IAmA guy that's eaten thousands of meals over seven years at Six Flags using their Season Dining Pass to save money, AMA!

Also, to answer the first question, no I don't weigh 350lbs.

380, then?

Can he fit in a row boat?

You get a season pass to the park plus meals for $150 a season? Is this 6 flags Kosovo? I’m shocked.

I just looked it up. I’m a bit confused. I do see a dining plan, but I am not sure its what you describe. I just bought a new house. I live 8 minutes from a six flags now, on the same street!

They got rid of the dining pass like a month ago . . .

Are you eating lunch there now?

I am at the park now, yes lol

Is it nice and sunny 😎 ☀️?

Sure is! The haze is burning off and it looks like it'll be another beautiful day in Southern California.

What is your favorite non-food amenity at the park?

Do the roller coasters count? Because this feels like an easy question.

Of course! Just was wondering if they had some cool laser tag, shows, or something I might not even know about! I live quite close to as they claim "The World's First Theme Park" and they have quite a few neat little attractions tucked away here and there.

When the Scream Punk district opened they had a pretty cool steam punk themed circus-style show. Not many people went to it but it was a great escape from the heat and the performers were amazingly talented. Seemed more Disney tier than Six Flags tier. I'll go with that show as my next favorite.

Have you ever had any problems?

Well this year they announced the end of the unlimited dining pass so . . .

Lol its all your fault

NOOOooooooo :(

I’d feel like they’re side eyeing me every time after just a few days and wouldn’t be able to continue lol

Honestly, they don't get paid enough to care.

Do the staff love you?

I've gotten to know a small handful of staff over the years. One guy, Eddy, was a ride op lead at Green Lantern (before they tore it down). It had a single rider line which was nice, but eventually he learned I'd come for lunch all the time and was on a tight schedule, so he always offered to give me an "exit pass" to any ride I wanted. That way I could quickly hop on a ride, bypassing the line, and then head back to work. Super cool guy.

Still working there is my man Marshall who stamps hands at the park exit. He's in a wheel chair and wears a floppy hat. Always like saying hi/bye to him.

Looks like that "secret method" you have for keeping the park visit under an hour is no longer secret! Thanks Eddy!

Oh this was like 2015/2016. I haven't seen him in years. Should be good.

Lol some people try to get a quick workin over lunch. Some run errands. Some maybe get a nap.

My boy out here slamming overpriced (but for you severely underpriced) food and a roller coaster for lunch.

I bet you come back to the office exhilarated while everyone else is sluggish.

Real talk tho...lunch before or after the ride?

Haha definitely feel better after a ride. And I usually eat first because if I go straight to a ride I'll spend my entire lunch just riding coasters and not leave myself time to eat.

Do you still enjoy the rides at that particular Six Flags, or do you have to go to other theme parks to actually appreciate the novelty?

Believe it or not the rides are still the main reason I come here. I work in a cubicle all day with no window. They say it's good to take a walk every once in a while to clear your mind but believe me, roller coasters are better.

Do they have salads or green vegetables?

Yes! Actually they have quite a few salad options. These days I typically stick to the salads on my lunch breaks just so I'm not eating churros and nachos everyday. They have a berry spring salad with a light raspberry vinaigrette as well as caesar, cilantro lime chicken/beef, etc. For a theme park it really isn't all that bad.

For a theme park it really isn't all that bad.

Now that's a food rating I've never seen before.

Well let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, it's still theme park food. But it has certainly improved in quality over the years. There's a sandwich shop called Twisted Wiches that, in my opinion, serves like Quiznos-quality subs. They're only open on busy days though.

Has Six Flags ever reached out in support or vice versa to dissuade you from doing this/sharing your story?

No, and I honestly don't think they care. I feel like they would have reached out to Quinn (the author of the original article) if they wanted to contact me.

I didn’t hear anything from them either! Oh hey it’s me Quinn 🤪

Hey Quinn!!!

are you a big celebrity at six flags now?

Not really, as far as I know. Although one of those park survey guys at the front had me running through the survey questions. One of them was like "how often do you come here?" I said a couple times a week, to which he asked if I was "that guy." I shit you not he said it was an honor to meet me lmao. Other than that it's business as usual.

Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame I guess. How do you feel about this being yours?

It was a blast until it got a little out of control. After MEL Magazine posted their article other news sites started picking it up. There were people I hadn't talked to since high school messaging. It was fun!

Then it got crazy. I was watching TV with my wife and someone sent me a link to the Daily Show with Trever Noah. I put it on and they had a whole segment on me, showing a clip from a morning news channel that did a whole segment on me. That was crazy. Next thing I know I was getting hit with requests from radio stations, news channels, podcasts, all over the country. Fox and Friends wanted me live on the air, Inside Edition wanted to do a live interview at the park. The list goes on. I pretty much refused to do all of them because it was really freaking my wife out. Eventually they started posting pictures from my Facebook page and sending my wife texts at like 3am. Not cool.

But it all died down and it was fun to look back on.

