Kings Island 2022 Food News and Reviews

[IndyGuy4KI]

With the changes to Sweet Spot this year, and other anniversary food items, the 2022 season is sure to be a great year in the foods department. at Kings Island.  We will use this thread to discuss and review food and beverage for 2022 season. KIC looks forward to seeing your food pics and reviews in this thread!

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Our guests can come in and watch the making of our desserts from start to finish. Not only will you be able to get these desserts at many of your favorite restaurants around the park, but you will also now be able to enjoy these treats at Sweet Spot. All our desserts will be made from scratch. If you walk into Sweet Spot at any given time, you’re going to see how the desserts are made and observe the talented team making these wonderful treats in action.

Sweet Spot details on the KIBlog: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/march/kings-island-foodie-news-sweet-surprises-coming-to-sweet-spot-this-year

[chad_1138]

Just had the burnt ends from Coney.  A few fatty pieces along with some nicely charred bites. Highly recommend!!
 

[IndyGuy4KI]

 

 

 

[chad_1138]

The new Coney Confections!!

 

[Winterfestguy]

Had the best meal at the Brewhouse for lunch today (London Bridge fried cod sandwich).  Very tasty and fresh with hot tater tots.  It’s nice to see the new exterior paint job and newly installed windows (noticed all the lights around the windows have been removed which called my attention to the new paint job and brewhouse flags).   However, my dinner meal at Coney BBQ not so good, primarily because the registers were not taking the cash cards, crashing, and holding up the line.  After standing in line with my food for 15 minutes waiting, my food was ice cold.  Not a fan at all of the thick cut fries (please bring back the sidewinder fries) and there was huge amounts of fat on almost every piece of my burnt ends (maybe I got a bad batch?), not impressed as one of my worst meals in years, maybe because the food was not even warm by the time I cleared the cashier after register reboots.

[disco2000]

Larosa's breadsticks are now half in size or at least seemed to be half LOL.

[Coasterteam]

12 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Larosa's breadsticks are now half in size or at least seemed to be half LOL.

Seriously? Those were the best part of going there!

[disco2000]

13 minutes ago, Coasterteam said:

Seriously? Those were the best part of going there!

I thought they tasted better than usual, but they were definitely smaller.  More like hot dog length (well not the length of Skyline's LOL but a regular size hot dog).

[Captain Nemo]

Anyone get food or go through Festhaus? Does the inside still have that weird smell? The smell is one of the main reasons I can't eat in there, which is unfortunate because I like Panda and Pizza. 

[DoomPlague]

2 hours ago, Winterfestguy said:

Had the best meal at the Brewhouse for lunch today (London Bridge fried cod sandwich).  Very tasty and fresh with hot tater tots.  It’s nice to see the new exterior paint job and newly installed windows (noticed all the lights around the windows have been removed which called my attention to the new paint job and brewhouse flags).   However, my dinner meal at Coney BBQ not so good, primarily because the registers were not taking the cash cards, crashing, and holding up the line.  After standing in line with my food for 15 minutes waiting, my food was ice cold.  Not a fan at all of the thick cut fries (please bring back the sidewinder fries) and there was huge amounts of fat on almost every piece of my burnt ends (maybe I got a bad batch?), not impressed as one of my worst meals in years, maybe because the food was not even warm by the time I cleared the cashier after register reboots.

...No sidewinder fries? Those were great. Not a big fan of thick cut fries either.

[Timchat2]

1 hour ago, Captain Nemo said:

Anyone get food or go through Festhaus? Does the inside still have that weird smell? The smell is one of the main reasons I can't eat in there, which is unfortunate because I like Panda and Pizza. 

We actually noted to each other that the "Festhaus smell" didn't seem quite as severe, possibly due to the new floor not having a season's worth of spills and mopping. The regular (mostly pleasant) food smells were still there, of course.

