What is a bargain for a season pass?

Personally paying $250 would still be a good deal for what a season pass offers. It's super cheap entertainment for a whole season even at that price! I wonder how that would affect their profits. I'm sure less people would get a pass, but maybe not as much less as a lot of enthusiasts would think.

I compare it to season tickets to a sports team. People don't question how much that costs, but get all bent out of shape over a slight increase in a season pass to an amusement park, which I think gives you SO MUCH MORE for your money since you can watch sports on TV, but you can't really do an amusement park that way...maybe RCT. ;)

Matt, Your way wrong on that sentiment.

Only a select few, 60 thousand of a area of 2 million will pay that much for a sports team. In the case of a amusement park, You want the 18 year old to be able to afford it and the head of household for a family of four.

Chuck

But does a park actually sell 60 thousand season passes a year at current prices?

And regardless, for me, $250 is still a steal for what I get out of it.

Matt, you're way right on that sentiment. :)

It's kinda what I was alluding to earlier. If one-off parks like HP and HW can command $120 or $130 for a pass..then there's no reason a chain-wide pass shouldn't be in the range you're suggesting. (with a cheaper $120-$130 pass good for just the local park as well)

I think they are all pretty much a bargain!

I would rather pay like $300, get free pop and better service, than a cheap entry fee.

And I can (I know I'm beating a dead horse) totally do without the acting-out, gay-joke-cracking, 'suddenly cool' band tee shirt wearing, humping, making out teens, that most of the parks seem to love to babysit.

I look at it as: what would it cost me to pay single day admission for however many days I want to visit park X or the various parks in total that the pass would admit me to.

I love a great deal and take full advantage of the cheap passes, but I wouldn't mind paying that much if I planned to use the pass upwards of ten times.

I'm really starting to think the answer is to control how many times the pass can be used and price it based on that. There are the locals who use them 15-20+ times per year, the people who get them just becase it's going to be cheaper than paying three days admission and then there are the people who use them to get into LOTS of parks for the price of a couple of days at one park. $250 is a fair deal for me using the pass less than ten times in a season, but would obviously not be good for the "three times" people, and then there's the "20+" people.

Until the prices do reach $250, I'm not really concerned about rising costs. I won't get one if it's ging to cost me more than the total amount of individual visits I plan on making. Now the single day admission cost is a whole other story. ;)

Even living next to KI, Im not gonna spend 250-300 for a pass. Not gonna happen. At best I plan to visit maybe three or four times. I will spend the 140 for the all park pass but sorry. Even the Reds with 88 home games aren't worth 300 bucks to me.

Chuck, who considers that kinda money to be a much longer lasting investment than one season. Towards a lounge chair, car payment ect.

There are also those Season passes that are pretty high pricing. Of course Disney World is the one that immediately comes to mind. Florida residents get a deal. What are the prices for Florida residents?

Another season pass that is pretty high is Morey's Piers. I looked on their site, and they don't have 2008 pricing on there yet. I think you can get your money's worth if you live close and use it enough.

A day at Busch Gardens Africa sets you around $55, but for $10 more you can buy a season pass good until the end of year (awesome deal if you get it in January). It doesn't come with all the perks of the more expensive passes (discounts, parking) but it's still an awesome deal.

I found the $59.99 2007 season pass I bought at SFMM last November generally a good deal. But of course, they charge you $15 for each parking, that flattens the good deal somewhat.

^^Yeah we always get the season pass for there because for 10 bucks more its like why not?

Also a bargain for a season pass is free.

If the question is the best bargain, the answer may be Universal Orlando. The initial price is $170 or so, but "2 years for the price of 1" deals often pop up, and renewals are just $99.

Free covered parking. 10%-20% discounts on food and shopping. Two parks that are a five minute walk apart.

And if the value isn't obvious, consider that at 365 operating days a year that the season is three times longer than most seasonal parks.

As for season pass pricing, a lot of it is simply a matter of how badly the park wants to court the local, repeat business. It may like an obvious wish, but didn't Disneyland can annual passes for awhile a few years back?

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Coasterfantom2 said:
There are also those Season passes that are pretty high pricing. Of course Disney World is the one that immediately comes to mind. Florida residents get a deal. What are the prices for Florida residents?

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I pay $350 for my WDW annual pass. That's good for 365 days from the first date of use. If you want the water parks included, it is $459. You can get a cheaper non-water park pass for $230, but it is not valid during peak holiday times.

