Increase in local park attendance?

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RatherGoodBear said:
Gonch, Gonch, Gonch, Gonch, Gonch... are you not buying your HP tickets at Giant Markets? Those 3 adult and 1 junior tickets will cost you only $138 PLUS you'll get a voucher for free parking!

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Oooh. Nice.

But I still have two days worth of parking to cover if I pull the evening preview thing, right?

That money will help secure a Q-bot at SFGAdv:
$11 x 3 adult + $2 x 1 child + $10 parks = $45
That's enough to painlessly upgrade to Gold-bot ;)

Thanks for the tip, man. :)

Living in Columbus is great because we have a couple of fantastic parks that we can do on a day trip, and many more we can do in 2-3 days. It's also not so great for the same reason, especially this year.

I travel to the parks by myself a lot so the fuel bill is mine all mine. And with a couple of trips to KI, a week at CP, and a long weekend to Erie and Buffalo so far this season, I'm about ready to call it quits for a while. The fuel bills have been outta sight, especially when gas was 4.12 the weekend I was in New York.

But let's not just talk about the cost of driving to a park. Sky-high gas prices affect everything we do and buy, and for most people it's cut into their entertainment dollar.

It's hard to say how attendance will be affected by all this. It stands to reason that families might likely forgo long vacation drives or flying somewhere and plan a trip to their regional amusement park instead. It's also just as likely that the typical working class family that counts a trip to the park as their once-a-year splurge (and there's lots of them out there) might this year stick to the backyard and neighborhood playgound.

What I do know is the days I've been to the parks this year haven't seemed especially busy. Even the Saturday at Waldameer, a beautiful day, was pretty slow.

So Gonch, when does the Walters' brood start this trip, and any chance you'll be able to contribute to the podcast on the road, a la when you first moved to "The D" and leeched off "KK's" (Krispy Kreme's) wi-fi!?

Nah. I should still be out doing the parks during normal podcast recording time. I've pretty much already backed out of next week's show.

Now I need to know if anyone has the scoop on some SFGAdv ticket discounts. (more than the online price)

^You mean other then taking a trip down to Louisville and picking up an SP there?

Pfft. The passes in Louisville are more than the at-park gate in Jersey.

I didn't renew our SFStL passes because I knew we'd only be hitting one SF park this year.

Surely there's a better local option than the $39.99 online price?

^^Ask and you shall receive!!!

Enter: COLDSTONE in the promo code box for GAdv tickets and you get 'em for $29.99 (the kid price!)....so there's a better savings!

In addition, allegedly there are BOGO Coke cans floating around you could look for, and area Wawa (I think akin to "MeijerS" as more informal folk call it) also have discounted coupons a la the Meijer ones for KI and CP....

So now, help me out with discount Hersheypark tickets for AFTER June 30th! (which is the deadline for that Giant link above)

tigellinus, the tickets are that price all season long. It's only the free parking voucher that expires June 30.

Dude, nice. :)

Actually I think the GIANT ticket price for Hershey tickets is still good after that date, but the parking voucher deal ends after the 30th - or am I reading it totally wrong?

Yeah, I caught that about the parking, but that's good to know about the discount tickets!

My trip is still a few weeks away so I haven't started heavy planning yet, but interesting to see Hershey actually posting a link about where to get park discounts! (like Chick-fil-a, GIANT, etc.) I don't think CP or KI has ever really done something like that!

Btw, can anyone confirm that if entering Hershey free on a preview ticket gets you free parking the next day? (since you paid on the preview day)

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tigellinus said:
Btw, can anyone confirm that if entering Hershey free on a preview ticket gets you free parking the next day? (since you paid on the preview day)

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I don't think it does.

RGB?

I don't believe so. This is what the website says:

"Preview Plan - Be Our Guest!

Purchase a regular full-day admission ticket for tomorrow, 2-1/2* hours prior to Park closing, and be our guest FREE for the remainder of that evening. (*3-1/2 hours for 11 pm closing)
6 PM closing Admission after 3:30 PM
8 PM closing Admission after 5:30 PM
10 & 11 PM closing Admission after 7:30 PM

The Preview plan is a SWEET way to maximize your visit. All single or multi-day tickets (including those bought online, via group sales, GIANT, AAA, etc) qualify for this SWEET deal! Just present your ticket at the gate after 7:30 PM and enjoy all of the rides and shows all evening long! (Not valid on Sunset, Consecutive Day or Concert Special Admission)"

The only break you might get is if there is nobody manning the parking booths when you enter the lot. That might happen around 8:00 or so.

