family entertainment?

[houseelf]

Has anyone noticed how expensive entertainment has become? I thought that I would purchase Disney on Ice-Toy Story Two tickets for this weekend. The tickets were advertised at $13 a piece. This seemed a little pricey, but we rarely do things like this and this would be a fun splurge. When I called to buy two tickets, Ticketmaster added on facility usage fees, convenience charges, and sales taxes. I could hardly justify spending $40 for tickets plus downtown parking fees for an hour of entertainment for my two year old. It kind of sucks because my two year old lives for Buzz and Woody.



I guess that I shouldn't be too surprised, my dh and I continually are shocked at the price of baseball and hockey tickets, Chuck-E-Cheese admissions, and amusement park fees. Seriously, how do normal families afford this? These prices seem exorbitant. Does the average American family spend a couple hundred or a couple thousand dollars a year on entertainment? Just curious.



Kelly

I know exactly what you are talking about Kelly. We hardly ever go anywhere because the prices are so expensive and being that I have four kids .... it gets a little ridiculous. We just can't go to the theme parks (maybe once a year if we really save up) or even minature golfing. The zoo is still a decent price and I try to go on field trips with my kids school classes because I can usually bring Dallin along and they pay for my admission if I chaperone. That only happens with my son's preschool but we got to go to a farm last week and to the Wildlife Zoo next week. I am always surprised at how much people spend for their kids activities. The big thing here is summer camp and I can't believe how expensive they are.



The good thing with all this though is that you have to be more creative and I think those experiences sometimes make more memories. My family never had a lot of money but I have great memories of camping at the ocean and I know it was fairly inexpensive. In the meantime, I can always hope to find a GREAT deal



Robin

[DCJenn]

Move to DC! The national museums and the zoo are FREE! I get so annoyed when I have to pay for mediocre exhibits and lame zoo experiences now. I've been spoiled. (Of course the cost of living fo reverything else is really high in DC...)



Jenn

I hear you all....my hubby and I rarely even go to a movie together if given the chance (which is rare) because even going there seems ludicrously expensive after you pay 7$ a piece for tickets and then shell out another $10 for drinks and popcorn (for the SMALLS)!



It is a shame that so many things for children and families have become so pricey. Kelly, there should be some consumer group where you could file a complaint about that...they are advertising $13 but the end result after their hidden little fees is $40? That sounds fraudulent (or am I just on my high horse this week?)



I have to say that the thing that I like about SnoopyLand at Mall of America here is that you can walk through for free, enjoy a little bit of "spring" and then choose to only spend a small amount by purchasing tickets for just a few rides for the kids. Last time we went, the kids carried on as if we were going to Disney and we spent only ~20$.



We wait for kid's movies to trickle down into our dollar movie theater and then get the kids excited about going.....I'm notorious for bringing snacks in my purse/diaper bag and so it stays inexpensive.....



But you can hardly replace Toy Story on Ice with the $1 movie



Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

[houseelf]

Jenn-



I absolutely love D.C. because of the beauty of the monuments, the museums, Virginia is near by....I have told my dh that this is one of the areas that I want to target when we finish (whenever that may be!)

Robin--

I honestly think that people actually do spend this kind of money on entertainment. To me, this kind of price has "grandparent" written all over it. Unfortunately, the grandparents live to far away to take our son to this event.



Some of the things that we do to defray family entertainment costs 1) we joined the Children's museum as part of Cade's Christmas present and now we go for about an hour once a week; 2) we do a lot of playdates; 3) we go on trips to the library instead of Blockbuster or bookstores; 4) eating out means appetizers or salads and no drinks; 5) we go to garage sales or drive around and look at homes for sale for a fun Saturday morning; 6) we sign our son up for swim or other classes so as to avoid admission fees for the whole family for a single occasion.



Being the mother of four, I know that you have learned a few tricks of the trade as well. Do you have any suggestions?



Kelly