Theme-park foods: nation's major attractions

[Gifted Gourmet]

MSNBC

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, this year it is expected that we will spend almost $13 billion at our nation's amusement parks.

Green Eggs and Ham Sandwich (Universal Orlando Resort) 

Taken from the popular Dr. Seuss story, “Green Eggs and Ham,”

Budweiser Grilled Shrimp (Busch Gardens Europe)

Shrimp grilled with olive oil, spiced with garlic, steak seasoning, cayenne pepper, Budweiser beer and fresh-squeezed lime.

Fried Alligator Bites (Six Flags Over Texas)

They look like chicken nuggets, taste like chicken, but are real alligator meat.

So, what have you enjoyed in theme park dining?

Please share with us?

[Peter B Wolf]

.............." So, what have you enjoyed in theme park dining? "

Finding an Exit and then : " FOOD "

[peanutgirl]

We go to amusement parks for the rides... not the food .

[Gifted Gourmet]

We go to amusement parks for the rides... not the food  .

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I understand that but what I am hoping to discover are some foods that have been worth remembering from a theme-park setting ...

[peanutgirl]

Sorry if that was haughty. Really.

We have season passes and 4 children ages: 6, 7, 10 & 13. We live 7 minutes from a Six Flags. I refuse to buy overpriced junky food there. If we are hungry or starving... we leave and go home to eat. Tomorrow is always there another day if we want.

So, to me...theme park food is usually overpriced, not very good and just not worth it. Even if it is alligator. (I did see Lempert on the Today Show segment about this yesterday).

The only food worth remembering is the food that helped define a special memory.

For us... that hasn't happened at an amusement park.

Yet...

Edited June 27, 2006 by peanutgirl (log)

[Angela Alaimo]

We usually got the salt water taffy when we went to Rye Playland. And their hot dogs were pretty good, as were the fries. Or maybe it was some other sandwich.

Well, stick with the taffy.

[MissAmy]

As a kid, I loved those funnel cake things. I hadn't had one in years and years, and last year, I went to the fair here in Austin. I saw the funnel cake stand and couldn't help myself, remembering how much I had loved them as a child. And it... was terrible. Horrible, actually. I took one bite, was confused over how bad it was, took another bite, decided, yup, this is really terrible, and threw it out.

The bratwurst on buns with saurkraut they had weren't too bad, though.

[Gifted Gourmet]

As a kid, I loved those funnel cake things. I hadn't had one in years and years, and last year, I went to the fair here in Austin. I saw the funnel cake stand and couldn't help myself, remembering how much I had loved them as a child. And it... was terrible. Horrible, actually. I took one bite, was confused over how bad it was, took another bite, decided, yup, this is really terrible, and threw it out.

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That only goes to prove that things often are not as we perceived them as a child .. it has happened to me more than once! and I think, "did I miss the point here?" "what in the world happened to my sense of taste?!" ... obviously outgrew the pleasures of childhood and now my tastes are more sophisticated .. hopefully!

[apronstrings]

The banana stuffed french toast at the Polynesian Resort in Disney is wonderful. And the pastries at Epcot in the French and Swedish pavilions are a treat.

[nessa]

Ren Fair barbecued corn, and smoked turkey legs!!

[petite tête de chou]

Mount Angel Oktoberfest. Brats and sauerkraut. Boiled corn on the cob. Sno-cones. Huge pickles. Strawberry shortcake. Cinnamon-sugar dusted elephant ears. Beer.

All eaten with a constant stream of yodeling in my ears. Love it dearly.

[KOK]

French Fries at The Potato Patch in Kennywood, outside of Pittsburgh. I've even taken my niece and her friends to Kennywood JUST to get some P.P. fries.

Of course the JackRabbit and Steel Phantom are worth ridding.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Lilija]

We don't go to big-ticket theme parks much, but we're lucky enough to live close to some really great boardwalks (rides, games, stands, the whole works, so I guess it counts)

When the Keansburg amusement park opens, on Easter, traditionally, we go on an eating tour of the place. Start at one end, with a slice of pizza from the guy by the huge slide. Eat pizza, watch kids tumble off the 100ft slide. Working our way down the "mile" going on rides, playing games, till we get to Nickerson's for a sausage and pepper sandwich (which we usually split, because it's enormous), then later in the day, on to the fry stand, for a giant bucket of fresh-cut fries, with cheese, vinegar, and salt. Carry those fries to the lovely air-conditioned bar/hot dog joint, Heidelberg, for the best hot dogs in NJ...2 please, with pepper relish. There, we sit, enjoy the dogs, fries, and ice cold beers, in the AC. Refreshed, we hit the 'walk again, for more rides, games, and now looking for something sweet. Either an ice cream cone at Kohrs, or a funnel cake. Continue riding and gaming till the money and tickets are gone, then stop for a bit of fudge, or a candy apple to take home, from the place by the carousel.

The nice thing is this: It's all still as good as it was 20 years ago, when -I- was the kid tumbling off the slide.

Other memorable boardwalk eats:

The old Sawmill, in Seaside Heights, for the 1.50 slice of pizza, that was literally bigger than your head, with a free soda. (sadly, they renovated a few years back, the walk-up pizza counter is no longer, and they no longer offer that deal. Now they're some fancy-ass bar. *grumble*)

There's a fudge shop right by the Sawmill, too, that has some of the best homemade candies I've ever had. We always get half a pound of fudge, and taffies to take home.

