Well, not too much fun.

You might hurt yourself doing that.

You're time in the park will be safely mediocre.

Ve haff vays of making you haff fun...ja.

Ugh, who are they to tell me I can't work an 80 hour work week? Fascists.

if you don't like the rules, don't go to the park. nobody is forcing you

/i demand my right to a conference call in a movie theater!

That's really farked up. What if you are trying to coordinate with others in the park?

You try to take my phone, you get a beat down.

The result will be that anybody who might need to get an important message will simply not take their kids to that place at all.

FAIL

Or anybody that wants to get any message, for that matter.

Just cunningly disguise your PDA as a sandwich.

No worries FARKers, it specifies PARENTS, and we all know you lot will never get close enough to a woman to actually breed.

/flame thrower set on wide-angle!
//Mmm, crispy bits!

Actually the rule specifies adults.

They should ban cellphones while they're at it too. All means of communication with the outside world ("not fun") should be banned while people are inside the park.

Then people will concentrate on what's important in life - buying the tacky overpriced crap they're selling and eating the overpriced food. You know. "Fun."

Is this even legal?

FTFA:Russell Barnes, a director of the Staffordshire attraction, said: "It's important for parents and kids to focus on nothing more than having the best possible time."

Translation: You WILL buy more beers and candy floss to induce a coma-like state where you buy anything your awful children keep screaming at you about just to shut them up. You WILL be concentrating on feeding your children's every whim for candied apples, corn dogs, giant lollipops, deep-fried anythings, and a $7.00 bottle of water. You WILL purchase t-shirts and spend more money to win them cheaply made plush toys upon which they (or you) will vomit when you've ridden the Tilt-A-Whirl for the ninety-seventh time, and yet you will be forced to carry said giant plush toy round the park all day AND bring the smelly thing in the car home as well. DO NOT THINK. THINKING IS NOT ALLOWED. THERE IS NO PLACE OTHER THAN THIS. CONSUME."

Sounds great.

Dubai Vol: No worries FARKers, it specifies PARENTS, and we all know you lot will never get close enough to a woman to actually breed.

Well, one part says "parents", another says "adults", so who knows unless you get to see the actual wording?

And personally, I mostly use my PDA as a book reader, and often take it out when I am waiting in line for something. And I remember letting the son of a family friend use it to play games while we were in line for an attraction at a local amusement park. Again, there is the thing with the wording. What will they do if they see a kid with one, or even with something like a gameboy?

Surely "Nanny Private Enterprise"?

gwowen: Surely "Nanny Private Enterprise"?

But then how would the subby with an addiction to the phrase "nanny state" make a submission? Don't you know this is their favorite hobbyhorse, even when it makes no sense and is totally inappropriate?

b>That's really farked up. What if you are trying to coordinate with others in the park?

You try to take my phone, you get a beat down.

Gee that's funny. My family managed to go to amusement parks for 20 years before cell phones were invented, and somehow, we survived. Oh, I forgot. You are in full "Internet Tough Guy" mode. My bad.

/Leave your damn Crackberry home for chrissakes and enjoy your time.

So now you can't kiss at an amusement park?

*whisper whisper*

Oh.

Never mind.

Close2TheEdge: Gee that's funny. My family managed to go to amusement parks for 20 years before cell phones were invented, and somehow, we survived. Oh, I forgot. You are in full "Internet Tough Guy" mode. My bad.

My family did too, but we spent a lot of time that we could have been having fun watching our watches, so that we could meet at pre-arranged times and places, or being separated and stressed out about that (and out of money, for us kids). I can honestly say it's a lot more fun when the hubs and I go places these days and each have our phones so we don't have to go through all that crap.

You're gonna have so much farking fun, you're gonna need a farking plastic surgeon to remove the farking smiles from your faces!!!

No PDAs. Moose out front should have told ya...
/ 2 quotes, same movie....

crypticsatellite: That's really farked up. What if you are trying to coordinate with others in the park?

You try to take my phone, you get a beat down.

pnjunction: The result will be that anybody who might need to get an important message will simply not take their kids to that place at all.

FAIL

..or that they won't really enforce this at all, but at least it sounds good for the press.

Plus Alton Towers - while admittedly overpriced - is pretty good fun (I live about 30 mins drive from it). Apart from when things stop upside down, but I don't think that's happened for a while.

What if there are two parents and one's watching the kid(s)? The other is now not allowed to pop out a quick email? Not that these things aren't over-used - they certainly are, but to blanket like this is silly.

Dubai Vol: No worries FARKers, it specifies PARENTS, and we all know you lot will never get close enough to a woman to actually breed.

/flame thrower set on wide-angle!
//Mmm, crispy bits!

Meh, week flame. I'm close enough fairly frequently.

nekulor:
Meh, weekweke flame. I'm close enough fairly frequently.

FTFY - sorry, pet peeve

Where is a hero tag when you need it?

"...the camp with the difference// never mind the weatha// when you come to Tommy's// the holiday's forevaaaaaa!"

My husband and I were just talking about how much fun we had with our kids. He took a lesser paying job and I only worked while they were in school so we could spend time with them. We even delivered sale papers together, as a family. We managed to go to Disney world, camping and many other fun places. My sons are in their 20s and we just went to Disney last summer. The only time we used our phones is when they went on rides that I can no longer go on. We called to meet back up. People should put the phones down and get to know their kids. They might find out what the kids are real people instead of something to be shuffled back and forth!

pnjunction: The result will be that anybody who might need to get an important message will simply not take their kids to that place at all.

