Coney BBQ and 2018 Food Reviews

[harmony29]

7 hours ago, Gannersdaddy said:

Had the mac and cheese bar today. Tried the Cajon shrimp and bacon jam. Both are hood.  They did change back to the smaller plates but I think the serving size was good

That's so weird, last night they were using the bigger bowls, I hate the inconsistency. They had a new person on the line yesterday and they were out of so many items, she had no clue sadly, I felt  bad for her.

[King Ding Dong]

13 hours ago, Gannersdaddy said:

Had the mac and cheese bar today. Tried the Cajon shrimp and bacon jam. Both are hood.  They did change back to the smaller plates but I think the serving size was good

I can’t keep up with all the slag kids use these days.  

[BoddaH1994]

Mac n cheese was closed by the time I got to the park at 7:00 last night. Other food lines were pouring out the doors - including the normal Hank’s line. Likely a staffing thing. Definitely not hood. 

[upstop]

The park was packed last night!  I Waited 1hour for a burrito bowl. The line started by the Coke building. 

I ate ate the Barbecue once this summer.... sorry, I was not impressed.

[LuvingKI]

Clean the freaking tables once in awhile, that's my BIG KI complaint. 40 empty tables behind Hank's, all NASTY

[King Ding Dong]

2 hours ago, LuvingKI said:

Clean the freaking tables once in awhile, that's my BIG KI complaint. 40 empty tables behind Hank's, all NASTY

I find this problem is not exclusive to KI.  It seems most  “self serve” establishments have abdicated the responsibility of cleaning the tables.   It would be one thing if they actually provided the necessary equipment for a patron to do it them selves but they don’t.

[Gannersdaddy]

18 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

I can’t keep up with all the slag kids use these days.  

Its all good in the hood.  LOL

What I get for posting on the phone 

[Ki Man]

The blue soft serve has been consistent across the 4 visits I've had this year. I'll gladly keep shelling out for that!

Sure, I get it, the value is there if you're a local and go every week/two weeks but yikes this thread just summarizes why I won't ever add dining to my pass. I'll gladly save my money, time, and sanity for a local spot outside of KI/CP/Carowinds/Knott's, etc until they can prove that food in park is worth time/money/sanity. Hopefully they can learn from the sum of honest reviews in this thread!

[BoddaH1994]

On 10/8/2018 at 2:41 PM, Ki Man said:

The blue soft serve has been consistent across the 4 visits I've had this year. I'll gladly keep shelling out for that!

Sure, I get it, the value is there if you're a local and go every week/two weeks but yikes this thread just summarizes why I won't ever add dining to my pass. I'll gladly save my money, time, and sanity for a local spot outside of KI/CP/Carowinds/Knott's, etc until they can prove that food in park is worth time/money/sanity. Hopefully they can learn from the sum of honest reviews in this thread!

One thing I do want to say is that Coney BBQ food has been the most consistent food in the park in my opinion. Honestly it has lingered between “very good” and “excellent.” The pulled pork is almost always a home run. I’m on team Mac n cheese, but many of my friends swear by the French fries there. The line queue is very efficient - albeit it’s a little frustrating when there’s only one register open sometimes. 

Also, in the interest of fairness, I posted earlier in the season about a couple of bad experiences at Reds. I strayed away from the place all season until a few weeks ago. I gave it another shot with a group of friends and we all had very good experiences. I had the Redlegs burger and it was very good. 

[Winterfestguy]

It is good to hear that some have had good experiences and food quality at Coney BBQ.  For me and the guests I have brought to the park, we have only had poor experiences.  So much so that I (and my friends that come to the park with me) have avoided eating at Coney BBQ late season.  My friends and I have had rock hard hush puppies that you could not even bite into, tasteless mac & cheese, ice cold chicken, cold pull pork, and forever checking out with one cashier.  The only bright spot was the sidewinder fries which were hot and crispy because they just came out of the fryer.  So in my opinion, Coney BBQ still seems inconsistent in their food quality and there is room for improvement during Winterfest and next season.

[spooky21]

11 hours ago, Winterfestguy said:

It is good to hear that some have had good experiences and food quality at Coney BBQ.  For me and the guests I have brought to the park, we have only had poor experiences.  So much so that I (and my friends that come to the park with me) have avoided eating at Coney BBQ late season.  My friends and I have had rock hard hush puppies that you could not even bite into, tasteless mac & cheese, ice cold chicken, cold pull pork, and forever checking out with one cashier.  The only bright spot was the sidewinder fries which were hot and crispy because they just came out of the fryer.  So in my opinion, Coney BBQ still seems inconsistent in their food quality and there is room for improvement during Winterfest and next season.

I have yet to have a hot meal from Coney BBQ

[King Ding Dong]

1 hour ago, spooky21 said:

I have yet to have a hot meal from Coney BBQ

Maybe KI could install some microwaves out by the frequently empty condiment table.  Probably just get rid of the condiments all together since they don’t want to fill them.  

[Stoan]

The tri-tip has been the saving grace for me at CBBQ. Ribs are a backup, luckily I can eat both cold without much loss.

