The Boardwalk - New for 2023

Thabto:

But I don't know how many of those guests there are and if it would be enough to justify the added expense of staffing a walk-up window.

The Venn overlap of 1) guests at the beach who 2) aren't ticket/pass holders and 3) want to spend a lot of money at GP is miniscule at best.

My initial assumption during the announcement when seeing GP up against the park boundary led me to assume that there would be access from that side. But the more I think about it the less sense it makes. If GP were located in a area not near an existing gate, that would be a different story to some degree.

djDaemon:

My initial assumption during the announcement when seeing GP up against the park boundary led me to assume that there would be access from that side.

I was wondering about this, given the (still unclear at best) planned Causeway widening (different thread) that would allow bicycle and pedestrian access to the beach. I wonder--were that to come to fruition--if beachside access to the Pavilion would make sense.

To me, an increase in foot traffic further justifies requiring people to buy tickets to the park to get access to GP. After all, a beachfront restaurant with a second story balcony would - assuming the food is good - be hugely popular no matter where it is. CP has the unique ability to charge people just for the privilege of gaining access to the unique restaurant's front door, which seems like something to leverage. After all, they'll likely do more-than-sufficient business serving only park guests, no need to clog the restaurant with the unwashed, unpaying masses. :-)

That becomes a costly meal. Parking fee, or Causeway toll or whatever you want to call it (wonder if bike riders, pedestrians will be charged and what amount), park admission, pricey meal. Oh, and tip, but y'all covered that subject in a different post.

djDaemon:

After all, a beachfront restaurant with a second story balcony would - assuming the food is good - be hugely popular

As long as they serve the scrumpdillyicious chicken tenders it will most DEFINITLEY be popular.

jimmyburke:

That becomes a costly meal.

That's the whole idea.

Like you said though what percentage of people going to the peninsula, paying for parking, staying at breakers etc don't already have passes in some form to the park?

I still think it's a miniscule amount. My last couple responses were in the context of there being an increase in that number, as suggested by Western Cruiser above.

djDaemon:

After all, a beachfront restaurant with a second story balcony would - assuming the food is good - be hugely popular no matter where it is.

I'm curious, would you describe Famous Dave's or Bay Harbor as being hugely popular? The new pavilion will easily be twice the size of either of those restaurants.

That's been a question I've had for a while. How much walk up service do those places get? I imagine Famous Dave's gets a decent amount of traffic from the marina but how many locals are heading there for a dinner or whatever.

Six years ago, Dave's was the only decent sit-down option there was. It was frequently busy with a wait.

Speaking of sit down eating at the point, I hardcore miss Macaroni's. Not only was the Pizza fantastic, but it was great to be able to sit in a booth and hang out in thr AC while we ate.

Are you kidding me? Wet pasta with taste-free sauces? That place represented everything that was wrong with Cedar Point food. Melt is a 100x better, and you can get craft beverages.

I agree that Melt is way better, but even the novelty of that has worn off because there's 3 of them within under a 30 minute drive from me - but the bar is amazing.

I kind of understand the nostalgia of Macaroni's, though. It was not "good" food by any means, but there was a vibe in there and since it was many, many years ago, the idea of having a sit-down meal inside the park felt kind of "special", in an odd sense.

The places of the bygone era were never good, but they correspond with some of the best memories and formed friendships as part of this hobby.

Things are way better now, but at the time, there was just something about Macaroni's, Midway Market and the like that brings back memories of a more carefree time.

OK, I'm done being nostalgic - where's my Manhattan?

You're right about the memories of the old places.

Ahh - Midway Market. Crappy food but the kids loved it. That was always part of our visits.

Several years ago, when my parents were younger and able to handle a day in the park, I treated them to a CP trip and we did lunch at Midway Market. I'll never forget their excitement over the different kinds of foods and things that were available - my mom was particularly surprised that the ham was actually good compared to some of the other things available. I will always treasure that visit, and seeing that parents/people who don't spend all their time at parks have a different outlook on the meal they are sitting down to.

I always enjoyed the taco bar, but it was definitely on par with every other buffet out there. It was just OK/acceptable for the most part, but made sure you weren't hungry when you left.

About the only former place I would take over the current is Donut Time (Starbucks is fine, but I never understood a half hour wait for sugary coffee and only semi fresh baked goods). I felt the Donut time donuts were always fresh and good.

Nostalgia wise at Donut Time, I remember talking to Pete for over an hour over donuts and coffee one cold Halloweekends evening there. It was my first and only real chat with him, and he struck me as a genuinely great guy He was super easy to talk to and had a ton of knowledge and love for the park in an easy going sort of way. Only reason we stopped chatting was the park was closing. Whenever I see his name pop up here I always think of that "Donut Time" and it's not hard to see why he is missed.

Chuck Wagon:

I'm curious, would you describe Famous Dave's or Bay Harbor as being hugely popular?

As Jeff mentioned, Famous Dave's was popular despite having pretty average food, and that was while being outside the park. I don't know how popular Bay Harbor is, but how many park guests even know it exists?

And most importantly, in addition to being off the beaten path, neither of those restaurants are on a beach.

Bay Harbor once served spoiled milk to my then-2-year-old. I'd be more pissed about it, but he barfed all over the place as a result, so there's that. It's just OK, but I suppose top of the list for Sandusky.

Bay Harbor is interesting, because the potential is there. I don't know if it's been updated or not, but the 1990's "design" and atmosphere made the food seem a bit less than exciting, for what they try and serve. They have a great bar and nice fire pit - and I have enjoyed my meals there and would like to go back, but most of the time I'm not dressed for dinner when I'm up there.

The spoiled milk thing would sour me on going back.

edit: changed wording - the dated design/architecture of the place.