Meal Deals, and meal deals

[CocaColaParking]

6 hours ago, ryanhampel said:

I have a couple of questions about the meal deal that maybe you all can help with:

 

1. Where in the park can I buy it? Guest services, or at the individual food stands? I don't want to buy it online because I am already cheesed enough about paying the $6 service charge when I got the season passes.

2. How long is it good for? One the website, it says 'Valid for Winterfest,' but doesn't say anything about the Halloween season. I assume by 'all season' it means for summer, fall and winter?

1. Also with the ticket sale window, the "help center" inside the park also serves as a sales booth. I was this helpful hint last weekend, as guest services is often quite busy, and waited through the line of people there. They said in the future those two places are the best bet to buy things like that. 

 

 

[Magenta Lizard]

^ where is this "Help Center"?

[CocaColaParking]

6 minutes ago, Magenta Lizard said:

^ where is this "Help Center"?

Forgot to include that in my post it's where the height wall is. To the left once you walk in to the main gate. 

[Stoan]

Tom+Chee classic is Texas today and 4 slices of cheese vs the 2 on the BBQ Bacon.

 

Skyline 3 way with fries is more food, but less tasty over the cheese Coney of last year

 

Snoopy grill is back to fries, and from the smell they aren't lying about the fresh grilled Burger, I'll check tomorrow

[Magenta Lizard]

I got Rivertown Potato Works tonight. It was not my first, second, third, fourth, or even fifth choice (because I was at Chicken Shack when I first encountered tonight's power outage and didn't really want to walk to the back of the park, not because I dislike RPW)

I can confirm that the trend I have noticed toward more reasonable portions extends here as well. The paper boat they use is smaller, so rather than a redonkulous amount of fries, it is "merely" more than I should eat in one sitting  The boneless chicken wings greatly resemble previous years' chicken chunks, to the point I feel I can say they have only been rebranded. 

I've discovered an unexpected drawback of the paper cups vs the souvenir bottles. I cannot walk and drink very well apparently. My wet shirt is wishing I had a sealed bottle and straw. 

[silver2005]

This probably tells you how much I eat Skyline in the park, but do they have hot sauce in the park's Skylines?

[Stoan]

Yes, skyline brand hot sauce. Chick fil a has Texas Pete

[jcgoble3]

5 hours ago, Coca-ColaParking said:

1. Also with the ticket sale window, the "help center" inside the park also serves as a sales booth. I was this helpful hint last weekend, as guest services is often quite busy, and waited through the line of people there. They said in the future those two places are the best bet to buy things like that.

On Sunday, when I went into a fairly quiet Guest Services just after noon to add the drink plan to my pass, they simply told me to go to the Help Center. So it seems that they want simple transactions like that to take place at the Help Center now and leave Guest Services for people who have complaints and issues to resolve.

[CocaColaParking]

11 minutes ago, jcgoble3 said:

On Sunday, when I went into a fairly quiet Guest Services just after noon to add the drink plan to my pass, they simply told me to go to the Help Center. So it seems that they want simple transactions like that to take place at the Help Center now and leave Guest Services for people who have complaints and issues to resolve.

Makes sense. 

[Magenta Lizard]

Another note: I mentioned before, I believe, that the antipasto salad was out, in favor of one topped with bacon and tomatoes. I'm happy to say I was wrong!

The reason the guide says "entree salad" rather than specifying is that there are now two different salads available on the plan at LaRosa's!

The new BLT salad (called JoJo's Salad on the menu I believe) and the classic antipasto with an assortment of cured meats, mozzarella (I think? Maybe provolone), olives, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and sliced hot peppers (at least the one I just got, they've often been different depending on the day and LaRosa's location). 

Each comes with breadsticks (which are soooo good). They aren't doing that random slap of cheese slices on top of the breadsticks this year, and I personally think it's an improvement. It makes for more consistent baking. 

So, now, with these two salads, the one at Red's, and the build-your-own at Chicken Shack, there are a few nice options for a lighter meal on the dining plan for the times when one isn't as excited about a lot of fried food. 

