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Cancelled a Trip?

Kings Dominion: Let me guess- GAS.

From Eli Katzman
Posted August 14, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Have to cancel a trip 'cause of gas? Me too! (That was said in a slow, kind of talking-to-a-young-kid kind of voice.) Please share your experiances over time, but mainly this summer.

I didn't get to go to my normal yearly trip to KD this year because of the price of Gas. I usually go with a bunch of friends, but we didn't want to pay the bus price. There were too many of us to drive, so we were shut down. I was REALLY looking up to Dominator, because the only floorless coaster I've ridden before that was Griffon, and Dominator also has the tallest loop in the world (I think). (Now, I've ridden Griffon and Hydra. Ask if you don't know where that is.)

So, please share your experiances that have either been foiled by gas, or just lost WAY too much money on gas this summer going to amusement parks.


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Bo Pedersen
Posted August 14, 2008 at 10:34 AM
I cant even begin to add up the things I havent even bothered to arrange like I normally do because of fuel and other prices.
I usually have 2 or 3 trips to the coast, and a couple of theme parks. but not this year :(

We were supposed to be arranging a Florida trip next year, but thats looking less and less likely :(

From Eli Katzman
Posted August 14, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Did you cancel your trip to Flordia because of airline prices?

From James Rao
Posted August 14, 2008 at 4:11 PM
We canceled our planned trip to Six Flags Saint Louis last week for two reasons:

1) A friend of mine just got back from SFSTL and said that while the new EK coaster is a good one, the park is still a pit;

2) High gas prices.

We have also canceled all trips for 2009 (which stinks cause we were going to hit Branson and Silver Dollar City again), in order to make sure we have enough money saved for our Orlando trip in May 2010.

I just hope gas prices will continue their recent downward trend....

From Bo Pedersen
Posted August 14, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Our florida trip is being cancelled because prices for everything have increased

airline prices are still very good
as the package tour we would get is extremely competitive.

Natural Gas, Electricity, Food and Car fuel are all going through the roof, they are the reason we have to cut back on vacations and other fun stuff

From Derek Potter
Posted August 14, 2008 at 5:53 PM
I understand that gas has been outrageous, but I guess it comes down to this. If I want to go, than I will go. Gas is more expensive, but for a day or two trip to an amusement park, it's a negligible cost.

It cost around 40 bucks to fill my tank up last year, this year it has ranged from 50 to 65 bucks...depending on how bad they want to screw you that week. I get about 23-28 mpg, and about 300 miles on a tank, which will get me to at least a dozen major parks. Surely I can ditch the morning coffee or pack my lunch and save an extra 20 bucks during the week... or find a way to shave costs somewhere else in order to go to the park. If one is going a little further for an extended stay, consider this...all it takes is for your party to forego one of those nights of eating out (usually $50-$100 depending on the size of the party) to pretty much make up for that price increase in gas.

I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, and I want gas to go down too, but I refuse to let the higher prices this year keep me from my rest, fun, and relaxation. It means too much to me. I guess I just find it odd that theme/amusement park enthusiasts would let a somewhat minimal amount of money get in the way of going to the park.

From James Rao
Posted August 14, 2008 at 6:42 PM
Let me add, I would NOT cancel a trip I REALLY REALLY wanted to go on, just because gas costs twice as much as it did this time last year. But canceling a trip to SFSTL, that was easy. I was looking for an excuse to cancel! =)

From Derek Potter
Posted August 14, 2008 at 6:27 PM
That doesn't speak well for Six Flags STL if a day at work or at home in front of the TV is a better option.

From James Rao
Posted August 14, 2008 at 6:42 PM
Hey, it was a beautiful day to mow the lawn. I spent the whole time pretending I was in Florida! ;)

From J Whetzel
Posted August 14, 2008 at 7:38 PM
Surprisingly, no. So far this year I have been to KD 2 times, Hershey once, and the new Hard Rock Park once. We carpooled to KD one time and the second time (less people) we took a more fuel efficient car. Hershey was a trip with a group (I didn't have to pay for gas, so that does not really count I guess). Hard Rock Park was part of a week vacation at Myrtle Beach, so that was not bad either. The nearest park (KD) is almost 3 hours away from me, so trips to them are rather uncommon.

On the good note, at least the prices have been going down!

From Eli Katzman
Posted August 14, 2008 at 9:26 PM
Thanks for the reports, guys, I'm glad that gas is going down too!

But, what are your thoughts on why gas has gone up so quickly? I say that the easy gas to get to, like that was right in front of us, is gone. Now, the oil companies have to dig deeper to get to the gasoline we need. What do you guys think?

From Derek Potter
Posted August 15, 2008 at 10:57 AM
don't get me started...

From Beth Bickar
Posted August 15, 2008 at 2:29 PM
If you take all of the people involved with petroleum: Everyone who digs for it, transports it, manufactures it, sells it, and all of the big oil companies and give each of those people 100% profit, the price we pay is a mere nine cents per gallon. So all of those people are actually getting somewhere in the range of 370% more than they should, varying with location and price. So, to be clear: there is absolutely no reason for gasoline to be over $1, let alone three. This has little to do with amusement parks, but I figured it might be appropriate for this topic anyway. (The previous was a statement given by a sociology professor who did the research).

From Bo Pedersen
Posted August 15, 2008 at 3:39 PM
Hi Eli

Gas (Petrol) prices have risen so much because of speculators playing with the commodities markets, yes people who normally buy and sell other things to make a profit, have been playing with the fuel market, and with the credit crunch property has become less attractive.

in other words, rich fat cats have ruined my year.....again booooo.

now I am off to dream about owning a penthouse in the tower of terror! :)

From Christy Shuman
Posted August 16, 2008 at 4:37 AM
I agree with Derek. Gas prices has not stopped me one bit on the one thing I enjoy most-roller coasters. You only live once. Like Derek said Im not rich by no means, but I can cut costs elsewhere. Like staying in hotels that arent top of line(instead of Hampton inn, stay in a Days inn). Dont eat inside the park etc..

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