I recently took my son to Sea World San Antonio. The tickets alone cost over $90! That was with a coupon! We had a great time. However, I would do one thing differently. The night before, I went online to check if the official website had a better deal than what the coupon would have gotten me. (It didn't) I did see listings for ticket brokers. If I had just planned before the summer season started, I could have gotten the tickets for much less. That is my reccomendation. I did do some things that save money and time while we were there. I am going to assume these tips apply to most theme parks. The night before, do your homework. Check the park's website for a map and show listings. Especially at Sea World, some shows get crowded fast and you want to get to the venue 20 minutes early. (We were able to get great seats for Shamu while others were turned away) Set up a game plan, but keep it loose. We had planned to go to a show that was cancelled for the day. Also, pack your lunch the night before. A large lunch box with space for frozen gel packs was plenty for us to pack two sandwiches, chips, 2 canned drinks, and oranges. I have to stress doing this the night before. Your family will be too excited to help and you will probably be thinking about all the things you need to take or not take in the morning. Next, eat a big protein rich breakfast. You will be doing a great deal of walking and standing in line. Starting with a full tummy will help to keep the munchies away. Get to the park at lest 15 minutes before they open (I reccomend 30). Most theme parks are anchored just outside of major city so you should anticipate the traffic also. Go ahead a splurge on the preferred parking. For us, that meant $18 instead of $12. By being there early, we were just across the street from the entrance. Doing this had two advantages: 1. When we were exhausted when we were done for the day and the short walk kept us from getting too grumpy 2. We didn't have to walk too far for our packed lunch. This was acceptable because lunch in the park would have cost almost $10 a piece! This brings me to the other money eater:concession. A soda in a souvenier bottle was almost $5! The refills would have been $2! Now, you are not allowed to bring food or drink in. However, if your young ones want a souvenier, hand them a disposable camera and let them make their own souveniers. (This also helps you to bypass the photogs at the entrance. $16.99 for 2 keychains!) All the theme parks I've been to have water fountains. You may have to walk past several concession stands, but with the heat here in Texas and elsewhere, they are a necessity. If your young ones complain about not buying stuff, have a talk with them the night before about how some of the money that will be saved by not buying stuff, could go towards playing the carnival games. Which brings me to when to go. We went on Monday. This worked out great! The park had much fewer people than if we went on the weekend. The lines were short or non existent. Also, we played games that required at least two people to play. If your family is the only ones playing at least somebody will win! Well, that's my experience. Theme parks are fun time for families, but are getting too expensive. With some effort and planning, it can be less painful and more fun.
