Do512 Family editor, Jamie Jett, made it out to X Games Austin (2014) on Friday, June 6 with her 9-year-old son to celebrate the official start to summer in style. She wanted to share her tips on doing the games with your kids so you can have more fun enjoying the X Games and less time looking for things like water and free stuff.

X Games Austin is at the Circuit of the Americas from June 6 – 8. Click here for more info!

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I’m happy to report that my son and I had a blast at X Games Austin! I would craft an exciting intro here, but it’s midnight and I’ve been in the Texas sun all day so let’s cut to the chase…

Tips on Doing X Games with Kids:

• Bring water bottles – There are refill stations in the Green Planet area, which is close to the main entrance. The X Games website said that you could only bring sealed water  bottles but they didn’t check mine. I think if you have kids with you, you’ll be all right. I saw some parents refilling sport bottles, I think you’ll be fine if you choose that route, but bring some regular bottles just in case. You DEFINITELY do not want to buy water throughout the day because it is $4.50 a bottle. I brought a bottle for each of us and we filled them both up a few times.
• There’s free stuff, let me tell you where – SNACKS. There is free chips and queso from Torchy’s Tacos in The Playground area, right next to the playscape. If you walk through the Galleria, you will get bombarded by cheese crackers and packs of beef jerky. You can get slushies from the Skype tent, which is behind the main row in the galleria. Brands want to give you stuff, so stop by their tents!
• Sunscreen – BRING IT! I heard there was some free sunscreen from Seton, but I’m not sure where.
• Places where there is air conditioning – When you enter the main entrance, there is a Museum on the left. It’s a tent with closed doors and easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. GO IN IT, because it is sweet, sweet refuge after the walk from your car. We went in there twice just to chill out for a sec. Other places with AC: the Interactive Music Tent in the Sound Factory area (right next to The Playground) and the Arcade in the Games area. There are also several Chill Zones that are shaded with tents and have misters. They’re scattered throughout the venue.

• ALL of the Kid Stuff is FREE – I was honestly so surprised and so happy that all of the activities were included in the price of your entry. Everything was free. My son went ziplining, bungee bouncing, ran through an inflatable obstacle course, went rock climbing, played arcade games and a lot more at no extra cost. Also, the lines we’re that bad. I imagine they’ll be a lot worse on Saturday and Sunday, you should probably knock it out early just in case. All you have to do for the kid’s stuff is sign a waiver and they’ll give you a wristband which will let them do any activity. There was a waiver tent in The Playground area about mid-way through the row, can’t miss it, it’s next to the Radio Disney and iFly tents. There was another place to sign waivers next to the rock climbing wall in the Games area.
• There’s a pond – Kind of. There is a fountain (without the fountain part) right when you enter the games. People were wading in it and kids were straight up swimming in it. I would recommend you let your kiddos wear something that dries quickly, either swim trunks or jersey shorts and a sun shirt maybe so they can cool off. After my son took a dip, he was pretty much a new kid. It’s only a couple of feet deep and he said it felt like rubber on the bottom.

• You can’t bring in blankets – Lame. I got burrs in my butt just about every time I sat in the grass. Tomorrow, I’m bringing a hoodie or a big T-Shirt just to have something to sit on.
• Ask for a map – I found mine on the ground, but I imagine they have them at the front gate if you ask. I was pretty lost for a while, COTA is HUGE.
• Everything is expensive – Load up on the free goodies because beer is $8.50 and up, water is $4.50 and the only food we bought was a corn dog that was $8 if that tells you anything. So, be ready for that. We ate a lot before we left and got some drive-thru on the way home. I won’t tell you from where, because I’m ashamed.

We were at the games for about six hours and we were pretty spent. We only saw about half of the venue because we were taking our sweet time and the kid’s area kept us pretty busy. We watched some of the Big Air competition, which was AWESOME.

Hope this helps you and yours have an awesome time too 🙂