A 33-year-old man from California managed to pay down his student loan debt by eating almost all of his meals at Six Flags for the past seven years. The man identified as Dylan started this commitment in 2014 when he was working as an intern at an office only a few minutes away from Six Flags. So he got the annual pass, realizing it may be the simplest and cheapest way to eat. “You can pay around $150 for unlimited, year-round access to Six Flags, which includes parking and two meals a day,” Dylan said. “If you time it right, you could eat both lunch and dinner there every day.”
Man Eats at Six Flags Every Day to Save Money
During the first year of this arrangement, Dylan doesn’t think he “ever went to the grocery store.” However, the Six Flags diet isn’t a healthy one. “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,” Dylan said. “It wasn’t healthy at all, which was rough.”
But it may have been worth it since Dylan was able to pay off his student loans (the exact amount hasn’t been reported) and buy a house in Los Angeles. [1] Eventually, the park’s menu incorporated some meatless entrees and salads.
He estimates that he has eaten over 2,000 meals at Six Flags Magic Mountain over the last seven years, paying about 50 cents per meal. He’d go the five-minute drive to the park during his lunch break, and then again for dinner after work as an electrical engineer. As a lover of roller coasters, he’d sometimes go on a ride or two on his way out. [2]
“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,” he said. [3]
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He Still Eats There
Even after paying down his debt and getting married, Dylan still eats at Six Flags about three lunches a week. Unlike him, his wife isn’t a huge fan of roller coasters. “We just bought a house here, so I’m not really going anywhere,” Dylan said. “As long as they keep changing the menu, I’m happy.”
However, there are still some Six Flags foods he’ll never touch again.
“I got so sick of those chicken balls,” Dylan said. “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.”
Unfortunately, this loophole has been closed. Nowadays, the Diamond Elite membership at Six Flags Magic Mountain costs $505 and gives only 50% off “almost all foods and drinks at the park. Still, it was nice while it lasted.
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Another Person Eats Only at Six Flags
Except Dylan wasn’t the last person to do this. Another person, who goes by MANCHILDvsLIFe on Twitter on Youtube, reached out to the Takeout to say, “Just want to share with you that I am currently doing the same thing but combining it with living in a van to save even more money.”
He is recording his process on his Youtube channel. What he does is buy a season pass, which goes for $64.99 at Six Flags Great America. Then look through the dining options under the season pass add-ons. For instance, there’s the Two Meal Season Dining option that includes lunch, dinner, and snacks for $109.99. Altogether that’s $174.98 a year for food. That’s not far off from Dylan’s $150 a year. And all you have to do is go to Six Flags every day. [4]
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Sources
1. “A 33-year-old California man says he was able to pay off his student loans by surviving off of two meals a day at Six Flags for years.” Insider. Taylor Ardrey. October 30, 2021
2. “Man saved thousands by eating every meal at Six Flags for last 7 years.” Local 12. October 29, 2021
3. “California Man Pays Off Student Loans, Buys House, by Eating All His Meals at Amusement Park.” Inside Edition. Deborah Hastings. October 28, 2021
4. “This hero saved thousands by eating every meal at Six Flags—and he’s not the only one [Updated].” The Takeout. Brianna Wellen. October 26, 2021