Why is amusement park food expensive

Note the way I am using stereotypes here is not in the new-traditional sense. These stereotypes, unlike the ones often used to marginalize a group of people, are certainly rooted in fact. Tough beans! So about the food: Why is it bad? Cool, you just increased the chances of me sneaking in a sandwich next time I visit your park. There are a few common reasons why lines are long at quick service theme park restaurants; one of them is an understaffed stand.

When I worked at a movie theater the hierarchy of importance read like a Drake song: Money over everything. The same employee rang up the customer, got the drink, got the popcorn and went to the back to put in hot food orders. Paying an extra two employees could cut this time down to quicker than five minutes — but the business values the extra money more than the extra happiness that could be provided to their customers.

As I mentioned earlier, this type of treatment has set a low bar of expectation for guests — so why would any park change? Theme park food could be the next great market inefficiency. Think about the way food trucks have changed what is possible for restauranteurs: Low overhead costs combined with a high valuation of innovation and experimentation. The Los Angeles Coliseum hosts USC Football games seven times a year and they surround the stadium with food trucks offering all sorts of fare.

Disneyland brings in food trucks backstage solely for their cast members. Then Disney kicked 'em out to take over the food service at the party for itself. And Downtown Disney in Orlando now has a few "food trucks" that are really just glorified Disney quick-service stands. That's not the same as what Jacob's proposing.

More theme parks should do what Disney does, which is the Dining Plans. Regardless of the higher cost, if people think they are getting value for their food, the park benefits from more patrons that prepay their food. Otherwise, guests will be cheap by design and try to bring food into the park.

I brought food many times to the parks. Of course, it is hidden in my backpack. Sometimes I don't if I am lazy or it doesn't matter on occasion. I realized that in this trip, I prefer to take advantage of the character dining.

There is no way to do this cheaply. I might as well just save the money and spend it as an entertainment expense.

Bad food is a problem, but I haven't gone to Six Flags in over 10 years. It is discouraging that the food quality is so bad and the prices are so frustratingly high. The bright side is I don't do this all the time. The food court at the local mall is just as bad and just as pricey.

There are no theme parks close to us so these are vacations that we save for and take every 3 to 5 years, that being said there are certain things that have to occur on these trips, turkey legs are one of them. Yes you can do better then theme park food but that is part of the experience, you are on holidays to some place most people don't get to on a monthly or even yearly basis and so good nutrition takes a vacation as well.

The reason why you pay these prices is the fact that you are a captive audience in these situations. Most people just accept the high prices because the theaters have done the research to find the perfect price point to make the most money possible. They price right below your maximum allowable wallet pain threshold. As far as theme parks go, many people arrive at the parks and before realizing how high the prices actually are. Other people are lazy and some people are willing to pay the prices.

Whatever the reason is, it works in favor of the theme park. We personally decided to pay the high prices and eat in the park for lunch and dinner. We wanted something hot and fresh so it was worth it to us.

They key is, we budgeted for it and could afford it. We brought our own water bottles and refilled them when they were empty. We also carried small but filling snacks with us each day. These two tricks saved us at least a few dollars each day. We knew we would be a captive audience and planned ahead for what we were willing to pay for.

Do you buy concessions at the movies and theme parks? What do you do to save money and where do you budget for some extra spending money? Lance is the founder of Money Manifesto. He started writing about money and helping people solve their financial problems in You can read more about him and find links to his other work and media mentions here.

Here is the proof that regardless of what the collective consensus of the public is, NOTHING is going to change how businesses operate. Movies can charge hgh prices because they know people WILL go see interesting movies, and people can't sit n a movie theater for hours without something to drink.

Because you can't bring it in with you, they pretty much have you by the nuts, and they KNOW that, those, they don't care what we say. Because supply and demand is so crucial to the capitalist concept, there will always exist businesses who will take advantage common people because they know no body will do anything about it, or regulate the cost structure until it becomes so evident that Congress will have to get involved and regulate the ceiling just like what happened Immediately after Katrina.

Is this a law or something. Make the prices cheaper so that the food will not cost almost as much as admission. Does anyone think the food is to expensive? Please comment if you have something to say. That's why I've pretty much given up on counter service restaurants at theme parks and go instead to sit-down restaurants where I can. You get a break in more pleasant environment than benches next to an order window.

Someone waits on you, instead of you having to carry trays and find a seat. And the food's usually proportionally much better in quality than it is higher in price. Bring your own bottled water into the parks, too. It's better for you and cheaper than soda pop. I hate paying for stodgy counter food in parks.

You need to go looking around to find good deals on food! I think I have found them in Disney World and Universal! But yeah, buffets are always good especially at Germany! I love the food at UO a lot better, because you just seem to get more for your buck Special tips, if you can take in a bookbag, shove them full of cold sodas and bottles of frozen water.