The food operations of the LEGOLAND theme parks in California and Florida will be outsourced to Aramark, according to parent company Merlin Entertainments.
In addition to the two US theme parks, the multi-year contract includes food and beverage operations at Alton Towers Resort, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Thorpe Park Resort, Warwick Castle, and LEGOLAND Windsor Resort in the United Kingdom.
“Aramark will introduce food and beverage programs that offer family and guest favorites, fresh concepts, fun themes, and engaging events at Merlin Entertainments’ resorts and hotels across the seven locations, coupled with industry-leading technology solutions to make it easy and convenient for visitors to navigate the varied choices,” the company said in a press release. “Based on the personality of the venue, each resort and hotel will have its own distinct portfolio of food and beverage services.”
Aramark manages foodservice and hospitality operations for colleges, sports stadiums, hospitals, and tourist sites all over the world. The transition to Aramark operations will take place in the UK parks this March, and in California and Florida by the end of March 2023. Employees in the food and beverage departments at certain theme parks will no longer work for Merlin and will instead work for Aramark.
According to the press release, “Merlin Entertainments and Aramark will work closely to ensure that food and beverage personnel are supported as they transition to employment with Aramark.” For more information about the employment issue, I contacted a LEGOLAND official.
“Part of our continuous business plan to give the absolute best guest days out and short breaks is to build an innovative and high-quality food and beverage offering for our visitors,” Merlin CEO Nick Varney said. “Aramark’s achievements in leading world-class hospitality programs at many of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, iconic locations, and leading destinations make them a great partner to elevate our food offering as part of the magic and memorable experiences we offer our guests,” says the company.
Some online reviews for Aramark don’t sound too appealing:
I can’t believe an entire theme park chain would stoop to this level. On top of it, they hired one of the absolute WORST F&B vendors in Aramark, who continually gets poor reviews from their stadium and event pavilion operations. I’ve been to MLB stadiums around the country, and the ones with the most boring, cookie cutter offerings are undoubtedly serviced by Aramark.
Hopefully this is not the start of a trend.
Here’s another one:
I agree with Robert, the food at Legoland (and Thorpe Park for that matter) was nothing to remember, and this is a great way to ensure it stays that way.
Do you think this is a good choice for the guests? Let us know with your comments down below.
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I cannot believe legoland (whose food we actually loved, eg panchetta, BBQ) is now serving Aramark crapeteria food. Money must be really tight to stoop that low.