How do you save money at a park?

[palmerleeberry]

Let's face it: going to parks today is expensive!!!

 

But I'm sure there are many ways you can save money and still have a great day. So this is why I'm opening this topic of discussion up - for your tips on saving money.

 

But before I continue, please no lying, cheating, and stealing allow. These tips should all be legal!!!

 

So here's my tip to beat thirst and dehydration and save $$$.

 

1) Go to any food stand that sells sodas and buy a large soda. Tell them you want plenty of ice in your drink.

 

2)Now quickly consume the soda until you have nothing but ice left.

 

3)Go to the bathroom and refill cup in the sink. Now you have ice water. If you finished your cup before all the ice melted, then refill cup again.

 

That way, you will always have cold, ice water without needing to use the water fountains (which are always lukewarm). I did that trick at Cedar Point and Ghost Town in the Sky.

 

That's my one way to save money. What's yours?

[Jew]

^Bathroom water?!?! You can use water fountains. Plus, 99% of parks will give you a cup of water if you ask for it. Most parks will also allow sealed bottles of water in.

[ginzo]

Buy park tickets on Craigslist. It takes planning and luck, but great deals in the 50% off range aren't that hard to come by.

[freestylenut]

Nice "ice water" tip...though if an attendant is not too busy, it doesn't hurt to sometimes ask them to "give" you some ice once the cup is empty. When I worked at BGA I did it all the time...its a bother if there are 20 people in line though.

 

Also, if you got kids...BRING them snacks. Make a microwave popcorn, bring some Oreos (they fill the kid's up more than other cookies), some fruit & fruit juices...saves you a bundle on "I want popcorn!", etc. Usually we limit ourselves to at least ONE meal within the park...we usually wait til after we leave to grab dinner.

[arrowfanman]

It's not that I go out of my way to "save money", but I do typically set a budget every time I go to a park. Just a figure that I try to meet. It kind of keeps things in perspective for me. So I don't start spending on souvenirs or sit down meals I cant afford.

 

-Jahan

[Jew]

Buy park tickets on Craigslist. It takes planning and luck, but great deals in the 50% off range aren't that hard to come by.

 

While I have had great success with sporting event tickets on craigslist, keep in mind that craigslist will also have a greater risk of fraud that parks are not responsible for. So if you buy a fake or expired ticket, the park isn't going to do anything for you except maybe offering you a discount on purchasing a legitimate ticket.

 

I would recommend ebay, simply because you will still find a good deal and have some form of protection as well.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

I leave wallet in the car, I paid enough to park and get into ride there rides. If I am going to be at a park all day I bring a cooler with stuff in it and go to car when thristy or hungry. I will not pay $4.00 for a soda at a park when you can buy 2 gallons of soda at store for same price. Its like going to a bar and drinking a beer for the same prices as a 6 pack silly.

 

Drink water out of water fountains if park has them.

[ginzo]

While I have had great success with sporting event tickets on craigslist, keep in mind that craigslist will also have a greater risk of fraud that parks are not responsible for. So if you buy a fake or expired ticket, the park isn't going to do anything for you except maybe offering you a discount on purchasing a legitimate ticket.

 

I would recommend ebay, simply because you will still find a good deal and have some form of protection as well.

 

That's why you use PayPal to pay for things on CL. If they aren't willing to accept PayPal, then don't buy anything from that seller.

[bdstrom]

Since coolers are not allowed in the park, simply cram as much food as possible in your backpack and bring it in the park.

 

Also do not play any games which includes carnival-type games and arcades. Who cares about giant stuffed apes, seriously?

 

Get to the park early as possible and ride as MUCH as you can. For example, if park cost 50 dollars to get in... ride 50 rides or more. That's $1 per ride or less. Best money saver is go on a slow day, enough said.

 

If you absolutely must have at least one souvenir, then buy something non-perishable and that will not wear out or break (candies with logo on it, t-shirt/clothes, glasses). Best deal is refrigerator magnets that does not cost more than 3 dollars.

[ginzo]

Who cares about giant stuffed apes, seriously?

 

Me!

[Wes]

Some helpful hints!

 

When you get hungry and want to eat, go to a place that serves food. You'll see these numbers next to the name of the item, like:

HAMBURGER 5.75

HOT DOG 4.25

Choose the item with the lowest number, as that will most likely be the cheaper option.

Now you may be thirsty too, and you will see prices for items like Coke, Diet Coke, Lemonade etc. But let me tell you about a hidden drink item. It's called water. It doesn't taste like much, but usually it's free. Just make sure you get it in a cup, not a bottle.

[Scaparri]

Since coolers are not allowed in the park, simply cram as much food as possible in your backpack and bring it in the park.

 

Or, you could just cram your cooler full, get your hand stamped, and walk out to the car for 15 minutes to eat.

 

-If you don't want to pack a cooler, leave the park for thirty minutes to an hour, drive right down the street to the nearest McDonald's, and rape the dollar menu.

 

-Always get water to drink. It's free and will hydrate you far better than sodas.

 

-Thoroughly check park websites or area newspapers and such for any possible discount you can get. Most parks offer some sort of discount if you buy tickets online, and a lot of parks will have promotions like $10 if you bring a can of pepsi or coke or something. I found a $10 off coupon for Kennywood at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center. Discounts are everywhere.

