Will fuel prices hold you back this summer?

I was just wondering how many of you will change your summer plans because of the higher fuel costs? Last year I made 10 trips up to Cedar Point from here in Pittsburgh. It takes me almost a full tank and will cost about $50 just in gas per trip this year. That’s if the prices stop going up. That’s a lot of money over the season and that is only one park. Will you cut back on your summer trips to your favorite parks because of fuel?

Not at all.

This thread is just two weeks old and offers some gas price discussion before veering off in the way that CB threads do so well. :)

In short, no. Gas prices don't affect my travels at all. The price difference is minimal at best.

*** Edited 4/17/2005 8:10:31 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

Sorry, I should have did a search.

For me, yeah, it matters. I still make the trip, but instead of getting a room to crash in all day after the park, I test my stamina (and driving skills) and decide to drive those 7 hrs back at night, figuring I can pull over into a well-lit rest area if needed.
Basically, I'll cut where I can, but still try and go. Right now, it's easier to coerce a few friends into going to save gas money, and share the driving.

So if anyone in the Las Vegas area needs those Lagoon credits, let me know.:)

Yes for me. I had to cancel a trip to virgina!

It makes me think of cutting a park out of a trip or doing like Robocoaster and just taking a nap in the car (which I've done before anyway)

Honestly, it's not that big of a deal, though I certainyl wouldn't complain if gas dropped to a buck fifty for the summer :)

We have planned a lot more flying trips this year. From Chicago, we are flying to Columbus, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh ($29 O/W). If airfare stays low and gasoline prices remain so high, I may even plan an extra trip to Geauga Lake, flying into Cleveland. These are trips we normally would drive, but with super cheap flights, why not. With the AAA card, renting cars and staying and hotels cost even less. And since we have hit so many parks close to home, it just makes sense for us to travel even further, but fly.

It's interesting but low airfare has even more of an impact on our travels than gas prices. Last year we went to Kansas City (WoF/OoF) on a whim because airfare was $80 RT. The park was free for us (CP s.p.), our hotel was $75, and the rental car was $40. It's was a cheap weekend; cheaper than a weekend of entertainment in Chicago.

Seriously check out airline costs (especially the low fare airlines). You may be suprised how little driving you may have to do in order to plan a coaster trip.

Okay, I'll bite. I didn't read the other thread, so excuse me if this has been covered.

I'll use Beast Tamer as an example... please don't take it personally. I'll assume you're in Cincinnati, and that you were going to Busch Gardens.

According to Mapquest, that trip is 574 miles. Let's say your car gets a crappy 25 mpg highway. That's 46 gallons of gas that you'll need.

46 gallons of gas at an "unreasonable" $2.25/gal = $103.50

46 gallons of gas at a "reasonable" $1.50/gal = $69

So you're saying that you'd cancel a vacation because it'll cost you an extra $34.50!?

Stay in a cheaper hotel, and make the trip. Eat lunch before going in to the park, and make the trip. Take a minimum wage job, work 6 hours, then quit. You just saved enough to go to Virginia.

I just don't see a couple dollars coming between me and fun.

I agree... when you do the math it seems insane to cancel plans because of gas prices.

I'll try to stay off my SUV soapbox now...

I wonder what would happen if you had to pay 5+ dollars per gallon. That's reality here in Europe (Finland to be exact).

Projected gas prices for next summer are ~1.20 euros per litre.
1.20 euros ~ 1.5 dollars
1.5 dollars per litre ~ 5.5 dollars per gallon.

We drove 7500 miles last summer in the States and we felt like the gas was dirt cheap.

We're back to $2.00/gal here in Mid-Missouri so I would have to say NO. I hear it is actually back under $2 in some place down south. Today in KC I saw from $2.19 to $2.02, so it is going back down at least in MO. IL on the other hand is down right crazy. Missy said that when she left Normal Friday it was $2.36, but it is now down to $2.24 I think a lot of it has to do with how much road taxes your state imposes. Anyone who has driven through Missouri knows by our roads that we don't charge enough. ;)

You coastliner people still hurting in fuel costs?

Yours is a reality that most Americans don't realize. We have it easy compared to the Europeans.

Just for comparisons sake, anyone know what gas goes for in Japan?

Just to point out that the prices aren't going to affect my driving, here's my plans.

Driving from Denver to St. Louis. Working for a month. Driving to the Wisconsin Dells. Hitting Little A-Merrick-A on the way to SFGaM. Then a quick stop at IB. Pick up a friend in southern Indianna. HW, SFKK and Camden Park on the way to the Appalachian Uprising music festival in rural Ohio. Then back to Denver, where I plan to camp all throughout the state over the summer. I'm also hoping to get two quick trips to Lagoon and Cliffs in before heading back to StL in August. That's A LOT of driving. *** Edited 4/18/2005 4:26:13 AM UTC by Incidentalist***

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Incidentalist said:
Just for comparisons sake, anyone know what gas goes for in Japan?

