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Taken For A Ride: 5 Clever Ways Theme Parks Bleed You For Extra


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Lockers

Front of the line access

Meal plans

Parking

Video Souvenirs

...Some major theme parks also have roving professional photographers who will take your photo and sell it back to you for a high price. That's been going on for a while, and you can always bring your own camera for less snazzy, but perfectly acceptable, snapshots.

Add it all up. If you fully enjoy a theme park these days, before the cost of getting there and before sundry souvenirs, an adult is already spending another $94. And that's the bare minimum.

Keep your arms and hands inside the vehicle? Indeed. But keep your head down, too, and your wallet firmly planted in your back pocket.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/07/03/t...-you-for-extra/

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Yeah I think I could go to KI and not pay even a cent to do anything. Except for gas that it. I have free parking, who needs to eat when your an enthusiast (Sorry ACERs), I don't take anything to use a locker for, video souvenirs we have none anymore, no front of the line access here, so I think I could get away with not spending anything.

But on topic, yes those are the 5 things that parks milk you for. I agree 100%. Add on-ride photos in there withe the videos a well.

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Parking is pretty much the big gun on that ship. Also design elements such as black asphalt walkways, which make buying overpriced drinks a more tempting option on hot days, and the ingenius "family dryer" near WWC. The pocket-change hungry cannons on the WWC path is another example of the genius of amusement park capitalism! I'm surprised they haven't figured out that they can make a mint if they charge guests for.....wait, I'm keeping that to myself!

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That's the first time I've heard someone

call the teenagers with cameras "professional photographers". I'll usually

drop the bucks needed for a meal and one snack inside the park.

And they've forgotten the most important one. Build stairs or a ramp over anything. :)

I can usually go the whole day without eating, but if someone in my group decides that they have to eat I find that it's much more economical to leave the park and hit up one of the fast food places on Kings Mills.

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I get picked on a lot because I get hungry about twice during the day when I go to a park.

I am hypoglycemic and have a high metabolism. I have been like this since my preteen years. Therefore, anything I eat is quickly burned off. I have actually passed out cold, and have gotten sick to my stomach, from not eating for several hours.

The adrenaline rush I get from the extreme rides I love so much helps curb mild to moderate hunger. However, if I step off of, say, Diamondback or Drop Tower and my stomach growls, I need to get food.

So when I say I am hungry, I mean it.

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To give two examples, I went to Holiday World and KI the last two days. HW has much cheaper prices then KI, because of those cheaper prices, I loaded up and spent about $20. When I went to KI, partially because of they dropped the wrist band drinks (never bought soda the whole day, there goes $10 from me right there) and partially because a "meal" (read pizza/sandwitch and fries) costs close to $10 I ended up only getting one meal and a snack for a total of $15 dollars. Pricing is seriously out of whack at all CF parks, its one of the reasons their per cap was down last year. The park needs to find someway, wither its a flat season pass discount on food (like Busch and Herchland parks) making the meals more of a deal or offering some sort of meal package to get people to spend more.

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The Subway is the best, at CP add a bag of chips and a pop for ONLY $5.95!!! Im sure its right on par with KI. The last two trips to KI i have gone to Taco Bell and Frisch's. I do have the Dback refill cup though and the Maverick Refill cup for CP.

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The Subway is the best, at CP add a bag of chips and a pop for ONLY $5.95!!! Im sure its right on par with KI. The last two trips to KI i have gone to Taco Bell and Frisch's. I do have the Dback refill cup though and the Maverick Refill cup for CP.

CP is home of the $13 footlong. I'm not kidding.

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I may be the exception to the rule here, but I'm not a big fan of complaining about these kinds of charges. The amusement parks are a business and we are a customer - in this relationship, we have a choice as to how we want to act.

  • I have purchased two on-ride photos over the last three years (kids first FOC rides)
  • I eat at the park some times and outside the park some times (have refill cup, limit food intake)
  • I've used a locker at BB once (maybe I'm too trusting)
  • I don't mind waiting in line (I try to pick the better days to go), although I do agree that Fastpass at Disney is great system (and you can have two fastpasses at once - they are ride timed and clock timed)
  • I see parking as part of the cost when going away from KI. I'd prefer to pay one parking bill and four cheaper admissions than four high cost admissions
There are also other things that are more relevant to complain about in my mind - like food quality and healthy options and enforcing park rules ;) .
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