Theme park season passes

[Remianen]

Anyone have one of these? I'm trying to decide whether to get one but I haven't had one since, jeez, '98 for Six Flags AstroWorld (which closed years ago).

I'm considering either the Six Flags 3-park combo pass (for Great Adventure & The Great Escape) and the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass (Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Carowinds). The Six Flags one is $100 but doesn't include parking while the Cedar Fair one does include parking and is $160.

I'm intending this year to spend lots of time at amusement parks (in past years, I was always too busy or spending lots of time out of the country to do so) so a season pass would make sense, as long as I racked up three (Six Flags) or four (Cedar Fair) visits during the year.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any recent (ish) experience with these.

[fatallylost]

I had one for Disneyland. It was about 4-6 years ago though. But, a ton of my friends have current ones. Was there anything in particular you were wondering about them?

[Sons of Kohral]

Assuming you're talking about the 6 flags in Jersey, I'd say yeah, especially if you're going to be there a lot. It definitely pays for itself after a while. Just make sure you pace yourself!

My fraternity is doing weekly trips to 6 flags this summer, so we all got the season pass. Already have 3 visits logged.

[Imarevenant]

Originally Posted by Remianen

Anyone have one of these? I'm trying to decide whether to get one but I haven't had one since, jeez, '98 for Six Flags AstroWorld (which closed years ago).

I'm considering either the Six Flags 3-park combo pass (for Great Adventure & The Great Escape) and the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass (Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Carowinds). The Six Flags one is $100 but doesn't include parking while the Cedar Fair one does include parking and is $160.

I'm intending this year to spend lots of time at amusement parks (in past years, I was always too busy or spending lots of time out of the country to do so) so a season pass would make sense, as long as I racked up three (Six Flags) or four (Cedar Fair) visits during the year.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any recent (ish) experience with these.

I usually have season passes to quite a few things. Right now the wife, kids and I have passes to San Diego Zoo, Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, and Sea World in San Diego. We are buying passes to Disneyland as well as we take the kids there a lot (their prices are ridiculous however). We worked it out and about 7 visits is what you need to make the thing worth it. And well, we go way more than 7 times a year tbh.

As long as you go enough times the passes are worth it. I've never had a problem with anything really. Honestly, parking isn't so much a problem (even at Disneyland, it's only like $15); what I would look into more are the discounts on food and stuff you can get inside the park. That stuffs expensive and adds up quick, so a 10 -15% discount helps a bit. Of course that's from the perspective of a parent, so I'm constantly being asked for icee's, pretzels and what have you. If you aren't taking kids it might not be an issue at all.

Also, something to consider is blackout dates. Make sure the pass you are getting actually covers the days you'd be more likely to go or else well, it's worthless. Disney has like 5 different passes. Their cheapest blacks out weekends and holidays so that even with the pass you'll have to buy a ticket at the gate. Not sure if Six Flags or Cedar Fair does this though as the places I get season passes for are more kid oriented atm.

[fatallylost]

Originally Posted by Imarevenant

I usually have season passes to quite a few things. Right now the wife, kids and I have passes to San Diego Zoo, Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, and Sea World in San Diego. We are buying passes to Disneyland as well as we take the kids there a lot (their prices are ridiculous however). We worked it out and about 7 visits is what you need to make the thing worth it. And well, we go way more than 7 times a year tbh.

As long as you go enough times the passes are worth it. I've never had a problem with anything really. Honestly, parking isn't so much a problem (even at Disneyland, it's only like $15); what I would look into more are the discounts on food and stuff you can get inside the park. That stuffs expensive and adds up quick, so a 10 -15% discount helps a bit. Of course that's from the perspective of a parent, so I'm constantly being asked for icee's, pretzels and what have you. If you aren't taking kids it might not be an issue at all.

Also, something to consider is blackout dates. Make sure the pass you are getting actually covers the days you'd be more likely to go or else well, it's worthless. Disney has like 5 different passes. Their cheapest blacks out weekends and holidays so that even with the pass you'll have to buy a ticket at the gate. Not sure if Six Flags or Cedar Fair does this though as the places I get season passes for are more kid oriented atm.

Not sure if you know or not, but, you can do monthly payments on the Disneyland passes now.

[Remianen]

Originally Posted by fatallylost

I had one for Disneyland. It was about 4-6 years ago though. But, a ton of my friends have current ones. Was there anything in particular you were wondering about them?

Yeah, I was trying to get feedback on whether the total packages are worth it. Imarevenant gave the full rundown.

Originally Posted by Sons of Kohral

Assuming you're talking about the 6 flags in Jersey, I'd say yeah, especially if you're going to be there a lot. It definitely pays for itself after a while. Just make sure you pace yourself!

Do you get The Flash Pass when you go too? And have you been to the Great Escape in Lake George?

Originally Posted by Imarevenant

As long as you go enough times the passes are worth it. I've never had a problem with anything really. Honestly, parking isn't so much a problem (even at Disneyland, it's only like $15); what I would look into more are the discounts on food and stuff you can get inside the park. That stuffs expensive and adds up quick, so a 10 -15% discount helps a bit. Of course that's from the perspective of a parent, so I'm constantly being asked for icee's, pretzels and what have you. If you aren't taking kids it might not be an issue at all.

Actually, I'm worse than a kid. I'm an adult with disposable income and no one who can tell me not to spend it. When I took my peewee basketball team to Disneyworld in '07, the kids were begging off ("I can't eat any more ice cream. I'll get sick!") but I was still chugging away. The credit card bill post-trip made my heart skip beats. So those discounts would still be HUGE for me.

