Theme park guilty pleasure .....

[Southern Stashian]

We live in East Central Florida and our anti-mustachien guilty pleasure is spending a fair amount of time at the theme parks (Disney, Epcot, Universal, Legoland, Wet-n-Wild .....) and various outdoor festivals. We only attend the theme parks when we can get the tickets in the 1/2 price or better range or when my employer has our company party at Universal. We never eat at the parks or buy their memorabilia and always stay as long as we can to get our moneys worth. Living in Central Florida with three children can get tempting but we manage it well. Are their any Mustachiens out there in the Central Florida area or anyone with tips on maximizing your dollar when visiting theme parks. Thanks!

[grantmeaname]

I went to high school like a quarter of a mile from Kings Island. The big companies in Cincinnati (P&G, GE, Chiquita, Western and Southern...) all have a day where they buy out the park and employees can attend for cheap, so we did that when it was my dad's employer's day. There are also partnerships with local retailers like grocery stores where tickets are discounted.

Oh, and when a new ride went in we would all go 15 minutes before close, be waved in for free by the turnstile staff, and run to the ride to ride it before 10pm. That was pretty cool.

All that aside: if you actually go a lot, a season pass to a theme park can be a pretty economical entertainment expenditure.

[dragoncar]

I always thought an annual pass to a Disney park would be an extraordinary deal for the unemployed.

[Southern Stashian]

I went to high school like a quarter of a mile from Kings Island. The big companies in Cincinnati (P&G, GE, Chiquita, Western and Southern...) all have a day where they buy out the park and employees can attend for cheap, so we did that when it was my dad's employer's day. There are also partnerships with local retailers like grocery stores where tickets are discounted.

Oh, and when a new ride went in we would all go 15 minutes before close, be waved in for free by the turnstile staff, and run to the ride to ride it before 10pm. That was pretty cool.

All that aside: if you actually go a lot, a season pass to a theme park can be a pretty economical entertainment expenditure.

Grantmeaname - that sounds like some good times! My company rents out Universal Studios 1-2 times per year just for employees and we have open access to the park up until midnight - everything included for free, even meals and beverages. The Disney annual passes can get pretty expensive for a family of five ($2900 yearly) so we pick and choose our times to go. Just bought (five) 4 day - all 4 park Disney hopper passes for $166 pp x 5 in my family = $830. For $41.50 per person per day (or @ $10.35 per person/park/day) it's a great deal considering a single park single day ticket runs @ $110 + tax.

[grantmeaname]

The Disney annual passes can get pretty expensive for a family of five ($2900 yearly) so we pick and choose our times to go. Just bought (five) 4 day - all 4 park Disney hopper passes for $166 pp x 5 in my family = $830. For $41.50 per person per day (or @ $10.35 per person/park/day) it's a great deal considering a single park single day ticket runs @ $110 + tax.

Oh my god! A Kings Island pass is like $80, and it was in the $40s a decade ago. With the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks you get less magic, but there's a whole lot more roller coaster for your money. You'd be looking at $400 for a family of four.

[okits]

I always thought an annual pass to a Disney park would be an extraordinary deal for the unemployed.

Yup. :)

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-03/news/32527477_1_disneyland-and-california-adventure-matterhorn-bobsleds-anaheim-theme-park

Hopefully they are still at it!

[PJ]

If you lived nearby, $649 per year doesn't sound that bad, if you're a big fan and will visit often.  I've had annual passes to some local attractions in the past, such as for the Royal Ontario Museum (I worked a short walk away, could pop in for an hour before going to meet a friend for dinner, got free tickets to some special exhibits - all in all, a good value) or the Toronto Zoo (I go with my friend and her kids whenever they're in town, plus I used to go take pictures of the animals).  I wouldn't want to have annual passes for a whole bunch of places at once, but if you rotate around every year or two, and you actually make use of it, it can be great value.

[Southern Stashian]

If you lived nearby, $649 per year doesn't sound that bad, if you're a big fan and will visit often.  I've had annual passes to some local attractions in the past, such as for the Royal Ontario Museum (I worked a short walk away, could pop in for an hour before going to meet a friend for dinner, got free tickets to some special exhibits - all in all, a good value) or the Toronto Zoo (I go with my friend and her kids whenever they're in town, plus I used to go take pictures of the animals).  I wouldn't want to have annual passes for a whole bunch of places at once, but if you rotate around every year or two, and you actually make use of it, it can be great value.

Yeah, here in FL its $549 pp x 5 = $2976.70 + tax =  $3155.30. Thats the Florida resident "discount", LOL. In their defense, you have an unlimited hopper pass to 4 main parks, a full golf course, two additional sports complexes and two kick A$$ water parks, all unlimited with free parking and exclusive pass holder discounts. But $3155 is not a small amount, especially to a Mustachien!

[PJ]

LOL, yeah, ok, when you add it up like that ... 
 
For perspective, I'm single, so it would be just the one person I'd be buying for.  And I'm Canadian, so if I was to move to Florida for some reason, I could imagine all my family and friends coming through town to visit and wanting to go to the theme parks.  I'd then be able to go with them at no added expense.  And if that's the type of entertainment that really appeals to you (I have some friends who are HUGE fans of Disney and all other amusement park type places) then it might still be worth it despite the large dollar amount (assuming no debt, cutbacks in other areas of less importance to maintain high savings rate, etc) 
 
And I love water parks :-)

[CB]

Yeah, here in FL its $549 pp x 5 = $2976.70 + tax =  $3155.30. Thats the Florida resident "discount", LOL. In their defense, you have an unlimited hopper pass to 4 main parks, a full golf course, two additional sports complexes and two kick A$$ water parks, all unlimited with free parking and exclusive pass holder discounts. But $3155 is not a small amount, especially to a Mustachien!

Or you could do like we do and buy the Disneyworld weekday-only seasonal pass at ~$191 each tax included (though that also includes a renewal discount).  Under $800 a year for our family of four, it pays for itself over any other park pass by our fifth weekday visit in a year.  We usually go at least 10 days a year, though weekdays-only does require some flexibility.