The Penny-Pinchers Guide to Amusement Parks

I can totally understand the need to safe a few bucks on a trip. I've passed on trips because I didn't have enough ready cash.

That said, I'm very hesitant to stay in places like Motel 6's. Let's just say that while I know most hotels sometimes have hidden critters lurking about, I had a REALLY bad experience with a Model 6 where they were so brave they didn't hide when the lights were on. Never again...

And Greg, that's the big thing with me: the unknown. Now, there is a very nice Motel 6 right off the highway near Holiday World. I didnt stay there myself, but visited some friends who did. That's a place I actually recommend to others, but I cannot make that claim chain wide. OTOH, I pretty much know that Hampton Inns/Hiltons are across the board good as least facilities wise (I ran into some less than exemplary service at a Doubletree once..). For me, that alone is worth the extra money.

But hey, if that stuff doesnt matter to you, then go for it. Like I think that all the major car rental places are the same so I dont hesitate to use Hotwire to reserve my cars. Likewise, I see no difference between the major airlines so I'd use Priceline (if I didnt care about the flight times...usually I do..). Whatever floats one's boat.

lata, jeremy

We try to save money if we go to Disney or Universal by using Shuttles that the hotel provides instead of renting a car. Which I guess is another perk for those hotels. Although I think most hotel's down there do offer shuttles.

It's not just all Motel 6's Greg. Most of those I have stayed at were fine, including the one at Holiday World.

I can't say the same for some of the Travelodges though, but I won't include all of them. lol.

-Tina

After one trip on those free shuttles in Orlando that the I-Drive hotels provide, we quickly switched to public transport. They're old pieces of crap and they cram twice as many people into them than they're legally allowed to. We'd instead walk to Universal, which was only a half-hour trip from our hotel and catch the trolleys and buses to Disney.

No, the Universal Shuttles to like Sea-World for example.

Econo-Lodge's are possibly the worst hotel chain you could ever stay at.

A problem I have now with parks like SFWoA being gone, and CF's version of GLP now, is that the variety of food is saturated in re-used vegetable oil or extremely dry, which I will not pay for. SFWoA sold grilled fajitas & grilled chicken fajita salads, offered a superb Chinese Buffet, and smoked chicken & ribs.

An amusement park shouldn't be just a variety of things to do and see, but a variety of food for the entire family to enjoy. If you are going to charge $3+ for a 'hotdog', at least serve the 'real' kosher beef ones, or the chicken and turkey ones,too. The days of 'junkfood' are over for me, and I only buy some fudge on the way out of the park.

Subway and Arthur Treachers is all my stomach can handle at GLP :(

Arthur Treachers? Bummer for me, LOL...:(

The last "fast food" place we had to get some of that seafood/malt vinegar deliciousness was when Miami Subs signed a contract deal to combine businesses...then Miami Subs (and their gyros and flame-kist burgers) took a *serious* nose-dive customer service wise, and in about a year we lost THAT place too! I suppose their Captain D's, but something has always made me *leery* of them.

The bad part about knowing what's good to eat/drink elsewhere is when you can't get something locally...;)

Local stuff.........mmmmmm. I am the same way, if it has to do with the park or the town (as in Philly cheesesteaks or Kennywood Potato Patch fries).

For the most part, I do not find that the quality of the fast foods chains that are within a park that good, well, not as good as what you would get at the actual restaurant down the road from the park. ;-)

-Tina

l. At most parks, you can eat both heart healthy and at reasonable cost by scouting around a little bit. It's the sugar and grease snacking all day that drains your wallet. Someone mentioned $50 for a meal. We've never spent that much on a meal for a group of either three or four, except for the upscale Disney restaurants.

2. Resisting the carnie games and pay extra rides goes a long way toward saving money.

3. Camping at Indiana Beach and Holiday World both cuts costs and enhances the experience. Sitting around a campfire eating dinner while watching the Raven across the water is surely one of life's great moments for a coaster lover.

4. I enjoy eating at some of the parks as much as I do riding some of the coasters. In particular, I would list the Disney restaurants, Busch Gardens, Dollywood, the Park Terrace Inn at Kennywood, and the Sky Room at Indiana Beach.

5. I take a lot of student groups to parks. It always amuses me to watch some of the kids pinch pennies on food, only to blow three times as much on junk Made in China generic souvenirs. *** Edited 8/16/2004 1:41:17 AM UTC by Trekker Park***

When i was at hershey park i loved eating in the park right next to storm runner, since i go to geauga lake alot i usually eat before i go or if i am going for a long time i will usually go across the street to subway and buy a sub for 3.50 and then go to dollar usa or walmart to take a break from coasters, whenever i do this me and my friends have alot of fun!

