Best Discounts? Season Pass?

Kings Island

Hey Mr. Theme Park, everywhere I look I see theme park discounts. Most of the regional theme parks offer online discounts and push the heck out of their own season passes. Which is the best for me and my family? There are 4 of us and we like to visit several times a year.

-Kevin T. from Richmond, Virginia

Well Kevin, you are among the majority of people who visit theme parks. Last year, over 375 million people visited leisure attractions in the USA. Season pass programs have grown in both popularity and value. 25 years ago, season passes accounted for about 5% of a park’s annual attendance. Today, season passes in most regional theme parks can be responsible for as much as 45-50% of a park’s total attendance.  In 2009, season pass attendance at all Six Flags theme parks accounted for 30% of the total.  In 2014, that number increased to 50%.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Keep in mind parks continuously offer premiums to their season pass programs; they offer silver, gold, and platinum statuses. There are now monthly membership programs like a gym membership.  Different levels offer special advantages like free parking, bring a guest for free during the season, free soft drinks, and special discounts on park purchases. There are a ton of different options available.

Today, in most regional parks a season pass costs about what it costs to visit 2 times during a season. So if you know your family will visit more than 2 times, you can save money on several different fronts as indicted.

Kentucky Kingdom

One more thing, early adopters often times get special advantages. Parks want to have buyers purchase early so they can gauge the upcoming season, thus having a good idea about their projected performance. A lot of parks have structured payment plans as well to make it more palatable for families. Take advantage if your park has this program. It is a great way for a large family to not have to “eat all the elephant in one bite”. All in all, season passes and memberships offer great value to the frequent user.

Kings Island

Let’s take a look at some of the early pass programs offered today for the 2016 season.

Six Flags theme parks begin selling 2016 passes September 3 and were not included in this report.  Prices are subject to change.  Please verify with each park.  

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