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Ticket Prices Are Rising at Popular Museums and Theme Parks—Here's Which Ones Rose the Most Over the Last 4 Years

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From fuel to groceries, household goods are getting more and more expensive. But there's another area that has also seen prices go up significantly in recent years: attractions.

Coupon website DealA recently released its list of U.S.-based museums and amusement parks where entry costs increased the most since 2017. To measure price increases, the site compared the cost of an adult general admission ticket from Dec. 23, 2021 against the same point in 2017 for 100 of the most popular museums and 100 of the most popular amusement parks in the country.

Price hikes weren't just in a single region: The top three biggest increases in museum prices were split up between New York, Texas and California, while some of the biggest jumps in amusement park fees happened in Delaware and Florida.

"The increase in general admission prices to attractions could be a result of limited tourism through the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected museums and theme parks substantially," a spokesperson for DealA told CNBC Make It.

It's also worth noting that DealA measured the increases by percentage, not dollar amount, so some attractions may have gone up by more dollars but a smaller percentage of the original price.

These are the five museums and amusement parks that each had the largest ticket price increases since 2017, by percentage.

Museums

5. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (+33%)

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  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts
  • Admission price in 2017: $15
  • Admission price in 2021: $20

4. Chihuly Garden and Glass (+33%)

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  • Location: Seattle, Washington
  • Admission price in 2017: $24
  • Admission price in 2021: $32

3. Crocker Art Museum (+50%)

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  • Location: Sacramento, California
  • Admission price in 2017: $10
  • Admission price in 2021: $15

2. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (+60%)

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  • Location: Fort Worth, Texas
  • Admission price in 2017: $10
  • Admission price in 2021: $16

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  • Location: New York, New York
  • Admission price in 2017: $0 (Free with a suggested donation of $25)
  • Admission price in 2021: $25

Amusement Parks

5. Sesame Place (+29%)

  • Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Admission price in 2017: $70
  • Admission price in 2021: $89.99

4. Children's Fairyland (+30%)

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  • Location: Oakland, California
  • Admission price in 2017: $10
  • Admission price in 2021: $13

3. Fun Spot America (+34%)

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  • Location: Orlando, Florida
  • Admission price in 2017: $40.95
  • Admission price in 2021: $54.95

2. Santa's Village (+50%)

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  • Location: Jefferson, New Hampshire
  • Admission price in 2017: $32
  • Admission price in 2021: $48

1. Funland (+100%)

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  • Location: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
  • Admission price in 2017: $15
  • Admission price in 2021: $30

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