saving chairs at a water park

[Dora]

"I don't think a 30 - 40 min limit on a saved seat is reasonable as the line for one ride can take you 40 mins to get through.  I think for a water park more like 2 hours is reasonable."

But why should those chairs be unavailable for people to use when you are not going to be there in that time?  I see the benefit for you to have a home base, but that is not a good use for the park's chairs.  How many people can't find seating during that time?

[Sophia]

If there was a group of chairs that all had stuff on them with no people present and I wanted to sit, I would have no qualms moving stuff over so I could sit down.

A chair for the group's stuff plus whatever chairs are physically occupied by group members is fair game but to have each person claim a chair that they won't be using for at least an hour?  Rude, IMO.

Yep, I totally agree with this.  If I saw a bunch of seats with towels on them, I would find one with a dry towel and move it to the side.  (Dry would tell me they probably hadn't been there in awhile) 
I would never move stuff that was obviously a group's possessions in one chair.
I also think that if you want to leave your stuff on a chair, you need to find a non-prime spot. 

Although I wouldn't be thinking bad thoughts about the people that left their towel. 

[TOLady]

I really dislike chair hogs. My DH and I go on vacation to all-inclusive resorts and it is inevitable that all the chairs will be gone from around the pool or prime beach spots by 7:00am. Chair hogs simply get up early, put their book/towel/whatever on the prime spots and then go back to bed, have breakfast at about 9:00ish and then finally meander down to the pool/beach at 11:00 for an hour, lunch at twelve, siesta afterwards and then back to the beach at 3:00 for another hour. Total time using the chairs? Probably 2 1/2. Time no one else can use it? 13+

There was one time during our last vacation, the Grandmother of a family staked out 5 chairs under a shady palapa hut All. Day. Long. The rest of the family had gone on a day-trip (I had heard them booking the day before), but she refused to give up those chairs because "We always sit here and they might come back early". (Not a chance - it was a definite DAY LONG trip).

Irritates the bees out of me.

BTW - I would never leave my towel alone, most resorts charge you $20+ if you misplace it (read someone else got theirs stolen, so it's all fair in the war of towels) and it's no fun playing "where's my towel at". Besides, the sun moves throughout the day, so I'm usually switching around where I want to sit anyway.

[Take2]

I think the venue makes a huge difference. I would never stake out a chair for hours unused by a cruise ship pool or hotel pool. On a cruise ship or at a hotel, I already have a home base and so does everyone else there.

But when I go to my HOA pool, I claim a spot for my stuff and a couple of chairs. So does every other family. No family is left without a spot,  everyone needs a home base for towels, gear, shoes and a place to sit for snack-time and/or dinner and for safety breaks.

I think a water park is the same. Everyone needs a home base. Clearly there are far more chairs out than would be needed if people didn't save them as a home base. If you don't save a spot, where will you put your cooler and where will you eat lunch? I think that is just how it's done in these venues, so it isn't rude, it is expected.

[WillyNilly]

^ That makes no sense.  How can you say "everyone needs a home base" and then actively and purposely advocate denying hundreds of other people a "home base"? 

[wyliefool]

If everyone needs a place to put their towels/stuff then why doesn't the park put up a wall of hooks and cubbies at each area? That way you can put your stuff down and get it when you need it. The chairs are reserved for sitting. Your beach bag is no more likely to be stolen in a doorless cubby than on a chair.

The other solution someone mentioned of offering chairs/cabanas for rent is a good one. That way no one hogs chairs if they really have no need of them because they won't want to pay to do so.

[Take2]

I assume the park doesn't put up wall hooks because the park has no problem with how things are currently handled? At Schlitterbahn, for instance, there are clearly thousands upon thousands of chairs. If they intended for people to come and go, there would be FAR fewer chairs set out, as no more than 10% of the chairs are ever occupied even during lunch and dinner hours. At another local place, we got there early and had a long discussion with the gate guarder guy before the park opened about the best place to stake out our spot for the day.

I have never seen a person denied a home base at a water park. I have never been unable to procure a home base at a water park, and I have been to a lot of them a lot of times. Only once did I even have the teeniest struggle finding a spot, and a kind attendant let us know where there were spaces available for us. So I am not advocating that people be denied a home base. If a family or person is looking for a place and can't find one, talk to someone who works there. They will direct or assist you, and if they can't, at least they will be aware that there are insufficient chairs for the way the chairs are being used.

