How do you save money at a park?

[steel]

A couple of people have said this, but it is a really good idea. My parents used to do it all the time. Pack a lunch (and dinner if you need it) before leaving, leave it in the car, then get your hand stamped and go back out when it's time to eat.

I have great memories of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches under Wild Thing (this was before Steel Venom, so that area was all grass). If you can find a place like that, don't hesitate.

 

Bring your own bottle, of course. Warmer water treats dehydration better than ice water, anyway.

 

If you absolutely must cool down, don't spend money on a water bottle or on ice cream. Take a bandana and drench it. You'll look like an idiot, but you won't get heat stroke.

 

Either way, I think it's illegal in a lot of places to not offer water if it's asked for and avaliable now.

 

Don't play games, obviously. They're not worth it. Except SkeeBall.

 

Invest in AAA and use coupons. The most recent Des Moines Entertainment book has coupons for Cedar Fair and for Busch. Don't forget to check things like those.

 

Really, no matter what, it's going to be expensive. But it is possible to cut down the cost quite a bit.

[RaptorBoyASU]

Ok, my parents were the kings of cheap amusement park visits.

 

1. Always look around for discounts, duh. But one of the most overlooked places is large corporations. Find someone who works for a large company, and see what kind of ticket prices they get, and ask them to purchase them for you. I know that here at work, we get SFMM tix for $28, Knott's for $25, and off-season Disney are discounted as much as $10 on single day (when almost no one else does single day discounts).

 

2. Pack your lunch. Not only is it easier, but many parks have picnic pavilions to eat in. We always brought a cooler with us to Cedar Point as a kid. We left it in the picnic shelter next to Blue Streak, and no one bothered it. I have fond memories making sandwiches and watching Blue Streak race by.

 

3. If on a coaster trip, Priceline and www.biddingfortravel.com are your friends. You can get stellar deals on hotels in the area. Use biddingfortravel to get hotel info and bid advice before you go to priceline. They'll explain how to get free re-bids etc as well.

 

4. Take your own pictures. Do you really need that onride photo? Or would a picture of you and your friends in front of the ride entrance provide the same kind of memory?

 

Thats' all I have.

[larrygator]

Sorry didn't read the whole post so some of these might be repeats

 

Food

 

Always eat a big meal before you get to the park - luckily a big meal doesn't upset my stomach before going on rides.

 

I hate going back to my car to eat, so I usually plan to stop for food right after leaving the park.

 

So I try to eat light snacks (which are cheaper) during the day.

 

Buy a refillable bottle if it will save you money over the course of the season (and don't forget it at home)

 

Tickets

 

Season pass if you plan multiple visits

 

Look for the cheapest possible deal: park websites for coupons or night time specials, AAA (if you or a family or friend have a card), ask at TPR if there are locals discounts are fast food places/grocery stores, mycokerewards.com for Universal tickets (if your family drinks a lot of coke products).

 

Sometimes deals pop-up in strange places like the NRA selling Busch tickets for $25 last year.

 

Get to the park early to maximize the value for admission price.

 

Gas/Parking/Hotels

 

Find a friend and car pool

 

I prefer to use Hotwire for hotels as I really like the way they system for rating hotels

 

Souvenirs

 

Buy them cheaper at the end of the season. If you are worrying about them going out of style, then remind yourself of this. Coaster t-shirts are NEVER in style.

 

Loose Change

 

If you pick-up every coin you see on the ground and you can generally haul in a dollar by the end of the day.

 

Best places to pick up loose change. The floor of log flumes, the bottom of wave pools, in the grass underneath the cobra roll of Medusa at SFGAdv.

[King of Ka]

If you pick-up every coin you see on the ground and you can generally haul in a dollar by the end of the day.

That takes penny-pinching to a whole new level.

 

If you're one of those people who really can't stand plain water, bring powdered drink mix into the park. I think every park will give you a cup of water for free, and then you can mix up a flavored drink for yourself.

[Louise]

4. Take your own pictures. Do you really need that onride photo? Or would a picture of you and your friends in front of the ride entrance provide the same kind of memory?

 

This is a good one. If you've read my trip report you'll know I'm all about the memories. I have about half a dozen old onride photos from Alton and Disney, then I have one from the TPR UK/mini-Scandi trip, one from Spain/Germany, and one from Japan. Those things really mount up, they're very expensive when you consider how cheaply they're produced, so I try not to buy too many. Memories are memories, you don't always need a picture of you actually ON the ride to remember the moment.

