California Man Saved Money by Eating Every Meal at Six Flags for $150 Annually

A California man saved a substantial amount of money by eating every meal at Six Flags for $150 a year since 2014.

The 33-year-old man, an electrical engineer named Dylan, was able to pay off some of his student loans, get married, and purchase a home, thanks to the money he saved eating at Six Flags, according to Mel Magazine.

“You can pay around $150 for unlimited, year-round access to Six Flags, which includes parking and two meals a day,” the Santa Clarita man explained to the outlet. “If you time it right, you could eat both lunch and dinner there every day.”

The New York Post found that a 2022 meal pass for the park runs only $109.99. The deal includes “two (2) meals and a snack on every visit on any regular operating day now through the 2022 season. PLUS, unlimited drinks (excluding alcohol) all season,” according to Six Flags’ Magic Mountain website. 

In 2014, Dylan was working as an intern at an office located only a five-minute drive from the park, according to Mel Magazine. He had been contemplating season pass options when he came across the deal and could not pass up on the offer.

“That entire first year, I don’t think I ever went to the grocery store,” he told Mel Magazine. “I timed it so I was able to go there during my lunch break, go back to work, then stop back for dinner on my way home.” 

“It was crazy — I was saving money, paying off student loans,” he shared with the outlet. “One of my coworkers said she spent $1,500 a month on eating out, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going down that road!'” 

Though Dylan was saving money, he says the food options were not the healthiest during his first year of dining at Six Flags:

“The first year, the menu was kind of lame — all you could get was a burger and fries, or a pizza and breadsticks, or this pathetic sandwich and a refillable soda cup,” he told the outlet. “It wasn’t healthy at all, which was rough.”

At a point, the dining pass expanded to include snacks. Dylan says the menu additions were “dangerous:”

“But that’s where it got dangerous,” Dylan said to Mel Magazine. “Separate from the meal, you could get Dippin’ Dots, sundaes, churros, pretzels — all that type of stuff. That’s when I started adding weight.” 

Dylan says he scaled back on his visits once his wife moved in with him and would go three or four times a week for lunch, according to Mel Magazine: 

“My wife moved in and I stopped doing dinners — and weekends, too, since she’s not as big into roller coasters as I am,” he informed the outlet. “It’s not quite at the level of Cheers, but all the park employees, they’ll say hi.” 

The park began adding healthier options to the menu which was well-received by Dylan. “They’ve got decent options now,” he explained to Mel Magazine. “Still a lot of bad food, I mean it’s theme-park food so you can’t expect too much from them. But you find the options that aren’t terrible — stuff like tri-tip sandwiches and vegan options like blackbean burgers and meatless meatball subs.”

“I stay away from the snacks and stick to healthier options — there’s a pretty decent carne asada salad, so I usually do that now,” he told the magazine. “They also have a chipotle chicken salad that’s pretty good, too.”

Unfortunately for Dylan, the chipotle chicken salad he enjoys is located on the opposite end from the parking lot, which can be hard to swing if he is on a time crunch:

“From where I park my car, to the places at the back of the park, to then back to my car, it’s usually about 5,000 steps — and I’m hustlin’,” he told Mel Magazine. “I could go to Hurricane Harbor [the waterpark area], but it seems weird being the only guy dressed business casual while everyone else is walking around in swim trunks and bikinis.”

The carnival food connoisseur does not have an official number for how many times he has eaten at the park but he estimated it is over 2000 meals with an average price of $0.50 per meal, according to Mel Magazine. Dylan plans to keep taking advantage of the deal:

“We just bought a house here, so I’m not really going anywhere,” he explained. “As long as they keep changing the menu, I’m happy.”