 

-Don't worry about Q-bots unless you are really worried you won't get everything in.

 

-Take friends and split everything. You'd be amazed how cheap trips can be when gas and lodging is split 2, 3, 4 ways.

 

-Priceline.com is your very good friend. Go there, make sweet love, and get $100 hotel rooms for $30 a night.

 

-And Six Flags or Cedar Fair season passes are an obvious one.

[PURE]

I save money at parks by not spending any.

 

...complicated, I know, but it gets easier the more often you do it.

[denning]

Kid's Meals!

 

The Kid's Meals at Disney are an incredible value.

 

No one bats an eye when you order it as they assume you getting it for your screaming child.

 

The Yak N Yeti takeout deal is amazing, $4.99 gets you a huge serving of chicken fingers, fries and a nice sized portion of chicken fried rice, plus either a small bottle of water or a soda.

 

If there was a deal that good out of a themepark I would gladly grab that for lunch.

[Jew]

-Don't worry about Q-bots unless you are really worried you won't get everything in.

 

I know the topic is about saving money, which buying a Q-bot won't directly do, but I thought I should post this...

 

If you know you are going on a busy day, I actually think whatever front of the line program a park offers is actually a GREAT value. Especially if you are on vacation and have already spent money on gas/hotel/plane tickets/admission/parking/etc.

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

I think there was a thread similar to this...

 

But I suggest purchasing tickets in advance and finding a promo code. My friends purchased Six Flags tickets last year and used MYCOKEREWARDS in the promo box.

 

There isnt much you can save on for food except to leave the park or split with friends.

 

If you look young, buy a childs ticket and hope nobody notices.

[coasterdude5]

1. Free water

 

2. Limit meals eaten

 

3. If you gotta buy stuff, try to find sale items in the stores.

 

4. COUPONS.

[FeelTheFORCE]

-If you are going multiple days to one park, consider a season pass.

-See if someone in your group who doesn't plan on going to the park can drop you off at the park and pick you up at night. It'll save you those ridiculous parking fees.

-If you buy tickets, there are usually coupons in a local fast food place, or look for some sort of deal with, say Coke cans, on TV. They usually advertise those frequently.

[CP_RULES]

I always bring a cooler with sandwiches made and drinks. Makes it so you don't have to buy food in the park, plus you get to rest in your car.

[spaceace12]

When I go to Holiday World. I take 20 dollars, I have a season pass.

 

I can eat on 15 dollars there, and a very good helping of food also.

 

When I goto Six Flags in St. Louis, I get the refillable bottle at the beg. of season for 10 dollars and take it each time and refill it for a dollar. For food, I won't spend over 9 dollars unless the food looks good....Mooseburger Lodge. I usually only eat once, when I am about to leave.

 

When I goto Indiana Beach, I buy the pop band online, save 2.50 gate entry fee. Food is cheap and I buy either gatoraide or a bottle of water for 2 dollars. I am rarely in the park longer than 5 hours so two bottles and one meal will suffice.

[niiicolaaah]

Queen of penny pinching here...

 

Park admissions: Look for after 5 pm deals or special admission deals, I remember Darien Lake used to have reduced admission with a pepsi can on certain days or something like that. AAA or CAA offer somewhat discounted admissions to parks, and in some places you can buy discounted tickets at supermarkets like Wegmans or Tops/Martin's/Giant/whatever your local variety is.

 

Food: If you have a car, pack sandwiches and other lunch stuff in a cooler and leave it in the car (preferably in a cooler, shady spot if possible! ) Then when your party gets hungry, go out to the car and eat the food you brought. My parents used to do this for us all the time. Also, if your park is not in the middle of nowhere, sometimes it can be worth it to leave the park to eat if the place is within walking distance. Another thing could be, split your food. For example, some of those sandwiches at Busch Gardens, while like $8 a piece, are meatnormous and enough to share.

 

Souvenirs: You don't need a t-shirt from EVERY park, do you? I always buy pins or magnets, they are cheap and a good memento of your trip.

 

The basic thing is... know how much you are willing to spend and ONLY bring that much to the park! You don't really need to bring your credit card and entire life savings to the park.

[ebl]

Knott's is $25 after 4pm. If you go during the summer, you'll still have plenty of time to ride.

 

SFMM has online deals. The website will tell you more. Many parks have such discounts on their website.

 

If possible, eat a good size meal before going to the park (and you'll get better food anyway in many cases).

 

Eric

[BarryH]

Remember the Ferengi Rule of Acquistion # 141: "Only fools pay retail."

 

1.) Never pay full price for a ticket. You can find ticket deals for nearly every amusement or theme park. There are deals online, through AAA, through the park's website, and coupons on the park's website or regional stores.

 

2.) Become a AAA member and use it wherever you can. Most parks have a AAA discount. You may be able to use a AAA discount on food (like at Universal Orlando).

 

3.) Carry around a bottle so you can fill it up with water at the water fountains.

 

That's all I can think of for now.

[ParkTrips]

Go on a TPR trip

[riccoaster]

I get a Six Flags Season Pass and hit up all the Six Flags Parks I can. Plus I have relatives everywhere in the U.S. and A few have season passes to amusement parks with bring friends for free coupon books.