Down in Wildwood, there's a place called Harry's Corner, that has, hands down, THE best cheesesteaks I've ever been privileged enough to consume. I can't explain it, but if I could paint a perfect cheesesteak, it would be this one. I dream of them. The meat is real thin sliced steaks, finely diced, with finely chopped peppers, hot and sweet, as well as perfectly grilled onions. He uses a sharp cheddar cheese sauce, and these huge perfect rolls, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside... They're so perfectly balanced. The other stuff is great, there, too.

[LynDel]

Not a huge theme park, but we like to visit Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Fresh squeezed lemonade, fried clams and the "Pier French Fries." We took a picture of ourselves eating this box of french fries. The fried clams are overpriced but we consider it a splurge. It seems wonderful to eat fried clams in the ocean breeze. My husband will usually treat himself to some fried dough.

We sometimes take home a box of homemade candy from one of the shops.

[Daddy-A]

Ren Fair barbecued corn, and smoked turkey legs!! 

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My wife & I are Disneyland nuts. Last time we took the kids, we lived off smoked turkey legs for 4 days! Other faves include the Veggie Chili in the Sourdough Bowl (California Adventure Park) and Frozen Bananas!

A.

[SheenaGreena]

The banana stuffed french toast at the Polynesian Resort in Disney is wonderful. And the pastries at Epcot in the French and Swedish pavilions are a treat.

I actually stayed at the Polynesian resort in Disney w/my grandparents when I was 10. Unfortunately I don't remember much about the food. Although, I do remember having an awesome brunch with all the Disney characters. I probably had egg beaters, microwave bacon, and pancakes.

[Beth E.]

A Walt Disney World fan here.

The banana stuffed french toast is at the Kona Kafe in the Polynesian. It's called Tonga Toast.

A good snack is the Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom. It's made with a pineapple sorbet. You can get it swirled with vanilla soft serve.

Actually, Disney has some very good restaurants these days.

[Gifted Gourmet]

A good snack is the Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom. It's made with a pineapple sorbet.

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I remember that on a visit there some years ago, I was fairly faint from the heat and humidity which is intense in a summery Orlando ... that was when I found the Dole Whip concession stand ... it was so refreshing, that I returned a number of times that day to keep myself cool ... thanks for reminding me, Beth!

[TongoRad]

This one is probably better suited for the "Good Idea but Less then Stellar Execution" file but...

Land of Make Believe, in Hope NJ (?), offers baskets of hand cut french fries. Unfortunately when I've been there the booth gets slammed with people and I'm sure the temperature of the oil drops, resulting in greasy fries. They still beat frozen ones, though

[Gigi4808]

The Bengle Bar-B-Q meats in Disneyland (ANY of them)

Frozen banana's, churros. The two best places to eat at Disneyland would be the Carnation Cafe on Mainstreet or the Blue Bayou located in Pirates Of The Caribbian.

The food at Universal in California just sucks. If you must eat in the park about your best bet is Doc Browns Chicken. Do yourself a favor and get a handstamp and go out onto Citywalk and find something there.

[Lordof7]

I grew up near Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ, so spent some time there (more time working there, as most of our friends did back then.) Really bad, overpriced food. There was actually a McDonalds in the park which was roughly a little more than twice the cost of a normal McD's (and I'm sad to be able to say, of lesser quality than normal for some reason.)

Which was why I was pleasantly surprised when we went to Disney World recently. Yeah, the food was more expensive then one would normally pay for burgers, etc., but it tasted pretty good. I definitely enjoyed eating there. Many different nice dinner options were very good as well. (Wife booked dinners at all the nice places, just for me! Includes Victoria and Albert's, which was great!)

[Beth E.]

Besides Victoria and Albert's what nice places did you visit at WDW?

[newbie]

I can't go to a fair without getting myself a candy apple, the red ones.

[sandercohan]

This sort of applies...

I went to Disneyworld with my family when I was a senior in high school. My mother had been attacked by a fit of nostalgia ( I was leaving for college, my bro was starting high school), and decided that she and my father wanted to take us all to Disneyworld. Never mind that I was going through a severe Holden Caufield phase.

But whatever, I'm off topic...We stayed in the Dixieland Hotel, which was really interesting to a New England boy like myself. Part of the whole experience was that most people ate [a very, very large] breakfast at the hotel before heading off to a day at the park. All sorts of theme-park related breakfast foods were there, especially the ubiquitous mickey-mouse shaped pancakes and waffles.

Not being much of a breakfast person, and being totally appaled by the Disney branding all over the place, I chose the least commercial thing I could find -- a box of Museli and a cup of coffee.

Much to my horror, when I poured the box of cereal into my bowl, I thought the corn flakes the cereal mix were a little oddly shaped...like little mickey-mouse heads. Sure enough, Disney had made its branding so ubiquitious that everything down to cornflakes in the boxed cereal contained the mickey brand.

Totally freaky.

[Kris]

I haven't been to a theme park in years, but my last foray to a carnival type atmosphere was to Atlantic City's boardwalk.

I had to try the fried Oreo cookies. I just thought it was such an odd concept. I wasn't too impressed. I mean it was alright but nothing overwhelminingly delicious. The cookie turned to mush after being fried and it was covered in all of this dough. It's not something I would get again.