Busch gardens dining deal....worth it?

[paysensmom]

I have tried to find a thread about Busch Gardens and I can't seem to find one. I figured since it is budget related, I would put it here.
Have you used the dining deal and is it worth it?

 

[Belle5]

Used it last summer. Would do it again!! Do a search on the subject on the "forums" of Tripadvisor.

 

[SandrA9810]

if you scroll to the bottom of the board list, there's a sea world board. Anything relating to the Busch theme parks is posted there.

An average adult meal is about 10-15$, kids meals run about 7.50$. It's a good deal if you're staying open till close. If you're coming during shorter park hours, then it's easy to just buy lunch, then grab a bite to eat somewhere nearby. There's several places within a few miles.

I did that at universal, and ate sooo much that day. Really tried to make it worth it. But it was also off season, so we got almost everything done we wanted to.

 

[fac]

did it last year, will do it again.
But we were there from open till close

 

[englishteacha]

We did it at BG in Williamsburg this past summer. It was $20, included 2 meals with dessert, and 4 drinks. We shared lunch and dinner and had plenty of food. We'd do it again.

 

[paysensmom]

Doesn't each person have to have their own?

 

[SandrA9810]

I think the previous poster was refering to something else. I've never heard of an offer like that at the four parks in florida.

yes, each person has to have their own wrist band, and sharing is not allowed. Unless it's a baby. But that doesn't mean you have to get it for every one in your party.

i was thinking of doing it one day this summer when parks are open late to taste all the food there. And bring ziploc bags to doggie bag it home... I rarely eat there, and haven't had many of the offerings, and would like to try more, but would want to get the full value out of the thing.

 

[Bostonterrierlover]

I've used this at the park in Williamsburg. I ordered them online and scanned the printout at the parks. It gave a paper tickets for the 2 meals and 4 drinks. I've done it where I got a meal voucher for each person, and if I wasn't planning to stay all day just got one so my boyfriend and I could each get a lunch. Never had any problem using the one between two people. Well worth it and would do it again!

 

[lisaross]

Can u buy these meal deals at the park? We are going to BG in Williamsburg and will be spending the entire day at the park so i'm thinking it will be a good deal for my family.

 

[Bostonterrierlover]

Can u buy these meal deals at the park? We are going to BG in Williamsburg and will be spending the entire day at the park so i'm thinking it will be a good deal for my family.

I'm pretty sure these deals are available only online at the Busch Gardens website.

 

[englishteacha]

The meal deal at Williamsburg was an actual meal ticket, so we had 2 meal tickets and 4 drink tickets. You turned in the ticket when you got your food. DH and I shared one meal at lunch and one meal at supper.

 

[lurkernj]

We purchased these last summer as well. It was $20 for two meal tickets and 4 drinks. You don't have to use them all in one day. We were in busch gardens two days and used one ticket per person each, though you can easily share (my boys like to eat, so no sharing). This was a GREAT deal. We ate at Trappers smokehouse one day and got the rib platter that costs something like $14 or $15, plus you get a dessert(not that great, but free). Another day we ate in Italy and the combo platter was around $15. We also were able to use the extra drink certificates for slushies, but you need to find a willing CM as they are not supposed to be included. Water country also offers this deal, but the choices weren't as plentiful. You can buy them off of the Busch gardens website (we also purchased parking on the website and saved $2)

 

[lisaross]

just went on the web site...no $20 deal for 2 meals it shows kids meal for 6.99 and adults range from 11.99 - 14.00 depending how many sides..does not seem like such a great deal its for 1 meal...am i missing something?

 

[fac]

I think the previous poster was refering to something else. I've never heard of an offer like that at the four parks in florida.

yes, each person has to have their own wrist band, and sharing is not allowed. Unless it's a baby. But that doesn't mean you have to get it for every one in your party.

I sure do hope BG enforces it. In general, I am not interested in policing whether anyone following the rule. But when I was BG last time, I saw a family with 4 adults and 5 kids, only 2 adult and 2 kids had wristband, they just kept going in and out to get food. I was speechless.

 

[lurkernj]

I'm not sure what these wristbands are, but that is apparently different than the meal tickets. We purchased the meal deal online and scanned them at the entrance to BG where the meal tickets and drink tickets came out. You just turn in the ticket at the register where you are purchasing the food. No policing needed.

If it's not on their website now, maybe it was a seasonal thing.

 

[SandrA9810]

well i'm not saying people should be stealing food like that. I just mean if you have kids that can eat large portions and a small kids meal isn't enough for them. And for the price of an adult meal, you can get the kid a wristband, and let them pig out.

I can eat like no tomorrow sometimes, but my friend can't. It wouldn't be worth it to get it for her, she would not be able to eat 30$ of food in one day.

 

[Dancemom03]

I can eat like no tomorrow sometimes, but my friend can't. It wouldn't be worth it to get it for her, she would not be able to eat 30$ of food in one day.

My thoughts exactly. I'm sure that there have been folks who've seen my girls go to the register with armbands at US/IOA while I sat holding a table for us without an armband. The reality is that (unless I'm snowed in at home sitting in front of the tv bored silly) I just don't eat that much. This is the budget board and I think most would agree that you should spend your money wisely. For a salad & diet coke, it isn't worth me getting the all-u-can-eat deal. If the DDs are finished, I might nibble on a chicken nugget or a couple fries destined for the trash can though before throwing it away.

They also like to get mac-n-cheese-bites (ewww) just before we leave the park to snack on later. Only on the DIS do people make judgements about what/how much strangers eat & drink and equate it to stealing by calling for better "policing"...