I'm mainly trying to figure out whether the add-ons to the passes diminish the value of the pass overall. For example, Six Flags has "The Flash Pass" which lets you queue up for rides without standing in line (and even lets you ride twice for one wait) and Cedar Fair has the Disney-esque "Pass holder advance entry" thing. I'd really like to stick to only buying one (despite my latent desire to not make a decision and just get both) since splitting my time between two sets of parks would be brutal.

But it's definitely nice to know the discounts are valuable. Since it's not unusual for me to be rollin' with a kid or three (I'm the friend you dump your kids on when you and the wife/gf want to do something without 'em ), they would still come in handy. God forbid the park has a batting cage. There's four hours GONE right there.

[Imarevenant]

Originally Posted by fatallylost

Not sure if you know or not, but, you can do monthly payments on the Disneyland passes now.

It's for Southern California residents only. I reside up north near San Jose, so the payment plan isn't an option. Although last time we asked about it they did say they were trying to make it available throughout the state, so who knows maybe soonish.

Originally Posted by Remianen

I'm mainly trying to figure out whether the add-ons to the passes diminish the value of the pass overall. For example, Six Flags has "The Flash Pass" which lets you queue up for rides without standing in line (and even lets you ride twice for one wait) and Cedar Fair has the Disney-esque "Pass holder advance entry" thing. I'd really like to stick to only buying one (despite my latent desire to not make a decision and just get both) since splitting my time between two sets of parks would be brutal.

My .2 cents. I don't really care for the advance entry thing. It's usually for only an hour before the park opens to the public anyway so it's not like you get a ton of time to yourself before the crowds come. Also, if you go a lot, you really aren't hard pressed to do everything the park has to offer in one day, so you don't really need an extra hour to cram stuff in.

That said, I love fast passes. I don't enjoy standing in lines and when I have a 4 year old and 2 year old with me it's even worse. All three of us start to get antsy and whiny by the time we make it to the actual ride lol. So fast passes are something we take full advantage of and I would say is worth the extra $$.

[tristram]

I know this is a bit off topic and I apologise, but I hear such contrasting opinions on Disneyland. Ever since I was a kid (and admittedly at 30 I'm a much bigger kid now) I have wanted to go there and have started to think about a trip there in the next couple of years. Am I setting myself up for a disappointment like some suggest? Bare in mind, I lost my freakin mind (and a fair wad off my credit card) in Disney happiness at the Disney shop up from Tiffany's in NYC last year

[BHK1978]

Originally Posted by tristram

I know this is a bit off topic and I apologise, but I hear such contrasting opinions on Disneyland. Ever since I was a kid (and admittedly at 30 I'm a much bigger kid now) I have wanted to go there and have started to think about a trip there in the next couple of years. Am I setting myself up for a disappointment like some suggest? Bare in mind, I lost my freakin mind (and a fair wad off my credit card) in Disney happiness at the Disney shop up from Tiffany's in NYC last year

If you do decide to come stateside again, I would recommend going to Disney World in Orlando. Now this is just my opinion but the one in California is just not as good as the one in Orlando. Plus you have Epcot, MGM, and Animal Kingdom.

I love Epcot, it is by far and away my favorite part of all of the parks. So in short, yes if you love Disney it would be well worth your time to go to Orlando.

Now I am not a travel agent so I am not sure how much more it would cost you to go from Australia to Orlando compared to Los Angeles. However, like I said if I had the choice I would pick Orlando all day.

[fatallylost]

I've only been to the one in Anaheim, CA (I live about a half hour from it) I've heard good things about Disneyworld though. For the most part, it has all the same rides we do, plus more.

On the other side, we also have Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, and Magic Mountain. Which are all very different, in their own ways.

Honestly, I'd just say it comes down to how much you have/want to spend on airfare. I imagine hotels are in the same range in both areas.

[BHK1978]

Yeah Orlando also has Universal as well, all though I was not a huge fan of either one (the one in Anaheim or Orlando).

[Mr T Jobs To Me]

I had one for the Six Flags in Ohio back when I lived a half hour away and used the heck out of it. Of the parks mentioned, I've only been to Cedar Point, which is quite a drive from New York. If you're a coaster fan, you have to get there once though. Millennium Force, the Top Thrill Dragster... too many great ones to name.

[Remianen]

Originally Posted by Mr T Jobs To Me

I had one for the Six Flags in Ohio back when I lived a half hour away and used the heck out of it. Of the parks mentioned, I've only been to Cedar Point, which is quite a drive from New York. If you're a coaster fan, you have to get there once though. Millennium Force, the Top Thrill Dragster... too many great ones to name.

Yeah, I've been to Cedar Point. Last time was when they opened the big wooden rollercoaster (Mean Streak?). I kinda find excuses to hit whatever amusement park is nearby wherever I go.

The main problem I'm having deciding is the fact that I'm looking into relocating and Charlotte is high on the list (and Carowinds is right there), I shop frequently in Pennsylvania (and Dorney Park is right in the area I frequent) but I LIVE in NYC and two Six Flags parks are within easy driving distance.

I'm gonna get the Six Flags one now and see if the Cedar Point one makes sense next week or something.

Oh and tristram, DisneyWORLD is far superior to LAND, in my view. However, if you're looking to visit SoCal specifically, Disneyland would be better as there's really little to do in the Metroplex (Orlando) besides Disney and the various theme parks (Universal, Wet & Wild, etc). There are some outlet stores about 15 minutes drive from the main gate but that's about it.