Saving Money at Amusement Parks

by Jamie Rhein on

In the past two weeks my daughter has headed to Cedar Point (with the school percussion ensemble), Kings Island (with her track team) and Fort Rapids, an indoor amusement park (for an end of the 8th-grade bash) and my five-year-old son wants to know when it’s his turn. He has a point, but there’s the cost to consider. Because my daughter went on school trips, she didn’t pay full price. Now, we’re searching out some other deals for us.

There are some. If you want to head to an amusement park this summer, before you pull out your wallet to pay full price at the admission gate, check out some of these money-saving options.

Buy your tickets on-line or look for deals at grocery stores. Here is a link to Cedar Point’s discount ticket information. Cedar Point is located in Sandusky, Ohio. One way you can save money is to get 14 other people to go with you. For groups of 15 or more, you can save more than $10 a ticket. We have done this before. Once at Kalahari Water Park, also in Sandusky, we found out that if we had a birthday party we could all get free pizza and a drink along with discount tickets. It was no one’s birthday, but we’re not picky.

Kings Island, located between Columbus and Cincinnati has discount tickets available at Kroger grocery stores and online right now. The online price is for advance sales so you can’t buy these on the same day you’re going. Plan ahead. For a great deal on food, add the all you can eat barbeque. Last year we had a friend who had discount tickets through work. The barbeque was included. It was a lot of food and good. Other grocery stores around th U.S. often have discounts–so do banks. Ask around.

Right now, on the Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park site, you can buy a one day ticket and get the second day free. Or you can try Rahim Rahman’s method in the picture. Lots of luck with this one. I’d let him in.

Here are four Web sites to help you find discount tickets near you. I found the above deals by looking on the park’s sites and poking around.

For more discount ideas, check out: How to Save Money at Amusement Parks. Now, all I have to do is remember my own advice.

Hiking Mt. Fuji Before Sunrise

by Jamie Rhein on

A few days ago, I wrote a post about traveling in the Sahara, the favored trip of my adult ESL students. One of the trips that caught my attention was the hiking to Mt. Fuji at night. The intention of this endeavor is to arrive by sunrise.

This travel experience is not a solo endeavor. The article in Budget Traveler mentioned the dozens of people who do the same thing. Mt. Fuji, considered to be sacred, is a bit of a poke from the bottom to the top, 12,388 feet, but it’s doable for even unseasoned hikers. Taking one’s time and drinking plenty of water are imperative and there are rest stops with shack like buildings scattered along the way where, if need be, you can lie down and rest.

The Budget Traveler article mentioned people buying oxygen bottles to help them breathe towards the top, but another article in the New York Times, a first person account, doesn’t say a thing about that. For a quick nuts and bolts overview of the trip up Mt. Fuji, head to Budget Traveler. For an experiential journey, Kathy Glass’s article in the New York Times captures the sites and feelings of the assent and descent, and some tidbits of Mt. Fuji history. For example, women weren’t allowed to climb the mountain until 1867. Her descriptions of interactions with the landscape and the people she met on the way is a read to savor.

Sahara Desert Tours: Consider Morocco

by Jamie Rhein on

Recently, a group of English as a Second Language adult students I teach picked a trip in the Sahara desert as the one they would most like to take. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps, they thought it was better than the other three choices-posts on those later.

The group read this article from the magazine Budget Travel, also on-line. According to the article, Morocco is a good place to join up with a Sahara tour. Here’s a link to company that does them. I’m including this one because it offers some interesting information on the Sahara and desert travel in Morocco. Also, here’s a well done slide show in video style with music by romodro that sets the mood and brings you to Morocco from wherever you are.

The Smart Traveler’s Passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers

by Willy Volk on

In The Smart Traveler’s Passport, you’ll learn, oh, about 399 tips from Budget Travel’s readers, including:

  • 13 different uses for Ziploc bags.
  • How dental floss can double as a tape measure.
  • Where to find the best street food in a city.
  • How a digital camera can help you find your rental car.
  • How to avoid long lines at popular attractions.

Designed to look and feel like an actual passport, the 400th tip is that if someone demands you hand over your passport, just give them your copy of this book and run like hell. Hopefully, you’ll be far enough away before they realize what’s what.

For more tips, check out Budget Travel’s announcement of the project. Erik Torkells, if you’re reading, Gadling would love a copy to review…

Cruise on a Cargo Ship

by Jamie Rhein on

Here is a ship option cruise without the glamour. If you have a bit of time and don’t mind not being entertained an d not having a wealth of food options available round the clock, cargo ships are another way to journey on the high seas. According to this article I came across, for the people who’ve found this mode of travel, they’re hooked.

The slow pace and lack of distractions gives one time to catch up on reading material or sleep. There’s no late night buffet to get to or ship event that calls you out of your cabin. There’s just cargo and crew who have work to do. The one downside I can see is that, in general, you don’t stop at a port for more than an hour or so. This means few jaunts to shore. That could keep costs down though. No port trips. No shopping.

The average costs of a cargo trip are $100 per day (or less) and a trip can take anywhere from 10 days to 120, if your aim is to make it around the world.

If you go to Maris Freighter & Specialty Cruises website, you’ll find sample itineraries of various trips this shipping company makes. Trips go all over the globe. It’s fun to look at the itinerary and dream. Another cargo line the article mentions is Freighter World Cruises, Inc. It also has itineraries and prices.