Living near an amusement park

[HayGan]

Ok - I'll admit it - I'm an amusement park junkie!!! I love them especially the roller coasters I've passed along my addiction to my boys (5 & 3 years old) When I was a kid, we usually only went to Kennywood once or twice a year. So far my boys have been to Idlewild 2 times and Kennywood 4 times THIS YEAR (I've also been to Cedar Point ). And we are going to go to Kennywood again tonight!!! We have season passes for Idlewild so there we get in for free and we get into Kennywood for $7.50 after 6pm any evening.

DH thinks I'm taking away the excitement of going to the park by going so often. I think that it is a great way to get out, exercise and have fun for very little $$$. We take along snacks and drinks and very rarely do we play games, so it is an evening out for all of us for less than $40! It costs us more than that to go to the movies! (BTW, DH is at all day bachelor party - golf and other testosterone activities so my parents are going with me tonight. DH's day is much more expensive than our night will be )

How many of you live close to an amusement park & how often do you go? Am I spoiling my boys by taking them so often?

 

[supercarrie]

I actually live closest to the DL Resort, about 7 miles away. I have an AP as does almost everyone in my family/group of friends. (They either have APs or work there!) We go VERY often (was just there last night in fact), usually for just a couple hours at a time or so. Although it spoils us in the sense that we don't like waiting in long lines anymore, the AP has more than paid for itself in entertainment costs. We only occasionally eat in the park, usually just go either in the morning after breakfast before it gets too crowded or at night after dinner, and spend a few hours relaxing.

 

[Metro West]

I live about 10 mins from Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure and I love it! I'm a coaster junkie too and love to hop over for the Hulk, Dueling Dragons and ROTM, have dinner and head home. Orlando is wonderful!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We live near Disneyland and go there a lot - sometimes we go through periods of not going at all, but since May 5 of this year I've been there almost 10 times - not the whole day, though.

Sometimes we get burned out, but there are a lot of times we like to soak up the magic.

 

[amid chaos]

We lived so close to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, we used to ride our bikes there.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I live close to Disney but go to Universal more often. In the beginning, I use to go all the time, but now I don't go as much. I also work at Universal so I get kinda tired of spending my off days there. It feels good that you don't have to rush and be one of those exhausted sweaty tourists with the map and backpack. This evening I'm heading to Epcot for dinner.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

I live near Paramounts Kings Island - and worked there as a teenager - we always hung out there - I didn't care what the lines were like - we just went to hang out -

and now I take mykids there - passes are cheap and they think it is a HUGE thrill!! there is a water park - which isn't so great now but once they are older it will be great!!!

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I live in the same town as an amusement park. I haven't been there in about 9 years.

 

[safetymom]

I live close to WDW and go all the time. It's nice to just pop in and out. I don't have to spend the entire day if I don't want to.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

We live 1 hour from Canobie Lake Park in NH. We hardly ever go! LOL

Since my kids have been born, we go to Disney quite often, so we don't spend money on any other amusement parks.

this year, we are going to go to Six Flags New England. That is about 2 hours away.

 

[boo's mom]

I go to an amusement park-Paramounts Kings Dominion- everyday (well except for the weekends). In fact, they pay me to go there..otherwise, I wouldn't go there...well maybe once or twice

 

[HayGan]

I don't have to spend the entire day if I don't want to.

That is what is so nice about our discount (with our Idlewild annual pass) at Kennywood! We get to go at really reduced rates ($7.50 vs. $28.95) for a few hours in the evening! It is just enough time to ride our favorite rides a few times and head back home. Plus the crowd is smaller and the lines are much shorter - not to mention the cooler temps! To me it is the perfect summer evening!

 

[cstraub]

I live near Paramounts Kings Island - and worked there as a teenager - we always hung out there - I didn't care what the lines were like - we just went to hang out -

and now I take mykids there - passes are cheap and they think it is a HUGE thrill!! there is a water park - which isn't so great now but once they are older it will be great!!!

We also live about 20 min from Paramount's Kings Island. We have season passes and go all the time. We have been at least 10 times this year. Sometimes we go to the water park and other times we go to the regular park. I have had a season pass since I was born (same year the park opened) and so had my DH and I can say that we are not spoiled by it. I love theme parks!! My kids have grown up there too and they still love to go to any theme parks.

We spent my DH's 40th bday last year at Cedar Point riding the fastest, tallest roller coaster in the world (at the time).http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/inside_park/rides/thrill/ttd/specs/index.cfm. We had a blast! We love coasters!!

We have been to WDW 3 times already in 2005 and are going to Ocean city Maryland (37 block boardwalk)this month and Disneyland in August. Basically, we just can't get enough!!

 

[simba928]

We never go to Kennywood, even though we live somewhat close to it. I have been to Disney World more times than Kennywood.

 

[Amy]

HayGan - I grew up in West Mifflin, now live in Monroeville. I remember my parents taking us to Kennywood quite often in the summer, back when it was actually FREE to get in! We'd go at least once a month (maybe more often) just to play putt-putt golf.

Now that I'm older, I find that I'm satisfied with Kennywood once a year, for our school picnic. Now that DS is in marching band, we go once more to see the band in the Fall Fantasy parade. The company I work for has a yearly Kennywood picnic; sometimes I go, and sometimes I don't. This year I don't think we're going. I think the problem is that our school picnic, the band trip and the company picnic are all on Saturdays, and I hate the long lines for the rides!

I've often wondered if I'd feel like this if we lived close to WDW. Would I get tired of going so often? Sure would like to find out!!

 

[safetymom]

I used to live about 1/2 hr from Kennywood when I lived in the North Hills. I was content to go to Kennywood about once a year. Now that I live close to WDW I am there all the time.

 

[Figment22]

As a kid, I grew up in a town right next to Palisades Amusement Park. We used to go a lot during the summer. Back then they didn't have pay one price. You paid a small admission fee and then paid per ride. My grandpa was a friend of some bigwig at the park and I had a handwritten pass that let me go on any ride I wanted for free. I felt like such a VIP! Every year there was a school picnic for all the kids who went to school in the surrounding communities. And we all used to go swimming the the "World's Largest Saltwater Pool." Sadly, Palisades Amusement Park closed in 1971 (yes, I'm old!) Ah, memories of youth.

 

[SamRoc]

Thanks Figment22 for that link to Palisades Amusement Park. I am now listening to the theme song and having some fun memories. I was actually in the "Little Miss America" contest when I was little! It was a great memory. Even though I was a runner up and not a winner, it was such a fun day, and looking at that website brought all those great memories back of standing on that stage and "taking a bow". PS getting back to the original post, in the summer I live very close to Point Pleasant New Jersey, which is a great place to take your family to.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

I live 10 minutes from Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We have season passes so we go pretty often

 

[saucymb]

DH and I live about 10 minutes from Carowinds in Charlotte, NC. We go when he gets off of work in the evenings sometimes, and truly enjoy it. The water park is fun. However, I do sometimes feel sort of like a traitor for enjoying a non-Disney park, though Carowinds cannot possibly compare to WDW. In fact, my DH reminds me of this often! So we splurged for the Seasonal Passes, as we are new to town and literally don't know anyone except his co-workers, and this gives us something to do that's not expensive so we can save money for our next WDW vacation. We're aiming for the Beach Club.