21 minutes ago, DonnaFan said:

Dumb question, then, what do you put in a cooler? I'd think anything that needs a cooler would be really hot after sitting in a car for hours in the 90° sun.

Depends on the cooler that you buy.  Newer coolers will hold ice in the heat for 5-7 days.

Personally, based on the quality of food service, the last two seasons when I went to the park, I only bought snack foods and not full meals.  If I needed a meal I would leave and come back.

Bringing coolers means time wasted not riding coasters and eating in a hot car. I'd rather use my mealplan. Depending on where you are in the park or even which park aka Cedar Point its a 15 minute walk or more each way.

43 minutes ago, DonnaFan said:

Dumb question, then, what do you put in a cooler? I'd think anything that needs a cooler would be really hot after sitting in a car for hours in the 90° sun.

Ice always works & will last the day, especially if you pack it well (extra drinks etc.).  We also add in ice packs & cover the cooler in a wet towel.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/rubbermaid-blue-ice-weekender-pack/999970386?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-google-_-lia-_-237-_-coolersandhydration-_-999970386-_-0&kpid&store_code=1654&k_clickID=go_1793151301_68519295759_346785832464_pla-696106991190_c_9006421&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItvLG4-C54wIVmYjICh1dEQ7kEAQYAiABEgIKJfD_BwE

Even if you don't have one of those state-of-the-art space-age coolers, here's a couple of tips for keeping things good and cold...

1. Have all food/beverage items pre-cooled (i.e. put in refrigerator overnight) the cooler's job is to keep it cold, not make it cold
2. Bring cooler inside (starting out with a hot cooler is a bad idea), clean it out
3. Put all beverage items in bottom (single layer, upright, allow for some space)
4. Surround cans/bottles with ice (let ice get down between everything), cover completely
5. Put your food in zip-lock bags (keeps it dry)
6. Place food on top of ice layer
7. Surround food with ice packs (if you have them), or just fill remainder of cooler with ice to cover (be gentle to not crush your sammies )
8. In the car, cover the cooler with a blanket to add an extra layer of insulation against the heat and sunlight
9. Don't forget, close that drain plug! (don't want a car full of water from a leaking cooler)

In general, don't over-pack the cooler with food/beverage "stuff".  You need an appropriate amount of ice or ice-packs.  Good starting rule of thumb, half and half (50% stuff, 50% ice).

I've camped with all styles of coolers, from good to crappy.  You can get by with the flimsiest of coolers with decent prep.  Though I cannot stress point #1 enough, starting with everything cold goes a long way in helping you out. 

As for eating at KI, pack items which are quick and ready-to-eat.  You don't want to be doing meal-prep from the back of your car.  Prep at home, pack for grab and eat.  

Have fun 

2 hours ago, Maddog said:

Even if you don't have one of those state-of-the-art space-age coolers, here's a couple of tips for keeping things good and cold...

1. Have all food/beverage items pre-cooled (i.e. put in refrigerator overnight) the cooler's job is to keep it cold, not make it cold
2. Bring cooler inside (starting out with a hot cooler is a bad idea), clean it out
3. Put all beverage items in bottom (single layer, upright, allow for some space)
4. Surround cans/bottles with ice (let ice get down between everything), cover completely
5. Put your food in zip-lock bags (keeps it dry)
6. Place food on top of ice layer
7. Surround food with ice packs (if you have them), or just fill remainder of cooler with ice to cover (be gentle to not crush your sammies )
8. In the car, cover the cooler with a blanket to add an extra layer of insulation against the heat and sunlight
9. Don't forget, close that drain plug! (don't want a car full of water from a leaking cooler)

In general, don't over-pack the cooler with food/beverage "stuff".  You need an appropriate amount of ice or ice-packs.  Good starting rule of thumb, half and half (50% stuff, 50% ice).

I've camped with all styles of coolers, from good to crappy.  You can get by with the flimsiest of coolers with decent prep.  Though I cannot stress point #1 enough, starting with everything cold goes a long way in helping you out. 

As for eating at KI, pack items which are quick and ready-to-eat.  You don't want to be doing meal-prep from the back of your car.  Prep at home, pack for grab and eat.  

Have fun 

You all know your stuff! I didn't even know about such technology. The last I ever used was a crappy thermos in the 80s that didn't do anything to keep soup hot. Thanks for all the helpful ideas and tips, everyone.

My little one only wanted breadsticks so I ended up getting pizza at LaRosa's. I want to try other stuff someday but with a little kid it's hard. It was so crazy hot Sunday! It's going to be even worse this weekend. We've gotten our KI fill for a few weeks.

Chicken shack salad is a good option of your little one just wants bread.
They get toasted buttery bread, you get a salad with chicken on top.



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14 hours ago, chuck norris said:

Chicken shack salad is a good option of your little one just wants bread.
They get toasted buttery bread, you get a salad with chicken on top.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds great, thanks. Is that on the meal plan, by any chance? I can't wait for a normal food phase for the whole family.

23 minutes ago, DonnaFan said:

Sounds great, thanks. Is that on the meal plan, by any chance? I can't wait for a normal food phase for the whole family.

Chicken Shack salad is in fact on the meal plan!

Big Dog from brewhouse was rather good. Though at 25 minutes to get it was a bit extreme.

International Street Skyline has Extreme Habanero Cheese now.

 

 

17 hours ago, Stoan said:

International Street Skyline has Extreme Habanero Cheese now.

 

 

OH. MY. GOD. !!!

According to the sign, so did the one in Coney

TBH I'm kinda mad they took away the self serve hot sauce from the chicken shack. They now don't offer hot sauce as dipping sauce anymore on the self scan thing. 

