Merlin Parks (chesington, alton towers)

[johnboy4809]

With my daughter being recently diagnosed with type 1 we want to keep everything as was and just have this as another day to day thing that needs doing. However we hold merlin passes and visiting theme parks etc is something we've always enjoyed as a family. We did visit shrek in London on Sunday and had to test her blood and inject whilst in the que. it wasn't doing tit rather other just pushing past whilst we got on with it. the concern I have is if we are at alton towers and its a long que for a ride do people find it east to test and inject whilst waiting?

 

[Juicyj]

Best advice with theme parks is to test frequently, you can test anywhere except on a ride that might be tricky !! However a test every couple of hours would see what's going on, be aware that there's alot of exercise involved in walking about and excitement with rides so the exercise can drop blood glucose levels and excitement and adrenaline can raise BG levels, hence why testing frequently is so important. Hopefully you're carrying some quick acting glucose like glucotabs/jelly babies cartons or apple/orange juice and some carbs like biscuits/crisps too ?

 

[Antje77]

I'm happy to inject in any place, including queues. The only thing I need to do is to stop walking for as long as it takes to take the lid of the needle, inject and put the lid back on
Now I want to visit a theme park too!

And I agree with @Juicyj about blood sugar levels doing funny things in theme parks (or more accurately, even more funny things than in everyday life). The one rollercoaster that turned out to be a bit too scary for me made me drop like a stone. Perfect timing, because I was on the highish side but decided to correct after the rollercoaster as there was hardly a queue anyway. So no correction needed after all

 

[lovinglife]

Have a read of this - it's from 2017 but can't see the policy has changed much - you could always give them a call

https://www.altontowers.com/media/4198/online-resort-access-guide-2017-v1.pdf

 

[Deleted Account]

It is probably too early in your daughters diabetes adventure but something to consider for the future if you are a regular visitor to theme parks.
Apparently, if you have an insulin pump, you and one companion can jump to the front of any roller coaster queues. Your diabetes team should be able to provide a letter for you as a queue jump pass.
I have not tried it myself but there aren't too many bonuses to having diabetes so, if I was a fan, I would be making the most of it.

 

[Heyrehair]

With my daughter being recently diagnosed with type 1 we want to keep everything as was and just have this as another day to day thing that needs doing. However we hold merlin passes and visiting theme parks etc is something we've always enjoyed as a family. We did visit shrek in London on Sunday and had to test her blood and inject whilst in the que. it wasn't doing tit rather other just pushing past whilst we got on with it. the concern I have is if we are at alton towers and its a long que for a ride do people find it east to test and inject whilst waiting?

Slightly off topic, but whenever we go to somewhere like this we visit guest services and get a fast pass or equivalent, so that we have less queue waiting, therefore minimising time lost due to Hypo's etc. Usually a copy of a PDSN letter or DLA letter is enough evidence for guest services to authorise the pass.

We've used this so far at the London Aquarium (fast pass entry only), EuroDisney, Drayton Manor and Gullivers World - all of these days were made much easier as a result.

 

[johnboy4809]

thank you all for your comments and @lovinglife for the link