Top theme park season passes for Long Islanders

Long Island theme parks have rolled out a variety of season passes that just may help make summer fun more affordable. Perks may include free parking, unlimited rides, souvenir cups (and free refills) and discounted passes for friends.

Jessica Horan, 34, of East Northport, says she saves "a ton of money" buying Adventureland season passes for herself and her children, Laila, 5, and Adam, 2. The Farmingdale park keeps the kids "entertained for hours" on visits that occur at least once a week, she says. Horan, who enjoys riding the Turbulence coaster while Laila prefers the Lighthouse drop tower and Adam the NYC Race auto train, says, "There’s something for everyone to do."

If water slides are more your speed, Splish Splash in Calverton offers a selection of season passes that include free parking, a "bring a friend" discount and unlimited summer admission. With the 96-acre park’s 30-plus attractions drawing crowds on hot summer days, season pass holder Jon Lovitch, 49, a gingerbread artist, and his 7-year-old daughter, of Forest Hills, Queens, have a workaround to avoid lines. They visit often for only two or three hours at a time at the beginning or end of the day. They’ll arrive by 9:30 a.m. (the gates open at 10 a.m.) to ride the Bootlegger’s Run water coaster when the park is less crowded, then take a relaxing dip in a wave pool, Lovitch says. As an alternative, they arrive at 3 p.m. when Lovitch says a lot of people have left the park and "we get those last two or three hours without the lines."

Here are  season pass options that can recoup their cost in as little as three visits.

Adventureland

2245 Broadhollow Rd., Farmingdale

• ADMISSION $39.50 ages 25 and up, $51.50 ages 2-24
• SEASON PASS $120 ages 25 and up, $185 ages 2-24. No family pass offered.

• PERKS Season pass perks include park admission, unlimited rides and souvenir cup discounts.

• VALID Through Nov. 1

• BREAK EVEN Three to four visits 

This summer, the park boasts 26 rides and seven attractions including roller coasters and water rides, a double-decker handicapped accessible carousel, and the revamped Ram Pirat Ship.

 

The fun includes magic shows, princess and superhero character visits and performances, and a circus stage show featuring stilt walkers, aerialists, face-painting and animal balloon creations. Stay late for two new attractions: a Saturday Night DJ and drone shows July 17 and Aug. 14. MORE INFO 631-694-6868, adventureland.us

Long Island Aquarium

431 E. Main St., Riverhead

• ADMISSION $37.50 ages 3-12, $52.50 ages 13-61
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY $190 family membership for four (two adults over 18 and two children under 18); only covers aquarium admission.
• PERKS Season pass holder perks for families include a 10% discount on food, retail at Long Island Aquarium Café and City Treasures Gift Shop and events such as family sleepovers and holiday brunches held at the aquarium.

• VALID One year from purchase date

• BREAK EVEN Two visits

Certain passes grant members entry to the aquarium exclusively, while others provide access to the aquarium and butterflies encounter. Other passes include: individual ($90 aquarium only; $110 aquarium and butterflies), college student/senior ($75;$90), couple ($135;$185), senior couple ($125;$155), single parent (starting at $180) and grandparent plans (starting at $165). 

New arrivals have joined the aquarium’s over 5,000 animals including sharks, penguins, sea lions and other native marine life. You'll give a hoot for the Eurasian eagle owl occupying its own new outdoor habitat. Axolotl Mexican salamanders and a painted river terrapin are among the denizens of the Coconut Beach habitat. Dip your toes in the water in the new interactive salt marsh, immerse yourself in the perennially popular butterfly, bugs and bees habitat, and whet your appetite for more at the daily shark and penguin feedings and sea lion presentations.

MORE INFO 631-208-9200, longislandaquarium.com

Long Island Children’s Museum

11 Davis Ave., Uniondale

• ADMISSION $20
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY Wonder Membership: $100 includes one adult and one child. 
• PERKS Season pass holders gain members-only hour on select dates (exclusive time at the museum before general public entry), discounts on events, as well as Nunley's Carousel, birthday parties and at the Museum Store. The pass grants members free admission to more than 350 science museums.

• VALID One year from purchase date

• BREAK EVEN Three visits

Other passes offered are the Imagination Membership ($200) includes four family members and Exploration Membership ($300) six family members.

More than a dozen exhibits include Saltwater Stories, featuring Long Island fish market and bay house recreations; a backyard water play area; a giant bubble blowing interactive attraction and, returning in November, the Winter Village and Sock Skating Rink. Complete your visit with a discounted ride on Nunley’s Carousel or show at the children’s theater.

