Best and worst theme park food.

Carrie M. said:
There is a cultural shift occurring, though, regarding healthier lifestyles...however, sloooowwwly it seems to be catching on. And I would venture to say that it's in a park's best interest to have at least a few healthier options on their menus... or at least to be considering it at this point.

That is very true. The tide is turning, Fewer people are drinking pop/sodas now ( though I question how much "better" those so-called energy drinks are when compared to soda/pop though ). The new anti-cigarette law has been signed by Obama banning the sale of those "light" cigarettes within the next few months ( no more Marlboro or Camel Lights !! ) and I have yet to hear anybody ( even smokers !! ) getting upset by that. And wasn't there some state some years back who wanted to ban those all-you-can-eat buffets? Or was it they wanted to restrict the number of times one hits the buffet by how much that person weighs? I remember reading out this in our local paper but not sure if this ever became reality..yet anyway.

I believe myself that as the years go by and more and more people "go healthy"..sooner or later we may very well see parks offering more healthy food than junk food. Might not be next year or even by 2011 but by 2015? Could very well be the case.

^^ Nice job The Mole! I subscribe to more or less the same philosophy with diet. I'm trying to lose weight and tone up so work out with a trainer every other week to mix up my workouts and make adjustments. If my calorie intake goes high I'll just do extra cardio to compensate.

I attempted to make a sensible choice at CW this past Friday. I went to the Backlot Cafe which is sort of like a food court that has some healthier options to choose from in addition to the usual burgers. I opted for a Spicy Chicken Wrap which promised to have grilled chicken, salad veggies, some spicy sauce and cost $9.07.(seriously!) The biggest offender would be the carbs in the wrap and the mysterious spicy sauce. What I got was browning lettuce, tomato, the spicy sauce was plain old mayo, and strips of yellowish-spongy-processed chicken with fake grill marks on them in a whole weat wrap.

So the "healthier" option at CW was some veggies, mayo, and the inside of an institutuional grade chicken nugget wrapped up. I asked an employee why it's called "spicy" when there's nothing spicy going on at all, and she said she didn't know that's just how it was. This more or less goes full circle back to that enormous thread about paying top dollar for disgusting crap at CF parks. Dick fools me once, shame on Dick. Dick fools me twice, shame on Dick but I should have known better.

Get it right, that's "mechanically separated chicken." :) And I keep hearing that per cap spending is down around the Cedar Fair parks. Sounds impossible, right?

Hmmm, might be a lesson in there somewhere...... ;)

All the "traditional" park food comes from a time when going to an amusement park (no theme parks then) was a rare treat for most people. So having cotton candy or funnel cake once or twice a year didn't have much consequence. But now, the GP, let alone enthusiasts, make multiple trips to parks each year. You can also hit some kind of carnival or fair from spring right through fall. The occasional splurge has become common for many. And that doesn't count most people's regular dining habits, which include take out and fast food more often than meals prepared at home.

I see nothing wrong with parks offering more healthy offerings as long as customers support it. I'd be inclined to partake myself if I felt the stuff was fresh. If 97% of the people around me are munching on nachos and popcorn, I'd wonder how long the carrot sticks were sitting in the cooler. If parks aren't able to move the stuff and end up throwing a lot away, you can bet any experiment in healthy choices will be short lived.

Even right outside the parks, do you see many places offering healthy food? Mostly you see fast food places and the usual chains-- Applebee's TGIF, etc. There isn't anybody really marketing to a healthier eating niche.

Jeff, I hear you on the per cap @ CF. But is it really because people are waiting for arugula and asparagus, or they just want the usual junk to be priced lower and presented better?

I suspect it's sticker shock. The GP are ponying up for the highway robbery prices at Joe Cool Cafe -- they have too, after all, or Junior will be bawling his eyes out -- but then they're passing on the cotton candy, the funnel cakes, the tee shirts and the kitsch.

Jeff said:
Get it right, that's "mechanically separated chicken." :) And I keep hearing that per cap spending is down around the Cedar Fair parks. Sounds impossible, right?

Sort of in line with what both you and what RatherGoodBear said. I go to CW probably once a week in full season so I can't use that as "I'm at the park and it's ok to eat crap". That would be like "oh I'm at the gas station again so it's ok to eat crap". So when hunger strikes at CW, I'd be fine with, and expect to pay top dollar for a healthier option like a grilled chicken breast in a whole wheat wrap or bun.

It pisses me off to pay top dollar for bottom of the barrel, low grade crap disguised as a healthy option. That was the nastiest chicken I've seen since public school days. They might as well have just cut up chicken hot dogs and passed it off as grilled chicken breast. Because of this I'll plan my meals around my park visit so I can stay on track with my training. They could care less since I'm not the average park goer, but my personal food per cap is going towards a brown bag.

I will buy crap food that is cheap

I will buy ok food at a decent price

I will buy good food at a premium price

I will buy excellent food when I can afford the price that it costs.

Food at parks is bad.
What will the healthy one eat?
He'll have to eat crow.

Crow isn't so bad.
They say it tastes like chicken.
Don't eat the feathers.

Dip it in batter
Put it on a stick and fry
Park guest is happy.

Mike's Haiku scared me
At first I thought that Line 2's
Last word was 'children'

How do children taste?
Are they healthy or junk food?
Can you deep fry 'em?

How do children taste?
Are they healthy or junk food?
Ask MJ? Too late!

I knew it would not
Be very long before we
Heard an MJ joke

You beat me to the mj joke. :)

Ever wonder why
Cannibals do not eat clowns?
'Cause they taste funny!

It's sad that MJ died.
But jokes about sordid past?
Forever funny!

So is the new phrase: "In before haiku"?

More like 'death by haiku'... ;)