Attractions and Events
My best advice for saving on attractions and events is to never, ever wait until you arrive at your attraction to buy tickets, and certainly don’t buy them direct from the location unless there is no other choice. We are planning trips to Disney, Legoland and various other places in San Diego over the next year. In the course of researching the cost, I’ve discovered more ways to save than I thought possible.
Purchase a Go! card.
For our Legoland adventure, my son’s 4th birthday gift, we discovered the Go! San Diego card (available for a dozen major cities and over 400 attractions!). Jackpot!
This card costs less per person than tickets to Legoland and will get the bearer in to Legoland plus 54 additional attractions for FREE, unlimited visits, including nearly every amusement park in San Diego (save Disneyland of course) for any number of days from 1-7. The card also works as a coupon at hundreds of restaurants and hotels. The big bonus was the amusement park entry. That alone will save us $150-$200 dollars on admission to other attractions we wanted to visit.
Purchase an annual membership.
Purchasing an annual membership to an attraction (local or otherwise) that you like to visit may also save you money. This decision will require some math, but I can tell you that we’ve saved tons of money and had lots of fun by purchasing annual memberships or passes.
We’ve purchased annual family memberships to children’s centers, zoos and museums and our local science center. These passes have all paid for themselves in just a few visits and we often get special offers, passes to events and other fun stuff. Typically, we only have to use the pass three times before it pays for itself.
Track down coupon books for your destination.
Coupon books are available from a variety of sources. Sometimes tracking one down just takes knowing the right people to ask, but there is always the Entertainment Guide which offers great deals on dining, travel and attractions including two-for-one deals). To save money on vacation, simply purchase a book for the city you are visiting. You will have to plan ahead so you receive the book and have time to look through it before arriving at your destination. The books typically cost between $20 and $40 dollars (right now the 2009 books are on clearance nearly FREE!) and just one two-for-one attraction offer could earn your money back!
Be sure to tune in for the final part of this series for tips to save on accommodations, coming soon.
