Theme parks thrill visitors with discounts and freebies

— -- New roller coasters and other attractions are likely to beckon vacationers to the nation's theme parks this summer, but what's likely to really thrill cash-strapped visitors are the unusual number of high-season discounts being touted at many of those parks.

"Parks are discounting more aggressively than they have in past years," says Robert Niles, editor of the website ThemeParkInsider.com. "They understand that their market doesn't have as much money to spend, but they want them to spend what they do have with them."

Seasonal theme parks typically offer various discounts to drive local traffic, but this summer the large destination parks are attempting to lure customers with offers of free food, free hotel stays and even free admission.

Value-added promotions, such as free room nights, are more common than outright ticket price reductions, notes Jeff Putz of CoasterBuzz.com. "The parks are trying to push the perception of value. They aren't necessarily making drastic cuts in (admission) prices."

Bargains may even get better. Mary Waring of MouseSavers.com, a site that tracks deals at the Florida and California destination theme parks, believes the bounty of offers snapped up earlier in the year for early and peak summer travel, may mean empty rooms come fall. "They may have to roll out some extraordinary deals for fall," she says.

Among the deals:

Orlando

• Book a Busch Entertainment Worlds of Discovery vacation package for three nights and they'll throw in two extra nights for free, including unlimited admission for four to two parks — SeaWorld and Aquatica or SeaWorld and Busch Gardens — for the length of the stay. Packages start at $637 for four. Book by Sept. 1 and complete the stay by Dec. 31. 888-800-5447; WorldsofDiscoveryGetaways.com.