Why is theme park food so bad?

[Tonkso]

I'm surprised to see Parc Astérix used as an example of bad food, perhaps I've just eaten at the right outlets but I find Astérix to have some of the better food options out there. The buffet restaurant is fantastic and if you want a simple Burger, you can get a really good one by Toutatis. The Italian isn't the best, but it's of a reasonable standard given what you're paying.

The hotel food was exceptional too. I was surprised to find the craft beer option was English, which was nice (France wins on Wine, but sorry us English beat you on Beer).

Europa has some genuinely nice food options, you need to do a sit down to get the best of it.

Phantasialand is almost flawless, though I did have a terrible Currywurst at Wintertaum. The patisserie by the main entrance is a must do for us every time.

 

[Serena]

Some of the best food I have ever eaten has been within a theme park:

- Phantasialand Jambalaya
- Europa Grilled Salmon rolls in Iceland
- Cedar Point Funnel Cake Shrimp
- Canada's Wonderland Brisket and rosemary roast potatoes
- EnergyLandia pumpkin soup
- Absolutely everything at the Parc Asterix circus buffet and the character dining restaurant (oh my god, the bread!!)

...and that's naming but a few.

Admittedly, some parks have pretty dire offerings where there's very little beyond hot dogs and pizza and donuts on offer (Chessington, Plopsaland, Walibi Holland) and that does affect my enthusiasm to visit these parks.

I have yet to eat a single thing at Alton Towers that has been good. Yet, Thorpe has those tasty kebabs and the nice veggie box wraps. So Merlin parks really do vary when it comes to food.

But usually, my experience is that fast food style items (pizza, hot dogs, chips, burgers) within a theme park are the lowest of low quality. I guess maybe because people don't have high culinary expectations of a hot dog to begin with, so there's not really a standard to meet there. It's purely functional: quick, appeals to kids, and easy to turn profit on. Parks are feeding the masses so they have to go with the easy fast food stuff that has mass appeal.

But if you're more adventurous and order food that isn't your typical fast food junk in a park, the standard is usually higher. I was really pleased to see Walibi Belgium serving PokeBowls on a recent visit - not just tasty, but healthy food! In a theme park of all places!!

Somewhere where I have never enjoyed the food is the American Disney parks, I personally find it overpriced and bland. Especially when compared to the amazing garlic shrimp gyoza dogs you can get for like £4 at Tokyo Disney!

 

[Tonkso]

I've been to Phantasialand 4 times now, 2 days each visit.

What is this Jambalaya everyone is banging on about!?

 

[Projektion]

It's the food place under Black Mamba's lift. It's really good and is also a perfect way to warm back up on Wintertraum visits.

 

[Flash Shift]

I've been to Phantasialand 4 times now, 2 days each visit.

What is this Jambalaya everyone is banging on about!?

I clearly missed out on my one visit too!

I went to some place in the centre and had some square pizza thing which was pretty damn good one day 1, and on day 2 went to Uhwerk. The burger was not bad but it was more for the novelty of where the restaurant was than anything else.

The best thing I ate at Phantasialand was a waffle with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and banana. It was amazing, especially as it was so hot when I went last year. A simple ice cream was also great. Man I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

I'll also give a shout out to Paulton's, as the otherwise generic chicken drumsticks and chips were seasoned and very nice, they were from the new viking place.

I will say though that I do often default to something pretty basic like chicken and chips, as I'm often just like "I just need to eat man". This is probably why theme park food is sometimes not great as the demand just isn't there for the opening hours, especially in the UK where opening hours aren't that long. That said, Walibi Holland's offerings were absolutely dismal. Probably worse than Alton Towers or Chessington, to be quite honest. It's the captive audience service station/airport style pricing that pisses me off more than the mediocre food itself at these places!

Even at Efteling I didn't have a sit down meal as such, but I did get some nachos for lunch and they were actually really good for what they were and you got a lot for your money. Plus the ridiculous pastry chimney thing, that was just pure gluttony and I enjoyed every second of it, even though I was getting funny looks while eating it!

 

[Gazza]

Honestly more parks just need to have sit down pubs.