I'd be super happy if they actually had fresh wings there like at island smokehouse.

The chicken is nice, but it looks like they aren't cooking it as long as earlier in the year. It used to have a nice crust and color, now it looks sad and lightly browned.

Pulled pork doesn't have enough smoke to save it from the watery puddle it sits in.

 

All the sides are throw aways for me. I was excited for the corn, but the turnover for it is so slow it's just cold and wet.

[KingsMills79]

Unless anyone is bringing this to the attention of Guest Services, all of this is superfluous. 

For 2018, I had the all season dining plan and always eat at Coney Mall Skyline. Not once on numerous visits has the ordering process worked for me. What I noticed by watching others ordering was that people around me were using credit cards to pay and they had no issue with their transaction thus proceeding to the next window to get drinks and subsequently pick up their order. However, when I try ordering on the touch screen, the dining plan wrist bands just don't seem to scan properly for payment which holds up one of the three available terminals for folks to order from. Needless to say I have to then cancel out the order, proceed to the drink area to explain why I could not pre-order and they then proceed to scan my wristband and take the order manually. The first time it happened its was no big deal and I just went about my day, but when it occurred on the next 3 visits, I stopped by the Guest Services area to advise and they took down my information and said they would address with Food Services. 

TBF, I think they are approaching this incorrectly as this doesn't necessarily seem to be a "Food Service" issue but more of a (IT) Terminal issue, but who am I?

To this day, it has still not been addressed that I know of but I have hope for next season.

[standbyme]

On 10/8/2018 at 1:41 PM, Ki Man said:

The blue soft serve has been consistent across the 4 visits I've had this year. I'll gladly keep shelling out for that!

I am surprised that there doesn’t seem to be a standard for the amount you are supposed to receive. Our Culvers & Dairy Queen both have scales to make sure that you are at least getting the minimum amount.

The amount of the ice cream in cups at the park varies greatly. Whenever I see someone else with a large bowl of ice cream and mine is half their size I always wonder, is that person getting lucky or am I being screwed?!

[KImom]

40 minutes ago, KingsMills79 said:

However, when I try ordering on the touch screen, the dining plan wrist bands just don't seem to scan properly for payment which holds up one of the three available terminals for folks to order from.

I've been able to use my dining plan on my season pass just fine at all of the kiosks this season...so that experience has been good. However, the food pickup piece needs improvement (i.e. chicken shack chaos). 

I may be the lone ranger here but we've had a wonderful food experience this season - we typically go on Sunday's, though...since crowds are lighter and we seem to always have stuff going on on Saturday's. It might be that the staff is able to execute well when the crowds are like they are on Saturday - who knows! We eat at Red's a lot to escape the heat and grab a beer if we want...I didn't know this until recently, but you can avoid the long food line at the door and order food from the bar right off your meal plan! Overall, I think this season was a VAST improvement in food quality over prior seasons...is it perfect? Heck no...but is it better? Absolutely. Lots of room for improvement, I hope they continue heading in the right direction. 

[disco2000]

2 hours ago, KingsMills79 said:

For 2018, I had the all season dining plan and always eat at Coney Mall Skyline. Not once on numerous visits has the ordering process worked for me.. ... However, when I try ordering on the touch screen, the dining plan wrist bands just don't seem to scan properly for payment which holds up one of the three available terminals for folks to order from.

You say all season dining plan but then mention wristbands which would be all day dining and not all season...which one is it?  Maybe you were selecting the wrong plan option on the first screen?  There is pay option, all day option, and season long option and selecting the wrong one on the touchscreen initially will cause an issue...now why based on the scan can it not automatically know which plan it is is another issue altogether....

[standbyme]

2 hours ago, KingsMills79 said:

Unless anyone is bringing this to the attention of Guest Services, all of this is superfluous. 

I know that you are right...but for someone like me, who comes from out of state, I do not like wasting any time in guest services unless I am either really mad or really happy...I have limited time at the park.

[King Ding Dong]

19 minutes ago, standbyme said:

I know that you are right...but for someone like me, who comes from out of state, I do not like wasting any time in guest services unless I am either really mad or really happy...I have limited time at the park.

Agreed.  Not only do you have limited time in the park but frequently it can be a long walk to Guest Services. I always first try to deal with an issue with the local management and only go to GS if it is an issue that needs an immediate resolution and that has been rare.   If it is just a compliment or complaint about something that needs improvement I just send GS an email. 

Management may or may not monitor threads like this but for them to take any action such as retraining a crew on proper procedures they generally need more detailed information like a specific time or employee name which we generally don’t post here.  

[IndyGuy4KI]

20 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

Management may or may not monitor threads like this but for them to take any action such as retraining a crew on proper procedures they generally need more detailed information like a specific time or employee name which we generally don’t post here.  

For clarification on this: this thread is for food service experiences. We do not want anyone posting names of employees. Please take that info to Guest Services only. Thank You!

[Stoan]

21 hours ago, KingsMills79 said:

Unless anyone is bringing this to the attention of Guest Services, all of this is superfluous. 

