Reducing travel expenses....a primer....
Southwest is great if you live in a city well-served by it, but not so great if you live elsewhere. That said, Pittsburgh DOES have SOME flights via Southwest nowadays.
But even being stuck at a hub, it's possible to find great deals. For example, right now I could go from Pittsburgh to London for $279 + taxes. That's not the best fare you'll ever see for a trip like that (if you schedule ahead of time, stay for a few days, etc., I've seen people get that down to as low as $199 in the past), but the cool bit is, it's valid for leaving Friday night and coming home Sunday afternoon, as early as THIS weekend! Weekend getaway to London -- how cool is that? (Even this time of year, cold as it is, there's plenty to do)
Now, this year is an abnormal one, in that the airlines are pretty desparate to get butts in their seats, but what the heck -- I like flying anyway, and if they're going to let me do it on the cheap, I won't complain.
(No, I'm not taking that LGW fare, although it's REALLY tempting)
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--Greg
My page
"Friendship -- more lasting than love, more legal than stalking."
The simplest thing you can do is plan ahead. If you are diligent enough to make a rough plan on where you plan to visit during the entire season, you can easily determine which season passes to get.
I try to plan my summers trips around season passes. This year I will probably be doing a couple Paramount parks, so I will get that season pass and I am certainly getting a SF season since I will be visiting at least two and probably more.
Planning ahead also helps get better rates for vehicles, airfare, and hotels.
This year, I will probably be utilizing the camping technique now that I have a tent...That will be a huge savings.
Sean
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"Ever hear of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates...Morons!"
Sign up for the 'big' airlines' travel programs--for example, Delta's Escape Club. They usually cater to young, single travelers (or families) by giving you a flat price with airfare, hotels, and attraction tickets all inclusive. Delta usually offers Orlando destinations pretty often. Other carriers will offer destinations that are strongholds of their networks (for instance, going to Dallas you may want to try American or Delta; Chicago is hubbed by United; etc.).
Consider using low cost carriers if at all possible (JetBlue, AirTran, Southwest).
Check web fares frequently for individual airlines. Sometimes the big travel websites won't pick up on deals to/from large cities.
It's always free to call a travel agent and get a quote. Sometimes they even have attraction tickets at a reduced cost.
Most major US newspapers have a travel section at least once a week. Keep your eyes peeled for steals here.
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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
*** This post was edited by General Public on 1/24/2003. ***
Since I'm out here in California and like to travel back to the east coast parks once a year, the cost is really starting to add up. We are currently averaging about $5,000 a trip with four parks, so this year we are going to save some money. Here are my little tips for travel:
1.) Look at alternate forms of travel. I know this may sound weird but the train can be very cheap. Only problem is expect the train to be anywhere from 2-6 hours late (plan in lots of buffer time).
2.) Find what you can and can't live without on the trip. An example of this is, even though it was expensive, we had to stay at Hotel Breakers. Thus, we had to cut one park out of our trip.
3.) Don't travel too far between parks. This last trip really was expensive because we went to Ohio, Penn., and Virginia. Try to cover just one area at a time.
4.) Travel with a friend a split the cost between the two of you. Works like a charm .
This year we are not going back east but instead up to Washington, Vancover, and Idaho. It will save us a lot of money and so next year we can make it back to Kennywood!
*** This post was edited by GoliathKills on 1/24/2003. ***
I didn't see where this might have been posted before, BUT
Has saved me an incredible amount of money! It's a message board for users of www.Priceline.com and they report how and where the good prices are to be had...
I stayed at the wyndham orlando resort, 2nd floor with balcony looking over wooded area with 3 heated pools open 24/7 and shuttle to USF/IOA for $36 per nite (plus a minimal resort fee) Had I looked more thoroghly, I could have snagged the same place for $30 but hey 36 ROCKS!
I use it whenever I travel, and it also shows airfare and car rentals
*** This post was edited by WlCKEDTWISTER on 1/24/2003. ***
GoliathKills said:
1.) Look at alternate forms of travel. I know this may sound weird but the train can be very cheap. Only problem is expect the train to be anywhere from 2-6 hours late (plan in lots of buffer time).
Amtrak is reliable in that it runs late 95+% of the time it does operate. Trains have been known to be delayed by up to 11 hours (that's half a day off the trip). The good news is that going across country might be cheaper on Amtrak (depends on what deals they're offering), and trains can be fun to travel on. The bad news is that it's way more unreliable than air transport (and slower). It takes days to complete the east coast/west coast trip versus hours on a plane.
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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Good topic.
