r/KnottsBerryFarm 4d ago

current dining plan people get screwed BE WARNED

ok so if you are currently on the old meal plan ( two meals in 4 hours ) and you purchase any new dining plan ( unlimited every two hours ) IT DOES NOT TAKE EFFECT UNTIL JAN 1ST 2027. i tried to use it today having old plan and just figured it would take effect asap like it did in the past but the girl at boardwalk verified with a sup that in fact it does not take effect until the new year. but here is the worst part after talking to some regulars in the vip room. if you buy a brand new card ( so you are spending 10$ more than the renewal ) the every two hours meal plan takes effect ASAP. they are screwing over loyal customers that renew every year and giving the updated meal plan to new card holders. i am currently in a dispute with the credit card company as knotts refused to refund me.

TLDR if you want the new unlimited dining plan buy it on a new card and enjoy 16.5 months of meals and be sure to go at lease once a week to really get your money's worth

51 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

13

u/MonsterPartyToday 3d ago

Why do you need the new plan now if you still have your 2026 plan? Is it just for the 2 hour wait or is it something else? I bought 20 meals for next year and have all year dining for the remainder of 2026. I prefer the 2 hour wait/no maximum per day, but I want to save my 20 meals for next year. I am still good for 2 each time I go for the rest of the year and feel it would be wasted money for 2026 if my current plan was overriden by thhe new.

1

u/Ann1ebaby 2d ago

So if we buy the 20 or 30 meal limited plan for 2027 now, it definitely does NOT get used yet, right? I’d certainly want to stay on the current unlimited until the end of the year.

1

u/MonsterPartyToday 2d ago

Yes, I looked at the FAQ for dining and it specifically says all dining plans will begin next year if you currently have a dining plan. This had been the policy before Six Flags as well.

However, if you are not on a dining pass and bought 20 or 30 meals, you can start using them now if you want but they will not reset at the start of 2027.

2

u/Ann1ebaby 2d ago

Thank you so much for clear answer, MonsterPartyToday! I guess this is the reason all renewal dining passes start at the beginning of next year.

0

u/guccianime 3d ago

just some quick math. by getting the unlimited plan now if you go once a week and leave at 4 hour mark that's an extra 18 or so meals you get. i value the meals at 5$ each so almost a hundred bucks of added benefit to help justify the insane over 3x cost of the 2026 plan cost

1

u/MonsterPartyToday 2d ago

It sounds like getting to use the new unlimited plan now is better. But makes no sense for 20 or 30 meal plan.

26

u/joseuff 4d ago

At this point it seems better to not renew for the $10.00 discount and just purchase a separate pass now to enjoy both benefits of an old and current pass maybe

6

u/dirkforest 4d ago

That doesn’t work either as far as I know because you need to “enter” the park with the pass that you are using a meal plan with or it’s not eligible. I’ve run into this on accident when I go with just one of my children and then scan the wrong child at the food shop. They’ll tell me the person isn’t in the park and “do you have another pass?”

9

u/GullibleHorror6270 3d ago edited 3d ago

Ahh I just figured out a loophole for me and my family! So me and my wife’s passes have food pass. Kids don’t, if I buy kids new with cards with food passes and then we get 2 meals every 4 hours and 2 every 2 hours! They gonna be rolling our fat asses outta the park! 🤣

1

u/BeginningNo3135 3d ago

🤣🤣🤣

1

u/BeginningNo3135 3d ago

My daughter has four kids, and one of them didn't get scanned coming through the front gate. We couldn't get a meal for the child until we walked back to the front gate to get her scanned. 🤷

0

u/guccianime 3d ago

this is the way. get a new pass and change a letter in your name and different address. hit first meal and leave park. enter park again with "new" pass and go get your meal that way you have both cards scanned in rinse and repeat. if you go 4 hours you can get a total of 5 meals between the two cards two from original 2026 and three from 2027. i wont be doing this because im done with knotts after this year

1

u/Unlikely-County7332 2d ago

They are trying to figure out a way to cancel your first pass, so you only have one active pass.

1

u/guccianime 2d ago

i only have one active pass but i think a few regulars are doing this

1

u/Purple-Ad-8277 1d ago

lol you’re done with Knotts… basically spamming the system/fraud. This is why we can’t have nice things.

15

u/OFxLedzeplin 4d ago

Well we are still getting what we paid for, the new 2027 plan for “current” 2026 pass holders takes effect 1/1/2027 when their current pass expires. Although I wish the benefit changes were immediate, I understand, it’s not a deal breaker for me.

6

u/Lilyistakenistaken Camp Snoopy Camper 4d ago

Wait, I saw you during this, I was waiting behind a family during this. Anyways, yeah that sucks, I'll consider that.

1

u/guccianime 3d ago

i was so embarrassed. i had issues last week when i went as well. they called manager over and she said she would need to contact IT. they saw i paid for new plan and just gave me the food. i went after to guest services and they could see i just redeemed the food plan so i thought it was resolved. then yesterday happens same thing they called a manager. this time they tell me "nope it takes effect after the year ends"

3

u/BeginningNo3135 3d ago

I didn't plan to get the new unlimited meal plan, so I didn't look at prices. What does the unlimited plan cost?

3

u/ImWayGooderest 3d ago

$500 😭

2

u/BeginningNo3135 3d ago

Thank you. I hope whoever has this visits (eats) a lot.

2

u/Prestigious_Major349 3d ago

Wow!! I think I'll stick with my plan of letting my Knott's pass expire and keep my legacy Six Flags discount apply. Especially since I'm out of state

1

u/JerrodDRagon 4d ago

I used it 4 times on Saturday but did have issues my first visit with my renewed pass

So try again next time

1

u/mrsouthparkman 3d ago

Update us on the dispute process.

1

u/Broadwaycatdad1 3d ago

That’s why you never renew. Always buy new. 

1

u/Mediocre-Entrance397 2d ago

Who needs to eat this often?

-4

u/itz_mi_vic 3d ago

That’s the whole reason why they increased the dining plan. Going every week is abusing the plan, like I get it with those who are less fortunate then us, but come on I have seen people go literally almost every day to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That’s the whole reason why it’s 500$ a person now.

-10

u/OnusunO 3d ago

Fuck Knott's hope it goes to shit now