Hard-up families are having to pay up to 20% more for family days out than they did a year ago - meaning children are missing out, Labour has warned.
Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell released figures showing gate prices for families at some UK attractions have risen by nearly £40 since last summer.
Tickets to cinemas, theatres and concerts have gone up by 13%, while football matches cost 10% more to go to and museums, libraries and zoos are up an average of 5%.
Visiting Alton Towers costs 18% more for a family of four who pay on the gate, while researchers found Drayton Manor is £30 more for four over-12s to visit than a year ago if they don't pre-book - a rise of 20%.
Both attractions have hit back, pointing out that the vast majority of visitors book advance tickets, which have not been hit by massive price hikes, while the boss at Alton Towers has hit out at the government over VAT.
Ms Powell warned that children who have endured two years of disruption due to Covid face missing out again because their families cannot afford to treat them.
She said: "This is the first summer that children can get out and enjoy themselves after the disruption of the last two years but the Tory’s failure to tackle the cost of living crisis is pushing these experiences out of reach for too many families.
“Instead of taking chunks out of each other in their leadership contest and chucking economic credibility out the door, we need a government fully focused on dealing with the cost of living crisis, so that coming out of Covid kids don’t miss out on another summer of fun and fall further behind.”
Price inflation calculations by the Office for National Statistics shows trips to museums, libraries and zoos have risen by 5.3%.
Meanwhile cinemas, theatres and concerts are up 13.6%, while sporting events have risen by 9.8%.
A spokesperson for Alton Towers said that less than 2% of visitors pay the gate price, with the vast majority pre-booking tickets at £36 for over-12s. This is up £2 from 2021.
On top of this, the attraction says, it runs regular promotions such as two-for-one offers to make a day out cheaper for families.
Nick Varney, Chief Executive Offer for Merlin Entertainments - which runs Alton Towers - said: “Despite the entire leisure and hospitality industry pointing out the dangers of the VAT increase, the current Government imposed the higher rate of VAT this year, increasing prices for consumers and putting further pressure on businesses as other costs soared.
"Britain needs to compete with cheaper European holiday destinations to be attractive for both domestic and international visitors. Long-term, and post-Brexit, it is still crucial that Britain competes internationally, and VAT should have been the key lever for government to drive growth – it’s now a horrible case of ‘we told you so’!”
A year ago a family of four with two children over 12 would pay a combined £138 if they paid on the door at Drayton Manor, whereas now it costs £168.
However advance tickets cost £27.50 - £2 lower than they did last summer.
A spokesperson for Drayton Manor Resort, said: “Drayton Manor Resort offers dynamic ticket pricing, which means the earlier you book, the better the price of your ticket. Guests are able to take advantage of this, with up to 30% off the gate price when booked in advance, meaning family tickets can be purchased from as little as £27.50 each”
“As well as offering free entry for under 2s, we have also recently extended our Stay and Play package to add more value, and includes an overnight stay in our 4-star hotel, breakfast, two full days in the park, early access on both days, and a chance to jump the queue with an exit pass.”