 

Whenever we were in Orlando when I was a kid, my parents would always have us stay in a hotel with the biggest breakfast buffet they could find. We'd get up early, eat a huge breakfast included in our hotel price (generally we'd manage to get a pretty good deal), which would then keep us going until we'd grab a really late lunch in the parks, missing the meal crowd and meaning we could avoid queues whilst many other families were eating. This would also mean we'd eat late enough that we wouldn't be hungry for dinner until after leaving the park, so we could grab something cheap close to the hotel. Sometimes saving money is all in the planning.

[WillMontu]

Ways to save money:

If you're planning to visit a lot of parks, do a TPR trip (though Jow said that already)

Don't eat at parks (probably won't work if you're an ACE member, but I can spend an entire day at a park while eating only breakfast and hitting drinking fountains on a regular basis)

Don't buy souvenirs. I just take lots of pictures and occasionally video. If you want to buy on-ride photos and you're with other people who want them too, buy one and send them copies.

[Angry_Gumball]

I save money by doing the following:

 

-Buy a season pass (if I plan on hitting up the park often)

-Souvenir cup with 99 cent refills for the rest of the season provided I have the cup on hand.

-Eat a lot beforehand at a local McD's (Days always end up good with McDonalds anyways)

-Keep food in a cooler in the car if I"m being there all day

-Play only the games I know I'll win at...if I'm in the mood for it

-Take my own camera in the park & have someone get onride photos of me instead of shelling out 8 bucks for a 4x6 picture.

-Before it got banned, we used to take our roll-around cooler into the park and when we got hungry, we'd find a spot and eat...then go back to riding

-Have someone drop you off at the park instead so you don't have to pay for parking. We did this last season for CGA...parents gave my bro and I a ride out there, dropped us off just past the parking ticket booths (the attendants let them go through just to drop us off closer)

-Tons of pictures/video is almost the best souvenir as you capture whatever moment.

-Another thing learned: purchase last season's stuff or purchase stuff when the park goes through a name change/ownership. I scored some coaster shirts for 5 bucks a piece all because it said "Paramount's" on it.

 

 

My biggest weakness is purchasing a $20 coaster t-shirt because I'm suddenly in love with that coaster (like Top Gun/Flight Deck) and has a nice design to it.

[ebl]

As souvenirs go, I get a park map. I don't need a pen, stuffed animal, etc. from a park that I will visit many times, or that can be found elsewhere with a different park's name, but otherwise exactly the same.

 

Smashed pennies/quarters are nice, inexpensive souvenirs and can make a nice collection over time.

 

Eric

[downunder]

Stay at home and watch Robb Alvey's point of view video dvd's.

[PKI Jizzman]

I'm getting a discount at Dreamworld for being an international student!

 

 

 

Oh....and don't play games unless you're a games employee and know all the cheats and secrets!!

[FLIPDUDE]

Well, I always bring my own food to parks. Saves me a whole lotta money.

 

I also never play hte games at the booths.

 

And to all of you Non-US people: Buying your own inner tube can help you avoid the lines for rides that require inner tubes.

[Groteslurf]

Whenever we were in Orlando when I was a kid, my parents would always have us stay in a hotel with the biggest breakfast buffet they could find. We'd get up early, eat a huge breakfast included in our hotel price (generally we'd manage to get a pretty good deal), which would then keep us going until we'd grab a really late lunch in the parks, missing the meal crowd and meaning we could avoid queues whilst many other families were eating. This would also mean we'd eat late enough that we wouldn't be hungry for dinner until after leaving the park, so we could grab something cheap close to the hotel. Sometimes saving money is all in the planning.

 

Exactly what we always do. Normally we then don't get hungry till late afternoon.

[verticalzero]

I buy tickets from the Internet to save between £10-£15 each, make sandwiches at home, buy drinks from the local food store (Tesco) the day before I go to the Park.

 

I normally have £30 cash in my pocket and I use the spare car key instead of my normal set of about 15 keys.

[Moose]

Some of my best memories of parks as a kid were my parents saving money. FOr example, at disney we would get up really early and eat something small and go to the park before it opened. Ride the rides etc and then leave around lunchtime when the crowds are at their worst. We'd go back to the hotel and make sandwiches and hang out by the pool, take a nap. In late afternoon we'd go back just as lots of people were leaving.

 

If my friends allow now, I'll do something close now. Like lots have said, pack a cooler and leave the park for a bit. I like to make the "bit" a bit longer in order to relax and rest a bit.

 

The cooler also provides nice snacks and all important hydration for the drive home.

[Flippero95]

We seem to be following the "Lou's parent's plan". We usually eat breakfast at the hotel, have a late lunch at the park and dinner elsewhere.

 

I have kids, so a lot of times saving money is all about planning ahead. They usually get a set amount for souvenirs, they way they can spend their $ on whatever crap they want and they aren't allowed to whine all day about buying stuff.

 

We usually buy refillable drink bottles and also drink water.

