Trip Planning

[TheoB]

So I have been thinking about starting to save up either for a TPR trip if they return or my own trip and was wondering about the cost of things.

 

I live in the UK so if I went to the US its about £500 each way or £100 each way for eurotunnel plus to Germany probably as France isn't that good for parks. Then I would go to a park a day (maybe two at Europa) which would be £30-£50 to get in, £20 per day hire car OR trains buses etc and £20-£30 for a cheap hotel. Then adding on extras maybe an extra £20 a day or maybe more. However I was wondering how much TPR trips would cost because it may end up cheaper if I save up planning for that. When I say a TPR trip I mean minus flights from the US. If i was to do a trip my first one would definitely be a European trip with Liseberg, Holiday Park, Walibis, Europa, Phantasia and Heide etc.

 

Questions now -

 

1. How much does a TPR trip cost normally for 10-15 parks included minus the flights?

 

2. How much does an own trip cost normally for 10 park minus flights?

 

3. How much does an own trip cost normally for 10 parks minus flights but for a group of 4 or 5?

 

This isn't really fully ask Alvey, especially for the 2nd and 3rd question other people's opinions would be great!

[robbalvey]

While we aren't planning any TPR trips in the foreseeable future, you should be able to find all the past trip flyers as they were all posted to the forum. Those include all the costs, etc.

 

For example, this thread: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1370442#p1370442 and this one: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1094397#p1094397

Edited December 20, 2015 by robbalvey

[TheoB]

Thanks for those links Robb. I can see that the Scandi tour is a lot more expensive (mainly due to some added extras and lots more coasters from smaller parks. I was thinking that the 2012 one would of suited me more because it focuses around Germany and the nearby countries. The price tag is a lot less than I expected and my current savings I have make me a 1/5 of the way there. It turned into a bit over £1300 which is very surprising and great value for money! If they started back up I would definitely consider it but now I would like to ask people how much solo/small group tours have costed in Europe?

[robbalvey]

^ I'll move this into the main forum so other people can help answer. Keep in mind, though, the costs are up to what you want to get out of the trip and how much you want to pay. For example, sone of our later trips are much higher priced because we started to stay in much nicer hotels. If a park had an "on property" hotel, we opted to say there instead of a cheaper, off-site alternative. Parks like Europa, Heide Park, Phantasialand, Elfteling, etc, all offer some fantastic on-site hotels that are a lot more expensive than a brand name chain hotel off-property, but if you want the entire "resort experience" and don't mind the extra cost, you stay on site. But if you're being more budget conscious, you stay in cheaper hotels.

 

Either way, though, people would complain. One person would complain that the hotels were too expensive when we stayed on property while the next person would complain that hotels weren't nice enough when we didn't. Complain, complain, complain. And after ten years of hearing people bitch and moan about the most trivial mundane stuff instead of just enjoying themselves on a vacation being happy they aren't at work, these are all reasons why we stopped doing tours. We got sick of putting up with people's crap and we went back to just doing trips on our own with a small group of friends like we used to in the days before "TPR Tours."

 

Quite simply, it wasn't worth the small amount of money we would make to put up with such a high level of annoyance.

Edited December 21, 2015 by robbalvey

[technfxrick]

I have done a reasonable amount of trips, both solo and with TPR. The TPR trips were definitely the way to go as there was no worries on what you had to do. Show up at the first location and then turn your brain off until the end. With that said, they were (obviously) pricier than doing it on your own (but way way worth it). I find the trip cost is not so much the parks, but everything around the parks. I lean on the side of staying on-site at resort hotels, or downtown city hotels, and those cost more. I also dont like to drive in most foreign countries, so i prefer to either set up car services or take public transportation. I can tell you that generally i budget about 200 a day if i am doing double occupancy, and 300 a day for single on my own, but majority of that is in hotels.

 

This summer i am doing a LARGE Europe trip in July (21 days, 24 parks) that has internal flights, and some other stuff. That i am estimating with airfare from the US and double occupancy is going to be around 4000, so about 200 a day, but that is also double occupancy and peak season so flights are INSANE. We are also going to drive around Europe on that trip except for one internal flight from Stockholm to Paris.