[Outdoor Girl]

I want a space in the shade to eat my meal.  Why should I have to eat in the sun, while your towels and shoes take up a nice shady spot?  Sorry, if you aren't there, I'm moving your stuff so I can sit in the shade.  I'll put it back when I leave, but I'm not risking more skin cancer so your towel can have a nice shady spot.

[still in va]

I want a space in the shade to eat my meal.  Why should I have to eat in the sun, while your towels and shoes take up a nice shady spot?  Sorry, if you aren't there, I'm moving your stuff so I can sit in the shade.  I'll put it back when I leave, but I'm not risking more skin cancer so your towel can have a nice shady spot.

especially when you have gone back to your room to have a nice nap in shade and air-conditioning.  as was reported by a PP.

[DavidH]

It does seem rude to save a chair you won't be using for most of the day.  The problem, I think, is that if most people reserve them for the day, then you can't ever expect to find one empty unless you do that too.  I like the unoccupied for 40 minutes rule, although depending on the venue changing the time limit seems to make sense.  Another option would be to have some reservable and some non-reservable chairs.  For example, white ones can be reserved, but ones with a green stripe can't.

[Aeris]

I think the behavior is so widespread that it has just become the culture of water parks. (I also agree with a PP that resorts and cruise ships operate differently because people have a room nearby to go to, the number of chairs is usually far less, and in my experience, it just isn't a universal behavior there.)

I'm not sure how much practical value there is in labeling an activity rude if 90% of people in a particular environment do it. If you want to change the general course of that, a venue policy change heavily enforced would be the only way to come close.

All that being said, I do think that if you want to use a chair for a bit and no one is around, moving the stuff gently to one side and then replacing it when you're done is perfectly acceptable. I'd plan on vacating if the original party returns though, because who wants that kind of confrontation? And since typically only 10-20% of chairs/tables are being occupied at any given time, simply sliding a chair or three over shouldn't be particularly difficult.

[Sharnita]

I think the behavior is so widespread that it has just become the culture of water parks. (I also agree with a PP that resorts and cruise ships operate differently because people have a room nearby to go to, the number of chairs is usually far less, and in my experience, it just isn't a universal behavior there.)

I'm not sure how much practical value there is in labeling an activity rude if 90% of people in a particular environment do it. If you want to change the general course of that, a venue policy change heavily enforced would be the only way to come close.

All that being said, I do think that if you want to use a chair for a bit and no one is around, moving the stuff gently to one side and then replacing it when you're done is perfectly acceptable. I'd plan on vacating if the original party returns though, because who wants that kind of confrontation? And since typically only 10-20% of chairs/tables are being occupied at any given time, simply sliding a chair or three over shouldn't be particularly difficult.

I also think that the purpose of being at a water park is generally to be in the water and enjoy those activities.  A few people might not want to do that but in general there is a group consensus on that.  I don't think is is nearly as universal for cruise ships.

[guihong]

When the kids and I go to the water park, we have one or at most 2 chairs as "base".  I stay there happy as a clam, dipping in once in a while, while the kids (all young teens) go off.  The snack shop is not more than a five minute walk away.  That doesn't seem rude to me.  What does seem rude is staking out several chairs and never using them or keeping them for hours.

[Outdoor Girl]

When the kids and I go to the water park, we have one or at most 2 chairs as "base".  I stay there happy as a clam, dipping in once in a while, while the kids (all young teens) go off.  The snack shop is not more than a five minute walk away.  That doesn't seem rude to me.  What does seem rude is staking out several chairs and never using them or keeping them for hours.

Exactly.  What you are doing is what I would expect.

[Dora]

For those that want a home base, there were Cabanas for rent.  I saw signs saying "reserved for xxxx".  There were also many picnic tables, umbrellas, trees in places AWAY from the main attractions.  I could see staking out these and even having some of those lockers available where you take the numbered key with you.  But right up at the attractions seeing all that seating in the shade covered by towels and shoes. . .  that just seemed wrong!!