No, qnzzvg, I DON'T want fries with that!!

Walt said:

Kevin, I wish I could give you ten +1s for that. :)

I'll always know you did in my heart. That's what counts.

We're talkin' softball....

What on Earth? Are we talking about the same Cedar Point here lol? The food there is amazing and this is my first year with dining plan and it is well worth it. The only thing that sucks is the walking taco at the corral but everything else is so fresh and amazing. And yes, it is dining. You have never been to Johnny Rockets? What about Pink's? Coasters? Frontier Inn has AMAZING chicken and fries. The buffet is really awesome too, with such a large variety of foods and desserts that are delicious. Never been to Panda Express but I will finally go this year since it is on dining plan because it always smells so incredibly good. Melt opens soon, I heard May 12th from someone on here.

thedevariouseffect said:

Pete said:

Yes, love McDonald's fries. Those are the benchmark of good fast food fries.

False, either Five Guys Cajun Fries, or Penn Station Fries

I agree that Five Guys and (especially) Penn Station have some of the best fries around, but they are certainly not what I'd consider "fast food".

ValravnCP said:

What on Earth? Are we talking about the same Cedar Point here lol? The food there is amazing and this is my first year with dining plan and it is well worth it. The only thing that sucks is the walking taco at the corral but everything else is so fresh and amazing. And yes, it is dining. You have never been to Johnny Rockets? What about Pink's? Coasters? Frontier Inn has AMAZING chicken and fries. The buffet is really awesome too, with such a large variety of foods and desserts that are delicious. Never been to Panda Express but I will finally go this year since it is on dining plan because it always smells so incredibly good. Melt opens soon, I heard May 12th from someone on here.

I would never consider myself a food snob, but as the industry goes, CP is pretty sub-standard for food. This is even more pronounced with places like Kennywood and Kings Island only a few hours away, and pulling crowds from the same general region of the country.

Honestly, you just sound hungry.

I haven't been to Kiings Island in a long time but I don't find the food at Kennywood much different that what is offered at CP.

I find CP light years ahead of KI in the food dept. The portions may be smaller at CP but the service is just atrocious at KI though it gets a little better as the season progresses. Overall the same D grade ingredients.

I think part of the problem at CP is that the leadership in food has been a revolving door, and I'm not aware if there is anyone at the corporate level who is leading in an all-star way either. Service, operation and quality are all solvable problems, but it's the one thing in the Ouimet era that still isn't where it needs to be. There have been improvements, but they're not huge, and simply franchising external options has shown mixed results.

I have high hopes for Melt, that they're able to run it like a Melt. I'm sure some people remember how the old regime thought they knew better than Friday's how to run a Friday's, and what a disaster that was. Some of those mistakes were repeated with Famous Dave's.

It could be worse, it could be Legoland Florida. Their food options and the accompanying service is just terrible. My standards admittedly are a little higher... I quite literally go to Epcot for lunch sometimes.

I've only had one bad order of fries from Five Guys (that was promptly fixed) in the few years I have been going there, roughly once a month. They learned from Thrasher's in Ocean City, MD, who are still the best in the world.

Pete said:

I haven't been to Kiings Island in a long time but I don't find the food at Kennywood much different that what is offered at CP.

As service goes, most parks aren't great. But I find those other places to satisfy me more than CP.

[very well could be due to having better ice cream, too...]

I sound like someone who tries the food before making negative judgements.

Jeff hit the nail on the head, albeit he worded it a lot better than I did. I think most folks here have come to accept the food services at Cedar Point because it's the only way it's ever been at Cedar Point. Sure they're making fixes but like Jeff said, look at the vast improvements made to the park since Kinzel left, why has food services not received the same treatment? And don't get me started on the self ordering kiosks. On a small scale they might work, but pile on thousands of guests who are impatient and hungry and those "awesome" new queue lines start to overflow. They need to start from the ground up. Rebuild each food stand first, then fix the food, then, and only then, should you bring in outside food establishments. I truly do hope Melt goes better for them, but again, I will wait to see if they can pull it off.

ValravnCP said:
I sound like someone who tries the food before making negative judgements.

To think that the people here that truly love CP but are disappointed with food services haven't tried the food before making negative judgements is just ridiculous.
There's being a CP Fan and there's being a CP Fanboy,
The CP Fan wants to see the park live up to its potential or at least get on par with its competitors.

Agreed. In fact, I've tried lots of different foods there looking for something I really like.

I'd say Macho Nachos are my favorite, but I know those take almost zero prep.

Pinks is hot dogs, so I already know that I'm not a fan.

Johnny Rockets is okay, but not good enough to bring me back.

C&P has decent fries and pizza.

Coasters is no better than JR.

I've had most of the food stands over the years. I get the platinum fries deal, so that's the selling point for me. Cheese on a stick is pretty good.

I haven't been to the Frontier Inn since it was CFA, and I'm looking forward to trying the Famous Daves stand and Melt location.

I've eaten at all the other on-point restaurants and can't say I'm pleased or disappointed with any of them. They are all better than that in-park options, and you pay for that difference.

In ValravnCP's defense, he at least knows what he likes and seems genuinely satisfied with the offerings at the park.
Another part of me wants to know if he's been living under a rock. No disrespect, but I got Panda at the mall. To think that I should go there at Cedar Point just to get a decent meal is irksome.

