Many amusement parks and special events around the country provide discounts and coupons throughout the year. Ask for the local discount or wait until price discounts are offered for locals. Use your residency to also purchase discount tickets for out of town guests and family. Always keep an eye open for the coupons and specials offered. Some employers offer discounts to their employees; so purchase tickets for your friends and family along with you. Consider purchasing a season pass if you intend to visit a park regularly. If there are several parks owned by the same company, purchase a combination pass for a fraction of the cost for the individual passes. The same idea applies towards other events and activities available across the country.

     Wait to visit parks offering special events around the holidays, such as (Florida's) Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights®, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party® at Disney World®, or the Festival of Lights® at Cypress Gardens®. The events are held at night at a reduced rate compared to the daytime. The crowds are smaller, especially during the early dates of the special event. You will be able to see more of the park than during the day even though the hours for the event are limited. Some of the parks will even provide complementary amenities specific to that event.

     A way to beat the rising cost of admission to amusement parks is to purchase discount tickets that do not expire. Some services, such as AAA®, offer discount tickets to their members that do not have an expiration date. For example, admission to a park may be $42, but the discounted ticket offered by AAA® is $36. After a couple of years, the park admission price rose to $45, but you had purchased a ticket at the discounted price of $36. Therefore, you have thus saved $9 off the admission price for the amusement park.

     The prices to attend some sporting events are high. Look for special promotions throughout a sport's season offering discount tickets. Unfortunately, the discounts are typically offered for the general admission seats located farther from the field of play than the reserved seats. Consider purchasing a cheaper reserved seat offering a less than optimal view, yet better than general admission seats. The seats may not be the best, but they afford you the opportunity to see the sporting event at a cheaper price.

     Another big concern at amusement parks and sporting events is the cost for food and beverages, which is expensive! Consider carrying a backpack containing sandwiches and drinks. Carrying the food is no different than carrying the merchandise you purchased. The difference is that the amount of food carried will reduce throughout the day, while the merchandise will remain the same or increase with new purchases. Keep in mine, many sporting events will search bags preventing you from bringing any outside food.

     The parking at amusement parks and sporting events is yet another additional expense. Some amusement parks will provide free parking to guests staying at one of their hotels, using their public transportation into the park, or guests with a season pass. Sporting events typically have alternate parking offered outside the event's property. You are required to walk a little further, but you will be parking at a discount. You may even be lucky enough to find a parking space at no charge.


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