29yrswithaGApass Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Hopefully someone associated with Food Services at the park can answer this but I'll throw it out to anyone who may know the answer. Up until recently, the park required all soft drinks to be served with ice. The menu boards even had printed across the bottom "All drinks served with ice." I remember reading in the food training manual back in the 80s that "A drink cup should be 3/4 full of ice before soda is dispersed." Recently it seems as if ice is given much more sparingly - almost reluctantly. I am wondering if there is a reason for this. Is it possible that Six Flags has such a good deal with Coca-Cola that the cost of the soda itself in the cup has become less than the cost of making, storing, and distributing ice cubes for the park? It's obviously not important but I'm just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railer Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Lids are a thing of the past also. I have asked for a lid to my cup and they do not have them. I quess they want me to spill it so I buy more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 ^ Could be similar to the idea of the sporting arenas now who will not serve beverages with caps or lids so that people can't do destructive things with a full drink. Not that a theme park really needs to worry about it, but if they save money and have a little less headache to worry about it could be worth it to. As for the ice, I haven't purchased a drink yet htis year, but towards the end of last season many of the drinks seemed to have the same deal where there was less ice and more drink inside them, which for the price is nice for me as a consumer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 could just be lazy workers at the stand, ya know that ice scooper is sooooo heavy to have to fill up a whole cup with icen that would take like 10 seconds. and then the cup will be sooooo heavy to lift to the soda fountian. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean O'Leary Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Lids are a thing of the past also. I have asked for a lid to my cup and they do not have them. I quess they want me to spill it so I buy more. you have no idea how much spilled soda i stepped in yesterday & today *some of these "new park president" changes are pissing me off* ps: out of all those silly smilys theres no "OH NO! I STEPPED IN SODA" one?! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 I can't say I've stepping in much spilled soda so far this season, so maybe I've been lucky. The only thing I really drink in the park anymore is water anyway. Buy one big bottle in the morning and just refill it at the fountains as the day goes on so I am always guarunteed a lid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 ^^ I am sure the lack of lids has more to do with a concern for the safety of the animal exhibits in the park than a cost saving measure. Many parks that have similar attractions (SeaWorld, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Busch) also don't use lids so that they don't end up posing a risk as a choking hazard for the animals. A lot of these "new park president changes" make a lot of sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Back in the early '80s the park didn't offer straws. The only ones available were crazy straws that could be purchased at the fruit shaped juice sipper carts as an "up charge" from the small straight straws that came with the purchase of a sipper. The sippers were similar to these below but the straws weren't the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Interesting little factoid. How long did these carts last in the park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railer Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 They were around for a while in the early days of the park. I'm not sure of the exact year they stopped selling them, but I think they were there from the beginning. The cart's are in the park now as flower carts, there is one in between the Fountain and Fort Independence behind the Liberty Square Gazebo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) ^^ I am sure the lack of lids has more to do with a concern for the safety of the animal exhibits in the park than a cost saving measure. Many parks that have similar attractions (SeaWorld, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Busch) also don't use lids so that they don't end up posing a risk as a choking hazard for the animals. A lot of these "new park president changes" make a lot of sense. How does NOT including lids prevent a choking hazard for the animals? I could buy the plastic lids are environmentally bad, but the choking hazard simply doesn't fly. Animals could just as easily choke on any number of products sold in the parks. Plus, you have to toss the lid into the cage (or out of the car window for the Safari Park). Such actions merit an immediate ejection from the park without a refund. The decision not to sell lids is financial first, and everything else second. As for the ice, it's a customer benefit to not have a cup full of ice for a fountain drink. Besides the soda being more costly, it comes out of the machine cold. I remember the cost breakdown pretty well from my days working at Friendly's. Soda $$ > Ice $$. The actual cup is the most expensive component (anywhere from $0.05 to $0.07 for a large) and Coca-Cola probably gives them away free to Six Flags (charged as an advertising externality). Honestly, the plastic cups utilized for the lemonade drinks are equally as bad (if not worse) for the environment, as the lids. The lemonade/slushy cups are purchased separately, and have nothing to do with Coca-Cola. Edited June 28, 2008 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Yes, because the pool is an open area and the plastics are light enough to be carried by the wind into it (I was saddled with pool duty as a child). This is not true throughout other areas of the park (save for the turtles). Again, many other items sold in the park pose the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 I don't think the no lids is such a bad thing with the drinks. It's just one more thing people need to throw away, and for anyone who is like me when I have a drink with a lid and ice, I tend to take the lid off and eat the ice that is inside, and I will admit to many a time dropping or losing the lid and continuing on with what I was doin anyway. I just think it makes less garbage in the park as a whole as lids are easier to discard of by someone than an entire cup in terms of improper droppage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) I don't think the no lids is such a bad thing with the drinks. It's just one more thing people need to throw away, and for anyone who is like me when I have a drink with a lid and ice, I tend to take the lid off and eat the ice that is inside, and I will admit to many a time dropping or losing the lid and continuing on with what I was doin anyway. I just think it makes less garbage in the park as a whole as lids are easier to discard of by someone than an entire cup in terms of improper droppage. I agree with you. Lids are wasteful and bad for the environment. My issue is with the less than honest excuses given for the lid jettison. Ideally, they should be available by request. Edited June 29, 2008 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted June 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I actually saw plastic soda lids in the park today near Granny's. All may be right in the world soon again !!! Switching gears to a piece a trivia..... when the park first opened they sold Pepsi products and not Coke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 To add to your trivia....dud yoi know Dr. Pepper is neither coke or pepsi, its actually cadbury, the easter egg candy co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I did not know this nor did I know of the Pepsi supply either. All I ever remember is coke for the park as my childhoodtrips were based around the buy one get one deals that coke cans gave. I think there also may have been other deals on the coke cans as I can remember at least once going with a ton of friends and the parents bringing no joke like a bag full of coke cans that had been consumed that year lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 To add to your trivia....dud yoi know Dr. Pepper is neither coke or pepsi, its actually cadbury, the easter egg candy co. Dr. Pepper is owned by Cadbury, but is sold/bottled by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of NY (in the NY/NJ area). Dr. Pepper almost became a Coca-Cola brand in the 1980s; but was blocked by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Prior to Cadbury's buyout, Dr. Pepper didn't have a large network of bottling plants, so Coca-Cola picked up the slack. The contract also prohibits the sale of Coca-Cola's "Mr. Pibb" in the CCBCNY region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest warnerleroy Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Wow, years ago only 1/4 of the cup was full(talk about being a pesimist), but know, they don't give you extra bags at the gift shops, unless youn have a recipt. It took a lot of trouble to get a bag for the signed pictures from the yankees) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Adventurer Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 QUOTE(Railer @ May 23 2008, 02:47 AM) Lids are a thing of the past also. I have asked for a lid to my cup and they do not have them. I quess they want me to spill it so I buy more. Great point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertDavid Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I know several of the parks here in Florida have abandoned the no-lid no-straw policies. I'm not sure why, but maybe all parks are heading in this direction. Maybe they discovered they are not as dangerous as originally thought, or they just got too many complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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