Healthy food is coming to dining pass!

I agree Ffej. Without better choices next year, we will not be doing the dining plan. Midway Market offered enough healthy food options to make it worth it. We typically spend at least two days at a time and Chicken tenders/burgers/pizza 4 meals in a row is just more than anyone can handle.

Personally just adding fruit instead of fries doesn't do it for me.

Not for me either, but at least I can go 80% healthy - toss the bun, eat the meat and fruit.

Effective 8/15/14, you can substitute a Caesar side salad or fresh fruit at either Coaster's Drive-In or The RoundUp!
https://twitter.com/CPFoodBlog/status/500647778104926208

Fast Lane Plus was added after the response of Fast Lanes' 1st year. I could see next year an All Season Mealplan Plus added for more money and have access to Midway Market.

Or just add an all-season soft drink plan for about $25-30. You need both soft drink and dining plans to get into MM, or you have to pay $4 for drinks. I'd go for that. :)

I'll pay an extra $25-30 for a drink plan. I don't usually eat in the park, so a dining plan wouldn't really do me any good. But I usually get a drink, so the drink plan would be great. However, I like to go to Coke Freestyle and knowing CP, that place wouldn't be included in the plan.

Did anybody who sent a message about Midway Market, to the food department ever get a response?

I did not. Sent a message on August 13.

Me neither, I sent one on August 12th.

I got the season meal plan halfway thru the season just because they added the Midway Market and I got to use it twice before they took it away. I also sent them a message yesterday but looks like a response won't happen.

Sorry bout your luck, but they basically wouldn't make money off of it. Think for the daily meal every two hours, buffet & Coke Freestyle everytime..Or the season long, twice every visit. It unfortunately wasn't profitable I would bet from observing on the sidelines. Think how normally the dining plan does not give you a drink either, however Midway Market..tadaa

Best thing is go online, buy the daily one meal ticket for 13 bucks (or 13.99 I can't remember), which is cheaper than the price w/ pass discount, and bam, go enjoy a buffet.

If you really want though, use your meal plan at some other places like Pinks. Get a Bacon Chili Cheeseburger w/ Fries or Onion Rings..sweet deal, and quite tasty.

Hopefully next year we'll see daily drink bands for anyone come in like other parks (KI had them this year, just on the down low), or I've always wanted to see a season long. I'd gladly pay 100 or so for that to either do hey maybe unlimited, or say five drinks a day or something. Be nice to just walk up, bam have a glass of Coke here or there, or Powerade, etc. I just wish we'd get rid of the Kinzel cups but I know that'll never happen unfortunately. But at least we have a few drinking fountains in the park for big gulps of water, can't complain there.

when I went to Midway Market, I asked the worker if he knew why they took it off, and he didn't know. He then asked me if I had the dining plan, I do. He asked me when I got it, and I said at the beginning of the season, and then he told me that they were only honoring the plans that were bought after July 1st.

Got mine June 21,used it once at Midway Market. I typically get 'dog & fries' at Dragons Inn or 'burger & fries' at Coasters because I don't want to spend the time at Midway. I have yet to do Pinks.

AlexGillman said:
when I went to Midway Market, I asked the worker if he knew why they took it off, and he didn't know. He then asked me if I had the dining plan, I do. He asked me when I got it, and I said at the beginning of the season, and then he told me that they were only honoring the plans that were bought after July 1st.

Interesting. I bought mine on July 3! I think I will call food services before my next visit Friday to confirm this.

The meal plans are targeted to people who are looking for ways to save money, or at least "think" that they are saving. Generally these aren't people who are eating every meal inside of the park. They're the ones who are schlepping coolers from their cars up to the picnic tables or who leave the the park to drive in to Sandusky to grab a bite. You know, the ones who walk up to Subway and start cursing to themselves when they see a 6-inch sandwich is $6.75 when they know that they can leave the park and get a footlong (and more variety of breads and cheeses) for less.

CP's goal is to capture more people from that group and get them to eat inside the park and offering meal plans is one way to accomplish that. The profit margin on their food is very robust and even by offering "deals" they're still making money. My guess is that having the Midway Market on the meal plan was cutting in to the profitability of their plans. They want you eating a finite amount of food with a fixed cost, not a buffet.

On that subject, here's some interesting information from Cedar Fair's quarterly report.

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In the second quarter of 2014, the Company reported a 4% increase in average in-park guest per capita spending to $43.94, offset by a 2%, or 182,000-visit, decrease in attendance to 7.7 million guests, and a $3 million decrease in out-of-park revenues to $35 million. Excluding a non-core, stand-alone water park sold in August 2013, attendance on a comparable-park basis decreased 1%, or 104,000 visits. The Company attributes the increased average in-park guest per capita spending to enhancements it has made to the overall guest experience, including improvements in food and beverage programs, resulting in increased spending and capture rates across all categories of its business.

I just spoke to somebody at Food Services and they confirmed what AlexGillman was told above. She wouldn't actually confirm the July 1st date, but they have a list of names of those who purchased the plan after the Midway Market was added, and the Midway Market will continue accepting the plan for those people! I know where I'll be eating for the next 4 days...

Thanks for getting this info Alex. I never received a reply to the comment I submitted to Cedar Point, so I wouldn't have found out about this without reading it here on PointBuzz.

Ya, No problem, so they do have a list of names, so I can't just tell them that I purchased it after the MM was added. Not that I would do that...