No more Cotten Candy for 25 cents!

I think I might just have a garbage stomach because I seem to enjoy Round-Ups chicken fingers. Of course they're not always the greatest things, but on a few select moments, they proved to be fairly decent.
Pricey? OF COURSE! But I wouldn’t buy them every trip. I tend to bring my own food and just eat it in the car anyway. That way I have more money for other things.

Though I'm with everyone else......CP needs better food choices.

Josh M.,

We went to Friday's on Friday evening and it was ridiculous. There were four of us, the ladies ordered water and a diet Coke and myself and Josh ordered mixed drinks. If it didn't take 25 minutes for them to bring out the mixed drinks it didn't take 2. The prices were waaaaay overpriced even for Cedar Point standards.

If I remember correctly it was almost $14 for a burger and fries. We opted to just get $8 appetizers.

Come on guys. It's nothing new that tourist areas have inflated prices. You're a captive audience, so they can basically charge what they want. On the island I live/work on now, you can't really have a small lunch for less than $20 a person. But, it's like I have much choice. I'd have to fly to Miami to get something cheaper. Even the grocery store is way overpriced.

It is that mentality Tim that is getting amusement industry in trouble. "They'll pay it b/c what choice do they have?"

Well, perhaps I will go to the park once a summer instead of twice. Perhaps I will skip a summer all together.

I understand economics. You charge what the market will bear.

But, all we keep reading about out of Sandusky is the poor economy in the region...losing Michigan tourists...the unemployment problem in the Cleveland area.

CP keeps adding attractions but their best year goes back to the mid-90s. And there has been a steady decrease since. What kind of value are you getting with a $9 chicken finger meal?

Damn if its that big of deal bring a cooler with snacks and lunchmeats during the day and hit up Midway Market for dinner...

Midway Market is the epitome of over priced and under serviced.

I tried it once, it sucked.

Gave it a second chance, it still sucked.

I'll wait for it to be gutted, remodeled and re-opened before I go back.

Well, CP can charge more than most regional parks can. I would venture to guess since CP is a vacation destination, they can bear higher prices and people will pay. But, if you compare them to Geauga Lake which has more local draw than out of town, I bet they can't take advantage of people as much concerning prices. That's why you see higher prices at the Point. I'm on vacation, so I don't really mind the prices. Unlike a lot of people on here though, I usually only go once a season since I'm so far away now. I also don't have a family or spend all that much on food in the park to begin with. Cheese on a stick, ice cream, lots of free water, maybe a hot dog and then usually dinner at one of the sit down joints - that's the extent of my park spending for an entire day. Breakfast is always outside of the park.

The 5 times so far I have visited Midway Market I have been very impressed. The service has been good. Yes, it is kind of pricey but if you eat really light all day and go there AFTER dinner rush, it is not too bad considering it is ALL YOU CAN EAT. I mean comeon, you guys are complaing about 8 or 9 bucks for a "fast food meal" when you could be paying about the same amount for as much food and soda as you can handle. Not a bad deal in my opinion.

If they can charge more than most parks, then why is it that the attendance keeps falling? Obviously they can't. Wahoo is right on in defining the problem: Higher prices boost per cap spending, but in the long run do little more than cause people to see a lack of value and they don't come back as often, if at all.

I don't expect Wal-Mart food court prices when I go to Cedar Point, and few people do. However, there comes a point when it's beyond the higher expectation, and in the realm of being too much. I felt the same way about Kings Island this year.

The high price paired with poor service and poor quality makes this infinitely worse. That sweet and sour chicken with rice I get at Islands of Adventure might cost ten bucks with a drink, but it doesn't suck, and it was served quickly. Like it or not, being a resort destination, that's the new standard they have to compete with.

They do the same thing in the resorts at CP too. They keep going higher and higher with prices. And, folks who might have stayed at the property two or three times over the course of the summer might now back that down to one or two times.