[robbalvey]

^ $200 a day is a very good estimate when doing a trip with someone else. Although, if you're doing Europe in July, just make sure you are budgeting for virtual queue systems as each park. European schools usually break the first week in July and they can be PACKED beyond comfortable levels of enjoyment. We always try to do our Europe traveling coming home by around July 4th to avoid that. I can remember one year we did a trip that someone else organized that had us in Europe most of mid-July and it was hell. Would never want to do that again...

[technfxrick]

^ $200 a day is a very good estimate when doing a trip with someone else. Although, if you're doing Europe in July, just make sure you are budgeting for virtual queue systems as each park. European schools usually break the first week in July and they can be PACKED beyond comfortable levels of enjoyment. We always try to do our Europe traveling coming home by around July 4th to avoid that. I can remember one year we did a trip that someone else organized that had us in Europe most of mid-July and it was hell. Would never want to do that again...

 

That is the plan, Europe is generally a time i would stay away from ALLLLL European parks, unfortunately with the new job it was written in to my contract that i could no longer take time off in June..... I think my old job got to them about me doing that

 

To the OP, Europe is also one of the most expensive places you can take a trip. The US is much much cheaper after you pay for the flight to get here.

[azza29]

If i was to do a trip my first one would definitely be a European trip with Liseberg, Holiday Park, Walibis, Europa, Phantasia and Heide etc.

 

Some pointers from trips I've done:

- figure out your budget (both time and money) first and then work out how many parks you can reasonably visit. If you can't squeeze everything in the one trip, don't stress. Those parks will almost certainly still be around next time.

- sharing accommodation and car rental costs with someone else is an easy way to save money.

- if you're visiting a few parks in the same chain a season pass could be good value, especially if parking is included.

- staying onsite is awesome if it works with your budget. But if you're paying a premium to stay at the park make sure you leave yourself some time to enjoy the resort!

- it should go without saying but do the obvious stuff like checking park hours before you leave. Maybe ride closures too - if Expedition GeForce is scheduled for maintenance you will probably want to visit Holiday Park on a different day.

- keep some room in your itinerary in case of bad weather or other unforeseen events. Nothing wrong with having a sightseeing day in there to help break it up.

 

Hope this helps!

[TheoB]

If i was to do a trip my first one would definitely be a European trip with Liseberg, Holiday Park, Walibis, Europa, Phantasia and Heide etc.

 

Some pointers from trips I've done:

- figure out your budget (both time and money) first and then work out how many parks you can reasonably visit. If you can't squeeze everything in the one trip, don't stress. Those parks will almost certainly still be around next time.

- sharing accommodation and car rental costs with someone else is an easy way to save money.

- if you're visiting a few parks in the same chain a season pass could be good value, especially if parking is included.

- staying onsite is awesome if it works with your budget. But if you're paying a premium to stay at the park make sure you leave yourself some time to enjoy the resort!

- it should go without saying but do the obvious stuff like checking park hours before you leave. Maybe ride closures too - if Expedition GeForce is scheduled for maintenance you will probably want to visit Holiday Park on a different day.

- keep some room in your itinerary in case of bad weather or other unforeseen events. Nothing wrong with having a sightseeing day in there to help break it up.

 

Hope this helps!

 

- Yes I am only planning on hitting big parks really and spending a day to get the big rides done really

- I was thinking about this and maybe this would happen

- Walibi maybe? I have a merlin pass but its onky like a discount for parks in europe I believe?

- I had a look on Holiday Park's website and it doesn't say anything about ride closures on soecific dates. Will there be a maintenance calender closer to the time?

- Yes I was thinking about adding extra days to split maybe if I have two busy parks in a row so if its busy I get to do everything

[Tanks4me05]

I have a 22 day Texas/Midwest US trip that I'm going on next July. It's ending up to be $3,212 USD (2158.24 GBP because you live in London) for the whole thing, which equates to $146 USD / 98.1 GBP per day. Here are all the constraints I placed on my spending:

 

-Chain-wide (IE Cedar Fair and Six Flags) season/meal passes if they are more economical

-The cheapest hotels on Hotwire.com that had free breakfast and an approval rating of above 70% (I found this to be the cheapest hotel booking website after looking at probably a dozen different ones)

-$30 USD / 20.16 GBP per day for food (I typically only eat two meals per day and that's why I selected free breakfasts

-Assume no front line passes; not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are that particular day.