Expensive and cheap are relative to the amount of one's disposable income. Is staying on property at Universal three times during the past two years an expensive luxury for me and mine? Nope, it's a frickin' requirement!

I've never brought food to a park and wouldn't even think about doing so. I kinda have this rule about not eating within 20 feet of my parked vehicle. Then again, I don't picnic or camp out either so there ya go. Every trip to SFGAm (my home park) includes a stop at Mooseburger for lunch at just over $50 for a fam of four. It's tradition and it's important and it has value beyond the food we consume.

Just this past Friday, I spent about $50 on games alone at PKI. Foolish, perhaps assinine, you say? There are two little girls, aging quicker than even I can comprehend, that have a collection of stuffed animals acquired at parks over the years that number in the 100's. Minimum two at every park, every visit. These are tangible memories for them - they can tell you at which park, when, what game was played to acquire them all - what's that worth? It's priceless, folks.

I eat at nice places. I stay in nice hotels. I fly when I want. IMHO, that's the escape. And ya know what? Every chance I can buy my way to the front of the line, I'll do that, too. But I'm not an idiot. I'll take the discounts and coupons where and when offered.

Sure, I'm paid well and I can afford to go to parks without worrying about how much "stuff" is going to cost. That's what a good education and years of hard work merit.

But that's just me and I know you're all just so happy for me! /sarcasm

But I remember the old days when money was an issue. And the endless miles in cars that I didn't think would make it, even if we didn't run out of gas money. And the nights on the floors of friend's places and the tuna and macaroni and cheese for lunch that also served as dinner. And I wouldn't trade those memories for anything, either. Was it more fun that way? No more or less, really, but it probably was more exciting. For me, parks = good times and amazing memories, regardless of how much money was spent. I just prefer to spend a little cash for the experience cause that's the way I like it.

My 13 year-old niece scraped together about $200 over the course of a year for an overnight trip to CP with a club from her school and to her, it beat any trip I've ever taken her on that cost a lot more. She gets it and I couldn't be more proud.

I think my "nice place" fetish started when I was working in corporate America with an American Express card that I didn't have to pay for. I got so used to staying nice places that I could never go back.

I guess I'm just fortunate (not really... fortune had nothing to do with working my ass off to get where I am in life) that I can stay nice places and vacation in a fairly care-free manner. The return to Hawaii has been elusive, but other than that we've managed to enjoy ourselves.

Orlando parks would gladly sell you a weekend parks package for a thousand dollars or more, what ever you are willing to pay. Those of you who have money to burn can buy that Trojan horse. Travel tips are not about sacrifice, but getting the best bang for your buck. You can spend $20 on crapy park food, or you can drive 15 minutes to an air conditioned restaurant and spend half that amount. This coming weekend I'll be heading to Orlando on the cheapest flight I could find. I won't be spending $200 a night at some cheezy resort hotel, but a Motel 6 in Kissimmee. I'll spend the rest of my vacation on a beach in the Caribbean with the money I saved. All the parks and coasters I could possibly want with a beach resort to boot. Spend smart and scafice nothing.

Well if anything this thread has proven everyone's perception of value is different :)

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Travel tips are not about sacrifice, but getting the best bang for your buck.

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I've found that the best bang for your buck doesn't always deliver the best experience for your buck.

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I won't be spending $200 a night at some cheezy resort hotel, but a Motel 6 in Kissimmee.

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Or the way I see it - This weekend I'll be staying in a questionable chain motel miles from the park rather than a luxury resort hotel that would most likely offer serveral in-park perks and the convenience and enjoyment of waking up in the park and strolling leisurely to the gate each morning instead of fighting traffic and other guests for an overpriced parking spot.

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I'll spend the rest of my vacation on a beach in the Caribbean with the money I saved. All the parks and coasters I could possibly want with a beach resort to boot. Spend smart and scafice nothing.

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Cool. But again, everyone's perceptions and abilty to do things differs. You may be spending smart (And who would argue that? We all look for the cheapest flight or admission discounts.) but if I booked the same vacation I'd feel like I sacrificed...a lot.

Those preaching the "pay to play" way of vacationing often don't sacrifice anything to do so. I think it's great that you planned and worked things out to also get an island vacation out of your trip. You took what you had to work with and got enough to make you happy. Some might see that as sacrifice and other might see it as extravagant depending on their situation.

I just bought a brand new car (a 2005 even) last Thursday and later tonight we'll be taking that car on a week long coaster trek covering parts of Canada and New York. The cheapest room I'm staying in runs $99 a night. I plan on hitting at least 5 parks (we already hooked up with discounts for all the park admissions), we'll be seeing parts of Canada and spending time at the Falls. I plan on eating tons of park food during the day and having wonderful dinners at nice resaraunts at night. I can't wait to see the smiles on the kids' faces when we hand them each a few bucks at every park along the way to play games and buy souvenirs.