[robintodd]

Had the Big Dog at Brewhouse and the All American Burger at Juke Box.  Both fantastic and consistent with the quality/taste from last season.  I did notice that the Bacon Cheddar fries are now included on the meal plan (they were not last year)!  I like the addition of the Sushi and the Empanadas for 50th anniversary tributes at the Brewhouse.  Was kind of hoping they would have a couple "extra" dishes at other outlets as well but didn't notice anything.

Once again to Chef Major and his Culinary team great start and looking forward to all you have planned for us this season!

[Driver8rws]

 

It was a madhouse yesterday at the park! 

Spent one HOUR total in line at Coney Mall Skyline on Friday between 2:10-3:10.  The Skyline had one person making fries, one person doing 3 ways, and one person making coneys. They were the SLOWEST moving people I have ever seen. Honestly it would take them 1min or longer to make 1  3-way!  Then at the cash registers they would alternate between 1 or 2 registers being open based on how big the backup got at the"waiting for your food" window. When it backed up past the drink machines they'd go down to one register to slow things down.  It was crazy.  Obviously wouldn't have waited in that line if we'd known, but it's one of those "I can't get out of line NOW, I've already committed 15 min, then 30min, etc".  Miserable.

Couldn't get a drink anywhere after that because the lines even for those places was 30 people long.  Finally about 4:30 you only had to wait about 10min for a drink (over by Diamondback). Of COURSE most of the drink places were NOT open.

I know they never would want to discourage MORE people from packing into the park, but I SO wish they had a parking lot camera so we would know when to not even bother going before we left home...

Yesterday was gross and so discouraging to me.  It looked like a Saturday in July (which I would never consider going to).

Hopefully the season pass day next year goes back to a Friday late afternoon/evening again and NOT on a day when everyone is off school and a lot of people are of work.

Can't wait to hit the park on a weekday in May!    

[chuck norris]

18 hours ago, disco2000 said:

Larosa's breadsticks are now half in size or at least seemed to be half LOL.

They were shorter… not half.. and fatter. I thought they were the same total volume…


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16 hours ago, Captain Nemo said:

Anyone get food or go through Festhaus? Does the inside still have that weird smell? The smell is one of the main reasons I can't eat in there, which is unfortunate because I like Panda and Pizza. 

We got la Rosa in the fest haus. I didn’t notice a smell. The floors are all completely redone.


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Some folks above mentioned the new fries at coney and the sushi/empanada option at brew house (not clear if that’s on dining plan). Both are called out in todays food blog.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/april/kings-island-foodie-news-first-tier-of-new-food-for-2022-rolled-out


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[Snowball]

1 hour ago, Driver8rws said:

Spent one HOUR total in line at Coney Mall Skyline on Friday between 2:10-3:10.  The Skyline had one person making fries, one person doing 3 ways, and one person making coneys. They were the SLOWEST moving people I have ever seen. Honestly it would take them 1min or longer to make 1  3-way!  Then at the cash registers they would alternate between 1 or 2 registers being open based on how big the backup got at the"waiting for your food" window. When it backed up past the drink machines they'd go down to one register to slow things down. 

Please remember that it is opening weekend / preview day. It’s associates first day back or even their first day in the park at all. Of course they’re going to be slow, they’re still learning how to do their jobs. It’s opening weekend, there’s going to be lines, there’s going to be tech problems from systems being overloaded, there’s going to be crowds. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:45 AM, Driver8rws said:

 

It was a madhouse yesterday at the park! 

Spent one HOUR total in line at Coney Mall Skyline on Friday between 2:10-3:10.  The Skyline had one person making fries, one person doing 3 ways, and one person making coneys. They were the SLOWEST moving people I have ever seen. Honestly it would take them 1min or longer to make 1  3-way!  Then at the cash registers they would alternate between 1 or 2 registers being open based on how big the backup got at the"waiting for your food" window. When it backed up past the drink machines they'd go down to one register to slow things down.  It was crazy.  Obviously wouldn't have waited in that line if we'd known, but it's one of those "I can't get out of line NOW, I've already committed 15 min, then 30min, etc".  Miserable.