It is this short-sightedness that continually irritates me. And, it is what keeps Cedar Fair from reaching the greatness that I believe they are capable of. Newsflash: It isn't the size of the company that will leave a lasting impression.

I still can't get over $4.25 for a hot dog.

Yeah... the hot dog and the Maverick souvenir cup were the two things that pushed me over the edge. I remember 25 cent Hot Dog days for employees, where by the end of the day they were 5 cents a piece. And that was in 2004. I can't believe they would push the price to 4.25 for the exact same plain boring hot dog for a park guest. At least put some fancy toppings on it...

HeyIsntThatRob? said:
find out a food stand either doesn't take credit/bedit card

That could be your problem right there. ;)

I bought a hot dog on Saturday and it was $3.29. The hot dog midway meal basket is $4.29, which I assume gives you either fries or chips for the extra dollar.

Considering that's the cow's lips and rectum (I'm dramatizing for effect), that's still too much. :)

More than three dollars for fountain soda is too much. $10 for frozen then fried shrimp and fries (both crappy) is too much. I just can't get behind that.

Sure, they're still getting money from me because I go to Friday's and Dave's, but you have to ask the obvious question about why I've barely touched anything inside the park. I refuse to believe I'm the only one. Reading this thread, I'm obviously not.

I totally agree the food service at CP sucks. I was just saying that's most likely their justification for raising prices. It seems to me their philosophy is wait until it breaks to do something about it when it comes to food and resorts. For what they charge, you don't get what you pay for when it comes to resorts and food - exception being Lighthouse Point. I think until they start seeing a decrease in per cap spending though, nothing is going to change. That's just how they work. Do I agree with their philosophy, nope. But, I also don't run the park.

Jeff said:
Considering that's the cow's lips and rectum (I'm dramatizing for effect), that's still too much. :)

Actually if it's advertised as all beef it's usually all coming from the rib cage back. The lips are extra.;)

We went and purchased a pack of 7 Hebrew National all beef kosher hot dogs, which comes from the front of the cow, for $4.19 at Meijer. $1.59 for 8 buns and $2.50 for a bag of chips.

Total = $8.28

And that fed four people, most eating 2 hot dogs each. I could probably buy into $3.50 for a dog and some chips but once you cross that $4 threshold you won't see me buying anything in the park. The only money we spent in the park the whole weekend was eating at Chik-fil-a (had to eat there once to at least see how it was) and Jess wanted a Maverick fleece. That was a total of $51 for two full days in the park.

Im wondering how many of the people complaining about food prices also supported the increase in minmum wage.

No, Jeff, youre not alone. I get a few snacks and a beer here and there, but anything else is just a waste.

Didn't they increase Junior and Senior tickets $2 to $11.95?

Ok...so let's do some math.

Let's just say CP has 3500 employees. They raised the base rate by .10 an hour. So, that cost CP an extra $350 per hour. So, now let's just say the average employee works 12 hour days for 100 days.

So, that costs CP $420,000 over the course of those 100 days.

Now, we are just making up numbers here...but...let's say CP averages 15,000 guests per day. And, of those, 20% (or 3,000) are juniors or seniors. That is an extra $6,000 per day or $600,000.

I think they don't have any trouble swallowing the pay hike.

OK, I get the math, but everything goes up annually (or every few years) due to cost of living, etc...its a slow progression, so some of the increases could have already been planned.

But, still, youre correct, ticket prices also increased.

The point is, CP is certainly one of the places where the consumer is going to pay more (for something) due to this increase.

I don't mind paying more for something when the value is there. I paid over $100 for a dinner for two last weekend. But, for the quality and experience it was well worth that price.

I'm just looking at if from a practical point of view. CP shows no signs of any increased attendance. On the contrary. They add new shows, attractions, and so forth since Raptor yet the attendance peaked back then.

Now, the increase in per cap certainly is nice but there is no doubt that at some point (and maybe we are there) they are going to reach a level that turns people off. When that happens, then what?