Season Long Dining Plan

[CedarPointer]

Aaaaaand apparently I wasn't paying that much attention since thankfully we didn't have the DDP when we went to Disney a few years ago (I can't picture trying to decide where I want to eat months or advance or hoping that a restaurant has a spot open... we were there during the busy season). I could swear I remember things not being included with it (thus the servers always asking "Are you on the dining plan?"), but apparently it's changed or something. I just hope the KI dining plans don't lead to the food experience changing like it did at Disney (which admittedly is a correlation/causation thing, but it does seem like the restaurants changed after DDP and especially free dining were introduced)- I was seriously impressed seeing the portions at Hank's and I'd hate for that to change.

[homestar92]

Speaking of Hank's, what do you get with the dining plan at that particular location? Hopefully the season has been going on long enough that someone can answer.

[CedarPointer]

Exactly what it says on the handout- taco salad, burrito, 2 tacos, or burrito bowl and chips and salsa, guacamole, or queso dip. We did have to ask for the chips and salsa but that was probably because we didn't remember to mention we had the dining plan. It's a really good amount of food, too.

[markr]

Just speaking for myself not sure if the meal plan would be a good deal for myself. For example, if you want pizza you get 2 slices and a drink. What if you are still hungry? ( As I usually am.) Also I really enjoy the Hall of Fame Grille a lot and that is not part of the plan if I am not mistaken. I am not saying that it is a bad idea-it probably would work well for a lot of families, just don't think it would work for me. I will keep an open mind though.

[thedevariouseffect]

Btw this weekend after talking with Guest Services, they are alright with sharing the meal plan, however the purchaser of said plan must be the one to stand in line and collect said food.

[DonHelbig]

Btw this weekend after talking with Guest Services, they are alright with sharing the meal plan, however the purchaser of said plan must be the one to stand in line and collect said food.

The sharing of the Dining Plan options is not permitted by guests.

[homestar92]

Exactly what it says on the handout- taco salad, burrito, 2 tacos, or burrito bowl and chips and salsa, guacamole, or queso dip. We did have to ask for the chips and salsa but that was probably because we didn't remember to mention we had the dining plan. It's a really good amount of food, too.

Wow. That's a lot of food. Pre-meal plan, I would normally get chips and queso and that would be a meal for me. If I can get that AND a burrito, then I think I may gain weight this summer...

[thedevariouseffect]

^^Then you need to talk to your guest service folks that informed a member here that they are ok with it.

[medford]

Does the no sharing policy apply to 2 year olds w/o passes? I was planning on buy an all season pass for myself, wife and 5 year old son. Our daugher is still 1, turns 2 later this summer and admitted to the park for free, hence no pass. If I saw the menu correctly, and using Larosa's as a reference, you get 2 pieces of pizza, 2 bread sticks as part of the meal plan. Based upon last season, 3 of those would be plenty to split b/w the 4 of us, the youngest doesn't eat much, a "meal at subway" consists of eating the turkey and cheese off the sandwhich (and usually not all of it) ignoring the bread, having a handful of chips and finishing it down with milk/water. If giving her the piece of pizza my son isn't going to eat plus one of the breasticks I'm not going to eat is grounds for potential dismissal from the park/revoking of season pass, then its really not worth it. Then its a question of buying the season meal plan plus food for her and wasting some of it, or skipping the season meal and going back to eating Chipotle outside of the park at the end of the night.

I know there are a lot of grey areas still being ironed out, and its still new to everyone involved. I also realize there are likely stated policies and policies that are generally ignored as long as they are not being grossely abused (I'd say buying 1 meal plan for myself, splitting it with my wife, then 90 minutes later buying another meal plan and splitting it again would be a gross abuse), but it kind of feels like this was thrown together at the last minute and there wasn't a ton of thought put into it. I always got that impression from FUN perks (though the website is an obvious signal that it was more than just "thrown together") and it never lived up to the potential that it could have had based simply on a lot of confusion about what counted, if things got counted, what the perks were, etc... I think this is a good idea, and don't even mind being the guinea pig, but seems like were getting different stories every time I read a post.

[medford]

with that said above ^^^ as a future addition/enhancement, a kids version of the season long plan would be a smart addition. Some people hate wasting food as much as they hate wasting money, you might turn some people off if they feel like they are wasting food everytime they get the meal plan for their 5 year old kid.

[shark6495]

I know Disney's meal plan allows children under 3 (maybe 2) eat off of a parents plate.

[Jr for Birdy]

Btw this weekend after talking with Guest Services, they are alright with sharing the meal plan, however the purchaser of said plan must be the one to stand in line and collect said food.

The sharing of the Dining Plan options is not permitted by guests.

I guess this means you can't share with your young children, what a shame. We know how to eat in the parking lot. This doesn't surprise me either considering you charge parents 7.99 for a kids meal at the Reds Grille.

[Oldschool75]

Really??? Why would they allow sharing of the meal plan? They are doing a great service by testing this at KI. But if dishonestly like this would flourish; I see the plan not being an option to buy next year. This is a for profit business.

Sent from a signal coming out of the Vega system.

[JWAddington]

^ This is at most, if not all, Cedar Fair parks this year!

