Food at Kings Island
Kings Island: I've been reading old posts (1 yr or more about how bad and expensive the food is. Any comments, suggestions? Mama LaRosa's is of course a must.
I've been reading old posts (1 yr or more) about how bad and expensive the food is. Any comments, suggestions? Mama LaRosa's is of course a must. I'm taking three 13 to 14 year olds in a couple of weeks. Is the cookout worth the money? Do they still have the "wing dinner" Thanks.
From Don Neal
Posted July 9, 2009 at 7:37 PM
LaRosa's is a local favorite but their taste isn't all that original in my opinion and I grew up there. Skyline Chese Coney's are always a hit with teens. I still love them. They don't ride well on the tummy if you ride any coasters immediately but are fun. The blueberry ice cream there is amazing. But all in all they don't have real signature sit down restaurants so I think most people walk away unimpressed. But lately they added Starbuck's and others to upgrade things. And "expensive" is relative to any theme park or amusement park food, just how it is.
The cookout is ok...nothing to write home about, but ok. WINGS diner is now called the Rivertown Junction Grill. Still serves pretty much the same stuff, which I thought was pretty good. They just renamed it because WINGS had Paramount ties to it. It's one of the few sit down air conditioned restaurants in the park. Years ago they had a nice restaurant on the second level of the entrance building. You could have a nice meal, and I also recall meeting some characters there as well. I think it closed when Paramount came in 90's.
Aside from LaRosas, I'm a fan of the Potatoworks stand in Rivertown, and also the Chinese place on International St. The Festhaus is a cafeteria style place with a lot of the same food served around the park, but is also air conditioned, and I believe they started doing a show in there again.
No doubt the food is expensive, the same applies to all Cedar Fair parks... I would recommend getting a re entry hand stamp, leaving the park to get some food from a restaurant, then coming back later.
If you MUST eat in the park, they're Panda Express which is located in the town hall I believe, is pretty good... Avoid stands that sell food and Chick-Fil-A, and you should find the best food in the park.
From Brandon S
Posted July 10, 2009 at 9:07 PM
^If you do get a handstamp, though, don't expose it to water at all. I've heard that Kings Island got cheap on their handstamps and they are not waterproof! I've read some stories on the Kings Island fansites saying how a person just left the park for about 15 minutes to get something out of their car, and it was raining so the handstamp came off! The worker wouldn't let them back in.
I'm a fan of Potatoworks. You can't go wrong with bacon and cheddar fries!
If you do plan on leaving Kings Island to eat, plan to go a couple of miles out of the way to find a bunch of restaurants. The only selections close to the park are Outback and McDonalds. If you want other stuff, you have to go down to Fields Ertel rd. or across I71 on Kings Mills rd. for your standard fast food selections.
I don't ever leave the park to eat. Kings Island's food isn't expensive or bad enough for me to merit a long walk back to the car, getting out of the giant lot, and driving to get the same old fast food, and then making the return trip, losing your good space and having to park in the back, and walking back. I would rather have a slice of pizza by the fountain.
Skyline Chili is always good,not that expensive and a local favorite. Another tip -- you do not have to buy bottled water, you can ask any KI food location for a glass of ice water.
From steve lee
Posted July 12, 2009 at 6:47 PM
I hate to go against what other folks are saying, but Skyline Chili is absolutely disgusting. Just horrible, horrible stuff. In fact, calling it chili is an abomination.
Surely I'm not the only person who feels this way?
From Don Neal
Posted July 13, 2009 at 5:54 AM
Haha! Steve's reaction is not out of the norm. Cincy style chili seems to evoke a love or hate reaction. For anyone that hasn't had it before it is by default served without beans and on spaghetti or coney's. It also generally has cinnamon in it which gives it a distinct and sweet taste. Adding onions and beans are options. For those growing up in Cincy, it's a staple from Skyline, Gold Star, or Dixie Chili restaurants. Especially after a softball game, a trip to the mall, or what have you. Having grown up there and then spending a good portion of time in Detroit and now Indianapolis, I have seen about a 50/50 split in people that care for it when I have introduced them to it.
