WVTP New Food Policy

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yeah clint, they've reduced costs by eliminating Baguettes. This is not really a problem - i've arrived at MW around lunchtime, and seen a few families having a tailgate party with an esky, a blanket and so on in the carpark. There are many food options in the park, and I might add that the new deal from Rick's isn't too bad - all you can eat between 11:30 and 3:30 - that should pretty much cover off the whole day's worth of food. Look - end of the day - vote with your wallets and walk. If you disagree with the policy, don't go. Send your messages to guest relations and be heard. No petitions, no childish crap - just honest, and straightforward - "i disagree with your policy and I won't be visiting\ visiting as often as i used to (for pass holders)

[rappa]

Was that a joke about saving costs by cutting them? Surely not. Don't keep something on the menu (and a sign for it) and then not have it available. And geeze, some reasonably good for you food items should remain on the menu. It's one thing to make people buy all food in the park, its another to force them to eat unhealthy...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It's not unhealthy! You can order a DIET coke! (of course, that diet beverage is still served in a giant plastic souvenir cup) And while i'm on it - is it too much to ask for them to make lids for the souvenir cups so you can use a straw instead of having to tip the cup up against your face and completely obscure your vision in what is a very crowded place. A few kids running to their next ride and you're going to wear it.

[rival81]

I will be honest, i think this is a smart move by management and will be better for the parks in the long run financially, and thus better for visitors. So long as i can get another annual pass for 80 bucks this year, i'll happily pay $10 for lunch so long as they lift the quality and freshness of their food. Specifically, burgers and chips at movieworld suck!!! I know that low fat beef patties cost a bit more, but the difference is marginal and i'd eat more often if the burgers didn't leave you feeling full of fat afterwards. MW should try a Grill'd burger (www.grilld.com.au) - they are healthy and delicious and it's not rocket science either. The chips i had at MW also were awful... cooked in saturated fat (which probably doesn't get changed every day either) i suspect, instead of healthier oils. In summary, if i find there is nice healthy burgers, etc at the park i will buy lunch. If not, then i'll just go hungry and eat on the drive down and back. The ball is in your court, Movieworld!

[cerberus584]

And while i'm on it - is it too much to ask for them to make lids for the souvenir cups so you can use a straw instead of having to tip the cup up against your face and completely obscure your vision in what is a very crowded place.

I think the HWSD ones used to come with lids and straws but as I'm sure you all know the plastic cups can be refilled at all three parks and lids and straws are not allowed at Sea World due to animal safety. It might seem a bit over the top but people do have a habit of leaving rubbish (and those cups) anywhere and everywhere. There's no reason you can't use a straw though.

The chips I had at MW also were awful... cooked in saturated fat (which probably doesn't get changed every day either) I suspect, instead of healthier oils.

Do you work in one of the outlets? What makes you think this is correct (especially considering it isn't)?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Besides most fast food places don't change their oil everyday. Clean oil actually tastes like crap - once its been used a couple times, the flavour of the food cooked in it leaches out into the oil and flavours it - this is why chips from a fish and chip shop taste so much better than from a big burger joint - because at a burger joint, the chips are pretty much the only thing in the oil, whereas in a fish and chip shop there are so many different things going into the oil it flavours it.

[joz]

Well all publicity is good publicity is good publicity right? Well judging by this article from the Gold Coast bulletin, and the nearly 100 angry comments that go with it on the bully's website, along with the 186 comments and counting on news.com.au, I'd suggest not. Seems they may have under estimated the public tolerance to such policies. This can't be doing the brand any favours, and I think they really should reverse this policy - and announce it. People really get pissed off about this sort of thing, and when your main product is a fun time, then you really don't want to be pissing people off. Hell, why not have a half price day (or week) and invite people to bring a picnic and and undo some of the damage? Can't hurt now can it? As a side note, join the protest face book group here!

Edited July 27, 2009 by joz

[rappa]

will be honest, i think this is a smart move by management and will be better for the parks in the long run financially, and thus better for visitors.

^^FAIL That's about as wrong and as funny as you could possibly be! You won't see the ill affects from these policies for years yet. Give it 2-3 years and you will see the long term damage this policy will have. Sure in the short term people will spend the money. But it's when they stop the frequency of their visits or just plain stop coming at all that it will hit hard. Annual passes are great and all for the local and theme park nerd like us, but it's your interstate tourist market that makes the parks their cash.

[MickeyD]

I've been saying it for ages.. It's all a sad turn of events that current WVTP management continue to make poorly thought decisions that are cheapening their whole Theme Park experience in favour of maximising the bottom line for the short term. Resultingly, expect people will wrap up their days feeling unsatisfied and ripped off. Yeah try and convince the head honchos that won't have an eventual negative impact on business? Some recent obvious cutbacks: - Reduced operating / trading hours for rides and attractions - Fewer shows on any given day (even on Holidays when busy) - Retail trading in the Parks on limited hours and staffing - Upkeep of attractions at an all time low (Bermuda, Looney Tunes, Batman, Lethal etc) - Service standards dropped - ie 1 ply toilet paper in toilets. - Cost of F&B at an all time high - Banning park guests from bringing in their own snacks Not only does all this have a negative impact on the customer experience but also on the frontline staff as well - I can't say they would be to thrilled to have their hours cut back to the point where now they pretty much have to work a 7 day week just to get full time employment. MW & SW used to have a great reputation for guest care & presentation standards. I guess that doesn't matter any more either?

