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Panda Express: Now Open!


BoddaH1994
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I know a lot of you have been diligently waiting for this tasteful news, the Panda Express is now open in the Festhaus at Kings Island!

Personally, I ate the 3 entree meal and it was just shy of $14 including a large drink. The food there is wonderful. I highly recommend that fried rice and orange chicken, it's excellent.

Oh yeah, and don't forget your complementary fortune cookie!

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I know a lot of you have been diligently waiting for this tasteful news, the Panda Express is now open in the Festhaus at Kings Island!

Personally, I ate the 3 entree meal and it was just shy of $14 including a large drink. The food there is wonderful. I highly recommend that fried rice and orange chicken, it's excellent.

Oh yeah, and don't forget your complementary fortune cookie!

$14 for "Chain Chineese" would not constitute the fortune cookie being free.

<G>

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I know a lot of you have been diligently waiting for this tasteful news, the Panda Express is now open in the Festhaus at Kings Island!

Personally, I ate the 3 entree meal and it was just shy of $14 including a large drink. The food there is wonderful. I highly recommend that fried rice and orange chicken, it's excellent.

Oh yeah, and don't forget your complementary fortune cookie!

$14 for "Chain Chineese" would not constitute the fortune cookie being free.

<G>

Gotta agree. I paid $12 for two spring rolls, fried rice and a REGULAR sized drink. Once again, completely over priced but at least the food is good! Still, not a place that I'll be swinging by on a regular basis.

- Todd

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I think of it this way: I paid $14 and got more food than I could eat. Proportionally speaking, it's one of the best deals in the park in my eyes.

How awful. That same meal at a Panda Express outside of the park would cost about half of what Kings Island is charging. The park may have new owners, but somethings apparently will never change!

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I wonder how CF's ownership has changed the way food franchises are handled. For some food locations, Paramount Parks (and Six Flags as well) leased out the space to a third-party franchisee who actually owned and operated the business. The franchisee priced their food to be in line with the other park f&b operations, and also to cover the huge lease amounts the park was charging.

CF on the other hand, typically buys the franchise themselves and operates it with CF employees. I always thought it was kind of odd that a company like CF would be paying franchise fees to another company for an operation within their own park. But, I guess that was a way to offer a known brand, while still completely controlling the guest experience.

And, I agree...$14 for fast food chain Chinese is a lot. But, the market is what the market is, and it's still competetive with other food costs in the park.

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I must say that the new Panda Express stand looks nice, they totally took out the old stand that was there, replacing it with one that looks like one at a mall food court. I agree that it's a bit steep for $14 with a drink, but Panda Express is still good food.
Oh yippie I love going to a theme park to see a mall food court stand. I wish theme parks would go back to the concept of taking out of everyday reality, instead of bringing everyday reality closer to you.
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I think I'd take that same $14 over to the Wings Diner Buffet- all the food I can eat for the same price, with salad, desert, veggies and other things that give it the semblance of a real meal.

That's what I was thinking when I first read Boddah's post but after dining at the wings buffet iwth Boddah last sunday I can say I'd much rather spend the money on Panda Express. The wings buffet may be all you can eat but theres not much of a selection at all, the bottomless beverages are nice and a good way to cool off, but the selection is horrible. You can spend 10 bucks at Golden Corral and get plenty of things, even midway market at CP can be somehwat pricey but has a pretty good selection.

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Guest kwindshawne

They have GOT to do something about the outrageous food prices at the park. I don't normally eat at the park, but have been moving and had nothing to take in the cooler-for 2 people at happy days diner-21 bucks not counting the beer I treated myself to-and I can't really compliment the quality....next time, I will forget it and let my blood sugar drop...it wasn't worth it

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The first time I posted about how outrageous the food prices were this year, I got preached at by many along the lines of but it's an entertainment arena, you have to expect it. Now, I have others joining the call.

I suspect, though, that this is like gasoline prices. Gas prices are at record highs, but so is consumption. As long as people pay these record prices (for food at Cedar Fair parks OR for gasoline), they will continue charging them. Only if demand drops....people buy less gasoline OR food at Cedar Fair....is there any hope the prices will go down.

My fear for Cedar Fair all along has been that people will not JUST quit paying the food prices inside the park, more and more of them will just stop coming...and it may take quite some time for Cedar Fair to realize this is happening.

I have heard many apocryphal stories about how people aren't going back to Kings Island again this season (or for their annual trip next year) as the prices are too high. IF a substantial part of these turn out to be true, it could take a very long time to get back customers to replace those who have left.

It's even possible Cedar Fair could drastically increase per caps, but on falling attendance. The net result, especially in the face of all this debt, would not be a pretty picture.

A $14 million new coaster may not be remembered nearly as long as the $14 per cap lunch (especially if the former was grand and wonderful but enjoyed in typical families only by the kids and the latter was luke warm and the wait to get it was long and the service less than wonderful--and the latter best remembered by the deciders when it comes time to make entertainment choices next time around).