I've never had Skyline Chili, because last time I was in Cinci... or even if I was EVER in Cinci, I was probably a baby, so I doubt I would've tried it. My friend that lives there that's my age (13) absolutely loves it. My mom, on the other hand, lived there for about... 6 years after college, and hated skyline, becuase she thought it was WAY too sweet... is that what you think, steve?
And Mary, I do that all the time at SFA! Just ask for some water! Actually I'm leaving for SFA in about 15-20 minutes, so if it's hot today, I'll be sure to ask for extra!
Thanks for all the info. So from what I gather, it's not worth going off-site for food. Seems as though a trip to Outback would cost just as much as eating in a sit-down place at the park, without the hassle. Someone told me that a slice at LaRosa's was $8.00! Any truth to that? Oh and BTW, I HATE Skyline - we have a few here in Indy and it's gross!
Thank you for not putting the word "chili" behind the word Skyline. To do so is absolute blasphemy. :)
haha, john. no problem! It actually fit well, because when I didn't put the dreadful word that starts with c (hopefully you know where I'm going with this) next to skyline was when i was describing it as disgusting.
Oh, and for my day at SF- batwing broke down directly in front of us, but we still waited a half hour to ride it... as we (my friend and i, both of which have season passes)were ABOUT to leave, they fixed it! But... still only 1 train out of 3 running! AGAIN! And we got stuck on the brake run of Superman, because the train before us got stuck going out of the station, but before they got out, the train stopped! We were there (as in stuck) for about 10-15 minutes. The description the attendant gave to us of why we were stuck was "Someone pressed a button when they weren't supposed to."
Anyway, i rode superman at least 10 times (front 2ce), Batwing once in the front, wild one once in the front, roar once in the front, Mind Eraser 1ce in the front, and Joker's Jinx once in the front. That's my coaster way at my normal park! Except I like getting Batwing a couple more times in the front, and Superman around there, but I love the front...
Oh, I finally tried Tower of Doom. (No, not tower of terror.) Since I haven't ridden ToT (James knows what I'm talking about!), I highly enjoy drop towers! Before I rode it, I was always thinking it would suck, because it's a 140 foot tower with a 100 foot drop! It seems like it sucks, but it's a pretty quick ride that's decently fun, but still has a short line. So, I'll still hit it most of the time I go. I'll go rate it... a 7. Oh, you don't get airtime like other drop towers (Dominator, Acrophobia) I've ridden, but this is more in the "middle" of the seat and the restraints when you're dropping, instead of your shoulders digging into the shoulder restraints!
I think they have a meal deal for $8.00. To my recollection it's a large slice or two and a drink. A whole LaRosas pizza @ Kings Island is around the $20.00 mark
From Don Neal
Posted July 14, 2009 at 5:19 AM
That sounds about right Derek.
okay, my daughter and I just got back from King's Island. Get this. We went to Chick Fil A and ordered a combo wtih eight nuggets, fries and a coke. Grand total: $12.33!!!! I thought, this has got to be a mistake. Instead, our combo was like $8.39 and didn't include the $4 Coke. IT was at least double the price for what you normally pay.
We stayed at the holiday inn down the street, so we went to Arby's and ordered two roast beef combos with drinks and a banana split shake for around $13. So, all this for $1 more for what we got at King's island, does that tell you anything?
So, i'd suggest bringing your food and having a picnic in the parking lot or driving a few miles. You're still going to save a ton of money.!!!
As much as I love the park, I don't eat a whole lot when I'm there. Part of it is because I eat light while at the park, and part is because of the quality and price. I have a bit of a problem paying some of the prices they charge, especially for plain old chicken nuggets and such.
There are a few good things such as Graeters Ice Cream, Potatoworks, and LaRosas, but they could use a little improvement in the food department. I would like to see another decent sitdown place that has a little flavor, and that serves something different than burgers and nuggets. Cincy has quite the German heritage. You'll find quite a few cool little German fare restaurants in town. Perhaps a German pub of some kind with the polka band, bratwurst, and beer steins.
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