[Gazza]

The thing that makes me laugh is when companies think that an excuse like "It's international practice" is actually capable of convincing the Australian public. Its not an actual cause and effect reason! The exact same line was pulled when Telstra Dome (Now known as Etihad Stadium) tried to prevent people getting pass outs to get to the nearby food outlets outside the gate that charged normal prices. Public backlash soon reversed that decision. At the end of the day we aren't America, and whilst consumers there are probably more accustomed to being ripped off and charged for stupid things (How much is it to park at SF these days?) in Australia these practices just don't work...Especially when the act of taking an esky on a day out is sort of a cultural symbol. It's not even a real standard anyway since parks go either way...All the good parks (Like Disney, Merlin etc) let you bring it in, but it is the bad parks (Like Six Flags) are the ones that disallow it.

[rival81]

"Bring a picnic" ... to a theme park? It's a business for goodness sakes. Not a charity. The more money they make the more likely they will be to invest in new rides.

[cerberus584]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone else find it a bit suss that neither the Gold Coast Bulletin or News.com or 7 news broke this story until more than a week after the Harry Potter Premiere? I saw the throng of media personnel at Movieworld that morning and am sure that they would've noticed the signs at the entrance telling guests about the new food rules. It seems that they held off on the story to make sure there media passes would still be available before trashing the parks a few weeks later.

[T-bone]

Just on bringing a picnic, it ain't that uncommon. Wonderland I believe used to allow their guests to bring in picnic baskets and stuff, however the catch was that you were restricted to Billabong Grove. I am under the understanding that this was earlier on in the parks history (someone please correct me if im wrong). In my opinion though, this is just a grab for some quick cash. But I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if A) the pricing of the food in the park was of a reasonable cost, the food was of a reasonable quality, C) the money that was being collected by the new "food tax" was going to be invested in making the affected parks bigger, better and with more new rides more often (which we know that ain't going to happen, I can't see the "Every 3-4 years" new major attraction rule going away). Its just silly that for a day experience that our parks are, that we can't bring in our own 80c can of drink from Franklins, and our own cheese, ham and tomato sauce sandwich made from our hotel/ home. Heck, you can even bring in your own food into the big chain cinema's these days and not get told that you can't bring it in. I'm glad that the media has finally got on to the story, its time now to get Matty White from Today Tonight onto it.

Edited July 28, 2009 by T-bone

[cerberus584]

While I don't necessarily agree with the policy, I don't really see why people are so against getting a passout and eating in the carpark, walking 10 minutes to go to maccas (from either Movieworld or Seaworld) or just having a big breakfast/brunch and then just getting a snack in the park. I also don't think there'll be as big a backlash as people think. Sure people might disagree but tourists will still go to the parks, they'll just cope with it for one day, and locals who take the time to find out about the QLD VIP Pass won't mind paying for the food considering the massive entry discount.

[Gazza]

RE the passouts, It's fine for your main meal I guess, but its stuff like snacks and drinks which people might want to have with them and graze on. I'm not sure about the scale of the backlash, but you tend to find any story like this on the News Limited websites gets a ton of outraged feedback, most of which probably comes from people that like whinging. The biggest concern for me is people at the park being told to get rid of their food the moment they arrive....It is perhaps the worst way you could start the day customer service and guest satisfaction wise. Once you set that negative tone it will linger with that guest for the rest of the day.

[joz]

I don't really see why people are so against getting a passout and eating in the carpark, walking 10 minutes to go to maccas (from either Movieworld or Seaworld)

Do you really not get it or are you being sarcastic?

[T-bone]

It's all good to say "get a pass-out and eat at your car" but what about those who didn't travel in a car? I know when I'm on the Gold Coast I don't drive. Public transport is there. Yes it's a little slow, but it sure beats dreading the drive back to the hotel in Gold Coast peak (yes I know it's the Gold Coast and not Sydney, but those roads can get pretty busy).