FAIL

I came in here to say this.

The only people who will really be affected are the self-important crackberry douchebags. I think it's a clever way of enforcing an anti-douchebag policy.

But the parents may still be preoccupied thinking about being reunited with their PDAs and not giving full attention to the children.
I suggest parental labotomies are necessary to eliminate any possible distraction.

Think of the revenue that mandatory labotomies would generate.

I don't really know how you could legally enforce a policy like that, but then again shouldn't it be common sense? Im tired of all of the self-important Blackberry carrying, blue tooth set wearing douchebags in public. God forbid you miss one important email about penis enlargement, and one from that Nigerian prince that wants to share his billions of dollars.

/Don't worry the interwebs will still be there when you get home!

It also specifies "tapping on a PDA". There is no indiciation here that you can't pull out your crackberry to place a 30 second phone call to your kids.

And yes, spending your time typing out emails at an amusement park when you are with your kids is definte douchbaggery. If your work really can't live without you for a day, then it's time to get another job (been there, done that, million times happier for it).

Every week I spend at least 2 hours of Quality Blackberry Time with my kids!

I'd prefer it if they banned the kids and gave free PDAs to every customer. farking spoilt little brats always cry to their mummys when I shove them out of the way when queuing for Oblivion.

*looks at website*

Hmm, maybe if this chick asks me nicely enough I'll let her hold it.

dodgrile

Alton Towers is a chav hole! Once is too many times..

I think it is about time that private industry got involved with parenting. I mean, the government will let people make their own decisions about how to raise their children. The government lets people decide whether to have children at all. We can't be having that!

This is a growth enterprise. I see nothing but positive outcomes and prosperity ahead.

Any parent seen tapping on a PDA will have it confiscated by special wardens at Alton Towers.

"Special" wardens? Does that mean they ride the "little bus" to work? I would think that they would have to in order to have the guts to try to separate people from their personal property. Of course this IS the UK where the population is kind of used to having officials do all their thinking for them.

Brilliant publicity stunt.

I have my cell with me for the occasional work call in an amusement park. It's really fun to gloat. "Oh... You want me to get you that document. I'm sorry, I'm at Busch Gardens and I don't have a computer with me. When I get home from playing with the giraffes, I'll try to get around to it."

lajimi: "Special" wardens? Does that mean they ride the "little bus" to work? I

Funny you should say that, Alton Towers used to have quite a lot of people with learning difficulties doing the cleaning etc. Then it was bought out, and what the new corporation (possibly) described as "unsightly mongs" were swept away.

Of course this IS the UK where the population is kind of used to having officials do all their thinking for them.

Pot, kettle, etc.

ronaprhys if you're going to do a rootskee at least do a good one!

I wonder how many people here complaining about the park taking away PDAs think that people who constantly wear bluetooth devices are douchebags. Seems to me that people have isolated themselves from the real world when they are dealing with these devices, particularly when they are out with others. If you're by yourself, fine, but otherwise, something like this may not be a bad idea.

And "nanny state"? Since when is an amusement park a government?

Wow. Kind of eerie that so many people seem to support this. I hate those blackberry douchebags as much as anybody, but having your property confiscated because the park employees don't think you're spending your time properly? I had a hard time even believing this story was real.

And if you think someone else sending a message on their blackberry spoils your good time, it seems like you might have something to work out on your end. No, a cell phone in a theater is not a reasonable comparison.

FarkinNortherner: lajimi: "Special" wardens? Does that mean they ride the "little bus" to work? I

Funny you should say that, Alton Towers used to have quite a lot of people with learning difficulties doing the cleaning etc. Then it was bought out, and what the new corporation (possibly) described as "unsightly mongs" were swept away.

Of course this IS the UK where the population is kind of used to having officials do all their thinking for them.

Pot, kettle, etc.

Yeah, gotta admit....you got me there.

What do they do if you're they're by yourself or as a couple with no kids?

/ Please avoid the obvious, "throw you in jail because you're obviously a sexual predator" replies.

Same Page muchly better story...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article1205285.ece

Um, no. No one would be taking my PDA. They can ask me to leave, but they can't take my property, no matter what their "rules" are.

Well, according to the amusement park's web site:

"PDA police will be onsite to enforce the ban and any adult caught using a PDA whilst at the Resort will be asked to report to one of five "PDA Drop Off Zones" where they can safely leave their PDA's for the day"

Doesn't sound like they're taking anything.

elpepe55: Um, no. No one would be taking my PDA. They can ask me to leave, but they can't take my property, no matter what their "rules" are.

I came here to echo this.

Close2TheEdge: b>That's really farked up. What if you are trying to coordinate with others in the park?

You try to take my phone, you get a beat down.

Gee that's funny. My family managed to go to amusement parks for 20 years before cell phones were invented, and somehow, we survived. Oh, I forgot. You are in full "Internet Tough Guy" mode. My bad.

/Leave your damn Crackberry home for chrissakes and enjoy your time.

Or, you know, allow people to live their lives the way they see fit and not the way you think they should.

/You asshat