Avoiding sunburn at waterparks?

[malcontent]

DD9 and I did our commando training run at Dorney Park this weekend. We leave for WDW 3 weeks from today!

Despite heavy doses of SPF 50 waterproof sunblock with titanium dioxide, I sustained a moderate case of sunburn during our trip to the waterpark. (DD9 did not) I think it may be due to the fact that I had more skin exposed (male swim trunks vs. girls' one piece suit) and the force of the water against my 210 pound body vs. my daughter's 72 pounds, washing off the sunblock.

Anybody have any advice, other than reapplying the sunblock every 15 minutes?

 

[ajsmommy1129]

They do make what are called "rash guard" shirts for men and boys. I make my son wear one at the waterparks, even though he doesn't burn. Re-applying often helps. I also decided last year that I would tan at a salon prior to the trip. It helped a little, I think. Good luck!

PS What day were you at Dorney??? We were there 7/19, Saturday...it is not a bad WP, but the Disney WPs are sooo much nicer and cleaner. BTW, I think it is Aveeno that makes a waterproof SPF 90. That is what I had on at DP ths weekend, and no burn for me. I am VERY fair skinned, so if it worked for me...now granted, the whole bottle is gone, but I have no sun burn!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

DD9 and I did our commando training run at Dorney Park this weekend. We leave for WDW 3 weeks from today!

Despite heavy doses of SPF 50 waterproof sunblock with titanium dioxide, I sustained a moderate case of sunburn during our trip to the waterpark. (DD9 did not) I think it may be due to the fact that I had more skin exposed (male swim trunks vs. girls' one piece suit) and the force of the water against my 210 pound body vs. my daughter's 72 pounds, washing off the sunblock.

Anybody have any advice, other than reapplying the sunblock every 15 minutes?

The "New" popular thing in Florida is the "Swim Shirt" repels UV Rays and is lightweight to wear. Target carries them for kids, around $9 to $12. Adult swim shirts can be found at the Sport Auth. but for much more money. The shirt when wet is not unpleasant to wear, and the kids prefer it to re-applying sun screen.

 

[malcontent]

What day were you at Dorney??? We were there 7/19, Saturday...it is not a bad WP, but the Disney WPs are sooo much nicer and cleaner. BTW, I think it is Aveeno that makes a waterproof SPF 90. That is what I had on at DP ths weekend, and no burn for me. I am VERY fair skinned, so if it worked for me...now granted, the whole bottle is gone, but I have no sun burn!

We were there Saturday, and could have seen you. This was our first trip to Dorney, and realized it is not to be confused with Disney. I thought it was okay, but DD9 thought it was the greatest thing ever! Of course, she hasn't seen WDW yet! The waterpark was great for the first hour or two, but then the crowds made it a bit less fun.

Thanks for the advice!!!!

 

[tink too]

One other tip I would like to add - buy water shoes!

Those footpaths can get sizzling hot and it's not unheard of for folks to get the soles of their feet burnt! Ouch!

 

[ajsmommy1129]

You will find the same thing with the crowds at the WDW WPs, too. We are always up and at the front of the line for rope drop at the WPs.We hit all the slides and rides, then chill in the wave pool. We then hit a few more slides, and duck out by 1 pm, when the crowds are at their heaviest. Am I remembering your post correctly that you will be there in August? Be sure to take advantage of the EMH at the WPs...IMHO, they are the best EMHs to use in August. And since, sadly, we won't be there this year, (I was out of work for surgery for 4 months, puts a strain on the personal economy)take a run down Crushin' Gusher for me, would ya???

 

[malcontent]

One other tip I would like to add - buy water shoes!

Those footpaths can get sizzling hot and it's not unheard of for folks to get the soles of their feet burnt! Ouch!

Well, "fortunately" enough, my old pair of Crocs were stolen at Dorney while we were on a water slide! At the insistance of DD9, I reported it, expecting nothing. As it turns out, they comped me a brand new pair of water shoes. Given the condition of my Crocs, whoever stole them actually did me a favor!

 

[Vijoge]

I have pale skin, freckles, and strawberry blonde hair, so you know I burn!

I use an SPF 50 sunblock and I always wear a white T-shirt over my suit. I know they now make special shirts but I've never seen or bought one.

I've been to a ton of pools/ waterparks over the past 15-20 years and I've never had anyone tell me I can't wear my white t-shirt although I have seen them refuse people wearing non-white shirts or shirts with printing on them.

 

[Dizneydaz]

My DD8 wore her rash guard shirt at both TL and BB last year and didn't burn. I had her put in on after we were there for a few hours. I also put on a t-shirt to keep my shoulders from burning. That, plus sunblock reapplied a couple times during the day, kept us from burning.

malcontent, how nice that they replaced your shoes. I too wear my Crocs at TL and BB. But I carry them on my hands on the rides. Maybe I should leave them unattended? Only the old ones of course!

We had a similar experience a few hours ago when DD's autograph book fell out of her stroller when we got off the train at Conservation Station. This happened on our first day and even though I constantly checked with L&F, it was never found. (And stupid me, it had a few years worth of autographs in it ). Imagine my surprise when a little while after we got home we got a brand new autograph book, completely filled in with all the characters you could think of, and more. Plus a nice note from someone at L&F saying they were sorry we lost our book and hoped the new one would help. Very nice and unexpected!