[Gazza]

I don't really see why people are so against getting a passout and eating in the carpark

I don't really see why it achieves anything to send people to the car park, what difference does it make ..The net result is the same right? The food gets eaten, but 100m away from where it could have been eaten. Edited July 28, 2009 by Gazza

[rappa]

Why that's simple Gazza, it achieves the added benefit of p*ssing off your customers in the process

[cerberus584]

well yeah Gazza I see where you're coming from... yes the net result is the same...the food still gets eaten, just in the carpark 100m away... but I really don't see why people would have a huge problem with people eating either at their car or on the grass out the front of the park, if that's what they choose to do. Maybe it's just me, and I do tend to be fairly forgiving so while I understand that some people might be annoyed about having to go out into the carpark, it really wouldn't worry me all that much and I think people will be ok with it. I do want to make it clear that I personally do not necessarily agree with all parts of the policy but I understand why it was implemented. I agree that it wouldn't be the best start to the day to be told you can't take your food in with you but practically all of SEQ knows about it now and those from interstate and overseas are likely to see the info if they check the park website.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Bottom line is it really achieves nothing. Those who don't want to pay exhorbitant F&B prices in the park will leave the park for lunch. Those who don't care, will continue as they have always done. Its an intelligent idea from the plebs in middle management who were asked the question "how do we increase revenue". If it's such an industry standard - why doesn't Wet N Wild have the same policy? I would just like to see the front gate "bag search" people try and tell me I can't bring in what I want to bring in. In my opinion, everything will be for "dietary needs". I don't drink any coke products, but detest water. I tend to drink pepsi max, and will bring in a bottle or two for dietary needs. My chicken salad wraps are specially prepared to ensure they are gluten free, and do not contain nuts, for my nut allergy. What - are they going to phone my doctor before they let me bring it in? The policy achieves nothing other than - as Clint said - to P off a lot of their guests.

[rappa]

It just gets back to my never ending argument that people go to parks for escapism. To forget reality and spend a day in a fantasy world. Where your financial struggles and the fact that your family is lower class is forgoten. Where a family can save for a year to just for that one day 'be.' All of that goes out the window when that same family arrives to find out they can't bring in their poor peoples packed lunch. The is forced into the car park to eat like 2nd rate citizens as the children ask why? That's the reality of such policies, it's not about us enthusiasts, it's not about how many mode rides it can let them build. It's how it affects EVERYONE the real customers that the parks are built for. You need to look at it from everyones point of view. As for getting cheap on toilet paper, that's a small thing that can make a BIG difference to how people view the park. On the subject of attraction edditions, expect to see a major addition evey year between the two parks.

[Original]

^ Which two parks are we talking about? Also are we just going to start adding attractions on a budget so we can keep adding them every year, because its alot of money to do that and I don't want to see theming drop any further than they are now. Now yes people could go outside the park and eat their lunch, but the fact is they shouldn't have to. Their should be a picnic area in the park for such people who want to bring a picnic, and why not they can be really nice things and just add to that day in which people will want to come back to that park and not go somewhere else and will want to go back sooner. Now inter state travellers someone said will just put up with this for just the one day. Yes, you hit the nail on the head for just ONE day, if they feel they have been ripped off and have a bad taste in their mouth at the end of the day don't expect to see them at the park next time they return, they'll try a different park. People with passes will buy bare miniumum food, leave the park or eventually go "oh well, its just too hard and too expensive now. I got my moneys worth, I won't go back again!" If management thinks they can let everything fall behind in standards and let that magic disappear, as somewhere people come to the parks to escape realism is right. That's how parks should be run, because putting someone in this fantasy world will make a lot of money out of it (look at Disney, they have the perfect business model, why some companies don't follow it and some CEO's ideas of how to run a business is beyond me and makes me wonder how in the world did they get the top job?) But anyway if they standards can fall and putting new rides in every year with poor theming every year will work... Look at Six Flags... Its in bankruptcy, that's how good that business model is and its the one Aussie themepark owner's seem to be following and its bad move, but no one seems to see it and I just don't understand why! (excuse any bad typing I'm in a rush, and got a lot to say)

[rappa]

Just look at the bottom of this article and particularly the last paragraph http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al072809a.htm Its just hilarious how much wvtp are resembling exactly this.

[pin142]

Whilst reading this article I somehow got linked to I couldn't help but laugh at "An Ekka spokeswoman said visitors also had the option of bringing their own packed lunch – as opposed to some of southeast Queensland's theme parks." The Ekka might not be cheap but when you are bragging something like this the executives need to look at the negative press and feedback they are getting from it. Sure there are those who say in the carpark and some parks overseas do it but they are poor excuses. A park like Cedar Point may have the same policy but they have tables and seats outside the park for those wanting to eat their own lunch. Wonder if locker prices will increase again as well as not as many large lockers are being hired due not as much need for space for a large backpack/cooler. I do not bring my own lunch to the parks or buy in park (go over the road to fast food places) but this policy and the way the parks seem to be heading make me have second doubts about a QLD VIP Pass, I already have a Dreamworld Max Action Pass (Where I would be taking people month of my birthday but won't go into AP discounts). Why can't the ban be for commercially prepared food (eg McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut) and have home made food allowed. Why does it matter if someone is going to sit in the park and eat their food compared to outside. They wouldn't see that much of an increase in food sales as the people have the intention of eating their own prepared lunch in the first place. Either fix the ban or make the food more of an option, no way am I paying $15 or whatever it is for a burger meal that to be honest last time I was there I rated a McDonald's cheeseburger better than. Improve the products and pricing. If a reduction in cost means a smaller sized burger how can it be a bad thing, especially with a lot of companies pushing the eat healthier/healthier sized portion message.