Which parks have reasonable food and drink prices?

Blah blah blah. Prices are too high. Whine whine whine. Corporate parks suck. Blather blather blather. Only small independent parks are worth visiting.

Honestly, I love Kennywood just as much as the next guy, but do we have to keep having the same discussion over and over and over and over?

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This is the song that never ends,
It goes on and on my friends.
Some people started singing it,
not knowing what it was
and they'll continue singing it
forever just because this is the song that never ends...

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*** Edited 12/6/2006 9:29:15 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

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Johde said:
Believe it or not, Disney World is fairly reasonable in food and drink prices compared to other amusement parks.

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Actually I was about to post the same thing. I think most bottled drinks were either $1.50 or $2. Fresh fruit is pretty cheap. Most counter service and vending carts are on the low side for the amusement industry.

Last time I was there I found their merch. to be on the low side for the industry as well. I got a nice embroidered T-shirt for $14.95 and a nice sweatshirt for $29.99. You can pay that at target and walmart.

Of course....Disney still got me for a couple grand that week... :)

But dollar for dollar, you can get way more food/merch. than at any SF or Cedar Fair park, etc. *** Edited 12/7/2006 3:05:23 AM UTC by Peabody***

For People Talking about WDW. WDW has lowered there price within the last 8 months. They did it sometime in March of 2006. They did some testing and determined that people tend to buy more food if they sell if for less. When I was there back on June I was surprised to see how cheap they were compared to other major parks I went to. Bottle water was only $1.99. I clearly remember going to Universal to find bottle water being at $2.99 and food price were about $1 or $2 more then Disney.

As we're on the topic of food and Universal, I have to admit that I contracted a terrible case of "anticipointment" @ IOA's 'Mythos' restaurant. First off, the menu wasnt remotely what I was expecting. I was thinking that it would be something more along the lines of 'Medeval Times' type food: roasted, grilled, cooked over open fire. What I found was more uppity/bourgie fare. Then on top of it, the food was 'average' at best. For the wait we had (even with the VIP seating), I think I'll pass next time. Though their signature drink (Nectar of the Gods?) was pretty good.

But I'd rather eat in Margaritaville. ;)
lata, jeremy

I found Mythos to be pretty good. Not the best food ever, but reasonable (my scallops were perfectly cooked -- seared on the outside and just barely cooked through, not dried out), and they were very good working with food allergies. That always scores a big plus with me.

I agree with Jeremy about Mythos. Nice presentation, but nothing special at all. That they brag some Web site I've never heard of considers it the best restaurant is funny to me. It's like CoasterBuzz saying The Beast is the best wood coaster. ;)

I'm looking forward to getting into Epcot for the first time in 16 years, and seeing what they have to offer, regardless of price.

Honestly, I don't think much about price as much as I do quality. I've always felt that Busch Williamsburg (er, Europe) had great food at reasonable prices, and on top of that relatively inexpensive beer in actual bottles.

Kennywood is probably my favorite overall in terms of good food.

In Epcot, Bistro de Paris is the Place I Would Go if it were just the wife and I without the kids.
The other way to do Epcot is to snack and drink your way around world showcase.

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Gonch said:
And I even question Kennywood's inclusion on that list. Aside from the fries...what at the park is really 'good' food - like on the level of Busch, Disney and Universal? Their food may be lower priced and they might even offer more for those lower prices, but is there really anything there that qualifies as really 'good' food?

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Jeff said:
Kennywood is probably my favorite overall in terms of good food.

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Ok, so let's do this. :)

Care to elaborate?

OK... it's a lot of standard fare, meat-and-potatoes kind of food prepared richly at a good price. And what really sells me is yummy desserts, which is also what closed the deal for me at BGE.

Ok, that's fair enough. I'm not a big sweets guy at the park, so perhaps I've been missing out. But I'm trying to think of all the food I've tried over the years - it all feels like the same old stuff. Generic burgers, pizza, chicken strips. The fries have the reputation and I do love 'em and my wife swears by the hot sausage, but other than that nothing is immediately standing out in my mind.

