Food & Beverage: The Aramark Era begins

[BigShadowtinytree]

It’s a start after they removed the free water from the freestyle machines but it’s still not really adequate, hopefully more will be getting installed across the park. I know you can get water bottles filled at kiosks but having a refill station makes it quicker and far more convenient. People who just want water don’t have to queue behind people ordering 10 drinks and 6 packets of sweets and those who are buying stuff get served quicker as water drinkers no longer have to take up a space in the queue.

I can only imagine they removed the water from the freestyle machines as it was causing queues on warm, busy days. It’s a shame but I understand that point of view.

Bit of a weird place for them to put it as well especially as it’s the only one (at the moment at least). Useful at the beginning or end of the day though I suppose.

 

[AT86]

It’s doubly frustrating in that a few years back (perhaps 2019?) they installed various fountains around the park for free water refills, only to remove them when freestyle came in. Now things are still worse than they were a few season back.

 

[Steve74]

I think it has been said the issue was that those who had paid to use the machines were queuing behind those using them for free.
It does make sense to separate the free water from the paid-for soft drinks for that reason, but they need a lot more of these fountains!

But why was that such a big deal? So what if someone who had paid to have free refills should *shock horror* have to queue for a minute or two behind someone who hasn't!!! In some rides where Fastrack merges with the normal queue people who have paid for a quicker ride experience still have to queue behind those that haven't.

 

[WillPS]

But why was that such a big deal? So what if someone who had paid to have free refills should *shock horror* have to queue behind someone who hasn't!!! In some rides where Fastrack merges with the normal queue people who have paid for a quicker ride experience still have to queue behind those that haven't.

Because it's unneccessary when all they need is a tap. (Of course, they should provide the tap!)

 

[Steve74]

Because it's unneccessary when all they need is a tap. (Of course, they should provide the tap!)

Well yes, if an alternative was provided. They shouldn't have removed the option until they had an alternative in place - or at least advertised you could ask at a kiosk for a refill - because I didn't know that was a thing!

 

[rob666]

Do you really think Merlin will give away free, easy, healthy fluids in convenient locations around the park, when they can offer you a fine selection of expensive, unhealthy carbonated drinks, at a ridiculous mark up, instead.

 

[siralgenon]

So yesterday I ate at The Burger Kitchen near The Towers yesterday and I found the food inedible. Now it's never been gourmet but it's the first time I've never been able to finish the meal. It was the cheapest food you could find which was also cold, after having to wait 15 mins for it after ordering on the self serve terminal.

I thought the whole experience was absolutely abysmal and unfortunately Fried Chicken Co. wasn't much better with the queue out the door waiting to collect food.

 

[Kraken27]

In slight fairness to Merlin - it's not just their parks that have removed free water from the Coke Freestyle machines.

Universal did exactly the same in Orlando a couple of years before the pandemic hit. This is a right pain as the tap water in Orlando (and the USA in general) has a nasty chlorinated taste to it. When you could get free water - and ice - from the Freestyle machines, it had been filtered to remove the taste. Now you have to use the free drinking fountains that have foul tasting water.

I get where the parks are coming from - if guests are paying a premium for the Freestyle cups that "unlock" the machine, you don't want them being delayed by guests just after free water.

 

[George W]

Maybe there's been an uptick in platinum pass holders but there was refillable coke freestyle cups everywhere around the park I noticed, I also appreciate they give you 3 full days of unlimited refills with platinum, but they have to try and justify the cost difference in gold to platinum somehow, especially for those not too fussed about fireworks (not me tho).

 

[AstroDan]

So yesterday I ate at The Burger Kitchen near The Towers yesterday and I found the food inedible. Now it's never been gourmet but it's the first time I've never been able to finish the meal. It was the cheapest food you could find which was also cold, after having to wait 15 mins for it after ordering on the self serve terminal.

I thought the whole experience was absolutely abysmal and unfortunately Fried Chicken Co. wasn't much better with the queue out the door waiting to collect food.

You should have taken it back. I remember once when I had some reconstituted chicken breast goujons at Cowboy Cookout at DLP. I took them wrapped to City Hall, put them down and asked them why the country of fine food was serving this crap.

I got a free fastpass.

 

[Maelstrom]

In slight fairness to Merlin - it's not just their parks that have removed free water from the Coke Freestyle machines.

