Membership Questions

JaysonandKristin

Do any of you ladies hold yearly memberships for local zoos, clubs, museums, etc for the kids?

Where?  How often do you get out there?

We are thinking of asking for memberships for Christmas to Yosemite and the train museum in Sac, any other ideas?   

Does this sound ridiculous as in most places are 5 and under FREE so why would we buy you guys memberships?  

m&m818

We bought one to the Oakland Zoo when it was on groupon. It was at a crazy cheap rate (like 75% off) so it basically paid for itself in one visit. We ended up going about 15 times over the year. Once we even went back to back days, cause we were bored. DD loved going, it was so nice to drop by for an hour or two and not feel pressured to not waste money and stay all day with a cranky kid. The big bonus for us was paid parking with the pass. 

kittylove

We have had few memberships and I like them because we can go for a quick visit or just to see something special (like elmo at the SF zoo). Most of ours I have felt like I got my money worth from them and when I haven't we don't renew.

futrkingsley

We only have one -- to the CA State Railroad Museum in Sac.  That one was such a reasonable price and it did pay for itself in one visit.  We live in SJ and are not members of the Discovery Museum (we've only been once in three years), or Happy Hollow (haven't been at all).  DH and I work and we generally only spend one weekend a month doing a special outing, and rarely like to repeat often enough to make that sort of investment worthwhile for us as a family.  But if either of us were "home" more often, I'm sure we would.

 

Lexi & Orion's Mommy

We did the Oak Zoo and Great America memberships last year. We didnt sign up for any this year, and i am glad because we wouldnt been able to use them as much as we did last year. This year we have had a lot of things going on during the weekends, and DH and i both work, so it would have been a waste to renew.

Not sure about the under 5 being free at most places, i have really only seen under 3?

SportyMrs.23

We have memberships to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo (this also gets us 50% off the Oakland Zoo trips), Children's Discovery Museum, Gilroy Gardens and Great America.

We have already used them all to make them worth their value and more.  

AvaLikeLava

We have a membership to the SF Zoo and CA Academy of Sciences. The SF Zoo one pays for itself after 2 trips (w/ 2 adults), so it's worth it. In addition, having that membership gives you 50% off visits to some other parks in the BA as well (like Happy Hollow), which is another way it pays for itself.

We do CA Academy a handful of times a year, and we have the family plus membership, which allows 4 adults, and kids under 3? to go in on one membership for each visit. Since we tend to go when family/friends are in town it's been a good way to cut down costs. Membership here also lets you go in an hour earlier, which is great for beating the crowds on week-ends.

 

Mrs.BoomBoom

We bought a San Diego Zoo membership and went 3 times while we were in San Diego, so it paid for itself.  I've bought a Happy Hollow membership and we just have to go a couple times to make it pay for itself.  The problem at Happy Hollow is that the membership doesn't include parking (and the parking membership is more than the zoo membership) and I don't really like to park far away (so it's free) and walk in for a short visit.

ModernMomma

We have a membership to the Oakland Zoo, I like it because there are a lot of reciprocal places too (Happy Hollow, CuriOdessey, etc.)

A Fairyland membership that I bought from Mamapedia, I think.

A Monterey Bay Aquarium membership. 

SFAug07

We have a membership for the San Francisco zoo and use it a lot. It paid off after two visits and we have already been 6 times in the last few months. We like to go there on Sunday mornings. The family farm there is a huge hit with her (feeding and brushing goats and sheep).

risysmama

We have membership to the Oakland Zoo, Fairyland and MOCHA.  Now that it's summer, I take the girls to the zoo and fairyland several times a month so it's paid for itself.  We've only gone to MOCHA once.  The parking situation is a PIA and I never seem to have enough quarters to pay for a decent amount of time.