There is certainly some good food to be had, but I still would hesitate to lump it with some of the other parks being discussed in terms of food quality. (If you factor in price/quantity, then KW is a great value)

Just thought it was funny that our comments were such direct opposites. :)

For the record, I'd also stick my food experience at HW on there too. Again, nothing real sweet or dessert-like, but the meal at Kringle's Kafe was pretty standard park fare all around the table. Mediocre food quality. It's just that it was ridiculously inexpensive which has a way of making it all ok.

*** Edited 12/7/2006 6:07:40 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

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Lord Gonchar said: It's just that it was ridiculously inexpensive which has a way of making it all ok.

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Who ARE you and what have you done with our Gonch??!?! ;)

*** Edited 12/7/2006 6:10:36 PM UTC by rollergator***

Heh. Well, it is true.

Would I rather see better food at twice the price? Without a doubt.

Lesson: I'd rather pay for quality, but when I'm not paying much to begin with, less than the best can usually be overlooked. (something about a gift horse and its mouth... ;) )

At MIA you can get a full meal for $6.50 or a foot long for $2.50 MIA also has cheap memoribilia and all games are a $1 EXEPT guess games. Go karts are free and the bigger ones are $5. So i could spend a whole day their for $10. I went their 15 times this year and only spent $250 dollars including RipCord, Go kart's, Food, parking ( $7 ) and memoribilia.

Keep your head high and the coasters higher.

Food at Michigan's Adventure is spectacularly mediocre at best, and downright horrible at times.

For Kennywood's reputation, yes, much of it is standard park fare, but it's very well done, reasonably priced park fare. Fries, sausage, gyros, tacos, excellent freshly-made funnel cakes, fresh fruit cups, dip cones (a block of vanilla ice cream dipped in that instant-chocolate-shell stuff, one of my personal favorites), fudge... all sorts of options.

My gyro at KW was *almost* as good as the one at Mt. Olympus....and about $2 cheaper. Both were better than the *very mediocre* one at the Ohio State Fair...

Hmmm, hadn't considered my affinity for Greek food before...LOL!

Knoebels offers ethnic foods you just would NEVER find at other parks...excellent OPTIONS available... :)

Im on board with when I went to WDW (and when I went to Downtown Disney with my parents on our summer FL trip) I/We were pleasently suprised by the food prices, they weren't nearly as much as we expected, I not sure what we expected but I found it reasonable for something as huge as disney. I usually snack at parks, the only park I kinda *pig out* at is Knoebels. I guess since if I was in the area sometime and could stop in, or when we camp, I would go to the park just for something to eat or for the Alamo.

If Disney has lowered their prices, that is great. If what you said is true, that brings the price of bottled drinks there down to the same price as Kennywood. Maybe Disney learned a lesson about being overpriced on food and drink. That also brings out the point that I mentioned in the past about people buying more if they are not getting ripped off.

I remember what happened at airports about 10 or 15 years ago. Airports used to charge outrageous prices for food and drink but Pittsburgh International Airport decided to require ""street pricing" from concessionaires. Food sales volume went up so much that the businesses were more profitable than before. Other airports followed in many cases.

Cedar Point and some of the other Cedar Fair parks reduced some of their food prices a year ago. Meanwhile, Shapiro took that "in your face" attitude and raised those already too high prices at Six Flags even higher. No wonder we gripe so much about the Flags.

As for food offerings, people expect something more from the "destination parks" such as the Disney, Universal, and Busch parks (and also from SDC, DW and KBF). At most other parks, they are looking more toward regular amusement park food.

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No wonder we gripe so much about the Flags.

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Let the record show, I am not part of 'we' :)

There are acutally parks that have resonably priced food LOL. Usually the only cheap thing i see at amusment parks is ice cream.

last time i was at cedar point i ate at the midway markey, and their buffet was about $13.00 i think.