One of my new favorite travel sites is travelaxe.com. Travelaxe is a free program that compares the prices of several different websites (travelocity, expedia, hotels.com etc.) for hotels in the city you want. It then displays what the cost of each hotel will be through each website and provides a link to the website having the lowest price. I used it last during new years for Orlando and paid $30 a night for the clarion hotel right next to Disney. It works best if your planning your trip in advance.
If your planning a last minute trip- Priceline is probably the best. I’ve gotten some great deals on some of my summer trips. I’d also recommend checking out a site called biddingfortravel.com which provides information on what hotels people have received based upon their bid and also lists the hotels (with their star rating) that participate in priceline. It’s a good resource to use if your going to a touristy area (las vegas, southern california, etc) and care about the hotel you get.
As far as airfare, orbitz, jetblue and southwest usually do the trick. However, I think post 9/11 airlines are getting more sophisticated with their pricing schemes. I’ve noticed that good deals on last minute plane flights are hard to find but if you plan far enough in advance some airline will have a good sale. Right now, us air has lowered their fares (which is good as long as they don’t go bankrupt) and I wouldn’t be surprised if the other airlines soon will also.
Im also a compulsive liar.
I try to book trips as early as I can, my GF is a travel agent, which helps. When going on a trip, I try to get a small group together. That helps to reduce money spent as well. I also use a gasoline credit card, which gives me money back when I use it at specific gas stations.
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Lets' save the Vancouver PNE Coaster before its'too late!
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-Vater
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sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't
speaking of the train, I went to SFMM last spring, train Chi-Emeryville $26, shuttle to oakland airport $10, SWA to LAX 70. two days rental 60, Green, blue, and red lines to Union station 3.00 LA-Chicago 54.00!
As to trains being late I have been on almost as many early trains as late ones, you just dont remember the early ones, last trip to Philly from Chicago we were one hour early.
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Whats life if you never get to the Po!nt?
You can also try to schedule trips around other trips. For instance, when my work sent me to Boca Raton, FL last year, i stayed an extra day and drove up to Orlando. It only cost me an extra day for the hotel and car (both rented at business rates). Also, when I went to visit my girlfriend's family in Mexico, we flew in and out of Mexico City. On the trip back to the states, we got to Mexico City a bit earlier and stopped by Six Flags in Mexico.
As much as people love to hate on Six Flags, with all of their parks, a season pass makes for an economical summer of coasting (especially if a Six Flags park is one of your home parks).
A few things Ive stumbled on in my past experience of road tripping to theme parks in the last few years. Red Roof Inns usually have really good prices, normally less than $40 a night. Also, its a flat rate between 1-4 people in the room. Another interesting thing I discovered. If you or a friend on your trip is in the military (or is a military dependent) you can usually get tickets for nearby attractions (and WDW/Universal) at a reduced rate (Look for the Rec/ITT or tickets and tours office at the military base). On a recent trip to florida, our groups saved about 200 bucks in ticket prices that way.
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Nobody tosses a dwarf!!
-Gimli, Son of Gloin
If you don't live in a city served by Southwest, consider driving to one. Not too practical out west, but airfares out of Baltimore are much lower than out of Phily because of Southwest.
Look at hotels a little farther away. A hotel in Hershey is $100 per night in the summer. 10 miles north of the park can get one for $40-50. Not always the case though, we stayed in downtown Williamsburg at a decent Comfort Inn or some such for a really good price.
Park food is expensive. Minimize in park meals. Besides my delicate stomach prefers less heavy food. We carry a cooler at times and eat out of it. Of course if you are at Knobels the funnel cakes are to die for.
Don't drive an SUV. 30 MPG really helps save money on those long trips.
Get that Six Flags season pass, the best deal going.
Combine business and pleasure. It's great when the company pays for the travel, and you just have to pay for the park.
Book early if possible. This often saves a lot of money. Also check for last minute deals. Sometimes one comes up that makes it worth canceling your first reservation if you didn't have to make a big deposit.
But whatever you do to save money, don't forget to have a good time.
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Acronym: INTernational AMusement INstallation
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HW & IB, I love living in Indiana!
I always take my major coaster trip in August. Right around the end of the year, I'll book the hotels using Orbitz, and then every couple of months, I'll re-check for better rates and cancel the more expensive reservations. I try to avoid the Priceline type sites which make you pay for a hotel before letting you know where you are staying.
Since we only spend one or two days in each city, and hit up to 12 parks, that leaves about 10 chances of finding cheaper rates. I averaged $59 a night last year, for a family of four and that included breakfast at each hotel, and most nights, a pool. The breakfast is a must, because we don't have to search for a place to eat in an unfamiliar city, and we know how long it will take and we won't be late getting to the park due to slow service or a crowded restaurant. With a family of four, the breakfast savings is pretty good on a ten day trip, also.
Of course, season passes are a must.
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Jim Hansen
Number of coasters ridden: 227
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