Memberships

Our Pittsburgh Children's Museum membership is expiring  next month and I'm starting to think about what we should do for next year.

We always have a zoo membership. It is hands-down the best value membership for a family with young children in Pittsburgh. It is free to park, you can take your own food/lunch, it opens early, it has playgrounds, it isn't so big that you can't get through the whole thing before naptime, there's lots of shade. It's great. We even go in the winter when it isn't bitter cold. We had a zoo membership before we had kids!

I like the Children's Museum, but it isn't a great 1-on-3 outing. I just don't feel comfortable going there by myself with the kids anymore... too many nooks, crannies, exits, etc. And Aaron has gotten hurt there every single time we have gone. So I'm thinking that we probably should not renew a membership to somewhere that I don't like going by myself.

My Little Outback or other indoor playgrounds. We won't buy a membership there, but we do buy the day passes in bulk.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh? National Aviary? Phipps Conservatory? We've been members at each of these places previously, but should we switch back?

I prefer places that have only one entrance to the play area and not a lot of "visual blockage" in the middle. (Obviously that's so I can keep track of the boys even when they're running in different directions.) I like places you can take your own food and snacks. I like places with free or very cheap parking.

What are your favorite memberships? Where do you consider your best-value memberships?