As for Midway Market, I have not found the selection horrible, but I have found the things that make up that selection to be less than delightful, and that's being kind. I, for one, would rather not eat at all than eat there. I've not had the "pleasure" of the Wings buffet, and I doubt I ever will.

And this is coming from someone, who as friends can verify, can be just as happy eating a two dollar cheeseburger from a bar and grille in Alabama as a rack of ribs, some potato salad and two slices of Rainbo bread from a windowless shack in Arkansas as a $75 meal in Manhattan. I eat at places that friends from all over the socio-economic spectrum can't believe I go to....from hot dog shacks in trailers to Kansas City rib joints inside casinos to The Chop House (a chain, believe it or not), one of my favorites, in Tennessee and Kentucky. I value experiences and good food for the price. I don't see Kings Island offering that in any of its food choices this season.

I've said again and again that what the park needs most is a sit down, table service restaurant. But if, as I expect, they'd intend to charge in the mid-twenties each for that, they may as well just forget it. The market is not there for that inside Kings Island. At least not at the quality and selection levels they are so far delivering.

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Guest kwindshawne

I agree 100%-I felt sorry for the employees in the food areas-the abuse they must take daily from people. I will compliment the young lady that took our order-she was very pleasant in spite of it. This was the first time I officially had eaten at the park since the mid 70's, and I will tellyou, I will never do it again. A sit down, good quality, reasonably priced restaurant in the park is an excellent idea. Maybe something to encourage Cedar Fair to look into? Also, I have not been to Cedar Point since about 1982-are the prices that bad there as well?

I went to Knotts in 2000, but since everything is overpriced in Cali, I don't recall sticker shock there, however, we ate at a bbq chicken place, and I remember the food quality being pretty good, but it didn't seem to be too high there. So why are they gouging us here?

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Cedar Fair's food prices have risen at ALL their parks. Mr. Kinzel says they learned from last year, when Cedar Point had dropped food prices, did slightly more business on less profit and netted about the same, while CBS had drastically increased food prices and made more money.

The other major factor is the large debt Cedar Fair took on when they acquired Paramount Parks. When you were at Knott's, Cedar Fair did not own such a sizable chain.

What happens next is up to the public. I am just afraid they went too far in raising prices.

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Guest kwindshawne
I think I'd take that same $14 over to the Wings Diner Buffet- all the food I can eat for the same price, with salad, desert, veggies and other things that give it the semblance of a real meal.

That's what I was thinking when I first read Boddah's post but after dining at the wings buffet iwth Boddah last sunday I can say I'd much rather spend the money on Panda Express. The wings buffet may be all you can eat but theres not much of a selection at all, the bottomless beverages are nice and a good way to cool off, but the selection is horrible. You can spend 10 bucks at Golden Corral and get plenty of things, even midway market at CP can be somehwat pricey but has a pretty good selection.

I ate there last year as well-I wasn't impressed in all honesty.

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I couldn't believe my eyes at the price of the funnel cakes $5.99. You could go to the flea market up the street and pay about half price for one. Yesterday I spent $7.00 for a pretzel and a 20 ounce bottle of Sprite, It the pretzel were Disney World size, the price would be worth it!

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I do not see what the issue is here. Food is always higher in these venues. Went to the reds game last night and beer there was 7.25 and a basic hotdog was like 3.50... So all in all Ki prices are the norm and somewhat cheaper than other venues. Some one told me that back in 95 they bought beer at PKI and it was only 3 something a glass. That was 12 years ago and cost of living has also gone up. Do not get me wrong i hate the high prices however it will always be high I am affraid. Another poster mentioned the quality of food at Happydays Dinner. I think the diner has the best hamburgers in the park.

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There really is no issue here. As stated already, the prices are generally higher in these venues. A solution? Pack a lunch. Or get your hand stamped and leave and come back. It is just like gas prices. If you keep buying gas at that price, it'll still be priced high. I really don't like hearing the complaints of the food prices being high because there are simple ways around paying it... Just throwing in my 2 cents. :]

Anywho, I probably won't be visiting Panda Express because I just don't think that chinese food mixes well with Roller Coasters... lol. :]

Hope everyone enjoys their visits to Kings Island. :]

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There really is no issue here. As stated already, the prices are generally higher in these venues. A solution? Pack a lunch. Or get your hand stamped and leave and come back. It is just like gas prices. If you keep buying gas at that price, it'll still be priced high. I really don't like hearing the complaints of the food prices being high because there are simple ways around paying it... Just throwing in my 2 cents. :]

Anywho, I probably won't be visiting Panda Express because I just don't think that chinese food mixes well with Roller Coasters... lol. :]

Hope everyone enjoys their visits to Kings Island. :]

....and that's exactly what they do NOT want you to do. That's why the prices should be more reasonable, so even if they're higher, at least it's far more tempting to keep your money in the park.

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