A typical family with parents and their two kids are ready for a typical family outing. The movies, bowling, and mini golf have been long time family favorites. But now these activities are unaffordable for many families. We asked parents for tips on affordable family fun and entertainment options in SWFL.
It costs between $14 and $20 per ticket to go to the movies in Naples. That’s $56-$80 for a family of four. Bowling at Headpinz in Naples is now $76 for four people for two hours, and mini golf at Golf Safari costs $63.96 for a family of four. This is all before factoring in a meal or snacks.
When today’s parents were kids in the 1990s, prices were much lower. In 1995, the average price of a movie ticket was $4.35, bowling $3 per person per game, and mini golf $5 per round.
Sure, costs go up for every generation. Great grandparents might remember the olden days when movies were a dime, but the jump in prices for this generation is hitting families hard.
“We have seen prices for those items escalate a bit more quickly than we have seen wages grow,” said Shelton Weeks, professor in the Department of Economics and Finance at Florida Gulf Coast University. “Depending on where you are, a lot of folks are noticing it is taking a bigger chunk of their budget to pay for those items.”
Parents all over Southwest Florida are feeling this pinch and are talking about how typical family fun is now out of their price range.
Alexis Cianciolo of Naples always looks for affordable things to do with her 3 and 10-month-old.
“Naples is way expensive,” she began. “Going to the movies is like $50. It is insane. Especially with the cost of housing and the cost to live down here and to add entertainment on top of it, everything is unaffordable. Things are geared more for out-of-state visitors than for the people who live here.”
Free family fun
So, Cianciolo looks for free family fun. They go to the parks and the beach.
“We take advantage of all the free things that Naples has to offer,” she said. “The benefit of Southwest Florida is there are so many free outdoor activities.”
That works when the weather cooperates. But what happens when the thunderstorms roll in or the summer heat is just too searing to spend much time outdoors?
Dana Landin of Northport says she has been looking for affordable family fun all her life.
“I grew up in poverty, so I know all the tricks. I know exactly what to do,” she said.
She scours the area for free and low-cost things to do with her 6-year-old daughter.
“I play reward games that give gift cards to Walmart or Chuck E. Cheese, and a $25 gift card goes a long way at Chuck E. Cheese. We also do Groupons a lot. We go to the public library. They do a lot of free activities. The first weekend of every month, Home Depot does a free craft.”
Her daughter loves to see animals, but she says zoos and aquariums are quite expensive, so instead, Landin finds farms that allow visits. She and her daughter also love going to the Northport Aquatic Center (about 90 minutes north of Naples), where they can watch movies while floating in the pool for only $3 per person.
Other options
There are ways to participate in traditional family activities for little or no cost. Children 15 and under can sign up for the Kids Bowl Free program every summer that offers two free games a day. For just $4.99, kids can roller skate for free at select times for the whole year as members of the Spitz Kids Skate Free program. Many local movie theaters offer summer movie afternoons for $1 or $2. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Naples has $7 movies on Tuesdays. All of Collier County’s museums and the River Park Aquatic Center in Naples are always free.
River Park includes a children’s splash play area, a 9.9-foot-high water slide and six lap lanes, and a bathhouse with restrooms and showers. Collier County Parks’ pools also are a great deal. For example, Golden Gate Aquatic Facility offers a heated pool, children’s activity pool, wading pool, slide, and diving boards for just $2 for adults, $1.50 for kids 3-17, and is free for those younger than 3.
Neapolitan Family’s online and print calendars are a fantastic resource for free and inexpensive family fun. Parents also can sign up for our free weekly enewsletter that alerts you to the best activities in SWFL, many of which are no- or low-cost.
Go to www.neafamily.com and click on the orange “Subscribe” button on the right side of your screen. Plus, subscribers are the first to hear about our giveaways and special events.
Pinching prices
SWFL parents discussed the issue of high-cost family fun in a Facebook group.
“There are no options,” Jacqueline Parisi stated. “My kids stay home and play outdoors and go to parks. When people can’t afford basics, you can’t afford entertainment.”
“People are just getting more picky on what activities they choose and are staying home more,” Christina Bordelon added. “We may buy a movie and watch at home through Prime Video instead of going to the movies. Maybe we pick one event to go to and save for, instead of multiple. We find fun games and crafts to do at home for free and make it fun so we don’t feel we need to pay to go somewhere. The real issue is almost everything, aside from being in the heat, costs too much to make it worthwhile.”
“Even going out for ice cream has gotten ridiculous, so I let the kids pick out ice cream at the grocery store instead,” added Jeannie Tojanci.
Jessica Lee illustrated how hard it is to have a simple movie outing. She took three kids to the movies recently.
“I paid $96 online, and then the kids got candy and popcorn halfway through the movies,” she described. “It’s hard, but we go whenever we have the extra funding available.”
Weeks said people being priced out of activities goes beyond movies, bowling, and mini golf.
“I am a big sports fan and when you look at the price of attending sporting events now, it falls in the category of being unaffordable,” Weeks explained.
Nicole Holst’s family experienced that recently.
“We were excited to see a rodeo going on last weekend,” Holst stated. “But when I looked at prices, it was $26 per kid and $39 per adult, and we are a family of four. We did not go.”
The FGCU professor said while prices are higher now, alternatives are better.
“There are more home options,” Weeks said. “The quality of experiences [such as watching a college football game or movie at home] is much greater today than it has ever been. Back in the 1990s, you had to go somewhere and rent a movie and come home and play it on your VCR, and the sound and picture quality was not as good as it is today.”
Weeks admits you can’t go bowling or play mini golf in your home, but he said there are other options for that too.
“There are a lot of things you can do around the house, throw the football around the yard, buy yourself a set of cornhole boards, and spend some good family time [together].”
More advice
Ketzia Orama said she uses the Tuesday T-Mobile deals for family fun. She recently got two free movie tickets.
Lauren Nicole buys gift cards and uses the bonus cards for her family.
Rebecca Short signs her kids up for free roller skating and for the free summer bowling program. She also heads to the free splash pads instead of the water parks.
“Go to the library and check out passes to the Children’s Museum of Naples for free,” Short suggested.
Julie Wallace scours the news for a variety of free activities for her family.
“I stay up to date on community events and try to attend those with the kids as a no-cost or low-cost outing,” Wallace explained. “Things like art walks, music walks, parades, touch-a-truck, reading festivals, radio station events, free concerts, etc. We utilize coupons as much as possible like for a free small ice cream, 7-Eleven Slurpee days, happy hour, and BOGO deals so the kids can get treats and it’s not hard on the wallet.”
Weeks also understands why this generation is seeing prices exceeding their income.
Businesses “have seen pressure in prices and it is driven by the cost structure,” he explained. “The cost of labor has changed. I suspect they have pressure on the supply cost as well. I am sure the decision to raise prices is not made lightly, but you have to make the decision to keep the doors open and the lights on.”