When The Theme Park Parking Lot Becomes the “Family Tailgate”, Parks Have a Problem!

As an operator at heart, I recently went out visiting several theme parks. I began noticing something I had not seen for quite some time. Roughly between noon and 2:30 p.m., families were leaving the parks, walking to their cars, opening their trunks, and eating lunch in the parking lot.

Not one or two families, but several families strewn throughout the parking lots. I could not resist, and I stopped and politely asked more than several why they were eating out there. The answers were straightforward, “Food inside the park is too expensive.” Others said they could not bring their own food into the park, so they simply went back to the car to eat because it was cheaper.

I have seen this movie before. During the 2007–2009 economic downturn, we witnessed similar behavior throughout the regional theme park industry. As the economy improved, much of that business gradually migrated back inside the parks.

Now, are we watching the cycle begin again? I believe today's guest is getting squeezed from virtually every direction. Grocery prices are higher. Restaurant prices are higher. Household expenses are higher. And gasoline certainly isn't cheap. In July 2026, food-away-from-home prices were 3.4% above the previous year, grocery prices were 2.7% higher, and gasoline was a remarkable 24.6% higher.

We have seen before and are seeing now that a family determined to make its theme park visit happen has to give up something. Increasingly, that something may be lunch inside the park. Before anyone points a finger at park operators for pushing prices, we need to understand the other side of this equation, that being the theme park‘s internal situation. We have to keep in mind our operators are being squeezed heavily too.

The National Restaurant Association estimates that total expenses for the average restaurant have increased 36% since 2019. Average restaurant employee hourly earnings are approximately 41% above February 2020, while wholesale food costs remain about 35% higher. Food and labor each consume roughly 33 cents of every restaurant sales dollar.

Theme parks live in essentially the same food-service world. One park president recently discussed an important point with me, and that is, the guest knows what a hamburger costs at Wendy's versus a park’s hamburger. Another operator said the same thing about pizza. Guests can pull out their phones and instantly see what a nationally branded pizza costs outside the front gate.

Therefore, if our hamburger or pizza is dramatically more expensive, the guest doesn't necessarily understand our labor, utilities, insurance, seasonal operation, or other overhead. They simply feel gouged. And that is the word we must avoid.

Many parks’ season-pass dining and beverage programs have helped tremendously. They convert food into a prepaid value proposition and can make frequent visitors feel they are beating inflation. Current Six Flags parks offerings, for example, explicitly market dining plans around savings, convenience, and prepaid meals. But not every family can afford to add another sizable expenditure when purchasing passes. So, I believe it is time to borrow some thinking from outside our industry.

Recently, McDonald's has responded to consumer price sensitivity by expanding McValue in 2026 with at least 10 items under $3 and a $4 breakfast meal. Taco Bell introduced 10 value-menu items at $3 or less. These companies aren't pretending their costs haven't increased. What they are doing, is creating highly visible value entry points that tell customers, you can still afford to eat here.

We should ask ourselves, why can’t parks develop the same types of concepts?

For a moment, imagine a clearly branded theme park value menu, built around four or five simple, high-volume items specifically engineered around affordability and throughput. I do not believe every hamburger needs to be discounted, and not every pizza needs to be inexpensive, but maybe it is time to give the guest a choice.

Or maybe create a Family Lunch Bundle between 11:30 and 2:30, such as four sandwiches, shared fries, and drinks at a clearly communicated family price. Or how about smaller portions at smaller prices for guests who don't want a $17-$20 meal? Highly publicized deals.

Could parks use underutilized kitchens as centralized production facilities, simplifying menus at satellite locations and reducing labor requirements? This would help the price reductions be more palatable. Or could mobile ordering create dedicated grab-and-go pickup points so one employee can handle volume that once required several cashiers, again reducing labor costs?

How about redesigning menus around ingredients that cross-utilize among multiple dishes, reducing SKUs, spoilage, inventory, and preparation labor? I have seen where some of the destinations parks have already begun this process.

And why not apply dynamic pricing to assist us? Some in our industry have embraced it so aggressively for admission, and I believe there is a place in food service if utilized properly. Maybe a 2:00–4:00 p.m. offer moves guests away from the noon peak while increasing utilization of kitchens during slower periods and lessening the wait in lines.

And aren’t our apps becoming more intelligent? If a family of four has been in the park since 9:30 and hasn't purchased food by 1:00, perhaps that family receives a time-sensitive meal offer through the phone.

Think about it. If implemented properly, that isn't discounting blindly, that is yield management. Possibly getting a lost sale that might not have otherwise happened.

We are seeing that the restaurant industry is increasingly emphasizing technology, digital ordering, automation, and data analytics to improve productivity while simultaneously recognizing that financially pressured consumers demand value.

There is another lesson from COVID we should not forget. Cashless and touchless purchasing accelerated rapidly. In our own industry surveys following the COVID reopening, we saw dramatic per-capita increases at many properties. Removing friction from F&B purchasing helped guests spend more on each purchase.

But technology alone cannot overcome a price perception issue the consumer has decided is unreasonable.

What is being found is that convenience is what gets the guest to the cash register and value gets them to complete the purchase. In my opinion, this is why those open trunks in our parking lots deserve our immediate attention.

We should not try to stop tailgating by simply creating more rules. If families believe lunch inside our parks is beyond their budget, making it harder for them to eat elsewhere does not solve the problem.

I think the better question is, how do we make them want to stay inside?

I think we all agree that our industry's food quality has improved enormously during the last 10 years. Now, the next challenge is improving the perception of value without destroying margins. Our industry must demonstrate a price-value relationship to the guest that they can perceive.

Conceivably, the answer is fewer menu items. Smaller portions. Family bundles. Value menus. Better procurement. More automation. Smarter scheduling. Dynamic offers. More grab-and-go. Or entirely new concepts we haven't developed yet!!! Whatever the answers, we should fast-track asking the questions.

And here’s why. When a family leaves our park at lunchtime, opens the trunk, and pulls out a cooler, they are sending us a visible, costly message.

And you know what…….we need to look and listen.

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