By your definition, I'm not spending smart, yet I'll be sacrificing absolutely nothing on my trip, nor in my personal life. All the coasters and parks I can fit into a week and a new car to boot.

Everyone's situation is different. I don't expect you to understand my approach in the exact same way that I don't understand yours.

If we were all the same, life would get real boring real fast. :)

*** Edited 8/16/2004 9:09:29 AM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

An Altima? C'mon Gonch! I mean, I'm glad you're in the Nissan family here, but an Altima? Panzy Family man! Oh, Wait. Nevermind...;)

I just got a new XTerra (well, not brand new, but still), I went to PKI/SFKK 2 weeks ago and stayed on site, I'm going to CP and GL this week(again camping on site, but at GL since CP dosen't allow tents. Dang I need an RV!), hopefully going to the beach before winter, going to do some major Park going for PPP, and plan on Fla(camping on-site Disney, and maybe a nite at a universal hotel to get moved to the front of the line.), and I make all of $7.40 at my current job. I took a major pay cut coming back home, but in the long run, I'm better off, and can afford everthing I do.

Don't thing I won't be hitting places up for Bargains, but I think what we're trying to establish is that there is a difference in being smart with spending so you can get what you want out of your vacation, and being a Tight Wad and losing that "priceless" value on your vacation because you were too cheap to enjoy it.

And again, this is not talking about a day at the park, we're talking about vacation.

When I was a kid, my parents had 3 kids. We went to the Beach and the state fair every summer. The Beach was spent with an extended family. When I was younger, we didn't stay at a motel on the beach, we stayed at one across the street because it was where my family always stayed. It was nice, clean, across the street from the Pavilion Amusment park, right down town, and across the street from the beach. As we got older and the motel got nasty, we migrated to Beach front. Sure, it cost more, but it was more enjoyable.

My parents were bargain hunters when we traveled, but not to the point of not having fun. We found a Great place with great food that is actually a great bargain for breakfast(can't make it for cheaper than they'll serve it to you). The first thing when we got to Myrtle Beach was always to go to the grocery store so we could have snacks and get food for lunch. That didn't mean we ate in the room every day, but it was an option.

We always went somewhere nice for dinner, and switched back and forth in the evenings from shopping down town, the Pavilion, or a show or something.

My parents would take a family of 5 for a week at the beach and we'd have a nice vacation for about a grand. That isn't much, considering all we did. They weren't cheap about things, they did things we could afford, but they always took us on unforgettable vacations. I've learned alot about traveling from them. Ways to travel for cheap, but not sacrificing luxury. Staying beach front, walking distance to 2 parks, hotel with 9 pools/hottubs/lazy rivers was not cheap. But they always made sure to do it in a way that wasn't expensive, either.

Yeah, but I can already tell you that the Altima does 120 with little effort.

It takes longer than 4 seconds, but the trade off is no snapping cables ;)

...and the back end of that car is just so damn sexy.

*** Edited 8/16/2004 3:21:54 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

As others have said, different people have different ideas of what's worthwhile.

For example, Jeremy said (basically) that all the airlines are the same and he'll take whichever is cheapest. For me, the situation is a little different -- I'm willing to consistently put my butt in the same airline's seats. The reason is that I get improved service for doing so -- shorter security line, better seat selection, early boarding, free upgrades to First Class seating (space available). Admittedly, I'm going to have to pick a new airline of choice very soon, and none of the other majors is nearly as generous in handing out preferred status as USAirways was.

However, I DON'T have any loyalty to car companies, even though some of them (like Hertz) really do treat their "elites" well. Unlike flying, I don't rent a car often enough to earn that preferred status.

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Trekker Park said:
At most parks, you can eat both heart healthy and at reasonable cost by scouting around a little bit. It's the sugar and grease snacking all day that drains your wallet. Someone mentioned $50 for a meal. We've never spent that much on a meal for a group of either three or four, except for the upscale Disney restaurants.

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Not at GLP, the 'value meal deal' is 4 people eating at Arthur Treachers with drinks for 30 bucks, and the sugar & grease 'snacking' is the meals that the park sells, which is what makes me sick to my stomach. :(. The same 'greaseburger' meal for 4 at the GLP-operated 'eaterie's will cost you 45 bucks! If you really have to have the greaseburger, eat at Mr.Hero's in the old western area...eat it at the picnic table nearby, and give the tables a free complimentary waxing LOL

This article is not for everyone. it is definitely written for a specific group of people - those who don't have an unlimited budget for their vacation. Just because someone can't spend care-free, does that mean they shouldn't go at all? For a family, saving a few dollars here and a few dollars there over the course of a week on a Disney vacation can really add up, perhaps even enough to allow them to go there in the first place. Yes, this certainly detracts from the full experience but a good time can still be had.