Are Theme Park Admission Fees Going Up?

Will amusement parks be taking you for a ride this summer? (And I'm not talking about the roller coaster kind.)

This month, after Disney raised the one-day admission price at its Anaheim theme parks by 5.3% (from $76 to $80) and the cost of the three-day pass to visit Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure Park by 8.7% (from $206 to $224), we were a little worried what other parks around the country were doing.

But despite Disney's substantial price increases, amusement park admission fees have barely nudged in recent years. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the average general admission price for 72 parks across the nation -- including both small and large parks, destination parks and regional parks -- was $49.75 as of Spring 2011, rising just about 2% more per year since Spring 2008, when the association surveyed 68 comparable parks.