Okay, please help me because I'm stuck somewhere between "wow, that's frugal" and "now that's just gross":
Yes y'all, this bro really spent $1,050 over seven years to eat, in his estimate, about 2,000 meals at Six Flags.
That's like $0.50 per meal!
He got the idea after an internship landed him in Valencia, California, where he could see the roller coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain from the window in his office.
Fresh out of college and something of a coaster-fanatic already, Dylan was perusing the options for Six Flags' annual pass when he stumbled upon what might be the deal of his lifetime — for a one-time fee of $150, he could eat two meals a day, every day at the park for an entire year. Since his office was just a five-minute drive away, it was a no-brainer.
This was a financial life hack for the ages, and look what our guy did with his money while he saved on groceries by eating at Six Flags:
After just seven years of daily meals at the theme park, Dylan paid down his student loans, got married and bought a house.
So our guy Dylan—yes, it's just "Dylan" cuz this guy is that smooth—he says the first year was kind of rough, as the park only provided items like "a burger and fries, or a pizza and breadsticks, or this pathetic sandwich and a refillable soda cup."
However, the menu has evolved over the years to where he can now get "stuff like tri-tip sandwiches and vegan options like black bean burgers and meatless meatball subs." So that's cool.
There are a few problems with Dylan's little loophole though:
The chipotle chicken salad is on the opposite side of the park, which means it doesn't always fit into his Six Flags daily meal calculus...
When the park is full or if he has a busy day at work, Dylan is forced to settle for something toward the front of the park, like the much-dreaded "chicken balls." "I got so sick of those chicken balls," he says. "I'd estimate I got them around 150 times, and at five per meal, that's around 750 balls. I don't know that I could ever eat them again."
And I love this:
"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."
It's encouraging that Dylan drew the line at walking around the waterpark in his business attire. You gotta draw that line somewhere.
Anyhow, this is making me incredibly happy. Just the thought of someone having this as a part of their life story is amazing.