MORE INFO 516-224-5800, licm.org

Splish Splash Water Park

2549 Splish Splash Dr., Calverton

• ADMISSION Starting at $49.99
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY Bronze Season Pass, which costs $100 per person (a total of $400 for a family of four). Note four summer black-out dates when the passes can’t be used and visitors pay for parking $25 online and $30 in-person.
• PERKS Families who purchase the Bronze Season Pass get 5% off food and retail, and discounted admission to Neon Nights. 

• VALID Through Sept. 7

• BREAK EVEN Two visits with Bronze Season Pass

The pass perks vary by season pass level but can include a souvenir cup with free refills, free parking, free or discounted tickets to Neon Nights and food, retail and cabana discounts. Silver ($139.99), Gold ($149.99) and Platinum ($199.99) include free "bring a friend" tickets.

Popular Splish Splash attractions include the Alien Invasion water slide, the Mammoth River family raft ride and the Stingray Bay water playground featuring kiddie-sized slides and a dump bucket. Keep cool tubing on the Lazy River surrounded by spraying fountains or buoyed by the Kahuna Bay Wavepool’s four-foot waves. Enjoy the park after dark on Neon Nights, when the Bootlegger’s Run water coaster and the Riptide Racer, Bombs Away and Dr. Dark’s Tunnel of Terror water slides plunge guests through the dark into a neon-lit wave pool.

MORE INFO 631-727-3600, splishsplash.com

Bayville Adventure Park

8 Bayville Ave., Bayville

• ADMISSION Starting at $35.75
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY $175 per person. No family discount offered.

• VALID Through Sept. 7

• BREAK EVEN Five visits within the season

Access to the park and unlimited rides are granted to season pass holders.

The colorful theme park overlooking Long Island Sound brims with repeat-worthy fun including a pirate-themed 18-hole miniature golf course, a fun house, the "Lost Temple" maze, a bumper boat lagoon and water slide. Challenge yourself on the "treetop" ropes course or bungie bounce. Watch the little ones ride a train. Cool off at the ice cream and soda shop, arcade, tiki bar or in a water balloon war.

MORE INFO 516-624-7433, bayvilleadventurepark.com

Adventure Park at Long Island

75 Colonial Springs Rd., East Gate, Wheatley Heights

• ADMISSION $79, $69 ages 7-13
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY Adventure Anytime Season memberships cost $775 for two people and $1,050 for three people. But the most economical deal is the four-person membership, at $1,325, which works out to about $330 per person unlimited climbing.

• PERKS Adventurers seeking thrills can purchase the season pass and receive free guest tickets, climbing gloves and 10% off retail store purchases.

• VALID One year from date of purchase

• BREAK EVEN in about four to five visits

Zaheer Master, 47, of Dix Hills, says his children "fell in love with the park" on their first visit to try the 14 trails and 49 zip lines.

Master, president and founder of Accelerated Information Systems, a Hauppauge-based software and consulting company, bought a season pass for the first time this year for himself, his daughter, Liala, 12 and his son Samar, 8.

"It’s a great way for the kids to get out and get some exercise while having a great time. And it’s right here in our backyard," Master says.

MORE INFO 631-983-3844, myadventurepark.com

NYS Parks Empire Pass

• PARKING FEE $8-10 parking fee
• BEST BUDGET PACKAGE FOR FAMILY The $72 digital pass can be used by anyone within a household and there’s no limit to the number of passengers allowed in your vehicle.

• VALID Through Dec. 31

• BREAK EVEN Eight visits

Whether you’re bound for a boardwalk stroll, a fishing expedition or soaking up rays, a NYS Parks Empire Pass pays is worth purchasing. In addition to Long Island's state parks, it can be used at most parks and recreational areas throughout New York State, Rosemary Ginter, Regional Director of Finance for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Long Island Region, says. Ginter says the passes are especially popular with swimmers, surf casters, boardwalk joggers, picnickers, bird watchers and other nature lovers.

The pass provides entry to 33 state parks on Long Island. New this season: basketball courts at Valley Stream State Park and a new dog run at Hempstead Lake State Park in West Hempstead. For quintessential Long Island pleasures, go for a swim or walk the boardwalks at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, Robert Moses State Park in Babylon and Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park. Hike Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Oakdale and visit its historic fish hatchery or stroll the gardens and greenhouse at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay.

MORE INFO parks.ny.gov/visit/passes/empire-pass