, you know, the Millennium Falcon Smugglers run that cues inside. Rise of Resistance has a massive cue that you know goes inside rock and roller coaster. Speaking of which, does Tower of Terror.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

We're not talking about that anymore, Jack.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

I said the old rock and roller coaster, no more Muppets talk, I promise. But yes, I would say most Disney parks do account for that Florida heat as well, and they covered in shade. Now, we can't speak the same for like six lags or seaworld because you're just standing out in the heat waiting to get on those rides.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

Yeah, we were just talking about that off air, and we're like, it seems like they would do better about investing in the guest experience, waiting in lines. It seems like maybe they're not worried about that because there's not as many lines as they used to be. But man, like if they invest in keeping up with the fans and keeping up with the you know TVs, you know. I don't know why I don't know about y'all. I know kids have phones nowadays, but I liked watching little loony tunes that they would play at uh Six Flags, didn't you didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Yeah, I mean it adds to the ambience of the park, you know, it's it's something that makes it more unique because let's just say we're example we're waiting in line for the Bugs Bunny Whitewater Rapids ride, you know, they would have Bugs Bunny cartoons play. Now that doesn't happen anymore. There's some screens in the parks, but it's mostly just to display like digital ads for Six Flags now, instead of like adding to the guest experience. And you know, also you know, I know we're speaking very specifically to Fiesta Texas, but because that's like our home park, we're kind of using that as a point of reference. And almost every single line is outdoors. I mean, there's some exceptions, like Pirates of the Deep Sea. It's a dark ride, so it's a lot of it is indoor, but it's uh yeah, that's something Six Flags would definitely need to would like to see invested in. There's just more fans, more misting stations, and yeah, enrichment for us in the lines.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

I I definitely think that definitely another recommendation is go to a park that actually has a water park attached to like like the S Texas, they have a you know, uh what's the water park called? Whitewater Bay. Yeah, Whitewater Bay. They they got that attached to the Six Flags itself so that in the morning when it's not as hot you can ride all the roller coasters and as soon as that opens, you can go still enjoy the water park and cool off for the day.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, there most Six Flags parks and now the Cedar Fair parks in the same chain do have the water parks attached to them, or if not very, very close distance away, like in Six Flags over Texas, right across the street. That's definitely another good way to you know keep cool during the summertime is go to the water parks.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

So have you noticed that is there any price addition or what's the price difference with airline flights actually flying in during the summer? Does it seem like it's cheaper, more or about the same price?

SPEAKER_00 34:48

It's definitely more expensive. If you're trying to get like the rock bottom prices, you have to travel essentially in the offseason. And I'm looking at flights for September for Orlando. Starting prices, you including Frontier, is about $250 for really any time in the summertime here out of Houston. You know, sometimes you can get some good deals here and there, but have you tried Spirit? Uh no, unfortunately, Spirit is uh not working at this point in time. You know, hey, there's a there's a go fund me out there for Spirit. So if y'all want to donate and bring Spirit back, just go pledge some more, a couple more millions of dollars, and we're almost there, guys. But yes, flying during the summertime is definitely the most expensive time just because that's when travel demand is at its highest. So, you know, if you're traveling to one of the bigger theme parks or you're going to a cruise destination in Florida, it is more beneficial to go during the off season if you can. And I understand kids with kids in school and you know, sometimes workshop doesn't always work out. Okay, we just take them out of school for a week. Oh, I'm gonna say, yeah, write them a note. Just say, like, hey, uh, you know, they were sick, sick of school. Man, they got whatever new disease is current at that time. They got it. We got to keep them out for a week. But that'll do it for this week's episode. As always, you can find us on YouTube. We are the Leto Loop. You can find our podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you get your podcasts. Check out our Facebook page. We are the Lido Loop, where we're trying to post more and more weekly. Uh, I do have some content coming out. We're gonna take a look at the brand new Tormenta attraction over at Six Flags Over Text when I make my way up there this week. And of course, just stay tuned for updated theme park and cruise content going your way. I'm Jack, that's Jesse, and we will see you on the Lido Deck or standing in the cool, cool shade at Islands of Adventure.