Senior Trip Graduation High School Cost?

Hey, I am a high school senior, and I was planning a senior trip with my friends. So we basically decided that we wanted to go to five amusement parks (crazy, I know) in 7 days, with the two extra days to drive down to LA. The five amusement parks we are looking at are Marine World, Universal Studios, Six Flags, California Adven, and Disneyland. But how much would this cost? My estimation is this:

Each ticket for parks is $40, so $200
Hotel six nights $300
Food, breakfast provided in hotel, but each meal around ten, around 12 meals, maybe extra for our last night, so total $150
Bus, I have no idea how much it costs to rent a bus, but we have around 20 people going so maybe $10 per person if we rent one bus?
And we need taxis to get around to places, now that I have no idea.

So based on that, would something around $650 to $700 seem about right? My estimations may be off, I have never planned an entire trip before, but I will run this through with my parents soon. It would be great if you could give me feedback and tell me if there is anything else I should consider in the costs. Thanks!






Answer :
Wow, you're WAY off.

You should look up the price for each park. Disneyland and California Adventure are connected to each other. One park hopper ticket will get you into both parks. A one-day park hopper is $97. Two days is about $150. Universal is $69. And so on.

Hotel six nights? Where are you staying? Sounds like the ghetto to me! If you check around, you'll see that the average price of a hotel is $100-$200 per night.

Food: Ever eaten in Disneyland? Figure $30-$50 per person per day. But that shouldn't be included in the price of the trip. People should be on their own. So figure about $300 for food.

Obviously, you've never rented a bus to go 1000 miles over 7 days. My guesstimate is abour $5000. And don't forget, you have to get a room for the driver. Did you expect him to sleep on the bus? So about $250 per person.

I figure about $1500 per person. It's WAY more expensive than you think. Do the research.






Answer :
Per person, your estimate sounds feasible. But call the various charter bus companies for their rates. They may even be able to take you around without you having to use taxis.






Answer :
Your are way underestimating your prices on what you are thinking.

1) You can't even rent a mid size car for a week for $200. A bus would be more like several thousand dollars.
2) Hotels anywhere near a theme park are at least $100 per night. Food is pretty expensive around theme parks, too. For example, a bottle of water is about $3 or so.
3) The cheapest park tickets are $40 (Discovery Kingdom), but KBF is $50, Disneyland 2 day park hopper (Cali Adventure) is $150 and Universal is $69 for one day.

here are some other ideas:

First, I would eliminate the bus idea, unless you know someone that owns a bus and someone with a CDL (commercial driver's license) to operate it and go with you.

You might want to consider taking several cars. You might be able to use 3-4 cars (maybe borrow parents' minivans). If it takes you "2 extra days to drive down to LA" I am assuming you are within a day's drive. Gas would be about $100 per car each way if it's around 700 miles and you get over 20 mpg. Caravan together, use cell phones or 2 way radios and take rest stops/gas stops together. It is still fun. I have done this with about 12 people in 3 cars before on spring break.

Four people to a room is still $600 total, maybe more. Your best bet might be to get a hotel right across from Disneyland with free parking. That will knock out two parks with no taxi/bus or parking fees. It might cost a little more for the hotels ($120ish), but it's walking distance and it will save you in the long run. It costs $20 to park at KBF, $10 for the cheap lot at Universal, $15 at Six Flags and $14 at Disneyland if you aren't within walking distance.

Here is an easier way to calculate things.

Hotel = $100-$150 per night (divide by # of people in each room) 6 nights 4/room = $150-225 each
Food = $25 per person per day (that is being cheap) more like $40
Park Tickets = $300 per person
Travel = $40 per person (if you take 5 per car) depends on distance, too
Parking = apx $60 per car for the trip

Last, I would plan your adventure beforehand. What park to do on what days. Keep in mind traffic and busy days (weekends) at the theme parks. You might want to consider leaving on Sunday and coming back on Saturday or Sunday to avoid traffic and busy days at parks. KBF is pretty close to Disneyland, but the others are kind of far.

You might want to relax a bit more, save some money and just hit a few parks. Get a 3 day Disney pass (deals for these around $150) and go to Six Flags and KBF. Universal is OK, but not as fun as the others, IMO. I haven't been to Discovery Kingdom (Marine World). Six Flags has the best thrill rides, but California Adventure overall is my favorite park.