-No souvenirs; I don't care for that sort of thing.

-Making a round trip loop via car to avoid flight tickets and car rentals. Looks like you won't be able to avoid these seeing as it sounds like you want to do mainland Europe. I admittedly have yet to travel to Europe so you know the mass transit system better than I do and how to use that to your advantage.

 

That being said, the US is generally quite a bit cheaper than Europe.

[robbalvey]

-Assume no front line passes; not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are that particular day.

This is the only thing I disagree with. While I totally understand where you are coming from about not buying them until you get to the park to see how bad the crowds are, what happens when you get to a park and the crowds are insane and the front of the line pass has sold out? I have seen this happen to a number of people and that's the worst case scenario.

 

IMO, the BEST case scenario is when you have spent the money on the front of the line pass you and you end up not using it. Is that a waste of money? Perhaps. But I also look at front of the line passes as "insurance policies." Something that you might not need, but dammit, you'll be VERY happy you have it when you do.

 

That being said, there has never been a time when I have pre-purchased a front of the line pass and didn't end up using it to some capacity.

 

Even when lines are only 20 minutes at a park, those pockets of 20 minutes add up when your front of the line pass turns 20 minutes into 0-5 minutes. If you do 10 rides that day, you've just saved yourself a good couple of hours. That time could be used to have a more relaxing, less stressful day. Get in more rides. Or perhaps leave earlier if you're on a road trip to get to a hotel to get a better nights sleep. I place value on every one of those things and if the front of the line pass allows me to do those things, then it's well worth it.

 

When someone is coming from a far away place like England, there is NO WAY I would say "not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are" because I have watched people get to Kings Island, for example, only to have the Fast Lane Plus sold out and then they stood in line two hours for rides like Banshee & Nighthawk. Complete waste of time, IMO, when their wait could have been close to zero.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter...

Edited December 21, 2015 by robbalvey

[Philrad71]

^ I'll move this into the main forum so other people can help answer. Keep in mind, though, the costs are up to what you want to get out of the trip and how much you want to pay. For example, sone of our later trips are much higher priced because we started to stay in much nicer hotels. If a park had an "on property" hotel, we opted to say there instead of a cheaper, off-site alternative. Parks like Europa, Heide Park, Phantasialand, Elfteling, etc, all offer some fantastic on-site hotels that are a lot more expensive than a brand name chain hotel off-property, but if you want the entire "resort experience" and don't mind the extra cost, you stay on site. But if you're being more budget conscious, you stay in cheaper hotels.

 

Either way, though, people would complain. One person would complain that the hotels were too expensive when we stayed on property while the next person would complain that hotels weren't nice enough when we didn't. Complain, complain, complain. And after ten years of hearing people bitch and moan about the most trivial mundane stuff instead of just enjoying themselves on a vacation being happy they aren't at work, these are all reasons why we stopped doing tours. We got sick of putting up with people's crap and we went back to just doing trips on our own with a small group of friends like we used to in the days before "TPR Tours."

 

Quite simply, it wasn't worth the small amount of money we would make to put up with such a high level of annoyance.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but that's really too bad about the TPR tours, Robb...sorry to hear that. I guess I didn't even realize that you had put an end (for the most part) to them.

 

I had always wanted to do one, but I knew the schedule would just be too much for my older partner. It's too bad the self-entitled attitude of some has spoiled it for others.

 

We still like doing the bashes whenever we can though - we have been to three and had a blast at all of them!

[KBrylczyk]

- I had a look on Holiday Park's website and it doesn't say anything about ride closures on soecific dates. Will there be a maintenance calender closer to the time?

 

Probably not. Regional, seasonal parks rarely intentionally disable a ride unless there's a problem. That's why they do all of their maintenance in the off-season when they're closed, so they can offer the most to their guests while in operation. Parks like Disney, however, never stop, so they schedule downtime and actively advertise it.

