Meal Deals, and meal deals

[Sol44]

A group of us stopped to eat at Juke Box Diner yesterday (6/27) at about 5PM. Awful.

Food was cold. Service was downright rude. ALL FOUR freestyle machines were out of ice (on a very cool day). Two of the machines were down entirely. Ridiculous. Employees just standing around.

4 hours later we had Larosa's on International Street. Very good.


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[Creed Bratton]

4 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

Why does it take that long to cook spaghetti?  It takes me like 5 minute at home.

They cook for a lot more people than you cook for at home. Not to mention, their pots and pans aren't tiny either. It takes a bit for them to fill up with water, then to boil and then to actually cook. 

[tstidm5]

Question for you about the Day Meal Deal. Can you split the Day long Meal Deal with another person? How many people could you have split this Meal Deal? I'm thinking this could work well with two people because it's every 90 minutes for the meals. 

[King Ding Dong]

31 minutes ago, tstidm5 said:

Question for you about the Day Meal Deal. Can you split the Day long Meal Deal with another person? How many people could you have split this Meal Deal? I'm thinking this could work well with two people because it's every 90 minutes for the meals. 

We had this issue come up some pages back with the All Season meal plan.  I wrote the park for clarification and I posted their response.   Bottom line as long as the person who bought the plan picks up the food the park does not care who eats it.   So don't share the wristband or whatever they give you and all should be fine.  

[chuck norris]

Smokehouse today had brisket, and it was included on the dining plan. A very nice treat for my dinner.


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[flightoffear1996]

19 hours ago, chugh43 said:

They cook for a lot more people than you cook for at home. Not to mention, their pots and pans aren't tiny either. It takes a bit for them to fill up with water, then to boil and then to actually cook. 

Shouldn't they already have the pot boiling with water as soon as the last batch is done?  

[txdrummer]

15 hours ago, chuck norris said:

Smokehouse today had brisket, and it was included on the dining plan. A very nice treat for my dinner.


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Would love to try the brisket but it has not been available the times that I have visited. It would be great if they had a schedule or something that gave some info about when the brisket would be available. I was raised on slow smoked brisket and prefer it over the pork butt or pork shoulder.

[Creed Bratton]

10 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

Shouldn't they already have the pot boiling with water as soon as the last batch is done?  

Nope...it needs to be a new each time they go through the process. Leaving a pot of boiling water can be a safety hazard as well as a health department issue (things going into the water unattended).

[silver2005]

If KI's Skylines cook their spaghetti like the stores, then it's done in a few stages.  First, it's pre-cooked in the morning with tomato paste, then kept in our walk in freezer/refrigeration, then cooked again before it's brought out.  We use giant kettle's for the first stage and the spaghetti amount that's cooked before being brought out to the steam table isn't a small amount either.  They have to last a while before rotating the bowls out.  I believe the cooking that takes place immediately before it's brought out to serve is about 15-20 minutes.  

All of it is done by the kitchen staff, not the table staff.  I'm hoping KI's Skylines have people in the back helping make stuff. 

[chuck norris]

At Tom and Chee today I learned that the owner has to buy his own kinzle cups for water, because they were out of the cups and explained to me that they have to buy the cups from Kings Island. I had hoped to go to guest services and let them know but ran out of time.... But if Kings Island is going to offer water cups, they should just give the cups to Tom and Chee


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[Magenta Lizard]

^especially since the drinks-only station directly across from Tom+Chee doesn't have the cups (or water on their machines, I believe, although there is the bottle-filling water fountain on the side of the building), and direct people asking for free water cups to T+C. 

[King Ding Dong]

^ IIRC the tea dispenser in the middle does have plain water.  

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I didn't pick up on the change to how the Reds Hall of Fame grill operates until just today.  I have to say, it is definitely a step backwards.  The whole point of that place was to actually give Kings Island a location where they have full table service dining.  The changes cheapen the experience to being yet another "place your order at the counter" place.    

I honestly have no idea what they are thinking in the food department.  A table service restaurant is an opportunity to cook higher quality food at a slower pace, and to offer something different than the dozens of walk up locations everywhere else in the park.  

[flightoffear1996]

I like the change but I think KI does need a well run sit down restaurant.  The Reds Hall of Fame grill was never run well.

[Stoan]

19 minutes ago, flightoffear1996 said:

I like the change but I think KI does need a well run sit down restaurant.  The Reds Hall of Fame grill was never run well.

Open up the Ballroom on International Street again? The one place in the park I haven't been to yet.

 

I am up in the air about RHoFG personally. I liked the table service, I didn't like having to figure out how to tip when I used the meal plan and my cost was 0. I don't usually carry cash, and I don't want to order something else just to get a bill I can pay with my CC for the tip.

[Gemstone023]

On Saturday, for the first time ever we left the park for lunch. In the absence of a full service option, we felt there wasn't any way to really recharge within the park. We used to always have lunch at Red's, even though both the food and service were nothing to brag about. I would love to know if the park management is having discussions about these things, because it really seems like they don't care.

[flightoffear1996]

I am sure they do and I am sure they work with a limited budget.  I really would love to see the parks books with this meal plan.  I would think they would have to be losing money on it.  I would much rather pay $15-$20 per meal and get something of quality versus using the meal plan.  If the park is having trouble (which is clear to me they are) running the restaurants why not get an outside chain that would be willing to pay some rent for a spot in the park.  You could get a place like Montgomery Inn or something native to the Cincinnati area.

[BeeastFarmer]

Cedar Fair is reporting record results.  I highly doubt that KI is in financial troubles. 

It just puzzles me to no end that KI, in my experiences, cannot give quality service in an acceptable time consistently.  I've been to Knotts, CP, Dorney, KD and Carowinds and had faster service at each park.  KD and Cwinds especially have higher quality of food.

