Last October, after MEL published an article on Dylan, an electrical engineer from Southern California who ate all his meals at Six Flags over the course of seven years for just the cost of a $150 annual Dining Pass, his life went completely viral. Soon, stories about his unique cost-saving hack were hard to miss; he even watched a full segment about it on the Daily Show.
At first, he thought it was fun to see his quirky story in the news, but when producers and reporters began hounding his wife at early hours in the morning to try to get an interview, he realized things had gotten out of hand. So he stayed clear of the media limelight, and slowly, the attention subsided. After a while, it seemed like Dylan could finally get back to his normal life.
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Or so he thought. According to Dylan, who was kind enough to collaborate once more with us for an AMA on Reddit yesterday, his beloved Six Flags theme park has discontinued its $150 annual Dining Pass. “Six Flags announced a whole new pricing system for their passes which have a bunch of people scratching their heads,” Dylan says, adding that he learned about the change in January when a friend sent him the video below:
Six Flags restructured the passes in early January and outlined the new set of benefits on their website, where it’s clear that the $150 Dining Pass is a thing of the past. By and large, park benefits have been simplified into three tiers of annual passes. For instance, the annual passes now include unlimited access to all Six Flags parks in the country, merchandise discounts and access to better parking. However, not one of the three tiers includes unlimited meals. Even the most expensive, a $329.99 “Ultimate Pass,” includes a “10 Meal Dining Plan.”
“They’re even getting rid of their membership program, which seems like the opposite of what everyone else is doing,” Dylan continues. “It’s pretty strange.” Other Six Flags fans are equally peeved. “They completely butchered the Dining Pass,” one theme park YouTuber remarks while explaining the new benefits. “It’s just a huge downgrade from what it used to be.”
Theme parks struggled financially over the course of the pandemic, forcing many to reconfigure their pricing structures to make up for lost revenue. But Six Flags die-hards find it difficult not to wonder if the publicity around Dylan had anything to do with the change — especially since the Dining Pass had been in existence for nearly a decade. “The guy who ate everyday on the meal plan is probably one of the reasons they are selling a limited meal plan,” writes one member of the r/RollerCoasters subreddit in response to the restructured plans. “They must’ve read that article,” adds another.
When reached for comment, Six Flags responded with the following statement: “We believe there is no better value than a visit to Six Flags and continuously look at ways to improve our product offerings with the goal of elevating the guest experience. Based on guest feedback, we recently launched a simplified Pass Program that better aligns with those preferences, including add-ons like the Dining Pass. As we continue to invest in our parks and offer a more premium dining experience, our new Dining Pass Program includes new options for one-day ticket holders and Passholders.”
When asked to confirm that the change was made based on “guest feedback” and not the article, the representative for Six Flags responded, “That’s correct.”
Either way, Dylan says the people in his life still hold him accountable for the change. “I showed the Six Flags statement to a bunch of my friends, but they ain’t buying it,” he laughs. “Oh well, all good things must end I guess.”
He is, of course, adamantly opposed to the Ultimate Pass and the 10 Meal Dining Plan it offers. “It’s $330, and you only get 10 meals for the entire year,” he laments. “I’ll ride out my current pass for the rest of 2022 and see if they have any good offers pop up. But I’m not interested in any of the passes they’re currently offering — at least as far as meal planning goes. I do want to get a few rides on the new Wonder Woman roller coaster before my pass expires though, and if there are any big coasters planned for 2023, I may grab a standard pass. Otherwise, I’ll be parting with Six Flags for a while.”
Quinn Myers
Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within.
