We purchased Merlin Annual Passes (using their pay-monthly offer) in 2019 and as a result, have visited a lot of theme parks in the past year or so.
Everyone knows that theme parks are expensive when it comes to buying food - they do have a captive audience after all. We do sometimes buy fast food from a theme park but mostly take a picnic. I am always on the lookout for other ideas so when I spotted this hot dog hack on Facebook, I decided to give it a try and it worked a treat!
When I shared this hack on Instagram, it received a mixed response and it is definitely one of those ideas you either love or hate. We love it though and making our own hot dogs at Alton Towers last summer saved us at least £40.
DIY Hot Dogs Theme Park Hack
It is really easy to make your own hot dogs to take along to a theme park or similar day out. You will need a wide neck food flask such as this Themos Flask from Amazon (affiliate).
Shopping / Packing List:
- Wide Neck Flask
- Sauce Sachets
- Packet of Hot Dog Buns
- Fork / Skewer
- Wipes/ Napkins
1 - Simply heat your hot dogs in a pan on the morning of your trip then transfer to your food flask and along with the hot cooking liquid. Top up with hot water until the hot dogs are covered.
2 - Pack your flask, a packet of pre-cut hot dog buns, a fork/skewer (to retrieve the hot dogs) and wipes/napkins into your bag. We collect spare sauce sachets throughout the year and always take ketchup and mustard too.
3 - At lunchtime, open your flask and use the fork/skewer to retrieve your hot dogs, assemble in buns, add a sauce sachet or two and enjoy.
The hot dogs are still piping hot, take up hardly any space in your bag, are quick & easy and save you lots of cash.
Let me know if you fancy trying this on a day trip this year or if you have any other ways to save money whilst eating out at theme parks.
Other posts you may like:
- A Guide to Visiting Alton Towers with Tweens
- A Guide to Visiting Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park & LEGOLAND
- Glamping near Chessington World of Adventures & LEGOLAND
- How to Spend 48 Hours in Blackpool with Merlin Annual Pass
- Signing up to a pay-monthly Merlin Annual Pass
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Such a clever idea, maybe I should start taking hotdogs to work with me!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm all over this idea. I do the same thing to avoid having to pay airline prices, motorway service station prices etc. Love this!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Feel like I want to do it but might get funny looks with no kids with me! Haha I will always love a good hot dog. Melis x
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! I think I might try this over the summer. It does cost a fortune to feed the kids on a day out. x
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. We have a couple of these flasks that the kids use at school. Defo doing this on our next trip out. Not a huge fan of sandwiches all the time but love a good hotdog 🌭thank you 🌭
ReplyDelete