I think they are trying to address the issues with the que lines and more drink stands, but the apathy of the majority of the workers is concerning.  I've gotten better service at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Over Georgia!

[KIfan73]

You could drive down Kings Island Drive to McDonald's and get an order of magnitude better service and food.  

 

[Creed Bratton]

8 hours ago, Pagoda Gift Shop said:

I didn't pick up on the change to how the Reds Hall of Fame grill operates until just today.  I have to say, it is definitely a step backwards.  The whole point of that place was to actually give Kings Island a location where they have full table service dining.  The changes cheapen the experience to being yet another "place your order at the counter" place.    

I honestly have no idea what they are thinking in the food department.  A table service restaurant is an opportunity to cook higher quality food at a slower pace, and to offer something different than the dozens of walk up locations everywhere else in the park.  

 

8 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

I like the change but I think KI does need a well run sit down restaurant.  The Reds Hall of Fame grill was never run well.

I'd assume it's hard for the park to recruit servers on a seasonal basis where they hardly get tipped (those on meal plans often forgot or didn't care about tipping their server) and that they would have to go find another serving job for 5 months or so. 

8 hours ago, Stoan said:

Open up the Ballroom on International Street again? The one place in the park I haven't been to yet.

 

I am up in the air about RHoFG personally. I liked the table service, I didn't like having to figure out how to tip when I used the meal plan and my cost was 0. I don't usually carry cash, and I don't want to order something else just to get a bill I can pay with my CC for the tip.

There is a ballroom on I-Street? Whoa!  

[Rivertown Rider]

My experience is that the service has gotten better as the season has gone on. I would like to see more variety of options like they have at some of the other parks.

[PKIVortex]

They still have some things to work on. I didn't like the fact that in RHOFG a bunch of Ketchup and mustard bottles were on the tables without lids, that's gross.

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[silver2005]

4 hours ago, jtro223 said:

Cedar Fair is reporting record results.  I highly doubt that KI is in financial troubles. 

It just puzzles me to no end that KI, in my experiences, cannot give quality service in an acceptable time consistently.  I've been to Knotts, CP, Dorney, KD and Carowinds and had faster service at each park.  KD and Cwinds especially have higher quality of food.

I think they are trying to address the issues with the que lines and more drink stands, but the apathy of the majority of the workers is concerning.  I've gotten better service at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Over Georgia!

Michigan's Adventure, CF's smallest and most neglected park, has better food service than KI.  That should be all you need to know.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I admit I am no expert in the food industry or restaurant business.  I just don't understand how having a nice sit down restaurant isn't a great opportunity for the park to showcase excellent food and service.  Maybe they haven't run it well enough?  Maybe the food simply isn't good enough to be a draw by itself?  Maybe they needed to go with a franchise that is recognizable and appealing?  

I also wish they had some plan to re-open the International Street Restaurant.  My understanding is that it closed about 20 years ago because it simply was not profitable.  That's too bad because being able to sit and watch the fountains seems like the perfect location for a mid-day break.  

[malem]

New at Cedar Point, presenting the 5oz Kinzel Jr Cup

 

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Man, Reds Hall of the Fame Grille was rough Wednesday afternoon.

This was my first time here since they changed the format. We got there around 1:00 PM and the place was pretty empty, but most of the tables just had trash piled up on them so we were struggling to find a place to sit. Even the ones that didn't have trash on them had bits of food still on them like they had quickest of wipe downs and food was all over the floor under the table. The floor overall was super sticky even out in the open. The table we finally found that seemed the cleanest still had dirty used napkins squeezed into the wooden mustard holder thing off to the side. 

The burger I got was pretty bland, which seemed to be a change from back when it was full service (I remember really liking it then).

I sent out a tweet to the KI food service group before getting the food and within 10 minutes a couple people were out starting to clean. Overall, not the best impression and doubt I'll go back there this season. Felt kinda dirty and gross when I left the place. 

[silver2005]

20 minutes ago, malem said:

New at Cedar Point, presenting the 5oz Kinzel Jr Cup

 

I think we should dub it the Ouimet cup at this point. 

[flightoffear1996]

18 hours ago, jtro223 said:

Cedar Fair is reporting record results.  I highly doubt that KI is in financial troubles. 

 

Just becuase the park isn't having financial troubles doesn't mean they dont have a budget.

[beastfan11]

Low quality, cheap food + Outrageous prices = Record numbers. 

Totally applicable to other non- food aspects as well. This is how's it going to be, I guess. 

[KIfan73]

1 hour ago, LongLiveTheSmurfRide said:

Man, Reds Hall of the Fame Grille was rough Wednesday afternoon.

This was my first time here since they changed the format. We got there around 1:00 PM and the place was pretty empty, but most of the tables just had trash piled up on them so we were struggling to find a place to sit. Even the ones that didn't have trash on them had bits of food still on them like they had quickest of wipe downs and food was all over the floor under the table. The floor overall was super sticky even out in the open. The table we finally found that seemed the cleanest still had dirty used napkins squeezed into the wooden mustard holder thing off to the side. 

The burger I got was pretty bland, which seemed to be a change from back when it was full service (I remember really liking it then).

I sent out a tweet to the KI food service group before getting the food and within 10 minutes a couple people were out starting to clean. Overall, not the best impression and doubt I'll go back there this season. Felt kinda dirty and gross when I left the place. 

That's too bad.  Eating there has been a bright spot for the last few seasons.  Does the bar still operate?  How does that work since it's changed from full-service?  

It was so nice to go in there, have a seat at the bar, and get waited on.  I always got really good food, and service.