Theme Park Savings

Well, the weekend was spent at the parks - we went to the Magic Kingdom Saturday and Sea World last night.

How to save at the Magic Kingdom . . . I've mentioned this before, but I purchase 10 day, no expiration passes online and we use 2 - 3 days a year. My tickets end up costing about $30 a day - big savings over the $70+ for a one day pass! We also save money at Disney on food by: 1 - splitting a double burger and a hot dog meal for lunch - with the toppings bar and ordering an extra bun ($.85), we spend under $20 and get plenty of food for the four of us. We actually didn't eat it all! 2 - order ice water - any restaurant that sells fountain drinks will happily give you an ice water for the asking. If you can't stand Orlando water (I don't mind it myself), just add a drink mix pack - one is the perfect size for the cup. This tip alone will easily save you $10 a day, you'll stay hydrated and you don't have to carry around water bottles! We only had one meal at the park, went home around 3:00, dinner in the condo and returned at 7:00 when the weather had cooled off. Total spent $25 for the day (lunch and a snack).

How to save at Sea World . . . last year we purchased annual passes - they cost us $30 more than a day pass and are good for 365 days from date of purchase. Best part - they include parking ($12 savings a day). We went three times last summer, once at Christmas and will go several times this week. Last night we went about 7:00after dinner, and since the park closed at 10:00, enjoyed most of the rides (no lines that late at night), visited a few of the exhibits and then watched the fireworks. Lunch was at a great BBQ place (local dive) using a coupon in the Entertainment book (purchased for $12 end of the year), split two meals for the four of us. Then we did get Mickey Ice Cream Bars at Downtown Disney on our way home from Sea World. Total spent $26 for the day (lunch and ice cream).