Frontier Festival 2022 Preview

Watch Tony's live stream from earlier today for a preview of potential food items for the 2022 Frontier Festival.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1nAKEYjZwklKL

Am I the only one who thinks this premium food trend is a bit, well, trendy?

I like the occasional “outlandish” dish, but having more than one on any given day, much less in any given meal, as part of a tasting program doesn’t appeal to me. And with so many companies jumping on the bandwagon (fast food, sports venues, and—of course—amusement parks), isn’t special food like this becoming less special?

I can’t help but think that a better long term strategy would be to focus on a more curated, well rounded food menu that actually means something to the park and region it’s in (e.g. boysenberries at Knott’s) rather than a smorgasbord of bizarro novelties.

Personally, if I’m going to splurge on an unhealthy food item at an amusement park, it’s going to be a more classic amusement park food item, like a funnel cake.

Then again, judging by the lines I saw in Frontiertown last year, maybe I’m the only one not excited by this! Lol

I'd settle for my damn burritos and bowls back in the park. It all looked great though, Im sure they'll sell as many tasting cards as they can print.

I'd settle for Kinzel era food in the park, if they could get back to the Kinzel era ride operations efficiency.

^^^Based on the amount of people going to Corral for chicken tenders and to Coasters for the basic theme park burger & fries, you're certainly not the only one. There's no shame in that. But I truly appreciate that we're getting a decent variety of offerings, and the quality of the food has improved immensely. Kudos to the park for continuously evolving.

I assume the main aim of these unique food items is to encourage guests (particularly those with dining plans) to spend additionally on festival offerings. Judging by the size and ambition of what was being tasted on Tony's livestream they seem to be leaning more towards the Tricks and Treats portions and price points, which were noticeably higher than previous Frontier Festivals/Brew & BBQs. Hopefully they can balance the value proposition for those willing to spend extra for special items, particularly if the more expensive items can be hard to get on a busy weekend since they are "trapped" inside an already high-traffic food location.

Top Thrill 182 said:

Am I the only one who thinks this premium food trend is a bit, well, trendy?

Lucrative is the word you're looking for, but also guests want this. Epcot has been essentially printing money for years in its Food & Wine Festival (and the other festivals that fill out the year). SeaWorld is doing it now too. So many good options.

Top Thrill 182 said:

Am I the only one who thinks this premium food trend is a bit, well, trendy?

But, it works. I don't buy food at the park, but if I had a choice between $12 for reheated chicken tenders or $14 for a unique meal I'm spending the $14.

Jeff said:

guests want this.

And when you see the size of the crowds in Frontier Town during the festival, it's easy to see just how popular it is.

Gotta get the balance right, though. $12 chicken tenders, or $14 unique meal, provided it's good...but is it worth $20?

One of my big gripes with the park in recent years is that the meal plans have priced me out of most of the food service. Any item that is included on the meal plan is $15. And likewise, with that as a baseline, most of the other items that are similar in scope (i.e. "entree" or "combo") are also $15. And nearly everything is served only as a combo, with terrible fries that I don't want, and no appreciable discount for not including the terrible fries. Quit trying to serve me a $15 combo; sell me a $9 sandwich instead, and when I finish it I'll go get the $8 cheese fries from the place with the good fries...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave you're on to something that the park could implement rather easily... and make an upsell off their 'Combo Meal'.

It would be easy for the park to offer a an upsell to the better fries for $2 to redeem later at the Good Fry place.

Valued Customer: I would like a Combo meal = $15

Valued Employee: Would you like to make that an 'edible fries' combo for $2 more?

Valued Customer: Yes!! I love edible fries and hate paying for those crappy fries!

(the cashier simply gives you a receipt to redeem for the 'good fries' at that stand. Park's POS systems can easily do this.)

Value proposition for the park and customer- Customer gets edible fries and doesn't feel like crap after eating combo fries... Park gets $2 more plus gets customer to try the premium fries they may not have had before creating more future sales at $8 each (secret bonus for park... customer might never redeem receipt for fries).

XS, that last statement is spot-on. Many would be likely to forego the additional effort to go to a "good fries" stand and leave without redeeming the receipt. Factors include being busy riding world class rides, the other fries stand could be too difficult to navigate too, the good fries stand may have a line across the midway, the good fries stand is closed.

Free money for the park along with individuals who do not spend the total amount on their "cashless payment" card they were forced to obtain.

If I am sitting down to eat, why would I want to get my chicken tenders at one place and then have to walk clear across the park to stand in line (again) at the fries stand? From a park perspective it makes sense but from the customer standpoint it seems like a terrible idea to me.

Why not offer the "good fries" at the chicken tenders stand for the $2 up-charge?

I'm still ticked that they got rid of the Sidewinder fries near Steal Vengeance. Those were our "good fries". But I digress...

Shades said:

If I am sitting down to eat, why would I want to get my chicken tenders at one place and then have to walk clear across the park to stand in line (again) at the fries stand? From a park perspective it makes sense but from the customer standpoint it seems like a terrible idea to me.

1- Because the fries you get with your chicken tenders are pure crap, not worthy of seagull bait.

2- A snack later in the day.

3- Less to throw in the trash can.

4- It would be an optional upsell. If you want the garbage fries, save $2 and enjoy.

More seriously- the combo fries are just filler. The park markets the good fries as a meal themselves, get more people to try the good fries = more sales. BTW, potatoes are basically free when you buy them in such bulk... the profit margin is insane, way more than middle school cafeteria chicken tenders.

It's been awhile, but don't most fast food joints (Wendy's, etc.) sell you just a sandwich if you don't want anything else?

This isn't hard.

I wish they had a contract with a solid kettle chip company like Dirty, and you could get those with the standard food instead of the bad fries. BBQ, Sea Salt or Salt & Vinegar for example.

Bring back Berardi's french fries...