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Family Vacations: Four Summer Road Trips
Write About Your Amusement Park Vacation
What's Your Favorite Theme Park?

The combination of a weak dollar abroad, rising gas costs, airline uncertainty and new business strategies by theme park owners are making the "amusement park vacation" a more popular option than ever these days. Planning to base your family trip around one or many of the hundreds of fun parks? There are certain precautions you can take to maximize your fun. Here are our helpful tips for keeping the "amusement" in your amusement park vacation.

Research Parks Like You Would a City
The biggest parks are city-like, with sprawling environs, lots to do and see, and folks of all kinds. They have both the delights and the hazards of city life, including traffic and people jams, popular and quiet spots, and good and bad "neighborhoods," restaurants and attractions.

Many amusement parks have entire sections of guidebooks dedicated to them, while some have even earned their own guidebooks (Disney comes first to mind in this case). There is even a publication or two available for the hardcore "parkies." If you're interested, check out the Theme Parks Magazine site.

Don't forget to call ahead or check the park's Web site to make sure your favorite attractions are open and working.

Book Early
The potential trend toward amusement park vacations, along with the debut of several major attractions this summer, will conspire to fill up hotels, flights and reserve-able attractions. If you have your heart set on a certain destination, be sure to book these aspects of your trip well ahead of time.

Money Matters
While many people are choosing to vacation near amusement parks to save money, a day in a theme park almost always costs more than expected. Here are a few tips to help you pinch some pennies.

With $6 hot dogs and $5 soft drinks, lunch could cost you $20 per person, and a day's meals $75 per person or more. When sensible, eat before and after your visit. Research parks that allow you to bring in food to the park or provide a picnic area just outside the gates.

One-day tickets are often extremely pricey. If you purchase multi-day passes, per-day prices begin to drop exponentially.

Contact the local tourist bureau for coupons and discounts. The local tourist bureau can be your best source of unadvertised discounts and deals, and most have some sort of coupon program for local attractions. You can save 10 - 20 percent on entry, meals and more using these enticements.

Check out membership and frequent visitor programs. The benefits of membership can be considerable -- a rule of thumb for Disney, for example, is that if you go twice in a year, the membership pays itself off completely, and you get tons of benefits in addition. Entrance into the San Diego Zoo would cost $82 for a family of four, but if you purchase a Dual Membership at $89, the cost covers membership for two adults in the same household, free admission plus two free guest passes, free rides on the Skyfari, four discount guest coupons, four two-for-one Zoo Bus Tour coupons, a magazine subscription and more. In addition, your membership is fully tax-deductible.

Best and Worst Times to Visit
The best times for short lines: weekdays and mornings, mealtimes, the second business day after a holiday, and in the final minutes before closing time as everyone leaves the park.

Midweek travel (Tuesday - Thursday) is not only good for shorter lines, but is also best for airfare savings.

It's worth getting a handle on park hours. Some amusement parks open before officially advertised opening hours. Disney sets the standard for this practice, permitting members and pass-buyers through the gates an hour early. Do some research on park "fan" sites.

Check into late hours programs. Some parks have special late hours during the summer, or perhaps one day each week -- often Monday, Wednesday or Thursday. For example, the San Diego Zoo has special summer evening hours. Consider, however, that the experience at a park may be very different than in the day -- some rides and attractions may be closed, staffing may be lower and the like. My own visit to the zoo at night found a lot of sleeping animals, and an elder member of our party with poor eyesight strongly prefers the daylight.