On Friday, a visit to the state zoo will cost an extra 2 bucks.
Sundays, you won't be able to tour inside the state Capitol.
And if you're visiting a state park any day this summer, you might want to pack some extra tissue.
The state budget that goes into effect Friday brings massive changes. Thousands of state workers will lose their jobs. A one-cent sales tax will no longer be charged on most goods.
But many residents will see the effects of the trimmed budget in smaller, more subtle ways.
Some tourist attractions will cost more to visit. Other sites will be open fewer days. And still others may have fewer amenities.
One of the visible signs of the new austerity is a sign right inside the Capitol, notifying visitors that the 1840 structure is closed on Sundays because of budget cuts.
Just a block from the legislature, the State Archives and State Library Building is cutting its weekend hours, closing on Saturdays at 2 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
A few hours west, in Spencer, the N.C. Transportation Museum will begin charging admission and in Asheville, the Thomas Wolfe House will raise its ticket prices.
"We hope that in many cases the public won't notice that much of a difference," said Joe Newberry at the Department of Cultural Resources, "but this is the playing field we've been given."
The majority of the state's 37 museums and cultural sites are not adding or raising prices. The cuts will, however, result in fewer special events and hands-on programs, Newberry said.
For most of these attractions, summer is high season - kids are out of school and families are looking for things to do and places to see. It's also when spending a few dollars here and a few more there really hits hard on families trying to pinch pennies.
'What are our priorities?'
On Wednesday, Becky Davis of Raleigh was eating lunch with her two children, Henry, 10, and Harriet Jackson, 7, outside the Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. Davis, whose family frequents museums across the state, said she finds the new budget "disconcerting."
"What are our priorities as a state? What are we trying to cultivate?" Davis asked. "Lots of kids don't see these things now and if you have to pay for everything, that will only get worse. ... I'm not even sure the legislature will know the consequences."
Henry's favorite spot in downtown Raleigh is the N.C. Museum of History, which keeps its free admission. But like his mother, he is concerned.
"What is the legislature thinking about their kids?" he asked.
The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, which gets 60 percent of its funding from the state, is raising ticket prices by $2 beginning Friday. A family of four will now have to pay $40 for admission. Add in the cost of gas and a snack or two and that day trip begins to look a lot more expensive - a point not lost on Davis.
"We go to the zoo at least once every summer," said Davis. "But I'm so cheap that if we go this year, it'll just be once."
Rod Hackney, the zoo's spokesman, said he hoped the higher prices wouldn't affect attendance. As of June 25, the zoo's attendance for the year was down about 18,000 from 2009-2010. However, Hackney said he expects that the official numbers due Friday will show a slight improvement.
Given the current economy, he thinks that's pretty good.
"It was a bargain to begin with compared to some of the larger privately owned attractions in the state with prices over $40 per ticket," Hackney said.
Changes at other sites may not be as noticeable.
For instance, admission prices for the state's three aquariums will remain the same but visitors may see a reduction in special exhibits and renovations as the sites deal with roughly $4.5 million in cuts over the next two years.
Fewer employees, smaller staffs
The same will be true for visitors to the state's 34 parks and campgrounds. Fees are not going up, but there will be fewer seasonal employees and a smaller staff in general. That will make maintenance and upkeep on the park system's 215,000 acres more of a challenge, said Charlie Peek, at the Division of Parks and Recreation in the Department of Natural Resources. Visitors may see fewer park rangers, more restrooms closed and fewer educational programs.
An earlier version of the budget proposed more dramatic cuts to the park system: Most would be closed two or three days a week and a few, like Mount Jefferson State Park in Ashe County, would be closed for good. At this point, that won't be happening, said Diana Kees of the Department of Natural Resources.
None of the park's services are going to disappear but, Peek said, but "the grass may not be cut as short as we would like."
