To be considering selling our olympic tickets as I tink it will be too stressful to go

[katedan]

We got 5 tickets for the athletics in the ballot last year and were thrilled. You could only request a date not a time and we were allocated 6 -10pm. Kids will be 9 and 5 yr old twins and having looked at the transport links it is going to take hours to get home after the event. (we only live in Reading). We have been told to allow 2 hours each side to get in and out of the venue, you are not allowed to take bags or water etc in and I think the whole thing will be nightmare with the children getting very tired and not enoying the event. I realise it is a once in a lifetime event butI am dreading in.

So AIBU?

I would do it, it's no different to taking them on a flight etc - it takes more than 2 hours to check in at the airport and to stay up late just this once won't do them any harm. You can take bags in if they are not too large and stuffed full of food. As already said you can take small empty bottles for water and fill them up inside.

Its sounds like hell to me, unless you are really really into athletics. I certainly wouldn't go for the "olympic experience "

I would sell your tickets lots of adults would love to go and the children can take themselves when they are older. I don't get all this once in a lifetime stuff, i've been to 2 Olympics myself. They are every 4 years if you're that keen.

I certainly would go "for the olympic experience". This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. How about leaving the twins with a grandparent or something and selling those tickets?

I would go childless.

I hate taking the kids to London anyway,let alone during the Olympics.

I went with my 3 month old DS to one of the London prepares events. The javelin train from st pancras to the stadium took 7 minutes. The security checks were very slick. I travelled in from Oxford and we had a great day. The westfield centre is right next to the olympic stadium and has lots for kids to do - a huge lego shop, little cars as shopping trolleys lots of food places.I would take them its once in a lifetime.

Olympics not even started and the whinging is already full speed ahead?

It was absolutely clear what time each session was when you applied. There were day sessions and evening sessions - your mistake. YABU to blame the problem on anyone else.

Clearly not a good session for children to go to - so you could either go as a couple or just sell all the tickets back.

We've got tickets for the athletics too. I don't want to go either. Luckily we only have 2 tickets so i have graciously said that DH and DD should go and me and DH will stay at home. Our tickets are from 10 til 2. So they will have to get up at 5am travel for 2 hours queue for 2 hours in order to get in on time. Not my idea of a fun.

Me and DS will stay at home.

I would go, take 'regulation' sized bags, arrive at 6pm and leave at 8.30-9pm, approx. one hour before the end.
You will miss 'stuff' but will also miss the 2 hours to get out as everyone will still be in their seats.
2 hours will be enough for your DC to experience it.
Alternatively, ask a relative to have your DC over night and go with your DH, make a night of it.

When I say arrive at 6 I mean get in at 6. You will arrive at 4pm obviously. :)

TBH i was worried after the Jubilee. I went to London but made sure I got a hotel with a view"just in case". The flotilla wasn't that spectacular

Whoops ! and there were queues from 1.00pm onwards for the loo's that stretched across the bridge (Westminster). I felt really sorry for people with children TBH . My friends also did an hours journey only to be turned round and sent back because their station was too full.

sameoldthing - great idea about leaving early to miss the rush at the end.

gladders - the only option was the date and event you wanted no mention of times, however these were not the expensive tickets so that she have told us something!

katedan- absolutely untrue i'm afraid - i know as i especially looked out for the day sessions and avoided all the evening ones. this narrowed our choices but meant that we had an event that was more child friendly.

I've had the same problems about DH as he got hold of cycling tickets for Box Hill and was delighted. It was only when we looked at the info that we realised it was highly likely we'd have to park upwards of an hour's walk away from the site, walk there, sit/stand on a hillside for at least 6-8 hours and then walk back to the car.

Fine if you are a cycling obsessed adult, not if you are a 5 year old who isn't that bothered frankly. We are giving it a miss, and going for an event with a shorter slot during the middle of the day.

my DC are older than yours granted - 10 and 12, but I think I would have done it 5 years ago too. We've already got our train tickets, and although there will be queueing on the tube, the overland has no changes so that bit of the journey should be ok. we plan to take Aldi bottled water and ditch it before we go in, and have ordered the water bottles that roll up when empty to fill in the venue.

If you are unsure (and have cheap tickets) are you able to get someone to look after the younger ones, and just go with the 9 yo?

YANBU, I'm starting to think the same thing about our football tickets but there are so many left I doubt we could sell them :(

I definately saw all the times when I applied as I deliberately went for evening sessions so DH wouldn't have to take the day off work (we live in London). i applied for more than £3000 worth of tickets and got nothing

It sounds like you don't want to go and are trying to make excuses. I don't blame you, it will be awful. Now can I buy your tickets?

Onlyaphase, you can still watch the race as you don't need tickets to watch it from the roadside, we are going to watch it from Richmond bridge which is 10mins walk from our house

Are you selling them then? Go when your chidren are older.

Shall I have your tickets for you?

I need to find out what food we can take in for DS's allergies. This should be fun .

The water restrictions don't surprise me though, as long as there's free water inside then it's tolerable.

I was all keen to say "sell them to me!" until I saw they were evening, and I must admit that sounds like a crappy journey from Reading. In your place I'd sell the 5 year olds' tickets, go with the 9 year old and find a friend in London to crash overnight with. Done like that it should be a breeze.

I really fancy seeing Oscar Pizourius (sp?) at the paras, but his class only seem to run in the evenings and even coming from London I'm not sure I can face taking my 7 year old to an evening session - but I guess it's doable if we sneak away early as the pp suggested.

Go! It will be great! We went to some evening athletics sessions at the Athens Olympics before we had DCs and I remember there being kids sat around us. Don't remember them being difficult or annoying, just genuinely excited and interested.

On a more personal note, we have taken 3yo DD to an evening sports event and she lasted to about 9pm before asking to go home, which I thought was pretty good.

Give it a whirl. It IS a once-in-a-lifetime for this country/generation.

Seriously, what is the worst that could happen?

You can take food in. They've just restricted the size of bags and liquids apprently. .