 

That being said, GeForce will probably be broken. Like 90% probability on that.

[Nrthwnd]

The one thing I definitely learned from all the TPR tours, was how to save money, month by month, and have it

ready for stuff paid ahead of time, like hotels, park tickets and passes bought online, etc. By the time I had paid

back everything bought in advance for the tour, including the tour itself, I had plenty of time (to me) to save spending $.

 

It took me nearly ten years of tours with TPR to figure this out, but now it's quite simple to do, and I doubt I would save

up any other way, than what I did for the tours. Also, remember to make it a separate savings account. Mine in entitled,

Travel Savings. Simple. And I immediately know what it's for.

 

A bouquet of thanks to Robb and Elissa, by the way, for a lot of really amazing tours.

[bert425]

note to self. . .find some way to make it into Robb and Elissa's list of "friends they liked before".. so I can go on a TPR trip with them!

 

(hmmmm. . .wonder how much I'll have to spend for a time machine???).

[DirkFunk]

-Assume no front line passes; not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are that particular day.

 

When someone is coming from a far away place like England, there is NO WAY I would say "not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are" because I have watched people get to Kings Island, for example, only to have the Fast Lane Plus sold out and then they stood in line two hours for rides like Banshee & Nighthawk. Complete waste of time, IMO, when their wait could have been close to zero.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter...

 

It's an understandable take, to be sure. If you're on a budget, I would consider looking online in advance and seeing how often, if at all, a park sells out of queue management systems before taking the leap. $50 once may not be a huge amount to anyone doing an international trip, but paying that our 4-5-6 times starts to add up, particularly if you're an individual with a fairly strict budget. I can't say that I regret any purchases of a Q-Bot or similar, but at the same time, I know that (for example), trips to SFMM and SFSTL where I purchased them felt somewhat "wasteful" as I discovered nonexistent lines after doing a park loop. I occasionally waited longer than standby due to the sluggish nature of operations, though we're talking a matter of 5-7 minutes at most. Taking that tact with a recent visit to Ferrari World; man I'm glad I didn't blow another $60 to get the express passes there considering how much money we spent elsewhere on that trip. Everything, and I mean *everything* was a walk on. Sometimes waiting for riders, honestly.

 

OTOH, if you're on a time crunch to go to multiple parks in a day or budget is basically not a consideration, then screw it. The cost then is worth the guarantee of getting out in a short amount of time, and the worst case scenario is some giant faceless international corporation grabbed a little more money out of you that you might have spent at a different faceless international corporation instead.

[Rill'o'beily]

Personally i just make sure to go to a park when the weather is "unsure".

This usually repels the GP and that means that the queues are minimal even if the day is bright as the sun.

Then again, even if it ends up being gloomy that usually doesn't repel me.

 

Also if you can you should defeniately go tue-thu days. Not monday because other people have the same idea and usually more people are free on fridays.

[TTDheight_Blaze-It]

Sorry if this has been discussed (didn't feel like reading through the king pages of rants).

 

Pretty pissed how the TPR trips got canceled. I get that Robb wanted/need a break (planning trips that caliber must take an unimaginable ammount of planning). But if the trips were cancelled due to people being total d^cks, then all I have to say to those particular people is "f*** you"... You ruined a great opportunity for the rest of us.

[larrygator]

Sorry if this has been discussed (didn't feel like reading through the king pages of rants).

 

Pretty pissed how the TPR trips got canceled. I get that Robb wanted/need a break (planning trips that caliber must take an unimaginable ammount of planning). But if the trips were cancelled due to people being total d^cks, then all I have to say to those particular people is "f*** you"... You ruined a great opportunity for the rest of us.

 

And that is the type of selfish attitude of people that Robb is trying to avoid. Instead of you thinking about what is best for Robb and Elissa you complain about "your" wasted opportunity.

 

That was a similar attitude that many of the total "d^cks" shared.

[robbalvey]

Sorry if this has been discussed (didn't feel like reading through the king pages of rants).