Ah yes, the annual thread "Are gas prices causing you to rethink your travel plans?" This is the first year where I can honestly say "yes." It's costing me around $45 to fill up the Mazda Protege 5 right now, and that's at a cheap gas station with a discount price for paying in cash.

I don't know what prices be like elsewhere. I thought seeing $4 was shocking and then a gas station near my work was charging $4.11 the other day (it's in a wealthier zone).

There's only two parks I'm considering going to (since I've already been to KD back in June [and I didn't have to pay for gas] and SFA in April). I do want to ride Fahrenheit and it's not too far from home. We also skipped HP last year.

The other park I want to go to is Great Adventure since I have one of those bring a friend for free coupons with my Platinum Pass. Now while that's the longer drive, there's cheaper gas to be had in NJ, and you don't have to pump it yourself!

There were a lot of other parks I wanted to hit this year, but besides gas prices, I'll be out of work at the end of the week, and all the new rides should still be standing by next year--when we can debate how $5 a gallon prices are affecting people's travels.

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Intamin Fan said:

Now while that's the longer drive, there's cheaper gas to be had in NJ, and you don't have to pump it yourself!

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As a point of clarification, ever since the one time I got gas in Jersey when I didn't know it was self-serve and attempted (very unsuccessfully!) to pump my own gas at 5:00 am after driving all night to NYC, I've avoided getting gas in Jersey.

However, since their prices are cheaper I'm considering it again, BUT my question is do you have to tip these gas station attendants in NJ??

Because if so then those NJ price savings go right out the window!! Although I'd feel bad about stiffing a tip, I'd be in a rental and probably never see the guy (or station) again, but if anything that's also bad trip karma...

This year I have to say: YES, it will affect things.

We went camping in PA two weekends ago. here's the breakdown: Two nights camping in a PA State Park 30.00, two days camping groceries for 4 people (breakfast/lunch/dinner) 60.00, firewood for three nights 10.00. Cost for gas 230.00.
This same trip a year ago cost about 170.00 for everything.
We ate at Friendlies last week. I asked the waitress if she or her friends were doing any theme parks this year. She said her and her friends couldn't afford it, as their hours were reduced due to lack of business. (go figure, a BLT should not cost 5.99!) She said even when the temps were in the 90's, people were not buying ice cream there.

I like talking to people wherever i go, and most have told me similar things to what she said. Higher gas, higher grocery bills, higher utility costs, same wages = less money at the end of every month.

Sad thing for me is this: I like to drive. *** Edited 6/24/2008 1:00:45 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER*** *** Edited 6/24/2008 1:01:56 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER***

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Ronman said:
So far Great America seems emptier then in years past. We are still planning trips to Cedar Point and Indiana Beach. We did want to go to Hershey however cost and distance changed things.

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Lockers, parking, and people not caring for the Dark Knight that much could have something to do with that too.

I don't tip for gas in NJ. I would if I were given a choice, but then I would just pump my own anyway.

^^ Or Roman could be going on days that are just less busy than last year.

It does feel less packed at Six Flags Great America this year. I have gone on Saturdays this year, and didn't feel that I needed to "get out" because it was so darn packed.

If the park seems more packed this year (which I don't think it is), it's because it's been more colder of a year thus far (The waterpark gets less crowded when temps are only in the 70's.), along with two theater arenas are pretty much dead (This would the Southwest Territory Ampitheater except one day a week for 5 weeks, and you have Theater Royale.).

You also have one theater playing music award shows that doesn't seem to be a hit with people. Space Shuttle America is gone with Splash Water Falls also.

That's tons of people doing something else. That's thousands of people. The Dark Knight I see as just "replacing" Deja Vu. It breaks down, and it's low capacity. Awesome replacement. I really like the Dark Knight, but that's the truth. *** Edited 6/24/2008 3:21:18 PM UTC by Spinout***

I lived in NJ for 3 years and never tipped. I'm pretty sure local NJers don't tip either.