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Seems to be roughly 4-5 dollars per gallon.
http://tinyurl.com/dfvzj

*** Edited 4/18/2005 4:28:28 AM UTC by Drift*** *** Edited 4/18/2005 4:28:49 AM UTC by Drift***

I keep seeing this argument about how much more expensive gas is elsewhere...but there is something else you have to take into consideration. Not just that we have to do a lot more driving in the US than elsewhere in the world simply because the distances are greater (Few countries have a lower population density than the US), but also how the fuel prices got to where they are.

When I started driving in 1987, the average fuel price was about $0.79/gallon. Through inflation and taxes, that price has risen steadily, and in 2003, I was paying about $1.25/gallon. Those increases were in line with or slightly slower than the overall rate of inflation. For comparison, when I was in high school, I frequently bought a bottle of Coke on my way in for $0.89. That same bottle of Coke today costs me about $1.29. So both products, both purchased from gas stations, have increased about equally for the same "serving" over the years, suggesting that the increases in fuel price more or less matched other increases. Including the increases in my own income. The economy can handle that kind of price increase.

In 2003, the price of gas went without warning from $1.10/gallon to $2.09/gallon, literally overnight. That's nearly a 100% increase in fuel price, and when you are talking about a commodity that commands a significant amount of a person's weekly spending money, that's a huge increase, without the corresponding increase in income to pay for it.

This time around, as the price of gas increased from $1.50 to $2.40, lots of pundits were expressing surprise that demand wasn't falling. Well, of course demand wasn't falling. Most people who could do anything to reduce consumption in the short term have been doing those things since 2003. The only things left to do are to buy new cars or move closer to work, neither of which is a change that most people can manage in the extreme short term. When the price of gas went up two years ago, that price spike stretched any price elasticity of demand out of the system. For many people, reducing consumption isn't much of an option anymore. The only thing we can do is pay the price, and not spend money on other stuff, and we saw the retail numbers last week that show that (that's why the DJIA went down 400 points last week).

It's not that gas is so expensive that causes the real problem. It's that gas suddenly became so expensive, without giving anybody a chance to adjust the budget accordingly!

I'm still going to a lot of parks. It makes me feel like my car is more efficient: Driving to work I get about 15 MPG. Driving to a park, I get about 30 MPG. Amazing what happens when you drive a car that is optimized for highway cruising...!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

LOL, looking to buy a new-to-me car soon, and had a discussion about how hard it might be to find a used hybrid these days...

Avg driver, doing 12K miles anually, figuring 25 mpg, uses 480 gals of gas a year...@ 2.50/gal, that's $1200/yr for gas.

Getting a car that gets, say, 60 mpg, doing the same mileage, uses 200 gals.....(saving of 280 gals.) comes to 500/yr. Saving the driver 700 bucks in a year's time for gas, and helping the environment, having to stop for gas less, etc.

Considering how long people hold on to cars, the price difference between the two needs to be *around* 3-4K to make it a fair fight...since repairs, etc. will likely be more expensive for the hybrid. Does the government have any interest in, say, charging less to register a car that does less damage to the environment? Just thinking....;)

P.S. When we had that thread a while back, I noticed the MASSIVE increase in fuel CONSUMPTION of airplanes when flying planes with *classes* for passengers....wonder if people would be willing to fly "one class fits all" to save 30% of the jet fuel...
edit: hehe, had to edit that, or stop posting after 2 am...;)

Maybe the gas prices rising (and taking the prices of most other goods/services with it) is FINALLY going to get us to consider REALLY funding alternative energy reasearch....never know...
*** Edited 4/18/2005 2:22:27 PM UTC by rollergator***

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kpjb said:
Okay, I'll bite. I didn't read the other thread, so excuse me if this has been covered... (boring math examples follow :) )

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That's starting to sound an awful lot like Lord Gonchar talk. :)

I agree totally...and have done the math examples in other threads.

When you figure dropping bucks for admission to the park, parking, food, games and/or souvenir crap, in many cases a room for the night, etc. - the cost of gas makes up a very small percentage of your total cost.

Hell, this year gas prices are higher than ever and we're trying to put together a trip covering between 2200 and 2300 miles over two weeks.

As much as it makes me sound like a total ass, I still can't come up with an example where the price of gas should (could?) mean the difference between going and not.

Nope. Gas prices will not change my plans at all.

-Tina

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Lord Gonchar said:
When you figure dropping bucks for admission to the park, parking, food, games and/or souvenir crap, in many cases a room for the night, etc. - the cost of gas makes up a very small percentage of your total cost.

Hell, this year gas prices are higher than ever and we're trying to put together a trip covering between 2200 and 2300 miles over two weeks.

As much as it makes me sound like a total ass, I still can't come up with an example where the price of gas should (could?) mean the difference between going and not.

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For us broke college kids we just look to see if we can come home a day early to save the extra money, though I more than likely will just "deal with it".

I took sort of a pro-active approach...We've been needing a second car for a long time and on many occasions I was renting a car for short trips anyway.

I bought a car that gets twice the mileage as our minivan and still met all of my 'comfort needs' and I'm actually spending less for gas.

Granted, I have an extra car payment but that was going to happen sooner or later anyway.

I think gas prices are partly a huge issue because the media keeps telling us that it is.