Arts
ROM Doubles Admission Price on Friday Nights
Check out the admissions page, and just when you thought it might actually be a nice idea to get some culture in before the weekend starts. Friday night passes for adults have made the jump from $5 to $10 while children's tix went from $2.50 $2 to $5.
There's been some, err, lively discussion about ROM prices over on Spacing Wire ever since the Crystal Building got its last wad of spit shine, and this was before the ROM's cheapie night doubled in price.
I expect blood to be spilled in and around Spacing any moment now.
At a time when people will download a bootleg version of a movie rather than spend the cash to see it in theaters, can the ROM really expect people to shell out even more cash on Friday nights? Gettin' some culture is all well and good, but my wallet's having a hard enough time paying for garbage pickup that should already be covered by the taxes that suck out 30% of my salary.
So what do you, our bang for the buck conscious readers think: is it worth the price of admission, or is the ROM rudely asking you to suck it up?
Original photo by blogTO Flickr pooler WVS
EDIT: The children's price actually jumped from $2 to $5, a 150% increase. It's the law of supply and demand; children are tearing the fences down to get into the ROM as it is. I heard a 4 year old threatened to cut another pre-schooler that butted in front of her in line. I've always said don't eff with the short gingers.
Discussion
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Unless the ROM really really improves their exhibits... but then again it's supposed to be cheap night, so it STILL wouldn't be worth it.
Aside from all the construction and closed exhibits, everything is the same as it has been since the first time I went as a young child. I've maybe paid admission once since then. I've gone on the free nights, because why pay the ridiculous price to see the same thing for the last 20 years?
For the super special, every 5 years exhibit that shows up? Of course they make you pay EXTRA to see THOSE exhibits.
I won't go back at current prices, they simply don't encourage repeat visits with the high price point and lack of new or changing exhibits.
Where have I been??
Membership, especially the Family/Dual membership for $99 a year is a great deal, you can take two named adults and ANY 4 children or teens (i.e. don't have to be family members, can be your kids and their friends) into the museum including special exhibits any number of times. With 2 adults and four teens it's already paid for itself on the first visit. Also the $45/year student membership is also a deal. Cool thing with a membership, you don't have to go on Friday nights when it's crowded.
I just read an article about the MoMa, they charge $20 (nominally it's PWYC but they don't exactly go out of their way to make that clear) and figure it costs $50 per visitor for security, cleaning, maintenance and conservation vs. what it would cost them to just conserve the works if they weren't on display and that does not include the capital costs of the building or anything for aquisition.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, has everything anyone who has studied about East Asia has ever heard about (serious Stendahl syndrome). You get in for NTD 160: $5.16!