[King Ding Dong]

^ Good to hear that.  I bought the meal plan for myself anyway last week as I should be able to use it to some degree.  May still need to supplement by bringing some food as it may still be hard to hit my protein/fat requirements.  As I have said it is not about the money, except I don't want to have to buy two $10 entrees and throw 3/4 of it away just for a meal.  

Been very strict the past few weeks with measuring portions and tracking EVERYTHING in MyFitnessPal. The barcode scanner function makes it much easier now.  Starting to see the scale moving again and hopefully my blood work keeps improving.  

[chad_1138]

We are loving the new paper cup drink plan this year.  Especially last night when you could walk up to any drink stand without waiting.  Really going to be nice on hot days this summer to grab a drink before waiting in line and not having to worry about storing a plastic cup.  Great job KI!!!!

[KIDB]

Surprisingly happy with the new season drink cups. They're noticeably smaller but it makes it really nice because I clip it to my cross-body purse. Still more than we can consume in 15 minutes as well. We considered doing the cup option but we will always have something else to carry anyways so it wouldn't be a difference in getting a locker or not.


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[Stoan]

17 hours ago, Magenta Lizard said:

Another note: I mentioned before, I believe, that the antipasto salad was out, in favor of one topped with bacon and tomatoes. I'm happy to say I was wrong!

The reason the guide says "entree salad" rather than specifying is that there are now two different salads available on the plan at LaRosa's!

The new BLT salad (called JoJo's Salad on the menu I believe) and the classic antipasto with an assortment of cured meats, mozzarella (I think? Maybe provolone), olives, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and sliced hot peppers (at least the one I just got, they've often been different depending on the day and LaRosa's location). 

Each comes with breadsticks (which are soooo good). They aren't doing that random slap of cheese slices on top of the breadsticks this year, and I personally think it's an improvement. It makes for more consistent baking. 

So, now, with these two salads, the one at Red's, and the build-your-own at Chicken Shack, there are a few nice options for a lighter meal on the dining plan for the times when one isn't as excited about a lot of fried food. 

I think I am going to use your review on the first post on the thread, salad is kind of my last resort food hah.

[Stoan]

7 hours ago, KIDB said:

Surprisingly happy with the new season drink cups. They're noticeably smaller but it makes it really nice because I clip it to my cross-body purse. Still more than we can consume in 15 minutes as well. We considered doing the cup option but we will always have something else to carry anyways so it wouldn't be a difference in getting a locker or not.


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I must drink a lot, I usually plow through the souvenir cup in about 3-4 drinks.

[Honorarius]

I too drink the old size cups in a short time... Mostly because I go fairly heavy on the ice and there isn't much liquid in there...

[DMann1979]

I have a question, since both season drink plans are the same price. If you get the Souvenir Cup plan, do your drinks have to be filled in that cup, or can you still get a paper cup drink if you choose. I'm asking for those times I might not want to drag the cup around the park. 

[King Ding Dong]

23 minutes ago, DMann1979 said:

I have a question, since both season drink plans are the same price. If you get the Souvenir Cup plan, do your drinks have to be filled in that cup, or can you still get a paper cup drink if you choose. I'm asking for those times I might not want to drag the cup around the park. 

From my reading of the FAQ, there is a $2.99 charge to switch plans.  So I suppose you could, but is probably not what they intended.   I would email the park from the website and ask.  They normally are very fast in responding, sometimes within a couple of hours, but I had to wait a couple days just recently.  

[Stoan]

23 hours ago, DMann1979 said:

I have a question, since both season drink plans are the same price. If you get the Souvenir Cup plan, do your drinks have to be filled in that cup, or can you still get a paper cup drink if you choose. I'm asking for those times I might not want to drag the cup around the park. 

It is 2.99 to switch, and I believe that switch is only allowed once. The souvenir cup is scanned for the refill on that plan, the disposables are given from scanning your gold pass. Once you get your souvenir cup, there isn't anything on your gold pass any more. Obviously there isn't anything on the disposable cups that would allow you to scan. So you'd have to pay the 2.99 to swap in the first place, and at worse you are stuck, at best you'd have to pay 2.99 to swap back again.