 

We look for discounts, and yes, I have stood in the parking lot of a waterpark pouring Dr. Pepper into the grass so I could turn in the cans for a discount.

 

Also I double/triple check to see if I have my sunscreen, water bottles, camera etc... since those things will be 3x the price in the park.

 

But finally, going to a theme park is an expense, so we set aside $ for it. We are planning our Disney summer vacation and part of that is setting aside $ now so we can have fun later, y'know?

[denning]

I am not the biggest fan of packing your own lunch or eating huge meals before you go.

 

Theme park food, funnel cakes, greasy fries, hot dogs are part of the experience, just like sporting events.

 

We just try to limit ourselves to thinks that aren't insanely overpriced when compared to eating at a restaurant or a mall foodcourt.

 

So I am not offended by a $7 chicken finger and fry platter, while the $4 bottle of water is extortion.

[AllenA07]

I normally try to eat a single meal in the park.

 

When I was younger and we still lived a few miles from SFMM my parents used to like to go after dinner for a few hours. The park would give free parking something like 3-4 hours before the park closed. We would go in, spend a couple couple hours there and go home. It cost us nothing other then the cost for gas, since we all had season passes.

 

For that to work, of course, you need to live pretty close to the park.

[BarryH]

I think it's OK to bring your own food. Some parks don't allow outside food, though. I have seen people at BGA with coolers and they were eating hot dogs. I've seen some people in Universal Orlando's parking garage eating sandwiches by their car. It's a tailgate party! Break out the grill!

 

As a side note, some of the bigger parks like Universal and Disney officially say they don't allow outside food, but I've never seen anyone thrown out for sneaking in sandwiches. Sandwiches and light snacks are OK. A turkey dinner is another matter.

[Broadwayboy2007]

^Tyler did this thread not make you think of the episode of Dinosaurs we watched?

 

I also eat outside of the park, and though Tyler does have a point about lines I have never bought a flash pass.

[McBanktooter]

I've learned the hard way that you should only take advise from people, not always follow it. I listened to two people when I went to a park once. One of them told me how to do two parks in one day, which caused me to lose out on some great rides (since I had to do both the same day since I was leaving the next day ), he was pretty much having me go after credits, and the other didnt know what he was talking about! I found out he just stays home all day and posts on forums!

 

But the advise in here is awsome!!

 

Peace!

[Broadwayboy2007]

One of them told me how to do two parks in one day

 

ew I only do that if I have spent enough time at both parks (ex: Universal Orlando)

[larrygator]

I've learned the hard way that you should only take advise from people, not always follow it. I listened to two people when I went to a park once. One of them told me how to do two parks in one day, which caused me to lose out on some great rides (since I had to do both the same day since I was leaving the next day ), he was pretty much having me go after credits, and the other didnt know what he was talking about! I found out he just stays home all day and posts on forums!

 

My guess is that you were not clear when you asked for advice on doing two parks in one day. Did you express that your desire was not just to ride coasters?

[AllenA07]

^ I once went for a crazy ride on a water fountain.

[YoshiFan]

Great Adventure and Dorney both have an "all items are $10 or less" shop. I'm not sure if other CF and SF parks have them but they can have bargains.

 

At Dorney I got a T-Shirt for $5.00, normally $16.99 (and still $16.99 on their website) and they had candy bars for $0.65. In the vending machine they were $1.50. $0.65 is even less than most supermarkets and stores like Rite Aid and CVS.

 

When eating in the park, look for combo deals. At Subway in Dorney, a regular size sub is $4.xx. You can make it a combo with 2 cookies and a soda for $3.00 more. A soda is $3.00 by itself. So you get a sub, a soda and dessert for under $8, not bad for park prices

 

If you are at a seashore park, try to find food/drinks elsewhere. In Ocean City, NJ, the drinks at Playland are $1.50 and candy bars are over $1.00. Literally right next to the park is a 99 cents store that has 20 oz sodas for 99 cents and king size candy bars for 99 cents.

 

As for playing games, I actually find some park arcades to be less than other arcades. For example, the standard in my area is 3 songs of DDR for $1.00. Dorney offers 3 songs for $0.50

[Goliath513]

Don't

 

-Buy on-ride photos. If you must, then get the cheapest one they offer.

-Eat in the park. Stuff yourself before you go to the park, and go out to the parking lot and get some food out of your car if you get hungry.

-Get fast passes. There's a reason why they're so expensive. You don't have to spend all your time on the newest Intamin, or B&M. Show the older Schwarzkopfs, Vekomas, and Arrows some love too.

 

Dos

 

-Drink water instead of overpriced drinks.

-Carpool. This can cut back enormously for parking fees.

-Look in the bottom of Viper's (SFMM) trains for spare change. I got lots from just a few rides on it, and I didn't have any to begin with!