[Jr for Birdy]

If sharing with my 3 year old daughter would be an issue, I would rather not spend a penny on food in the park. My wife loves going to Bob Evans on Tuesdays because kids eat free, but when I get the bill it's about what we would pay to eat at most places,since the kids eat free, we order desserts or soups that we normally might not purchase. Take the Reds Grille for instance, if I wasn't getting charged 7.99 for my kids to eat, I'm more than likely to order ribs, appetizer, etc... Not that kids could eat free there, that would be a mess, but maybe have a younger kids meal where they get their own food for under 5 dollars, make it the 5 and under for 5 dollars meal?

[JWAddington]

How are they going to "police" the sharing?

Sorry, i just saw little Johnny take a bite of your pizza, please give me your passes, you are banned from the park.... SMH!

[thedevariouseffect]

Exactly..I'm sure the sharing was factored into the plan. If I go out and get Larosas (eek) who is going to come after me if Lindz takes a bite of Pizza or grabs a breadstick.

Its going to happen if it already hasn't. However again Guest services did say so..I think some education on their part would be wise then to stop getting conflicting reports park wide

[Jr for Birdy]

I know nobody would say anything if I shared with my little girl, but it's the principle!

[OldieButGoodie]

Don, I love ya, but if I decide I can't/won't eat the chicken, or pretzel, funnel cake or whatever, I will share with my son (he's a human garbage disposal). I won't feel guilty or criminal in the least. So long as I don't defraud KI, I can't see a problem (and I love KI). Two meals, with the time constraints, don't constitute fraud in my mind, regardless of whether I eat them or I share.

[UnrealNightmare]

This is my 2 cents!

[disco2000]

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, unfortunately I see this great program having the same fate as Fun Perks.

Also, I thought TOS indicates that if you cannot provide an employee's name to information that you are posting, then you shouldn't post it? So unless that employee's name was Guest Services, you shouldn't have posted it (that they said it was acceptable to share)? Then later same poster is either speaking in third person or then indicated that this information was actually heresay told to another member of this forum? (Sorry for rant - someone once criticized me for posting something that a person in Guest Services told me, but I didn't catch a name).

[markr]

This thread sure makes me hungry.

[thedevariouseffect]

This info was relayed to me via text from another member that approached Guest Services as I indicated in my first post. So there is no way I have the name from the employee.

[Ffej]

When I purchased the season dining plan, the only agreement I made was that I could get 2 meals per day all season, 2 hours apart.

When I redeem those meals, they're my property; I paid for them, and I can do whatever I want with them. Kings Island has no right to police what I do with my purchased meals, and they're not going to..

When I'm in a park and limited to 2 meals in a day, they're typically going to fuel myself. But if I have leftover fries or something, I'll happily share them in a heartbeat and not feel like it's morally wrong or abuse in any way. That's absurd. I'd feel much worse throwing away perfectly good food.

[Diamondback FOF]

Is the season long dining plan only good through Labor Day weekend? Or is it valid through the fall too? This is probably the biggest factor in me deciding if I should buy it or not.

[thedevariouseffect]

Well with KI I guess that's a good question. As their "season" is until Haunt starts, after is different, however like CP, that's from start to finish. Good question, maybe we'll get an answer here, if not here try fielding the question up to the park this weekend when it opens up again. Never even thought of that.

[Dieseltech20]

That was a moot point to us. We normally avoid the park during Haunt.

[medford]

When I purchased the season dining plan, the only agreement I made was that I could get 2 meals per day all season, 2 hours apart.

When I redeem those meals, they're my property; I paid for them, and I can do whatever I want with them. Kings Island has no right to police what I do with my purchased meals, and they're not going to..

When I'm in a park and limited to 2 meals in a day, they're typically going to fuel myself. But if I have leftover fries or something, I'll happily share them in a heartbeat and not feel like it's morally wrong or abuse in any way. That's absurd. I'd feel much worse throwing away perfectly good food.

That's not really true, by purchasing the season long meal plan, you are also agreeing to follow the rules of said meal plan. It may not be exactly clear, but there is probably some disclaimer written in small language somewhere inside the park or on the web that is agreed upon when purchasing the deal. Kind of like, when you purchase a ticket to the park, you're not agreeing to pay to get in the park, then ride whatever you feel like, in whatever order you feel like, you are also agreeing to follow many rules inside the park, riding only rides you fit the safety guidelines for, only smoking in designated areas, not throwing things off the top of the Eiffel Tower, no line jumping, etc....

Some rules are monitored and enforced more strictly than others, but there are a host of them that you have agreed to when buying a ticket/season pass. Probably the same thing with the season long dining policy.

[Gabe]

Disney offers a free dining plan to everyone in a party during their shoulder and off season. The offers usually run from Jan-April and again from Sept-Nov. If you're at a Value resort, you get a Quick Service Plan; everywhere else, you get a Deluxe Dining Plan. There are few things not included in the plan, like dining at Victoria & Albert's which is Disney's fanciest and most expensive place to eat (adults only and semi-formal dress required). It is a far simpler plan to understand than guessing which foods are included at Kings Island.

[thegajone]

IMO the reason they have the "no sharing" rule is not because they're a "big meanie corporation" that doesn't want anyone to be able to share a few leftover fries with their significant other or child and wants to make you buy your own for them; it's to prevent people from selling food that they don't intend to eat, or giving it to a potential customer that was going to make a purchase that no longer might. And by saying "no sharing under any circumstances", they eliminate any grey areas.