Couldn't get a drink anywhere after that because the lines even for those places was 30 people long.  Finally about 4:30 you only had to wait about 10min for a drink (over by Diamondback). Of COURSE most of the drink places were NOT open.

I know they never would want to discourage MORE people from packing into the park, but I SO wish they had a parking lot camera so we would know when to not even bother going before we left home...

Yesterday was gross and so discouraging to me.  It looked like a Saturday in July (which I would never consider going to).

Hopefully the season pass day next year goes back to a Friday late afternoon/evening again and NOT on a day when everyone is off school and a lot of people are of work.

Can't wait to hit the park on a weekday in May!    

Passholder Preview Day is like a Saturday in July with the crowd levels every year. Many of the employees are also new, slowing down operations in food and on rides. However, I think Kings Island had a smoother opening than a park like Carowinds or California’s Great America that only had one train running on some rides. The rides side of things was pretty smooth at Kings Island yesterday for the most part. A few rides broke down which is to be expected early in the season, and I think all rides that were open were running at max capacity except for Backlot Stunt Coaster. A major reason why food lines were slow is because of the system crashes. Hopefully, Kings Island gets that fixed soon. Over the next few weeks, I am sure Kings Island will put the finishing touches on many unfinished things around the park, and operations will be smooth.

[disco2000]

17 minutes ago, chuck norris said:

They were shorter… not half.. and fatter. I thought they were the same total volume…


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Maybe I got a bad batch LOL.  The ones I got at LaRosa's by The Beast were not much bigger than a regular size hot dog and were nowhere near the same volume.  I knew I should have taken a pic LOL.

[BoddaH1994]

5 hours ago, chuck norris said:

Some folks above mentioned the new fries at coney and the sushi/empanada option at brew house (not clear if that’s on dining plan). Both are called out in todays food blog.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/april/kings-island-foodie-news-first-tier-of-new-food-for-2022-rolled-out


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I know the new fries have been controversial but I thought they were really really good. 

Also, I ate whatever this is from the Sweet Spot:

Pictured is two, but they are sold individually. I think they called it the Orion cream pie. Tasted like blue ice cream. I’m not a big ice cream fan so I liked this much better. It’s not on a snickerdoodle as you may think. It’s soft like some sort of sweet biscuit. 

I also had this, which was also good:

 

 

[Buckeye Brad]

5 hours ago, Snowball said:

Please remember that it is opening weekend / preview day. It’s associates first day back or even their first day in the park at all. Of course they’re going to be slow, they’re still learning how to do their jobs. It’s opening weekend, there’s going to be lines, there’s going to be tech problems from systems being overloaded, there’s going to be crowds. 

Good point, and for many employees, this is the first day of their first paid job of any kind (with customers).

I wonder what percentage of employees today are returning to the same position as last year. Many have switched stations, switched departments, or are now 1st time supervisors. It would not surprise me if over 50% of positions are employees new to that particular position. 

[disco2000]

Part of the problem with food lines yesterday were the guests!

In Coney BBQ where the line was out the door most of the day, there would be big gaps at the actual food line to the register as people tried to decide what to get.  You were in line 30min get off the phone and see what the options are before it is your turn lol.

Larosa's should fly as it is the ultimate grab and go, but no I saw the long line and got in and would see a big gap from the food to the register.  People get to the food and freeze and don't pick one up lol.  How long does it take to decide cheese or pepperoni lol?

[chad_1138]

For you French Corner fans, sadly the Pomme Frites are no more.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Look at these sugar cookies!

[super7]

On 4/16/2022 at 9:57 AM, FUN&ONLY! said:

Passholder Preview Day is like a Saturday in July with the crowd levels every year. Many of the employees are also new, slowing down operations in food and on rides. However, I think Kings Island had a smoother opening than a park like Carowinds or California’s Great America that only had one train running on some rides. The rides side of things was pretty smooth at Kings Island yesterday for the most part. A few rides broke down which is to be expected early in the season, and I think all rides that were open were running at max capacity except for Backlot Stunt Coaster. A major reason why food lines were slow is because of the system crashes. Hopefully, Kings Island gets that fixed soon. Over the next few weeks, I am sure Kings Island will put the finishing touches on many unfinished things around the park, and operations will be smooth.