Chicken Shacks smoked chicken wings are a joke. Also kind of annoys me that they just dump so the wings in the fries. Makes it difficult to share with my kids

^ I've had the smoked wings at Chicken Shack several times this season and have enjoyed them. What didn't you like about them?

I typically get them without sauce, since they're already seasoned. Covering them in hot sauce makes them taste like normal buffalo wings.

The ones I got weren't smoked, it was at best roasted. 

I just had the Chicken Shack smoked wings 10 minutes ago. They were definitely smoked.

Not sure what was wrong with your wings yesterday.

Mine were pale, cold, and dry. They were quite a disappointment

I had the tri-tip at Coney BBQ yesterday.  I'm pretty choosy about meat and had avoided it because, well, I didn't trust that I would like it.  If I could redo this and last season, I would have had it more often.  It was that good.  Can't wait to have it on Labor Day, my next visit.

 

I also had the KI salad for my second meal.  I decided to try the pullapart bread.  The salad was excellent as usual.  The pullapart bread was just OK.  It's like they took 4 Kings Hawaiian rolls, put them in a bowl of butter, added cheese and chives and top, baked and served.  The bottom was not edible, it was saturated with butter.

The tri-tip has been my go to all year. Get the corn and a little mustard, easy to walk and eat

10 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

The bottom was not edible, it was saturated with butter.

That sounds wonderous.   Despite living in Omaha for 10 years I never made it to the Iowa State Fair to try deep fried butter on a stick.  One of my major regrets in life. 

I too am a big fan of the tri-tip at Coney BBQ.  It is my go to meal when I want something quick. 

I feel like pound for pound, Coney BBQ is the most efficient dining location in the park.  I wish they would have more dining locations 0with that efficient of a set up.  I would love to see Festhaus get the Harmony Hall treatment in the next couple years.

In 2017 my wife and girl got BBQ at a place beside Mystic Timbers. My wife got sick and my youngest girl did not feel well after either. it was not a ride issue because my wife does not ride anything. I can't remember what the place was called but I got a hamburger and was not very good at all. I am wondering how this place compares to the BBQ at Coney BBQ or is it the same thing? 

6 hours ago, jensenracing77 said:

In 2017 my wife and girl got BBQ at a place beside Mystic Timbers. My wife got sick and my youngest girl did not feel well after either. it was not a ride issue because my wife does not ride anything. I can't remember what the place was called but I got a hamburger and was not very good at all. I am wondering how this place compares to the BBQ at Coney BBQ or is it the same thing? 

That was the Brew house. The BBQ in Coney is very good I get the tri tips reminds me of Texas BBQ. 

It wasn’t the Brewhouse, because it is new this year. It was Red’s Hall of Fame Grill

Got bored and found where to look up KIs food safety reports, luckily it looks like their reports generally are pretty solid. I can't link directly to it, but I'm sure you peoples can figure it up.

 

https://www.healthspace.com/clients/ohio/warren/warren_web_live.nsf

Food “management” was way off last night. At   CONEY BBQ at  8:15 they were out of rotisserie chicken and telling people “5 min”, no big deal, but it IS a big deal when half the place is waiting for that and the line keeps growing with people who don’t want that, but no one is telling them to go ahead, or CRAZY IDEA  telling the chicken people to queue in the never used second line, then they can get all the other people taken care of, and see how many chicken people the have waiting. Then when chicken is done in 5....10...15...wait, how long? You can have those people all go through in the order they were in. Did I mention 20 min later and no chicken, no management, no info? So I took charge, announcing “anyone who’s waiting on chicken raise your hand, now everyone else, go past us and pick your other entree. All chicken people, the chicken will be ready in 5 min 20 min ago” all the non chicken people thanked me. All the chicken people thanked me. And “ magically” a manager appeared and told me “we can’t get the chicken to cook right. I want it at 170 and we hope we can get there by 9, but I can’t promise when it will be done” and turns around and leaves. Still never announces anything. So once again, my PA kicks in and I let everyone know the chicken “may” by done by 9. Which clears most of the place out. But cmon? Really? His hard is it to run a place? Oh and how hard is it to check your milk expiration date BEFORE a person orders milk with their cookie at Sweet Spot? They had an entire cooler full of expired milk. Oh and at a “pretzel only” place why do you run out of pretzels and tell people its a 20 min wait while you have a trash can FULL of expired pretzels. They clearly have no idea how to anticipate demand and start prepping the next batch before the current one expires. They are leaving money  on the table with poor operations. 

 

Oh oh and I shared my concerns with a nice guest services person who used an official PostIt note to document my concerns, so I’m sure THAT is going to be shared LOL. 

51 minutes ago, brent said:

Oh and I shared my concerns with a nice guest services person who used an official PostIt note to document my concerns, so I’m sure THAT is going to be shared LOL. 

Yeah, now that that post it note has been filled out, heads will roll! 

Had a similar experience in 2018 I posted about here at Coney BBQ but the issue was mac and cheese. Just a full stop on the line with no attempt to serve non M&C guests.  I can’t recall specifically how long but was probably around 10 minutes or so, meanwhile the line grew halfway across the midway.  

The issue then and now is not that they run out of an item, that happens.  The problem is whatever management they have on duty does not know how to handle these situations. 

Found my original post last year on the matter

 

 

Looking back at last year, I really think that Kings Island has a winning lineup with food. It's hard for me to pick my favorite place as of right now. However, If I had to pick best restaurant in the park, it would have been Miami Brewhouse. The food, the atmosphere, and selection on the menu is perfect in my opinion.