And here you are, chasing that high once again

Chasing that dragon

How many days a year do you realistically eat at six flags? You must crave other stuff every now and then, or you know… want to avoid lines on crowded days

Lately I've just been going 2 or 3 times a week, so maybe 100 times a year. I'll avoid holidays and LAUSD spring breaks. Some weeks, especially when I'm working on a more difficult problem at work, I'll head to the park every day just because it helps refresh my thinking.

So, what was the best meal?

My taste changes from year to year but I'm still dreaming of the day they bring that holiday dog back. It was a giant turkey dog topped with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and slathered with mayo. Pure culinary brilliance.

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It was rephrased a bit. I think what I had said was when they offered the item I ate it over and over again until I totally burned myself out on them. Like to the point I would gag at the smell of turkey dogs. But it's been a long time and the craving is back with a vengeance.

I don’t even eat meat since I was a kid but wth how have I never hear of this before sounds flipping amazing, I love cranberry sauce probably definitely gonna try this with some tofurkey today lol

Do ittt. Even better when the mayo is "glistening in the sun".

Why did I marry you?

Bahaha hi honey!

were there any - to put it politely - unwanted gastronomic side effects? what was your pepto budget?

Bahaha I honestly did pretty well. For one of the Halloween events they had these "nachos" that consisted of a pile of Takis piled with pulled pork, nacho cheese, and jalapenos. My stomach was gurgling for a while after that. Only ordered that once.

I read in the article that you're an engineer. Do you have any hobbies or side projects that your working on that you'd like to share?

Nothing engineering-y right now, sadly. Been working a lot in our garden lately.

How's your weight?

EDIT: I just saw your photo. Fine, looks like.

195 lb, 6' tall, if that gives you an idea. I work out 5 to 6 days a week as well so I still fit in the jeans I wore when I was 160 lb, but now I can carry all the groceries in in one trip!

now I can carry all the groceries in in one trip!

What groceries? You eat all your meals out!

Not anymore! I only eat there a few times a week, and only for lunch. Although with how grocery prices are these days . . . hmm

Can you cook yourself (at home)or are you stuck eating at the park for life?

These days most of my meals I cook at home. I only eat at the park 2 or 3 times a week. I also have some daily dietary goals that I wouldn't be able to achieve with park food alone.

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Good question, and it's tricky to answer. If we're talking about Six Flags style parks, then just how blatant it is that their sole purpose is to generate income. I mean that's true about any business, but here there's advertisements everywhere (even printed on roller coaster trains sometimes, prices can be really misleading (e.g. "Get 3 Souvenir Cups for only $27.99!" and then in tiny font it says "Price for each when you buy 3"), coasters are often operated with minimum crews and they only run two trains on weekends for a lot of rides. Like I get it, you get what you pay for. And I've obviously been able to take advantage of their dining pass, but I doubt most people that buy it use it more than 5 or 6 times, and the food cost to Six Flags is probably pennies.

Did you have to also buy the park season pass, just to get in?

and is that location open year-round?

I don't know if this will be true anymore given their new CEO, but the trick was to buy the Gold Pass during their Flash Sale. This happened on Labor Day weekend. This pass was discounted to $75ish and included free parking, then you'd add the deluxe Dining Pass for another $80-ish. That included the two meals, a snack, and a season drink cup. They sadly just got rid of the all season dining pass, which I'm bummed about. Hopefully it wasn't my fault. And yeah, open year round now.

In your time finding this idea and probably hearing from others doing similar, do you have any ideas for those who dont live near amusement parks but want to do similar?

I was already a roller coaster fan to begin with so I had the season pass already in 2014. I just finished school and got hired at a company that was 5 minutes from the park. I had never been to a theme park by myself so the first time I went after work it was really weird. Eventually they started advertising this "all season dining pass" and dots starting forming in my head. Not long afterwards I was heading there on my lunch breaks and after work. I usually would try to get a coaster ride or two in as well, time/lines permitting.

How long does a lunch take you? All I can imagine is long lines to get in, and then walking long distances to get where you want to eat.

I have . . . secret methods . . . when I'm in a rush, but typically it takes a little over an hour. On a slow day I can park, hustle into the park, eat, ride a coaster towards the front, hustle back to the car, get back to work in under an hour. I'm not "on the clock" so much as I work to "get the job done" so my time is fairly flexible.

Have you had any medical side effects that have popped up? Or any significant changes you've felt since before starting this?

In the beginning the pass didn't include snacks and I would typically just grab a sandwich or chicken balls at the front of the park. A few years back they added snacks which included Cold Stone ice cream, Dip N Dots, brownies, etc. A year later it included the hot fudge sundae place right at the park entrance. Yeah I put on like 15 or 20 lb from that. I've since been much more disciplined and stick to salads except when I come here with coworkers. I also have a fitness routine that I stick to to keep in shape.

what's the fitness routine? does it involve the park?

Haha no. I do a Pull, Push, Legs routine. It's supposed to be 6 days a week but I usually skip Saturdays (one of the leg days, don't hurt me please). I started out with this one and modified it for my home gym, added a cardio warmup, and have stuck to it for a couple years now.

Elsewhere he mentions that it's 5k steps to one of his favorite healthier meal options, sounds like some good light exercise to me.

