Jr for Birdy Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I will dine outside the park until all this season dining mumbo jumbo is resolved, reminding me of the Fun Perks initial mess. Cashiers staring at me with a blank look on their face as I explain how it works. Sigh... I need some sleep. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I will dine outside the park until all this season dining mumbo jumbo is resolved, reminding me of the Fun Perks initial mess. Cashiers staring at me with a blank look on their face as I explain how it works. Sigh... I need some sleep. I think most accounts I've heard (including my own experience) can attest that the employees are aware of the Gold Pass Discounts or Meal Deal. Did you run into a particular issue? If so, PM me and I'll send the information to the proper person in the park for you to make sure it doesn't happen again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Does that work for the ridiculous practice of corralling people outside the main gate for two hours (or even 10 minutes) instead of letting them in and letting them spend money? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfred Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I could be wrong.. but as a kid in the late 70's, it seems that they opened up an hour early , where you could just go in and shop/browse the shops, ect. And this was before ERT.. The anticipation, atmosphere, browsing the stores, planning your day. It was great. Of course, we only got to go once a summer when our dad's work gave them tickets....so it was a big deal walking through those gates and taking in all the sights, sounds and smells.(To this day, every time I smell blacktop, it reminds me of those summer trips as a kid) If a drink were to be included, I could see myself adding this plan to our 4 passes. Even if it was just a free fill up in a current years souvenir cup. I usually just purchase the souvenir cups for us @ the beginning of the season, and purchase the LaRosa's $30.00 pass deal. (with 10 trips last year, we try being frugal) Since I was being nostalgic above...my one wish, the one experience I truly miss...bring back Enchanted Voyage (or at least a modern day version)..loved loved loved that boat ride as a kid.. It was one of the few rides the whole family could ride and not to mention how nice it was in the Cincy summer heat. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calakapepe Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 The season pass plan sounds like a good bargain to me. $72 or a season? Uuuhm, yeah! I'd have to limit my out-of-park dining, but I totally could spend that amount of money in 6 months on food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Food prices have increased this year. A burrito at Hank's Burrito Shack (without a drink) is now $10.59, up from $7.59 and $7.49 charged last season. Gold/platinum passholders may get a flat 10% off at select locations without a meal plan; LaRosa's on International Street was asking for everyone's pass and ringing up this discount. There were some glitches, but the cashiers seemed to understand the the dining plan system well. The LaRosa's POS kept throwing an error, so the cashier wrote down the long numerical error code for each person. By the way, as a reminder, these dining plans are intended for one person each. Sharing food, redeeming a meal for someone else, or letting another person use your pass is fraud. The park will likely revoke the dining plan and season pass, without refund, of those caught abusing the system. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondAceExpress Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 The cashier at Skyline verified my husbands photo and face when he got his meal with the dining plan. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 The Hank's employees did seem to be well-informed. One of them was quick to direct a guest to the nearest stand with gluten-free options, while the one who rang up my order knew to ask for my pass when I was buying a souvenir cup. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbt Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I purchased the season dining plan on opening day. I'm still not clear if a drink is included or not, as it was hit or miss throughout the day. Seems like it will ultimately be a good value, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbum123 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 For those that have seen the details, does the dinning plan include any entree and side at the participating locations is us it only certain items? Before standing in line to buy, it would be nice to know the details! Planning on adding the option for my family of 7 tomorrow. Since we visit so much, I think it will work out great for us. Dropped 40 bucks yesterday for just a pizza and a burger for one meal. We will be in the green after only a few trips! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 ^ The dining plans include select choices at participating food locations. Generally, any entrée & side combination is included, though drinks, desserts, & snacks are not. I don't have a full list, but some of the choices include: 2 slices of pizza & breadstick at any LaRosa's location (Rivertown, International Street, or Festhaus) Coney dog & fries or 3-way at Skyline Chili Burger and fries at Juke Box Diner, Planet Snoopy Grill, or the Soak City grill Burrito at Hank's Burrito Shack Chicken, fries, & bread meal at The Chicken Shack Franchised locations, including Subway, Starbucks Coffee, Chick-Fil-A, and Panda Express are not included. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbum123 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks! This summer of fun just got a lot cheaper on the wallet! Our meal plan will be paid for by the end of May. Wonder if it will transfer between parks for those of us with Platinums. I shall enquire tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks! This summer of fun just got a lot cheaper on the wallet! Our meal plan will be paid for by the end of May. Wonder if it will transfer between parks for those of us with Platinums. I shall enquire tomorrow. I was told on Thursday by the worker at the ticket booth that it will not. It is only valid at Kings Island. I do wonder, if other parks decide to offer this plan and you have a platinum, will you be able to put a plan from each park on your pass, or only one from the park at which the pass was processed? Or at that point, would they perhaps offer a "platinum season-long dining plan" good at all parks (for a much higher price, of course) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbum123 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks! This summer of fun just got a lot cheaper on the wallet! Our meal plan will be paid for by the end of May. Wonder if it will transfer between parks for those of us with Platinums. I shall enquire tomorrow. I was told on Thursday by the worker at the ticket booth that it will not. It is only valid at Kings Island.I do wonder, if other parks decide to offer this plan and you have a platinum, will you be able to put a plan from each park on your pass, or only one from the park at which the pass was processed? Or at that point, would they perhaps offer a "platinum season-long dining plan" good at all parks (for a much higher price, of course) That would be great. We are planning on visiting all of the Cedar Fair parks from Cedar Point to Carowinds this summer and food is going to be a big chunk of change. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jr for Birdy Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I will dine outside the park until all this season dining mumbo jumbo is resolved, reminding me of the Fun Perks initial mess. Cashiers staring at me with a blank look on their face as I explain how it works. Sigh... I need some sleep. I think most accounts I've heard (including my own experience) can attest that the employees are aware of the Gold Pass Discounts or Meal Deal. Did you run into a particular issue? If so, PM me and I'll send the information to the proper person in the park for you to make sure it doesn't happen again. Sorry, I was referring to the initial Fun Perks mess when talking about cashiers not knowing much about it. I'm learning more about the Season Long dining plan now and I will have to do some math to see if it will work well for us. My wife loves the idea, but I bring teenagers when I don't bring my immediate family and my daughters eat like birds being so young, not sure if it's best for us at this time, I'll probably just let the wife make this call, not like I have much choice anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks! This summer of fun just got a lot cheaper on the wallet! Our meal plan will be paid for by the end of May. Wonder if it will transfer between parks for those of us with Platinums. I shall enquire tomorrow. I was told on Thursday by the worker at the ticket booth that it will not. It is only valid at Kings Island. I do wonder, if other parks decide to offer this plan and you have a platinum, will you be able to put a plan from each park on your pass, or only one from the park at which the pass was processed? Or at that point, would they perhaps offer a "platinum season-long dining plan" good at all parks (for a much higher price, of course) But why for a much higher price? A day that you're eating at Cedar Point is a day you could have eaten at Kings Island, but aren't, right? I'm sure it would cost more, but that's not necessarily a logical progression, just a business one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondAceExpress Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 My family bought the Season Long Dining plan yesterday. It was kind of confusing though I am convinced it is a fantastic deal for us. In the Festhaus, the servers at the LaRosa's didn't seem to know what I was talking about or maybe they just couldn't hear me over the crazy loud music from the show. One of their supervisors said it included the pizza and breadsticks or one of their sandwiches that seems to come with potato wedges (I didn't really look at what those sandwiches were, so I don't know). The cashier at first didn't seem to know what the Season Long Dining plan is, but then she wanted to see my receipt from buying it, which I seemed to have lost. She said their scanner wasn't working and that's why she wanted to see the receipt. I told her I didn't have it and then she said to just go on through. That was for my daughter, then my husband and I went to Hank's. Their options include burrito, or taco salad or tacos WITH a side of chips OR fruit such as the cup of strawberries with whipped cream. That gorgeous, ridiculously sized piece of chocolate cake they made sure to tell me is not included. The cashier seemed knowledgeable and my husband's pass worked fine, but mine didn't. We bought ours at different times. She let me go anyway, saying the computer system is so new and the computer people have been working on it all day while they're trying to use it, so it's been crazy. They have the free water cups at the Coke Freestyle machine now, I thought before you had to go around to the bar area for water. After riding Banshee, my husband wanted to get his money's worth and we went to Skyline and he got two coneys with fries. So did my daughter. I was not up for another meal at that point. Yes, this is great. I'm thinking I can stay out of the grocery store and my kitchen all summer! It's probably a good thing that ice cream and Cinnabon are not included. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 If you live close to the park or plan to go at least 1-2 times per week, this plan is a slam dunk! Even if the food options are not the greatest of selections, its still better than leaving the park going to get food then coming back. $84 divided by 12 meals (6 days in the park) = $7 per meal. No drinks of course but water is better for you anyways. 84 divided by 20 meals (10 days in the park) = $4.20 per meal 84 divided by 30 meals (15 days) = $2.80 And lastly for our big park goers 84 divided by 50 meals (25 days in the park) = $1.68 per meal.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandagail13 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Well considering I spent about $15 after my discount for 2 slices of pizza and a Coke I might be thinking about it. I could have went to Little Caesars 3 times for that! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 ^ The pizza would have cost less had you forgone the breadstick. Remember that the season and all-day dining plans do not include soft drinks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 ...or at least they are not supposed to include soft drinks. The cashier at Hank's insisted that it did, even after I tried to correct her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Using my numbers from above... if you get a souvenir bottle, you can add 99 cents onto each price per meal if you want a soft drink. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Or if you're going to get plenty of drinks throughout the day, buy a new souvenir cup each day ($9.99 with a Gold/Platinum Pass) and take advantage of free refills on day of purchase. I did that last year. Plus that enables you to ride Banshee and Firehawk in the morning before buying the cup so you don't have to buy a locker to store the cup you brought from home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 And then there are people like me who may make special trips just to relax and enjoy a slice of pizza by the fountains after work. Heck, KI isn't even out of my normal way home other than the mile or so between the I-71 off-ramp to the parking tolls. I could actually use this to get an inexpensive meal if money is ever tight this summer! Perhaps visiting just to grab a bite to eat and then leaving is verging on abusing the system, but as far as I'm concerned, it's within my rights as a customer! Or if you're going to get plenty of drinks throughout the day, buy a new souvenir cup each day ($9.99 with a Gold/Platinum Pass) and take advantage of free refills on day of purchase. I did that last year. Plus that enables you to ride Banshee and Firehawk in the morning before buying the cup so you don't have to buy a locker to store the cup you brought from home. Since it would take 10 soft drinks in a day to break even on that deal, I can't even imagine the diabeetus brewing in your system right now... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I would not be telling the truth if that thought didnt cross my mind. I live about 15-20 minutes from KI. A season pass would run me about 110 + 84$ for the meal plan. I would buy a souvenir cup and then go to KI every afternoon just to get food and eat at the park with my son. So because I like doing these type of things....... 200 divided by 20 trips to the park = $10 per meal + 99 cents per drink 200 divided by 40 trips to the park = $5 per meal + 99 cents per drink (I may not stay for 2 meals) but would go to a show or two. Man this could be cheaper than going to the grocery store... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 If you want to enter the park 5 days a week just for "free" food, that's up to you. The dining plan greatly encourages in-park dining while offering a high perceived value for passholders. Without paying for meals each time, more spending money is available for drinks, games, snacks, etc. If a group includes some dining plan passholders, the remainder of the group will be very likely to purchase meals. A minority of customers will be unprofitable, just as some diners at all-you-can-eat buffets are. The price accounts for this. The cashier at Hank's insisted that it did, even after I tried to correct her. On Opening Day, cashiers were apparently trained to err in the customer's favor when facing system problems. Don't expect drinks to be incorrectly included once the procedures are finalized. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Agreed^^ I was be factious to a point. But if it gets me into the park the odds of me spending money there increases as well. Plus I have a young child that going to the park to just see the sights would be entertaining to him and I. Plus it would be on par to a go cardio program of walkin the park daily with him Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Also, if I'm in the park, but don't intend to ride rides, I bring my DSLR. If I bring my DLSR, I take lots of pictures and upload them on Facebook. If I upload them on Facebook my friends see them. If my friends see pictures of KI, they want to go to KI. And if they want to go to KI, they go to KI, most likely with a single day ticket and spend tons of money. (Suddenly, I feel like a DirecTV commercial...) Plus, I know me. I can't go to Kings Island and NOT buy a blue ice cream! And in my case, it certainly wouldn't be a 5 days a week thing. But I could see going to the park after work once a week or so and maybe taking in a show and going up the tower or riding the carousel before I head out. I think with my in-park habits, the park WILL make a net profit off of my having the dining plan no matter how much I may feel as if I'm abusing it. I mean, most of the food costs next to nothing to make anyway. I'd bet if I buy a soda with it (even at 99 cents) the park is probably profiting a little with that alone since soft drink syrup is absurdly cheap in bulk. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that this fact alone contributed to the decision to NOT include a drink. This will also help fund my idea of getting an on-ride photo on every ride that offers them while wearing a suit and tie... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Plus there's been many a time I've gone in and ridden nothing just went in to enjoy the park atmosphere, watch the rides cycle, and walk around 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbum123 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Plus there's been many a time I've gone in and ridden nothing just went in to enjoy the park atmosphere, watch the rides cycle, and walk around People watching is half the fun of going to the park! If I lived closer to the park, I would park my but next to the fountains by LaRosas and relax. I love that spot with the smell of the Pizza, sounds if the fountains and the feel if the mist blowing from the fountain jets. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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