 

[HollyP]

Aveeno makes an SPF 70 sunblock.

 

[DVC Mary]

Rash guard shirts are great. We bought ours through Land's End & they've lasted several years--long enough to be handed down. Land's End also sells some clothes w/ SPF in it.

http://www.landsend.com/pp/ShortSle...03_00001_0021241&INT_CAMP=00003_00001_0021241

The more lightweight your t-shirt, especially white ones, the greater the likelihood that you can even burn through your shirts. We bought Rit SunGuard & washed the SPF into our clothes.

http://www.createforless.com/Rit+La...551.aspx?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=cse

Baseball Hats do not provide sun protection for your ears & neck, but a bucket style hat does. We bought DSs the floppy kind at AK that you can put pins on.

We also get out of the sun in between rides to do a show ex.) Tough to be a Bug, Philharmagic, etc. You won't find us at the parks between 12-4 most days. We go back for a nap/rest at the hotel so that we can stay up late for EMH.

Good luck!

 

[eeyoregon]

My boys used the rash guard type SPF swim shirts last year and they rocked!!! This was the 1st time my poor boys didn't get burned at the water parks. I highly recommend them for kids and adults. Our Joe's sporting goods store in town is closing them out for $14 so I bought a few more.

Florida sun is very intense + water + sweating = sun burn no matter how often you reapply the sunscreen.

 

[dzorn]

Always put sunscreen on under your shirt even if you are wearing a light t-shirt which as I recall only has a SPF of 5. You should also put it on and let it absorb into your skin before going out into the sun. 15 to 30 minutes Reapply often.

Denise in MI

 

[prncess674]

Make sure you use a sunscreen meant for sport and water, they tend to stay on a bit longer. Another good option is to lather on sunscreen before putting on your bathing suit while at the hotel. People tend to get close to the bathing suit line but stop just short. If DW won't be at the park make sure she gets your back for you before leaving. If you don't want to wear a shirt on the slides at least wear one when relaxing in a chair for a break.

 

[Harambe]

I wish you luck at BB or TL. We attempted a day at BB once, and we only lasted til about 1pm (we were there at opening). The sun just baked the energy right out of us! But I did enjoy floating along the lazy river!

 

[malcontent]

Follow up:

I took the recommendations of several posters, and after ordering some rash guard shirts, I discovered that most do not hold up to chlorine.

I canceled the order, and after some online research, found some that are chlorine resistant.

Just a word of advice as to what to look for to anyone who is interested.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

I just did a bunch of research on sunblock because my 1 year old burns even after applying spf50 sunblock multiple times per day. I now use the swim shirts in addition to the sunblock and they are great. What I learned from the research is there is a lot more to consider than the SPF rating. I can't remember all the details, but after an SPF 30, the higher number doesn't really protect you that much. Therefore an SPF 70 or SPF 90 may not be as good in one brand than an SPF 30 in another brand. You also need to make sure the sunblock protects against UVA and UVB rays. In addition, there is a sifgnicant difference between sunblock and sunscreen and ideally you want a mixture of both.

There is also a site called cosmeticdatabase.com where you can put in the product and it tells you how safe it is. You'll be surprised to find that most off the shelf sunblock is not highly recommended.

My final conclusion pointed to Blue Lizard as being my best option (UVA & UVB protection, safe rating on cosmeticdatabase.com, and is a sunblock and sunscreen). My only problem now is I can't find it anywhere!! I believe Bull Frog was recommended as well, but I need to go back to my research to make sure.

Hope this helps!!

 

[amykay9377]

I am a pale blue-eyed redhead gal, so I burn as well. After many (ugh MANY!) theme park/water park trips concluding with painful burns, I did my own looking and got lucky. I looked for all the things that made them the best, such as high spf, uva/b protection and that Parsol thing (I'm sorry, I dont remember) and I found that Ocean Potion Age-Blocking SPF 50 will not let me burn. Literally--I fell asleep at the local YMCA pool one time and I woke up after about an hour, and I was not burned. The best part is, 1) it is only $5 at Wal-Mart and 2) it smells just like baby aspirin!

For $5, try it. But definitely apply 20m before going out--this is what dermotologists recommend and so do I. Buy a small clip-on container of some sort (or use an empty clip-on hand sanitizer continer) and keep some with you at all times, clipped to your bathing suit. Everytime you go to your beach chair, reapply. You just have to remind yourself to take that extra step (being a FL gal, this is all second nature to me...)

Hope this helps!

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

Coppertone SPORT Continuous Spray 70

It's waterproof and breathable, protects you from uva and uvb, and it's very easy to apply.

 

[Stitch And Friends]

Coppertone SPORT Continuous Spray 70

It's waterproof and breathable, protects you from uva and uvb, and it's very easy to apply.

I've never used the spray version, but I swear by the Coppertone SPORT lotion. I'm very fair/freckled/blue-eyed so I burn very easily. I've never had a problem with a bad burn after using that at the water parks. I used it for the first time on my honeymoon in Hawaii after the waterproof sunscreen I brought with me kept getting into my eyes and stinging from sweating. I bought a bottle from the hotel gift shop since it said it was waterproof and sweatproof (sigh, I could have bought at least 2 bottles at home for what I paid there, but I was desperate ) and it was great. I've since used it every trip to WDW including the water parks. I figured if it got me through Hawaii without looking like a lobster, it would be good anywhere!