The best part about the pass is huge discounts on resorts. Basically, if you go to Disney for two weeks, it makes the most sense to get an annual pass - FL resident or not. I know my family is coming to visit at Christmas and then again in October of next year. So, they are getting annual passes since it is cheaper. Also, they'll get some great discounts on the resorts.

Six Flags way of thinking for Season passes is if they sell more Season Passes they make more money. Currently the average visit for a season pass holder for Six Flags is 2 visits per a season. Since season passes are cheap more people will be willing to buy a season pass but not use it as often. I would suspect there are some people who will only visit once and buy a season pass. So at the end Six Flags is making more money by selling cheaper season passes but selling lots of them that many people will use only 2 times.

Also Six Flags offers the upgrade your Regular ticket to a season pass offer, which I know makes them lots of money as well.

For Prices, I believe some parks season passes are cheaper then others because of the size of the park and also base on how many season passes they sell in a season and how many times does a season pass holder visit the park each season. I think that parks like SFGAM have higher prices because season pass holders visit more often then other parks.

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Rob Ascough said:
There's no way a season pass should go for anything less than three day's admission to the park where it can be purchased.

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The problem with that theory is that the statistic is that people on average visit the park 3-4 times a year that have a season pass. If you are charging $180 in full price regards, how many people are going to buy it than? Also, you have to remember that people don't usually pay full price for one day at the park.

At my park, they had discounts at a place for $20 the regular price. These people are only paying $30 to get in. Thus, three visits is only $90, and not $180.

You wonder how Disney can get all these people keep on coming back. Some people who go to Disney go there for an entire week. I'm talking about the World one. There is a whole lot of stuff to do at Disney because lines are long, shows are long, and so on. There are also 4 parks. People keep on coming back over and over again. The Carousel of Progress and the Country Bears are probably 20 + minutes each alone. Thus, Disney can charge those high season pass prices, and get away with it.

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Coasterfantom2 said:Another season pass that is pretty high is Morey's Piers. I looked on their site, and they don't have 2008 pricing on there yet. I think you can get your money's worth if you live close and use it enough.

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I think it was in the $350 range and around $300 if you bought it early for 2007 (this was for 25 and under, 26 and over was slightly less). With the discounts and deals available, you have to visit 8+ times for the pass to pay for itself. Even if I lived 5 minutes away from the park, I don't think I would be willing to pay that much, with no real standout coasters (I think it's a nice park especially for a sea shore park but I'd rather pay under $100 for a SP to a full size park).

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I'd rather pay under $100 for a SP to a full size park

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I'd rather pay $0 for a pass that gets me into every park...

...but that's not going to happen.

When I was at SFKK earlier this year. I tried to get a refund at Guest relations and was told, we don't own the parking lot so we don't give refunds. I didn't fight it for 5 dollars.

I have enjoyed my Six Flags season pass for Six Flags St. Louis. Wish I would have used it more than just twice at St. Louis and once at KK, but it has paid off. I have heard that if you renew the parking part is only 25 dollars. Dont' know for sure, but will find out because I will be renewing hopefully by months end when I take a final trip to St. Louis to go even on parking pass costs. Next year I plan to go to Chicago on top of St. Louis (more than once, I get this feeling that once I ride a GCI, I will want to go every chance I get). I don't plan on heading back to KK any time soon unless I go for deluge. The coasters at KK are okay, but nothing to go back for.

Ultimately, a season pass 'value' equals what you personally get for your money.

If you live in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvaniathe CF Platinum Pass is a fabulous deal. I'm not thrilled with it, living where I do in Minnesota.

When I compare it to PCW's single-park pass--which includes many more coasters, a much larger waterpark, a far more beautiful environment and a new B&M hyper--for the same price, I really feel shortchanged.

Then again, I pay almost as much for a pass to a single wavepool ($65) as I will for a VF pass ($80), and another $25 for a parking pass without a moment's hesitation. Why? It's the price I'll pay to do what I really like. That's why.

If VF added nothing more than a wavepool, the $140 Platinum Pass price would fall out of my pocket in a heartbeat, my park visits would double and Da Babies' would triple at the minimum. But that's due to our own perception of value. Your mileage may vary.

-'Playa

*** Edited 10/2/2007 1:46:39 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

I just paid $379 times three for Disneyland on Saturday. The look on my 3-year-olds face in the Splash Mountain photos are worth the dime for me. In the same breath, I would not pay $25 for a pass to any of the regional theme chain parks...as they are not worth it to me at this point of my life.