Why do I feel like we're being taken?

So my husband and I took my 7 year old stepdaughter to an "indoor amusement park" this past weekend because it was rainy out...and as a reward for her really good report card. After driving an hour and a half, we parked and made our way in to find a ticket machine. We figured the best way to get our money's worth was to buy an unlimited wristband for her so that she could ride whatever she wanted as many times as she could handle it.

That wristband alone was over $30. This was not a child price, or an adult price...just a flat rate for everyone. $30 bucks per person. Well, suck it up and stick in your credit card. Ah, the price of happiness.

Then when she wanted us to ride with her a few times, we had to purchase more 'points'. This all came to over $50...in rides. We just spent the equvalent of a nice dinner out, an evening at the movies, or a full tank of gas on the same minute-long roller coaster ride over and over again! That money is gone, yet we have nothing to show for it. (That particular ride without the wristband would have cost $6 for just one trip around the track- that literally took one minute.)

Is it just me, or is this rediculous? Yes, my stepdaughter got an unlimited pass for the afternoon, but still. I could see this price maybe for an adult...but a CHILD? So, a family of four who would go on rides together would end up spending about $130- and that's not even including food or little souveniers (you know they always want 'em)! Now before you get the impression that this was no fun for me or my husband, we both had a great time. We had more vicarious fun than we would have thought possible. There's nothing like watching a child's genuine enjoyment.

But now, I can't whine without proposing a solution. Why not charge that $30 for the parents, and like $15 for kids? Or even the other way around! I'm sure it would still be plenty lucrative if the adult price for an armband were say $15 with a paid child armband at full price! Right?
So let's take our family of four again...mom and dad will go on SOME rides with the kids...but the kids often go on the kiddy rides alone too. They would still be paying almost $100, but the parents would percieve this as a better value, rather than a rip-off. "Hey, we get in for less and the kids still get all the rides they want!"

The feeling of having been taken leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. The thought that you have spent too much money already will most likely curb your spending in other areas throughout the day as well. When you feel like you've gotten a fair deal, you would be more likely to go ahead and spring for the character balloon, the face painting, and maybe even the goofy souvenier keychain that the kids can't live without. Oh what the heck...everyone had such a good time at a decent price, you may even get the urge to spring for an over-priced ice cream cone on the way out.