Here's the thing about franchised food, and it's kind of a catch 22. Why should we be expected to line up at a park and pay extra for Subway when there's one on every corner available all 365.
But ya know what? We do. Lines for those places are long. It reminds me of when an Ohio State Fair commissioner threw McDonalds, White Castle, Wendy's, and Taco Bell off the grounds. He thought the regular, traditional state fair food vendors should be the ones getting the business, and in a way it makes sense. But when those restaurants were present the lines for their food was down the block on a busy day. And when they went away some people were pissed.
The only place like that at CP that gets a pass from me is Pink's, but I can't go there tomorrow. I can go to Johnny Rockets tomorrow. I can go to Melt tomorrow for that matter, but in spite of it I only go once in a blue moon. I'll give it a try at the park and maybe it will become my favorite, but it's doubtful.
I know there are visitors to CP that live in areas where these franchises may not be available, and I'm also aware that with the public it's often easier to go with the familiar.

But still, if Cedar Point had some good places that people went to only as part of the destination it would be so ideal. I'm trying really hard to think of an item or dish that I look forward to driving to Sandusky for and I can't. Maybe the perch sandwich is it, I've never tried it, but I will. And if it's not the best, oh well. There's not a restaurant on Lake Erie that doesn't have perch in the summer, so there's that.

What's my solution to all this? Oh, I don't have one. I do know when I go to CP I won't starve to death and in my old age I don't like eating bologna sandwiches out of the trunk of my car. I'll find something there, but I won't tell everyone about it when I get home. This year I may try to go to those couple of food related events. In the years past the timing wasn't right. Maybe that will leave me with a better impression of what the park is trying to do. Or what they should do.

Oh yeah. Forgot about Panda. I think there's a reason for that...

In my opinion CP needs to continue to reduce the locations that sell their basic food. The standard pizza, fries, burgers, dogs and chicken fingers are the worst park food I've experienced in the Cedar Fair chain. We also visit Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island every year, along with either Carowinds or Kings Dominion and it's sad that the flagship park in the chain just doesn't measure up to those other parks. I do like the some of the newer offerings, and I'm excited for Melt. The Frontier Inn was a pleasant surprise after the loss of Chick Fil A. I look forward to our first visit next month for the 5k, gonna give one of the new for 2017 spots a try.

I must have missed something because I couldn't believe how bad the food service was and how poor the food options were at Kings Island last weekend. If people on this forum are stating cedar point's service and options don't match up to the standards of kings island, then it must be really bad!

ValravnCP said:

I sound like someone who tries the food before making negative judgements.

Taste is certainly subjective, and I can appreciate "bad" park food as much as anyone. I'm not necessarily looking for a meal when I'm in the park, so unhealthy snacks are just fine.

But where the park loses me is the value proposition. It really is preposterously bad in my opinion. I'll happily pay high prices for great food. And I understand that in-park dining carries a price premium. But when that price premium is as much as it is at CP, the quality needs to meet a certain minimum, all the time. If quality fluctuates even some of the time, that should be reflected in what they charge.

Consider Holiday World. We stopped in to eat at Plymouth Rock Cafe, where we got a huge pile of turkey, three generous and tasty sides, and a roll or whatever, for around $15. It was enough to feed myself, my Wife, and our then-3 year old, with leftovers to spare. And it was delicious! Compare that with Walt's $18 "one meat combo". Those ribs do look delicious, but for 20% more than we paid at HW?

CP keeps finding ways to fail when it comes to dining.

Holiday World does have food down, I like that little cafe, and the serving style is very VERY efficient.

However, best park food for me goes to BGW. Their dining plan is stellar, and prices are extremely reasonable. They have a dining plan similar to CF where you can pay for a daily meal plan. However they allow two food entrees and two drinks, one is valid before a certain time, and one after a certain time. I believe 3:00 is the time between, but don't quote me.

However, the German Sampler in Festhaus is perfect.

The plate on the left was the actual sampler. This at retail I think was about $10-15.00 max. But that included a small rack of ribs, a bit of chicken, a sausage, German potatoes, and a dinner roll. A soft drink was included as the drink. I added the pickle & cake for probably under $10.00. Their beer is reasonably priced too. I ended up getting a cider later that day for about $6.00, and it was decent local stuff too.

I'd honestly spend alot more money on food + extra stuff if the value was there. The only thing they seem to get from me is Cheese on a Stick at some point during the year, aside from that, I'm hoping Melt will redeem the park. In later years I've ate more and more in the park, venturing into Pinks, Chickies & Petes, etc. After each chain's initial year though quality and service just go extremely downhill. Chickies & Petes year 1 felt way ahead and higher than what is is now. Plus I'm tired of seeing fried this and fried that. Give me a roasted chicken or side item, I'll gladly pay for decent food. Last thing I would like to do is basically eat a brick of grease, because then the trip home is nothing but borderline dysentery.

In all honesty, to me, the Famous Dave's BBQ Shack food easily looks as good or better than the example from BGW. The Famous Dave's ribs and potato wedges are really good and I'd get an elephant ear instead of the cake for a dessert snack. I can do without the extra calories from the roll, sausage and chicken. But, I hear what you are saying about the price/food quantity comparison at the Festhaus vs. the walk-up stand at CP.

I really have high hopes for the Crystal Rock Cafe at CP Shores this year and if that turns out to be good, maybe an expanded version will show up somewhere in the amusement park for 2018.