Universal did exactly the same in Orlando a couple of years before the pandemic hit. This is a right pain as the tap water in Orlando (and the USA in general) has a nasty chlorinated taste to it. When you could get free water - and ice - from the Freestyle machines, it had been filtered to remove the taste. Now you have to use the free drinking fountains that have foul tasting water.

I get where the parks are coming from - if guests are paying a premium for the Freestyle cups that "unlock" the machine, you don't want them being delayed by guests just after free water.

Universals free style machines do now have the free water option turned back on. Used them all the time last august.

 

[RyanUK]

The more I read about bad food experiences the more I feel like there have been better food experiences in the past. This goes across all Merlin parks. And I’m more tempted than ever now to take my own food and put it in a locker and make do with it, even if it’s slightly warm. When I go to Towers, I usually fill myself up with a big breakfast and DO need some lunch, some people I have been with in the past have very little or no lunch.

 

[siralgenon]

The more I read about bad food experiences the more I feel like there have been better food experiences in the past. This goes across all Merlin parks. And I’m more tempted than ever now to take my own food and put it in a locker and make do with it, even if it’s slightly warm. When I go to Towers, I usually fill myself up with a big breakfast and DO need some lunch, some people I have been with in the past have very little or no lunch.

I've never been one to take my own food to parks, I just buy it there. But after my three experiences this season (that's three chances) I won't be buying food from the resort again.

Flambos - the menu has been drastically cut and the food cheapened. It's never been a Michelin star restaurant but I've always enjoyed it but it was a huge waste of money last week, not worth it at all.

Fried Chicken Co. - I had to wait approx 15mins for my food because of everyone ordering on the screens and they couldn't make the food quick enough. When I got it it was slightly anemic and looked like some Tesco value frozen dippers (for £10).

Burger Kitchen - and finally yesterday's visit to The Burger Kitchen which again after a long wait I revived the cheapest burger you could find with soggy cold chips.

It makes Disneyland Paris quick service look like a gourmet meal.

 

[pluk]

It's all sounding like I got lucky at Legoland!

 

[RyanUK]

I've never been one to take my own food to parks, I just buy it there. But after my three experiences this season (that's three chances) I won't be buying food from the resort again

I never take my own food but many people slating Aramark can’t be wrong.

It's all sounding like I got lucky that Legoland!

Yes, but I’m taking no chances with what I’m hearing in this thread! I trust you don’t do fake reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

[Jonathan]

You should have taken it back. I remember once when I had some reconstituted chicken breast goujons at Cowboy Cookout at DLP. I took them wrapped to City Hall, put them down and asked them why the country of fine food was serving this crap.

I got a free fastpass.

Ah, I remember that - Junket 2014, I think.

 

[George W]

Had flambo Jambo's last night, my friend she is a picky eater and they no longer did pasta they overheard her saying that she wanting that so they got the ingredients and baked her own pasta bake dish which was nice to see and it was quite tasty apparently.

Some of the food there was okay, some was barely edible, some I wouldn't go near just by the looks and wtf were those baked beans, where the heck did they get those from they probably got paid to stock those by some chemical waste disposal company, they just tasted like a cocktail of chemicals it was like some alien tried to replicate how they think humans taste baked beans but failed miserably.
Also all I'll say is that nearly all of my friends had quite frequent toilet breaks the night and morning after, which is ashame we had none of that when we went in August last year.

Breakfast was shambles, bacon was so cheap, eggs were fine, mushrooms was fine just very greasy, tomatoes looked like they were fresh last month and microwaved.
The sausages you have to avoid they were just inedible uncooked mush hopefully not food poisoning inducing though.
Baked beans weren't as as bad as the ones I had the night before but not great,
The hash browns were actually nice though.

My last hotel trip last year I didn't mind the flambos buffet and the breakfast buffet as there was a huge range of food as it was either all okay or nice but now the quality range is just inedible to okay.

 

[Craig]

It's great to see some suggestions for alternative places to get your grub, but please try and keep this topic related to discussion about the resort's outlets as we're getting way off the original subject of discussion now.

@Alsty created a topic for alternative options a while back, I've moved the last few posts talking about alternative pubs off site etc there.

 

[Tom]

I heard that the Rollercoaster Restaurant is now serving whole beer-battered onions, is that correct?

 

[rob666]

Had one recently, onion flower/bloom...double sliced crosswise, but not quite all the way through...beer batter with lots of salt and pepper, then deep fried.
Bit of a bhaji.