This day is advertised as a passholder “benefit” but there is nothing exclusive about it because most of their customers are passholders these days. 
 

I wouldn’t go near the park on that day.  Opening day is actually lighter because if it. 
 

Do people go on this day because they just can’t wait it they think it is “exclusive?”   I have never seen a report where it wasn’t miserably crowded and without long waits.   

[FUN&ONLY!]

1 minute ago, super7 said:

This day is advertised as a passholder “benefit” but there is nothing exclusive about it because most of their customers are passholders these days. 
 

I wouldn’t go near the park on that day.  Opening day is actually lighter because if it. 
 

Do people go on this day because they just can’t wait it they think it is “exclusive?”   I have never seen a report where it wasn’t miserably crowded and without long waits.   

I wouldn’t say it was miserably crowded. It was crowded for sure, but I don’t think it was like last year where Passholder Preview Weekend was on a weekend in May. The weather on Friday was also pretty nice which always brings in more crowds. In 2019, I think it was rainy on Passholder Preview Day, so the park was pretty empty.

[Oldschool75]

I was at the park today. Unfortunately they were out of burnt ends.  so I had the smoked tenderloin at Coney BBQ, a little fatty but good. Also the Maple Pecan bar from Sweet Spot is very good and not expensive. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

The Oreo brownie parfait is absolutely amazing. My wife and I shared one on Friday. On Saturday I went in and bought one for each of us because the first one was so good, and I wanted one all to myself. 

[silver2005]

I had ribs from Coney BBQ.  They were very good, though, the blackening was a tad overdone and I had slight bits of charred bits.  Still fantastic.

Also, the shakes at Graeter's are bigger as well as the fact they're wearing KI 50th garb rather than Graeter's garb.

[robintodd]

One big omission this year at Brewhouse is Shoutgun Wedding.  It quickly became my favorite.  Hope they bring it back this season as I was constantly buying it at the liquer store next to the park.  In addition, I was told they have no stouts at the Brewhouse.  Hope they bring some as I can't drink "light" or "hoppy" beer.

[ROBBE1]

Did anyone else have an issue using their meal/drink plan Friday?  I purchased the soft cup year drink plan at the kiosk at the Front Gate, and when I went to use it a few hours later they said it was not on my pass.  My friend also had this issue.  I still don't have the plan showing on my pass.  Anyone else have this issue?  I emailed Kings Island through the website because the line to Guest Services was so long when I left.  Still no response from KI, probably because they got hammered with requests.

[BoddaH1994]

11 minutes ago, robintodd said:

One big omission this year at Brewhouse is Shoutgun Wedding.  It quickly became my favorite.  Hope they bring it back this season as I was constantly buying it at the liquer store next to the park.  In addition, I was told they have no stouts at the Brewhouse.  Hope they bring some as I can't drink "light" or "hoppy" beer.

I am under the understanding that the beer/liquor supply is a little weak right now because of supply chain and whatnot. This is expected to get better. 
 

6 minutes ago, ROBBE1 said:

Did anyone else have an issue using their meal/drink plan Friday?  I purchased the soft cup year drink plan at the kiosk at the Front Gate, and when I went to use it a few hours later they said it was not on my pass.  My friend also had this issue.  I still don't have the plan showing on my pass.  Anyone else have this issue?  I emailed Kings Island through the website because the line to Guest Services was so long when I left.  Still no response from KI, probably because they got hammered with requests.

Yes. Widespread issues. One person in my group used the meal plan once and then four hours later the system was showing that she didn’t have the meal plan. They took care of her, but it was an odd issue to work once and then not later that day. It’s first day stuff. It happens every year. You don’t need to worry.