Methodology
The theme parks included in this ranking include those that are located in California and are most searched by travelers using HomeToGo.com with travel dates between June 1st, 2023 and August 31st, 2023. In order to rank these theme parks, we researched 5 data points: the price of entry, the price of parking, the price of a nearby accommodations, the number of roller coasters, and the number of other attractions. After obtaining the raw data, we combined the data points into either Total Cost or Total Attractions and assigned each them a representative numerical value between 0 and 20, with 0 representing the lowest data point and 20 representing the highest data point. The hypothetical "perfect score" would be 40 out of 40. We used the following equation in order to calculate this for every factor:
Score(i) = 20 · (x(i) - xmin ) / (xmax - xmin )
Affordability Score
Total Cost: Entry + Parking + Accommodation
Entry: Online price for an adult 1-day, any day entry ticket in the peak season. If dynamic pricing was enabled, June 3rd 2023 was used as the dummy date.
Parking: Online price for 1 day of regular parking, purchased in advance, as listed on park website. If dynamic pricing was enabled, June 3rd 2023 was used as the dummy date.
Accommodation: Median nightly price per person to stay in an accommodation found nearby on HomeToGo.com between the dates of June 1st, 2023 and August 31st, 2023.
Attractions Score
Total Attractions: Roller coasters + Other Attractions
Roller coasters: Based on the number of active roller coasters listed on coasterpedia.com.
Other attractions: Based on the number of rides, experiences, exhibits, and simulations listed on coasterpedia.com.
Research was conducted during May 2023. Processing fees and taxes not included. For additional information and interview requests, please contact [email protected].