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Ludicrous park food prices


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I really feel that a large number of amusement parks miss the boat completely when it comes to food. I always think back to when I was a teenager and my grandparents would regularly take me and my sisters to Riverside and The Great Escape each year. Riverside had terrible food that was grossly overpriced; we seldom ate anything at the park. When we visited Great Escape, however, we always ate both lunch and dinner there--all 6 of us. There was a good balance of quality and price and we'd also end up eating ice cream or some other treats along the way. We very rarely ate at Riverside, although there is no doubt that they sold a fair amount of food.

 

These days I seldom eat at parks unless I know better and it is largely due to an imbalance of quality and price. Another consideration is the amount of faith that I have in the food preparation areas being at least remotely sanitary. As I walked around Magic Mountain a couple of weeks ago and saw the disgusting trash cans, the filthy midways and the dirty rides I found myself thinking "if you can't keep your park even remotely close to clean why should I think that the food preparation areas would be any different?" They could have the cleanest food service facilities in the world but the general cleanliness of the park just left me with no confidence whatsoever.

 

With all that said, if the food is decent I can accept paying a higher (but not outrageous) price for a lunch and some snacks for the sake of convenience... but it just doesn't seem to be the way that a large number of amusement parks work.

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  • 7 months later...

The Great thing about Lagoon is you can still bring in a cooler of food and drinks into the park, including adult beverages. It's not uncommon to see people in the park eating In-N-Out, McDonald's, Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Little Caesar's, Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC, Jimmy Johns, Cafe Rio, etc., which are just a Freeway Exit Away or anything from Farmington Station on the other side of the Freeway.

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  • 5 months later...
I think it's important (and I believe it was mentioned in this thread earlier) that the cost of food is helping to subsidize very low season pass prices. The revenue has to come from somewhere!

 

Case in point, a season pass to the 750-acre Six Flags Worlds of Adventure cost the same as a few chicken tenders baskets once in the park.

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Most expensive food I've (so far) had at our annual fair was this.

 

$18 Cdn for a 1/2 chicken with fries and a drink.

 

I do know that $18 could buy me two roasted chickens at our Safeway Deli.

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Is $18 too much for this? The chicken was wonderful and the fries were plentiful. But still...

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I think it's important (and I believe it was mentioned in this thread earlier) that the cost of food is helping to subsidize very low season pass prices. The revenue has to come from somewhere!

 

No one is saying that there isn't the expectation of markup with food sold at entertainment venues. The reason why no one is listing Boathouse or Victoria and Albert's on this list and is listing Six Flags' pizza and Cedar Fair burgers is *because* there is the belief that with VERY high pricing for a meal, there is value in the quality and presentation of the items.

 

Also the very low season pass prices exist in tandem with the high pricing of low quality food as a strategy to make money by drawing you in as many times as possible and hoping per cap spending increases accordingly once you're inside. None of these parks is hoping to become mass low cost daycare to which a family of four buying burgers pays for the kid who's mom buys them a pass and all season dining plan.

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For whatever it's worth I've always thought the food at Disney and SeaWorld was fairly reasonably priced for what you can get. I mean the full service restaurants are a tad bit pricey for what they are but the food is always really good, but the quick serves are reasonable. At the Harambe Market for example you can get ground beef kabob flat bread with broccoli tomato salad and a drink for $13 or $14 dollars. I mean a burrito side of queso and a drink at Moes will run you about the same price plus or minus a dollar. Same goes for most all of the quick serves on property. Yeah it might be a little less food that's not always tip top restaurant quality but for an entertainment venue it's pretty reasonable. I've easily spent more than that for a burger fries and a drink at NFL stadiums.

 

Also, the meal plans and All-Day dining options really are worth it if you're going to spend all day at the park and are ginog to eat. I mean I think an Adult at SeaWorld is like $33 maybe? For three meals, drinks, and a few snacks here and there that's nothing.

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Last week at SFNE, a slice of pizza + french fries (because that's a totally normal food combination that I eat all the time) was $10.50. No option for the pizza by itself. I opted for the chicken fingers combo instead, same price but marginally more food.

 

I don't know why I expected anything different.

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Last week at SFNE, a slice of pizza + french fries (because that's a totally normal food combination that I eat all the time) was $10.50. No option for the pizza by itself. I opted for the chicken fingers combo instead, same price but marginally more food.

 

I don't know why I expected anything different.

 

I do have a problem with pizza only not being an option, even though I would never eat Six Flags pizza. But that's because sales of french fries (like soda) have such high profit margins.

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Silverwood was pretty good overall, but inconsistent. I don't know if this counts, but Boulder Beach's frozen mixed drinks were pretty pricey- $8-$9 for just the drink, and a few extra bucks for the "souvenir" tiki glass. The kicker: almost no alcohol! I do appreciate their 2 drink maximum--suppose that's a good policy for a water park--but at least put a little kick in there

 

Across the park, the opposite: you go for a decently-priced cool treat that SURPRISE! turns out to be a moon-sized mass of ice cream on a much-too-small waffle cone. Go for the waffle bowl, not the cone! NOT THE CONE!!

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$15 for a hot dog, fries and drink at kings dominion. Funny thing is, a Philly cheese steak meal was the same ridiculous price as the hot dog meal.

 

 

Personally, I'd take the Philly over the hot dog!

 

From what I saw when we were at Kings Island they have pretty similar prices to KD.

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  • 2 weeks later...
$15 for a hot dog, fries and drink at kings dominion. Funny thing is, a Philly cheese steak meal was the same ridiculous price as the hot dog meal.

 

you can get just the HotDog (or Sandwich) for only $10 tho.

 

that's still SUPER expensive, but for someone who doesn't eat fries, it worked out perfect, since i got my partner just the sandwich and myself the combo (and we split the fries/drink). . .so I can justify (in my head), $25 for a meal for 2. . .even tho it's still overpriced.

 

all you have to do is ask for something separate (note at the top of the menu is says "all items may be purchased separately")

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I will usually eat a protein bar or two, cup of noodles, and call it good for the day. My body will THINK it's hungry part way through the day, but usually seeing the prices at most parks makes me lose my appetite. I have some weaknesses - I LOVE funnel cakes!!! They are usually just as crazy on price, but so tasty.

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$15 for a hot dog, fries and drink at kings dominion. Funny thing is, a Philly cheese steak meal was the same ridiculous price as the hot dog meal.

 

you can get just the HotDog (or Sandwich) for only $10 tho.

 

that's still SUPER expensive, but for someone who doesn't eat fries, it worked out perfect, since i got my partner just the sandwich and myself the combo (and we split the fries/drink). . .so I can justify (in my head), $25 for a meal for 2. . .even tho it's still overpriced.

 

all you have to do is ask for something separate (note at the top of the menu is says "all items may be purchased separately")

 

 

So $10 for a hot dog.....

What a deal!

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