PH would love to be gone from the park as well.

I really don't think Pizza Hut would love to go. Maybe you?

Eh? I'm lost here, since when did either of those places give off that sort of vibe?

Sorry, don't think I was wholly clear.

With R&R, it's more just a one-liner on the website (and possibly something similar on the back of the map?) which says 'Escape apocalyptic devastation and enjoy your final feast at the new Roast & Relish'. Granted, it's not much really, but more just I've always thought of it as 'Here's your roast, relish it whilst you can, the end is coming', but I guess that really doesn't come from that much when you think about it.

As for the Calypso BBQ, I guess more the surroundings which work well, and a BBQ place seems most fitting for the area (tropical islands are more likely to have BBQ than a fried chicken place, for example..). More just clutching at straws there really, as I guess you can just say that the Amity Burger King fits in well using that logic, what with the American-stuff around there...

But my point really is just make food places have a slight relevance to the area. Even with silly little things like 'Wild Wong's Noodle Bar' given a feel of a different culture or something like that; just little quirky things really.

Also, I'd love to see more of the 'themed food outlets' which are starting to come about; for example, the simple concept of Roast & Relish being your last meal works well, as does the Calypso BBQ and so forth. Just quirky little things like that help make a day out a bit more memorable for the right reasons.

But the devastated KFC of Thorpe and the Transylvanian McDonalds/Burger King of Chessington are a couple of the best themed restaurants around. Them not being in house catering doesn't stop them being in theme. Each on their own merit is how I'd do things, I've never had a problem with KFC or Pizza hut at Thorpe, so why change them? Pizza Pasta at Towers I find a hellish overcrowded mess of a place that can't do what Pizza Hut does as well as Pizza Hut does it, so why want it?

Cannot believe the price for adult buffet at Pizza hut has been raised to £9.99!! Pretty sure it was only £7.99 at the beginning of last season.

It has been £8.99 all of this season. But to be honest £9.99 is still great value.

Outside Thorpe Park Pizza Hut do the lunch time buffet for £6.99 which doesn't include a drink like at Thorpe Park which costs £2.35 meaning £9.34. Plus I'm actually pretty certain my branch charges £7.99 (London area). Meaning to be honest still great value for inside a theme park.

http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/menus--deals/weekday-buffet-lunch.aspx

Towers Pizza and Pasta is £9.95, and you can gain discount..

Dunno why anyone thinks it's good value to spend a tenner on pizza. Honestly. You'll eat about £3s worth. Spose that's what you get with "all you can eat", people just presume it's value.

Well as much as I do also enjoy Towers/CWOA pizza/pasta I have to say imo the taste of Pizza Hut is much better than that of the in house ones. Pizza Hut tend to be a little more generous with the toppings also.

Probably worth noting, from a business point, Pizza Hut actually consistently deliver good results on their internal standards inspection, and health and safety audits and the little feedback they do receive is usually positive (the receipt you get has a feed back survey on it). And are top of the business chain in all aspects, not just sales.

From Thorpes perspective, Pizza Hut are "doing it right", whereas if you look at AT and their failed safety inspections and probably poor customer feedback, they were risking affecting the customers day.

As for KFC/Burger King etc, as a fast food restaurant they're probably not the busiest stores in the country. Think of the ones outside concert venues etc. that are constantly rammed. To them theme park units could even be more hassle than they're worth, with high rent costs, periods of no profit during closed season and other factors.

Is Pizza Hut run as an actual pizza hut then, not as a franchise like KFC and BK do?

The park's don't generally give a monkeys what those really earn, if they can improve guest satisfaction, improve revenue and profit margins for themselves, they'll happily remove the external companies.

It all depends on whether thorpe thinks its the right time to part with them, whether their consumers will be happy without the high street brands, to trust and spend the same amount etc. Chessie and Towers obviously feel it's the right time, so surely it'll only be a matter of seasons til they disappear from thorpe as well.

Looking at the burger king when I went yesterday, it does look as though it may be going, what with repainted sign, and the temporary banner but I think it may just be that food outlet. It always seems more empty compared to the stealth area one (though that may just be me) , and is much smaller. I can see that outlet being better suited to a merlin sized burger bar.

Also when I went on a business trip there back in...must have been 2010, they did say all food outlets (which included pizza hut, burger king and KFC) will eventually leave, as it means the park gets to keep 100% of the foods profit, whereas its being sherd between the companies currently.

Just my thoughts

We went to Pizza Hut at Thorpe on Thursday, it was a complete shambles.

• Rude staff
• Lack of food, choice of 2 or 3 pizzas
• No knives or forks
• Half the salad bar empty

I have been to Pizza Pasta multiple times this year and is is nowhere near as stress full as Pizza Hut at Thorpe.

I'm fairly sure The Pizza Hut isn't a franchise. They only let Delivery units run as franchises, which are now technically a whole different company.

I'm fairly sure The Pizza Hut isn't a franchise.

Tell me this post is a wind up?

We went to Pizza Hut at Thorpe on Thursday, it was a complete shambles.

• Rude staff
• Lack of food, choice of 2 or 3 pizzas
• No knives or forks
• Half the salad bar empty

I have been to Pizza Pasta multiple times this year and is is nowhere near as stress full as Pizza Hut at Thorpe.

It was ridiculous, they took forever to put pizzas out and when they did they would be gone in the blink of an eye.

Tell me this post is a wind up?

bit rude..

Tell me this post is a wind up?

I'm 99% sure they're not a franchise.

As I said, They only license take away units as franchises and that half of the business is actually run as a different company.

Yeah he's definitely right - only a quick google search confirms that they Pizza Hut own and run the brand at thorpe.

Wonder if KFC is run by YUM! as well, don't pay too much attention to the registered business documents on the walls when ordering.

I would assume so, the reason I would say this is because they're participating in that World food hunger relief charity, and I don't think franchises choose to get involved with that usually..

Just an interesting bit of information I stumbled across today.

When Pizza Hut originally expanded years ago, they rented out a lot of different places, the real interesting thing is that apparently the owner back then requested that each of their leases was to last at least between 50-100 years.

I wonder whether this applies to Thorpe as well?

Hmm good question, it may well have considering thorpe was tiny when Pizza Hut started there.

I imagine there'd be a clause somewhere though, can't imagine thorpe wanting to have a particular company on their property for so long when they don't have a clue how things'll shape out.

I read somewhere that TP's Pizza Hut is the highest grossing Pizza Hut in Europe. Fun Fact?

With only lunchtime cover?

I believe I remember someone saying it in Chat a while ago?

Not too hard to believe when you think about it. It's what, £9 for an over 12 at the moment? When you consider how much a £9 pizza would cost at an ordinary Pizza Hut, and how much people would eat whilst there (no doubt people would eat less), and how it is constantly rammed in there, it seems plausible.

If that is the case, really surprised its still there TBH, would have thought they would have changed to their own Pizza/Pasta even before Alton and Chessington. I guess it could depend how long the deal was originally with Pizza Hut/Thorpe Park, as Thorpe got Pizza Hut much later than Alton Towers and Chessington originally did.

I'm not 100% sure but I remember a post saying that all pizza huts licenses last 150 years. If this is the case, thorpe's one will not be removed for a long time. I do have to say that the chessington pizza pasta is good and affordable(when I went in 2008/2009 have not been in pizza pasta since.)

I'm just wondering if chessington ever had a Pizza Hut, because this 150 license thing could not be true if chessington got rid of it before the lease was over...