[zombiejane]

On 4/21/2017 at 6:33 PM, Magenta Lizard said:

I got Rivertown Potato Works tonight. It was not my first, second, third, fourth, or even fifth choice (because I was at Chicken Shack when I first encountered tonight's power outage and didn't really want to walk to the back of the park, not because I dislike RPW)

I can confirm that the trend I have noticed toward more reasonable portions extends here as well. The paper boat they use is smaller, so rather than a redonkulous amount of fries, it is "merely" more than I should eat in one sitting  The boneless chicken wings greatly resemble previous years' chicken chunks, to the point I feel I can say they have only been rebranded. 

I've discovered an unexpected drawback of the paper cups vs the souvenir bottles. I cannot walk and drink very well apparently. My wet shirt is wishing I had a sealed bottle and straw. 

Me either.  My flip flops were very sticky by the end of the day. Lol

[zombiejane]

On 4/22/2017 at 10:41 AM, King Ding Dong said:

^ Good to hear that.  I bought the meal plan for myself anyway last week as I should be able to use it to some degree.  May still need to supplement by bringing some food as it may still be hard to hit my protein/fat requirements.  As I have said it is not about the money, except I don't want to have to buy two $10 entrees and throw 3/4 of it away just for a meal.  

Been very strict the past few weeks with measuring portions and tracking EVERYTHING in MyFitnessPal. The barcode scanner function makes it much easier now.  Starting to see the scale moving again and hopefully my blood work keeps improving.  

I'm guessing keto or some other low carb meal plan?

 

I didn't think KI had anything that was friendly towards that.  KI day is cheat day for me....well, cheating within reason.

[King Ding Dong]

51 minutes ago, zombiejane said:

I'm guessing keto or some other low carb meal plan?

I didn't think KI had anything that was friendly towards that.  KI day is cheat day for me....well, cheating within reason.

Yep, basic keto with moderate fat for dropping the weight.  Cholesterol numbers have been the best in 15 years and I would need to take a bunch of meds for blood glucose if I went high carb/low fat.   That finally went critical last year.  Wife is celiac so it fits well with her, the only problem is I have a severely underweight son so we still have to keep all the simple carbs and sugars in the house.  

CP has some better options like Pinks,  

[zombiejane]

That's one thing I miss about going to CP.   We would always hit up Pink's and Chicki's (?) and Pete's.  

Does KI have anything that is semi keto?  The problem I always come into are hidden carbs and insane levels of fat, which is why I try to have KI trips as cheat days if I plan in eating at the he park.

[King Ding Dong]

5 hours ago, zombiejane said:

That's one thing I miss about going to CP.   We would always hit up Pink's and Chicki's (?) and Pete's.  

Does KI have anything that is semi keto?  The problem I always come into are hidden carbs and insane levels of fat, which is why I try to have KI trips as cheat days if I plan in eating at the he park.

On normal keto I would be fine with the levels of fat but I can see it being a problem for some especially females.   My current plan has my protein at 158g/day for an active day (I am big), which is nearly 30oz of meat so would need like 3 burgers or grilled chickens per meal.  That would be outrageously expensive.  

For you the anti-pasta salad may work, maybe the chicken wings at Reds (if your fat macro can handle it)  In theory a burrito bowl at Hanks would work but I have not checked out what fillers if any are added to the meat. It is not listed as gluten free and if it were clean meat it should be.  I am bit leary of their guacamole because it is nothing like a mashed up avocado.  Will be requesting some additional details from food service soon to see what they are jazzing it up with.  

Something else I noticed poking around the website is they use soybean oil in a lot of stuff.  My wife is celiac and although on both her visits she ate gluten free she still had issues.  For her soy is just as bad, so that may have been the culprit.  

