Well, it's that time again. Kings Dominion officially opened for business last weekend (April 2nd). Many kids are watching the ads and begging to go, but parents may be hesitant to fork over a hefty sum to visit the park this year. My husband I worked at KD for several years to pay for college (this is how we met), so you may think I'll encourage everyone to run up to Hanover and pay whatever fee to enter the gates, however we've only had passes twice. Each year we determine what is best for our family. Be sure to discuss the factors below prior to spending money on passes.
- Do you have the dough? Really this should be the first question you ask whenever you are deciding to spend money. If you don't have cold, hard cash, KD passes should not be a priority. If you were to "charge" them (or charge something like groceries b/c you used that money to snag some passes), you could be paying for these years from now.
- Would we get to use them? When all for kids were little, I knew I wouldn't be taking them w/out my spouse. Since he works weekdays and Kings Dominion is super crowded many weekends, we decided to enjoy a back yard pool, trips to the many parks in Henrico county and free movies, etc. This saved us hundreds of dollars each year.
- How much time will you have to spend at the park? If you can plan 5 - 10 trips to the park, the season pass is really a bargain. Over the course of a season, if you spend 30 hours in the park, you'll have spent $2 per hour, per person for entertainment. (Compare to what you'd spend to at a movie theatre for less than two hours or on shoe rental, even with FREE bowling coupons!) Passes can even be cheaper than pool membership....depending on the number of people in your family.
- Can passes replace other activities? For many years our children attended two-week summer day camps with the county's Parks and Recreation Department. Last year, the camps filled while I waited in line, so we offered passes to Kings Dominion instead. We also skipped an annual trip to Overhill Lake and refused to buy State Fair Tickets, chosing to visit Kings Dominion instead. All-in-all, the passes were a great deal for our family. In fact, we will be getting them again this year.
- What will you be spending INSIDE the park? Once you enter the gates, you'll be overwhelmed with the smell of Starbucks, Cinnabon, funnel cakes, fries, pizza and more. There are also gift shops to explore and countless games to be played. Of course all of these cost extra. Establish some guidelines before getting passes, to avoid overspending. (We usually get to the park when it opens, hop on the rides, then head to the parking lot for a picnic. After lunch we go to the water park. At the end of the day, we have snacks in the van. The kids can bring their own money, if they want to.)
If you have determined passes are right for you, decide which passes are best for your family:
- Value Passes are $69.99, Buy 4 or more for $59.99 each (this is the best price, but does not include FREE parking..which is around $10 per visit)
- VIP Passes are $89.99, Buy 4 or more for $79.99 each (these include FREE parking)
- Platinum Pass $165, Buy 4 or more for $155 each (includes FREE parking and FREE admission to ALL Cedar Fair parks, great only if you are planning to visit other parks)
If one person in your family is most likely to be going nearly every time anyone is going, buy a single VIP pass $89.99 and $59.99 tickets for the rest of the family
If you kid's are older and driving, you may need to get everyone a $79.99 pass
NOTE: Pool your order with other families to get the best prices if you family is not large enough to take advantage of Buy 4, Save $10 offers!
Have Fun!
