Spending at Theme Parks: The best way to have way too much month at the end of your money
If you’re anything like me, any trip anywhere is going to include some sort of shopping. This is especially a weakness of mine when I’m spending a day at a Theme Park. As soon as you walk into any park, I promise you will be within 10 feet of a gift shop in any given direction. If you are a shopper don’t plan your budget and prioritize your spending you WILL end up the way I did in December of 2012 with no money to your name for food and more souvenirs/ gifts than I will admit…. This was a Theme Park fail on my part which I can proudly say I have not encountered since. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a college student. I’m in my final semester of school currently and between paying for rent, my car and insurance, books and other costs of living I definitely cannot afford another December of 2012 incident. So, here is my two step plan to help you save money when you visit Theme Parks!
I know, it doesn’t sound fun at all, you want to go to the parks and feel free to enjoy yourself without worrying about your spending. In the end, it’s better to keep track of your spending a bit while you’re having fun than being so stressed out until you get paid again that you are eating ramen and ice water for every meal. I personally plan two budgets when I go to the parks to trick myself into spending less.
My “first string” budget is a dotted line to where I SHOULD spend. For example I will restrict myself to $50 for one or two days to tell myself “seriously Chelsea this is for your NEEDS”. This number is going to be the amount you can spend without feeling like you will need to limit yourself when you come home, you shouldn’t look twice at spending this much, and if you do you’ve set your dotted line too high up.
My “bench budget” is my SOLID line. You can spend up to $xx without breaking the bank. I will generally save a bit before going to the park if I think I’m going to use my bench budget. Maybe cut out some frivolous items here or there to allow yourself the extra room when you’ll need it. There is usually a big gap between my dotted line and my solid line and that is just my preference. If you want your dotted line to be $50 and your solid to be $75 more power to you, you are stronger than I am. I get ridiculously excited about souvenirs so I don’t have that kind of strength. If you need to bring multiple cards, funnel money into a separate account or even pull out cash from your bank and only bring that and an emergency card (because a budget doesn’t mean you wont hit a speed bump) do that.
2. Learn how to stick to your budget.
2A: Eating, because there is no avoiding that….
If you’re going to the parks for a few days, for health and financial reasons please do not eat every meal at the parks. (You'll thank me for this later) Maybe have one or two special meals at the park or recommend everyone goes after the park to eat somewhere cheap and still fun (Steak N Shake, Cicis etc.) If you do choose to eat at the parks, try to order something less expensive and smaller. You won’t want to eat a super heavy meal if you’re out in the sun all day.I will generally eat of the kids menu if the cashier will allow me (don’t get mad if they don’t, they aren’t always supposed to but if you ask nicely they may allow you) this gives me plenty of food still and costs half as much as an adult meal. If you do want a normal meal, ask if a friend will split it. Generally adult meals at the parks are really large and you’ll end up throwing food away or trying to overeat to keep from wasting money.
If you can avoid paying for drinks. I cannot state this enough: CUPS OF ICE WATER ARE FREE AT ALL THEME PARKS. Don’t be afraid to ask! An employee would rather get you 15 cups of water than watch you pass out from heat exhaustion and have to spend your day in First Aid.
2B: Souvenirs, what do you actually need?
When I’m shopping at the parks I try to keep in mind what is unique. Many times, things you’ll see at the parks can also be found online or in stores like Walmart or Target. A good example of this is plushes, unless it is a unique plush to the park or for a child, control yourself! Some plushes you can find anywhere would be basic Minnie and Mickey, Pooh, animals like Cheetahs, Lions, Monkeys Dolphins etc. If it look like a basic Gund plush you will more than likely find it at Walmart for half the price. Save your souvenir budget for unique items you may only find at the parks. This can be difficult because there are so many unique items, and a lot of work goes into stocking stores with updated products. There are teams of people that work for the parks that this is their sole job. These products are planned for sometimes an entire year in advance and these teams work hard to ensure everything in their stores is appealing to guests. My weakness is Pandora beads. Disney has Pandora products at most of its parks and they offer many “park exclusive” beads that cannot be bought anywhere else. I will limit myself to a certain bead and save for that specific bead so when I go I know I can afford it.
If you don’t have an interest in something like Pandora I recommend picking a smaller item to collect and sticking with it. This can give you something fun to do while you are at the parks too. I have a friend that collects the pressed pennies from all of the parks she goes to. These penny machines can be found at EVERY theme park and this is a quick 51 cent souvenir to collect. If you’re crafty you can do something with the pennies to create a collage for your room flaunting all of your park visits. Another good idea is pins or pens. Every time I go to Disney I get a new Pen that’s shaped like Mickey because they’re cute but there are so many different ones to choose from. These pens are around $5 each and they make a cute park specific gift for a friend as well. Pin trading is also a huge deal because you can purchase a huge pack of trading pins online then trade them at the park with other guests and Cast Members for free. (Be warned pin trading is highly addictive)
If there is a souvenir you want that isn’t within your budget on this trip, keep in mind these items don’t usually come in for a short time frame and disappear. Many items are park staples, and the planning and buying process for parks to have these items ensures that they will have ample supply for a decent time frame. As I mentioned earlier, many parks order these items a year in advance after careful planning and budgeting so they can control supply and demand of the product. If you don’t get that item you’ve been eyeing on this trip, it’s likely they will still have it next time.
As with anything in life, you may fail the first couple of times that you set up your budget lines and that’s okay! It took me a few tries clearly (revisit Dec 2012) but now I have pretty decent control of my spending. Just be sure to bring an emergency form of payment even though you want to restrict yourself, because there may be times you’ll go over or have an emergency and if you only brought $50 cash and a smile you will be either in big trouble or depending on your friends for money (and no one wants to have to do that) So just be smart and plan ahead.
