With the onset of spring many of us might be considering a day out with family and/or friends. A favourite destination for a fun day out is one of the theme parks either here in Belgium or just across the border in The Netherlands or Germany. Theme park tickets aren’t cheap, especially if you pay at the entrance. However, you can often make big savings by purchasing your tickets in advance. The cheapest tickets are often to be found on third-party websites.
VRT News’ consumer team provides some top tips on how to save cash when purchasing your tickets for a day of thrills, chills and spills.
Timing is of the essence
Prices can often vary according to when you buy the ticket and when you wish to visit the theme park. Tickets are often more expensive during the school holidays than during term time. Some theme parks have special evening opening times. Here you can visit the attractions for a few hours from the early evening at a lower price than if you had bought a ticket for the whole day.
A birthday can also be a good time to visit a theme park. For example, the De Efteling theme park just over the border in the Dutch province of North Brabant, gives subscribers to its newsletter a price reduction of 13.25 euro during their birthday month and during the first 15 days of the month that follows. You have to take at least 1 other person and no more than 5 other people with you in order for you and your guest to benefit from the price reduction.
Bellewaerde Aquapark in West Flanders also offers special prices to those celebrating their birthday. Check the site of the theme park you wish to visit to see if they give any birthday offer.
Cheaper tickets at certain times
At certain times of the year theme parks offer advance sale tickets at a reduced price. Gunther Devisch of the thrift group Promojagers told VRT News that this is the case "At the start and the end of the season in particular. In March and April, they offer promotional prices to get the season off to a good start and in September they try and give the end of the season one last push.”
Some theme parks offer cheaper tickets to those that purchase them in advance via their website. Theme parks including Walibi, Plopsaland and Phantasialand in German offer price reductions to those that book in advance. Sometimes you can save tens of euro by booking in advance for set date.
Signing up to a theme park’s newsletter can also save you money. By doing this you remain up to speed on special promotional campaigns, including those that are for “’members only”. But don’t forget that when you sign up to a newsletter you are paying with your personal data. It’s best to check first what the theme park intends to do with this.
Third-party vendors are often cheaper
There are also many third-party vendors of theme park tickets. Websites such as Pretparkdeals, Tripper, Groupon and SocialDeal often offer cheaper tickets than those that available on the theme parks’ websites. These can be as much as between 15% and 40% cheaper but as always, its best to read the terms and conditions before making a purchase.
Auction sites such as VakantieVeilingen also sell theme park tickets. Prices vary greatly according to demand. Decide in advance how much you are prepared to pay and don’t forget that auction sites also charge an auction fee. In the case of VakantieVeilingen this is 6.50 euro.
Gift tokens such as Bongo can also prove to be cheaper than what you would have to pay for a ticket at the entrance to a theme park. Some supermarkets also run promotional campaigns offering cut-price theme park tickets under certain conditions.
As always it is important to read the small print before purchasing through a third-party vendor. Sometimes the offer only applies if you buy more than one ticket or is only applicable on certain days.
Save money by taking you own food
The sale of food, drink and souvenirs is an important part of a theme park’s business model. The food and drink on sale there is often much more expensive than it would be at your local fast-food restaurant or sandwich shop. But why not take take your own food with you? By taking a flask and a sandwich box with you, you can not only save quite a bit of money but also ensure that you have a healthy lunch.