 

[zombiejane]

2 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

On normal keto I would be fine with the levels of fat but I can see it being a problem for some especially females.   My current plan has my protein at 158g/day for an active day (I am big), which is nearly 30oz of meat so would need like 3 burgers or grilled chickens per meal.  That would be outrageously expensive.  

For you the anti-pasta salad may work, maybe the chicken wings at Reds (if your fat macro can handle it)  In theory a burrito bowl at Hanks would work but I have not checked out what fillers if any are added to the meat. It is not listed as gluten free and if it were clean meat it should be.  I am bit leary of their guacamole because it is nothing like a mashed up avocado.  Will be requesting some additional details from food service soon to see what they are jazzing it up with.  

Something else I noticed poking around the website is they use soybean oil in a lot of stuff.  My wife is celiac and although on both her visits she ate gluten free she still had issues.  For her soy is just as bad, so that may have been the culprit.  

 

It could also be cross contamination. If GF items are prepared in the same space as non- GF, I'd say that the risk is high.

My macros are pretty limited being that they are set up for 1200 calories. One poorly planned meal can mess everything up.  I've avoided that by almost completely cutting out red meat.  But that also causese me to have a hard time hitting my macros and calorie count. As long as I hit my protein, or come close, I don't sweat it too much.

I try not to eat out unless I'm prepared to go over for the day, and/or have been under for a few consecutive days.  It's crazy where sugars and carbs are hidding.  I've resorted to making a lot from scratch just to avoid hidden carbs and sugars.

[Stoan]

The only thing I think could be truely Gluten Free is probably the pizza at Festhaus. At least last I looked you have to order it from a different register all together and they cook it right then and there. They may use the same ovens as the LaRoasa's pizza so it could pick some up from there, but the "non-sticks" for most pizza places is cornmeal not flour, so it would be very minimal cross contamination.

 

The Coney Mall Potato Works I think is all Gluten Free now, and the sides are potatoes. But like you said, if they are frying in oil with gluten it kind of negates the whole purpose.

 

I am not sure how you manage 1200 calories a day. I set my goal to 1700 and I have a hard time keeping to that, and I am not a very active person. But yeah, the most annoying thing I realized when I got diagnosed with diabetes and realizing how many carbs are in every thing. Cheap quick snacks are pretty much out the window.

[King Ding Dong]

Carbs are cheap and taste great, that's why 90% of the food is carbs.  

Coney Potato Works is GF and is not supposed to be contaminated, buy if they are using soybean oil that can be a problem for some.  To bad because I think the strips there are better than Rivertown.   I think the time she had wings at Reds cross-contamination from the fryer was the issue.  Not blaming the park as it is not labeled as GF.  

Stoan my 20% deficit is 1700 as well currently, but for the past 3 days I have been running Lyle's RFL which brings me down to 900, essentially just cutting the fat down to 20-40g/day.   Goal is to be able to staple into a few more coasters this year.   Short term maybe 4-6 weeks, as it is not sustainable with the activity level required for a day at the park.   Surprisingly it has been much easier than I thought, but I miss my bacon.  

Keto on!

[zombiejane]

If I'm being good and totally avoiding no-no food, I have a difficult time even hitting 1000 calories in a day.

Eating 2 - 3 scrambled eggs for breakfast, maybe a quest bar around lunch time (my 17 month old makes cooking when I'm home alone difficult), and having fish, chicken, turkey, or pork as the protien for dinner with broccoli or spinach or greenbeans...maybe some halo top ice cream for dessert.  All of that is more than enough to keep me full all day.

I think what makes it hard hitting daily calories on that is the lack of fat.  Poultry, seafood, and pork are all pretty lean.

 

[King Ding Dong]

As long as you are hitting your protein macro to preserve LBM going under on calories just means you will loose some fat. If you want to maintain I highly suggest some BACON!  Have you tried Bullet Proof Coffee?  

[silver2005]

I'm not sure about Coney Mall's PW, but when I worked at the RT stand, it was peanut oil.  It was mentioned on the menu listing.  

EDIT: I find it rather embarrassing that the bigger chain parks don't post food allergen and listing information on their websites while smaller parks do.