On the other hand I purposely have myself on a caloric surplus diet and drink. I just try to make sure those calories aren't mostly from theme park food. Shoutout to /r/gainit

If they weren't cancelling the pass, how much longer do you think you would have used it?

I was really close to not renewing it for 2022, then thought hey why not one more year. Like a month later MEL Magazine reached out to me about a post I made like 5 years ago. Glad I renewed it, but it looks like this will be the last year.

Have you ever taken somebody from your company "on a lunch"? How was your habbit/strategy viewed?

At one point there were four of us that all had the dining pass. That was back in the day that Six Flags was liberal with their "bring a friend free" vouchers on the passes, so eight of us could go at a time. Now there's just three of us that regularly go together, and no more "bring a friend" days.

We bought a dining pass in 2019 that covered 2019/2020 during a flash sale,along with season tickets. COVID hit and they extended the tickets and ultimate dining passes through 2021 - they just expired.

We ended up moving within 15 minutes of a six flags a few months into 2020. I used to joke with my wife that we could drive 15 minutes for a free meal, and we often did. We figured once our kids hit 13-14 we could Uber them to the park and let them use their dining passes for summer activities...I know there were parents doing that.

The premium dining pass included a lunch, a dinner, a snack and for a brief time in 2020(maybe) a dessert as well. I just checked - for four dining passes it was $315.96. We easily ate 90+ meals and 50+ "snacks" on that purchase.

They had to stop the dining passes because the only people that bought them got wayyyy too much value from them. Their hope was it would be like a gym membership where people sign up but don't use them. Plus their cost on a "$15" meal is probably $3-$4, so even if they had to dole out a few dozen meals they would break even I guess?

OP you are my hero. I knew there were people out there living off those dining passes. Congratulations on gaming the system.

Haha thank you! The pleasure has been mine!

Have you ever seen the weird dancing guy with black rimmed glasses in person?

I wish! I heard something like the CEO that took over in 2010 got rid of Mr. Six and the Venga Bus as like one of his first actions because he hated the campaign so much. Not sure how true it is, but Six Flags got a new CEO somewhat recently, and I'm in the park now sitting about 20 feet away from the old Venga Bus that they pulled out of storage. Here's hoping . . .

What does your wife think of this? Does she eat with you at Six Flags often?

She used to like roller coasters but they beat her up too much now. She thinks this is all ridiculous lol.

What's the worst thing you ever ate at the park? And most shocking thing you've seen be served?

It's not uncommon to get a hotdog bun that is cold, hard, and stale served with cold, soggy fries. Twice I've bitten into bone in the burgers they serve at the back of the park. If you want a burger, definitely get one from Johnny Rockets, not Big Belly Burger.

Do you still tip your server, if tipping is expected?

Tipping is definitely not expected here thank god.

What did you do when it was closed during the pandemic?

A lot of puzzles and walks around the neighborhood. For lunches I liked throwing a couple pounds of chicken in the crock pot and trying different seasonings.

What are your poops like?

Usually a type 3 or type 4 on the Bristol chart.

You may not have gained weight, but how's your cholesterol, blood pressure, etc?

I don't have the numbers, but I get my blood analyzed periodically for the vaccine trial I'm in and they said all my readings are within normal ranges. I guess I could ask for the report.

What kind of watch do you wear? There's an interesting looking bracelet on the Coldstone picture.

In that picture I was wearing my old Huawei Watch. These days I have a Galaxy Watch 3.

Wait ; what ? $150 for potential 360 well 720 meals and drinks ?

When I go to the fair it’s like $15 for a hotdog and fries !

Ok I have to be misunderstanding something here ? Eli5 please

No, you have it right. They got rid of it in January, but pretty much yeah. Actually it wasn't 365 days because when you buy the pass on Labor Day (beginning of September) it was good for the remainder of the year and all the next year, so over 1000 potential meals.

Have you posted this before or are there more than one of you doing this?

I've appeared in other threads and done mini AmAs when other people posted an article about it, but this is my first time doing an official AmA.

What was your weight when you started and what is your current weight now?

Do you have any medical issues like high cholesterol or diabetes because of eating here?

What's your favorite meal?

When I finished grad school I was like 180 lb, and then dropped down to like 165 lb once I got better eating habits. I went on a "wedding diet" a couple years into doing the dining pass and dropped down to 150 lb which was too skinny. That's when I was weighing and scanning everything I ate and drank into MyFitnessPal. I kept to 1200 calories which really wasn't enough for a 6' male. Lately I've been trying to put on muscle and live a generally healthier life, but not obsess about every little thing.

Other than the Holiday Dog that I mentioned in a different post, my favorite meal at the park is the tri-tip sandwich but I haven't had it in a long time. Mostly salads and the occasional burger when I'm with coworkers. They used to include turkey legs on the dining pass which was awesome because those have over 100g of protein.

Have you ever heard of anything similar to the deal that they had at 6 flags ?

Not really as exciting, but back when I was in college I got a bus pass. It felt like a life hack that I could get anywhere in the Los Angeles area for a pretty low monthly rate. Food-wise I got nothing for you. Finance-wise, head over to /r/personalfinance and follow the prime directive.