For 2018, I had the all season dining plan and always eat at Coney Mall Skyline. Not once on numerous visits has the ordering process worked for me. What I noticed by watching others ordering was that people around me were using credit cards to pay and they had no issue with their transaction thus proceeding to the next window to get drinks and subsequently pick up their order. However, when I try ordering on the touch screen, the dining plan wrist bands just don't seem to scan properly for payment which holds up one of the three available terminals for folks to order from. Needless to say I have to then cancel out the order, proceed to the drink area to explain why I could not pre-order and they then proceed to scan my wristband and take the order manually. The first time it happened its was no big deal and I just went about my day, but when it occurred on the next 3 visits, I stopped by the Guest Services area to advise and they took down my information and said they would address with Food Services. 

TBF, I think they are approaching this incorrectly as this doesn't necessarily seem to be a "Food Service" issue but more of a (IT) Terminal issue, but who am I?

To this day, it has still not been addressed that I know of but I have hope for next season.

I see why they did the order kiosks, but they really should have put them flanking the cashier. That way the employee can assist with questions without the person essentially having to leave the line to inquire. They can also just direct you to where you need to go. But aside from that, the kiosks are not very well designed, they can be improved on the flow of actions immensely.

[BeeastFarmer]

I used the CM Skyline kiosks a couple of times and they were pretty efficient.  The only issue is that you could not use your drink plan.  I'd like to see them install the system in the IS Skyline.  The vast majority of Skyline is 3 ways or coneys.  Devote the labor to spitting out the product.  Not too hard to slap some cheese on top of chili on top of pasta.

[Winterfestguy]

The kiosks need to also allow for the ordering of the all season drink season plan.  Many times at the Chicken Shack using my all season dining pass at the kiosk, my food was processed quickly but could not get a drink because the manual cashier line was so long with others redeeming vouchers.   I hope with the promise of newer digital technology by CF, KI will allow viewing menus, ordering, and payment on the app; then just show up to pick up your food.  For those that have been to Disney, this technology was great to ease standing in lines and greatly improves efficiency (and the app technology works very well with the Disney Dining Plan as we experienced.)

[Stoan]

35 minutes ago, Winterfestguy said:

The kiosks need to also allow for the ordering of the all season drink season plan.  Many times at the Chicken Shack using my all season dining pass at the kiosk, my food was processed quickly but could not get a drink because the manual cashier line was so long with others redeeming vouchers.   I hope with the promise of newer digital technology by CF, KI will allow viewing menus, ordering, and payment on the app; then just show up to pick up your food.  For those that have been to Disney, this technology was great to ease standing in lines and greatly improves efficiency (and the app technology works very well with the Disney Dining Plan as we experienced.)

It should be simple to just add a screen to scan "Entitlements". Gold Pass, Wristbands, Drink Cups, all of them at once. Then the next should should tell you which apply and if not why. Then let you cancel out, or continue moving forward. Pick your food, pick your drink all that jazz, final screen should confirm order making note of your discounts. Then confirm AND PAY or cancel.

The cashier should be a glorified box checker and guide. Who again, should be flanked by the kiosks, or simply stand behind them with the drink dispenser next to them if they are worried about the pennies they will lose in stolen soda.

Being told "declined" when scanning my gold pass is a useless bit of information. Did I scan it wrong, and I in-between timers, have I over used it, do I not have the plan on this one?

[KingsMills79]

I like the in-app purchase and pick up your food later idea!!

And while we're at it, lets include a scan function for Season Passes within the app so we can use our phone for entry, POS discounts and the like.

[chad_1138]

25 minutes ago, KingsMills79 said:

I like the in-app purchase and pick up your food later idea!!

And while we're at it, lets include a scan function for Season Passes within the app so we can use our phone for entry, POS discounts and the like.

We used the mobile order for food at Disney World over the summer, and it was amazing.  No waiting in crazy lines.  You simply place your order anytime after the restaurant is open.  When you arrive to eat, you go in the app and click a button that says you are there.  You get a notification in a matter of minutes telling you that your food is ready.  There is even a window dedicated to mobile order pickup.  And, yes, before anyone comments, I know that Disney and Cedar Fair are not the same caliber of company

[disco2000]

6 hours ago, KingsMills79 said:

I like the in-app purchase and pick up your food later idea!!

And while we're at it, lets include a scan function for Season Passes within the app so we can use our phone for entry, POS discounts and the like.

Um you can use your phone for entry and meal plan usage and POS discounts....

[BoddaH1994]

28 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Um you can use your phone for entry and meal plan usage and POS discounts....

Yep. Main screen under “me.”

Works great!

Also I may suggest taking a screen shot of the QR code it generates for your pass in case there are any connectivity issues.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Last weekend I forgot my card and used my phone all day long for entry, meal plan, drink plan, and discounts on purchases. Worked like a charm!

[Kenban]

Disney World allows you to complete the entire order on your phone.  It tells you when it will be ready and you just go to a counter to pick it up.  You do not need to go to a kiosk or talk to an employee at all to place the order.