 

Pretty pissed how the TPR trips got canceled. I get that Robb wanted/need a break (planning trips that caliber must take an unimaginable ammount of planning). But if the trips were cancelled due to people being total d^cks, then all I have to say to those particular people is "f*** you"... You ruined a great opportunity for the rest of us.

 

And that is the type of selfish attitude of people that Robb is trying to avoid. Instead of you thinking about what is best for Robb and Elissa you complain about "your" wasted opportunity.

 

That was a similar attitude that many of the total "d^cks" shared.

Well said, Larry. Well said...

[KBrylczyk]

^ and ^^, c'mon, guys, he's a special snowflake who totally got the shaft.

[Ape]

Are these people that are complaining after paying for the trip or complaining and saying why they can't afford it or won't pay to go?

 

To me it is pretty simple if you don't like the price or the plan don't go. Let someone else go who can afford it and will enjoy their time. It is unfortunate that people felt the need to complain about that (or as I read in another thread at some point that they would complain about missing kiddie credits).

 

Also if for some reason you end up doing tours that are open to anyone to sign up Depending on timing I think they look like a lot of fun and would probably try to go. The wife and I discussed doing a Japan trip with the group, so if that ever happens again count us in.

[Tanks4me05]

-Assume no front line passes; not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are that particular day.

This is the only thing I disagree with. While I totally understand where you are coming from about not buying them until you get to the park to see how bad the crowds are, what happens when you get to a park and the crowds are insane and the front of the line pass has sold out? I have seen this happen to a number of people and that's the worst case scenario.

 

IMO, the BEST case scenario is when you have spent the money on the front of the line pass you and you end up not using it. Is that a waste of money? Perhaps. But I also look at front of the line passes as "insurance policies." Something that you might not need, but dammit, you'll be VERY happy you have it when you do.

 

That being said, there has never been a time when I have pre-purchased a front of the line pass and didn't end up using it to some capacity.

 

Even when lines are only 20 minutes at a park, those pockets of 20 minutes add up when your front of the line pass turns 20 minutes into 0-5 minutes. If you do 10 rides that day, you've just saved yourself a good couple of hours. That time could be used to have a more relaxing, less stressful day. Get in more rides. Or perhaps leave earlier if you're on a road trip to get to a hotel to get a better nights sleep. I place value on every one of those things and if the front of the line pass allows me to do those things, then it's well worth it.

 

When someone is coming from a far away place like England, there is NO WAY I would say "not recommended to buy these until after entering the park and seeing how bad the crowds are" because I have watched people get to Kings Island, for example, only to have the Fast Lane Plus sold out and then they stood in line two hours for rides like Banshee & Nighthawk. Complete waste of time, IMO, when their wait could have been close to zero.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter...

 

Fair enough. I admit that I'm still coming from a domestic trip mindset and am looking at it from a sort of a "diminishing returns" standpoint.

[canadianparkfan]

Are these people that are complaining after paying for the trip or complaining and saying why they can't afford it or won't pay to go?

 

To me it is pretty simple if you don't like the price or the plan don't go. Let someone else go who can afford it and will enjoy their time. It is unfortunate that people felt the need to complain about that (or as I read in another thread at some point that they would complain about missing kiddie credits).

 

Also if for some reason you end up doing tours that are open to anyone to sign up Depending on timing I think they look like a lot of fun and would probably try to go. The wife and I discussed doing a Japan trip with the group, so if that ever happens again count us in.

Totally agree

[ajc47]

Sorry if this has been discussed (didn't feel like reading through the king pages of rants).

 

Pretty pissed how the TPR trips got canceled. I get that Robb wanted/need a break (planning trips that caliber must take an unimaginable ammount of planning). But if the trips were cancelled due to people being total d^cks, then all I have to say to those particular people is "f*** you"... You ruined a great opportunity for the rest of us.

 

And that is the type of selfish attitude of people that Robb is trying to avoid. Instead of you thinking about what is best for Robb and Elissa you complain about "your" wasted opportunity.

 

That was a similar attitude that many of the total "d^cks" shared.

Well said, Larry. Well said...

 

Some people are just never happy Robb. Sorry to hear about the jerks who ruined it for everyone else.