Comments on: The M-Network Vacation Guide – Are season passes for theme parks worth it?

By: Frugal Mom LA

Frugal Mom LA — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:20:46 +0000

I think season passes are a great value. One year we won a season pass to Sea World in San Diego. At the time we had only one child who was a champion car traveler so the trip down there from LA was fine. We went three times that year and it was after that that we realized it’s a great value if you plan to go there at least twice a year. However, when our second child was born, we realized we can’t drive more than hour without a major meltdown on his part so no more trips to San Diego until he’s older but we re-focused and bought season passes to the Santa Barbara Zoo.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:33:55 +0000

We buy season passes to Disneyland this past two years. We only have to go twice and we like the flexability it gives us. That way if we just want to go to the park for fireworks one night of our trip we don’t have to pay a full days admition. We live an 8 hour drive away but we find that we go enough to make it worth while. The nice part is we use some of our tax return for the passes. Then the next few times we go we are only paying hotel and gas which helps us to afford future trips.

By: Fred

Fred — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:18:51 +0000

@glbguy: Because you need two cars anyway, it makes sense.
I suppose the one time when having to take two cars will cost more is if you’re taking both cars to the same location (ie, taking 2 cars on vacation).
However, after reading the blog post you linked to, I can understand your reasoning.

By: Make Friends, Earn Money

Make Friends, Earn Money — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:53:24 +0000

Season tickets are always better value but that doesn’t mean that they are always the best option. We have a costco near to where we live and lots of people buy in bulk to save money, the only problem is that when you ask those same people how long the items lasted they often say that they consumed them within the time frame, so in actual fact they saved nothing but spent more. I think you need to be very disciplined about spending out on bulk pruchases up front and the same is true for season tickets

By: The M-Network Vacation Guide | M-Network Blogs

The M-Network Vacation Guide | M-Network Blogs — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:53:56 +0000

[...] Are season passes for amusement parks worth it? at Gather Little By Little [...]

By: The M-Network Vacation Guide | M-Network Blogs

The M-Network Vacation Guide | M-Network Blogs — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:53:56 +0000

[...] Are season passes for amusement parks worth it? at Gather Little By Little [...]

By: glblguy

glblguy — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:47:43 +0000

@Fred:

We have two cars, as I work a full-time job, so I need a car to go back and forth to work. My wife needs a car due to activities she is involved with during the day and for taking our children to/from activities.

As for why we drive two when traveling instead of buying my wife one that would hold all of us…Well, in order to get something with lower miles and reliable, we would need to buy something fairly late model. We’ve look at Suburbans, and they run around $12,000 – $35,000 depending on the year.

Right now, my car is paid for and my wife’s Durango is almost paid for. Our monthly payment on the Durango is very low, so buying a another vehicle would put us further in debt and increase our monthly payment. For right now, it’s cheaper to stay with what we have than go further in debt and increase our payment. Trust me, we’ve thought and thought about it.

I actually wrote a post about this sometime back ==> http://www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/01/09/why-we-drive-two-used-cars-instead-of-one/

By: Highlights from the week | rocket finance

Highlights from the week | rocket finance — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:07:17 +0000

[...] asks, are amusement park season passes worth the money? We are using a season pass to the Denver Children’s Museum today. A friend of ours purchased [...]

By: Roundup and Link Love - Grand Openings Edition | The Wisdom Journal

Roundup and Link Love - Grand Openings Edition | The Wisdom Journal — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:35:28 +0000

[...] at Frugal Dad. How I survived an F-5 tornado that destroyed my home at My Supercharged Life. Are season passes to amusement parks worth it? at Gather Little by Little. Price drops are good for young investors in the stock market at Gen X [...]

By: fred

fred — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:22:24 +0000

I know it’s kinda off-topic, but why do you drive two cars? Wouldn’t it be more economical to sell both cars, and replace them with a single car that can seat all 8 of you?
That should be cheaper from a maintenance / insurance / fuel point of view…