Welcome back to Survey Says, in which we share some of the random, absurd, and occasionally useful polls from the world of travel.
File this one under news you might be able to use, if you like crowds, roller coasters, and getting your steps in: FamilyDestinationsGuide.com analyzed the cost of hotels, tickets, food, transportation and — for some reason — the price of reusable branded water bottles, to give us a list of the top budget-friendly amusement parks for families.
As for methodology, FamilyDestinationsGuide.com based its results on families of four with two adults and two children under the age of 9, determining the average daily price that guests would pay if they visited between June 4-12. Food costs were based on the cost of a cheeseburger and soda for adults and similar kids meals when they were offered. Transportation costs included the cost of an Uber from the airport to the hotel and back. The hotels chosen included breakfast, two large beds, and a free shuttle to the park or were a short walking distance. And the park tickets were the lowest price available on the chosen day. “To keep things fair,” FamilyDestinationsGuide.com said, “the seven-day price was tallied and then divided to give a per-day value.”
Kings Island in Ohio came out on top, with an average daily total of $368.20 for the family. That was a full $312.76 below the average. Kings Island had the lowest daily food expenditure at $26.32 and the lowest average cost for park tickets at $159.96 per day.
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Here’s the rest of the top 10 least-expensive amusement parks for families and how much it would cost to visit for a day:
2. Silver Dollar City, Stone County, Mo., $578.01
3. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, $585.27
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4. Walt Disney World Resort (all park access), Orlando, $603.32
5. Universal Studios, Orlando, $607.62
6. Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, $619.54
7. Busch Gardens, Tampa, $628.96
8. Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, Calif., $632.63
9. Hersheypark, Hershey, Pa., $648.65
10. Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure Park, Anaheim, Calif. $681.83
Chris Morris can be reached at christine.morris@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @morrisglobe.