What food items would you like to see added to the parks menu?

Bay Harbor really isn't all that great. (Still a little annoyed that they served my kid spoiled milk a few years ago, though he threw it up all over the place, so karma or whatever.)

I can't imagine Cedar Point having a Victoria and Albert's type of restaurant. Bay Harbor is as "upscale" as the resort needs.

Maybe not that fancy...Maybe more akin to a menu like this, which is currently where we go for said experience.

Plus, call me young, but the decor in Bay Harbor feels very old people ish...elevated booths, brass everywhere. I feel like I'm at a Rocknies with a Joes Crab Shack kind of atmosphere. Plus..that carpet....eww..

I'm sure, like everything else from the Kinzel era, that Bay Harbor and the entire Marina will see an update sooner rather than later.

thedevariouseffect said:

Maybe not that fancy...Maybe more akin to a menu like this, which is currently where we go for said experience.

Foie gras and mussels and warm mushroom salad ... as much as I enjoy fancy food when someone else is paying, I think that's too upscale of a menu for an amusement park. (And yes, I'm making a distinction between amusement parks and Walt Disney World.)

Jeff said:

Melt would be the best thing ever. It would be a huge challenge to do the kind of volume they would need at CP, but it would be the best food ever served at Cedar Point. I would hope, however, that CP could relax their grooming guidelines, because part of the atmosphere of Melt is definitely the piercings and tattoos.

This. I've been going to the Melt Lakewood location (their original spot) since it was a one room hole in the wall,haha! The Cleveland Hts. location isn't bad either. I honestly think their beer selection rivals some of the bigger chains such as Winking Lizard. My question is where would they put a spot such as Melt inside the park? What would have to be replaced?

We have a Melt University on the campus where I work and they do fine in a fast food/counter service setup. It would probably work very similar at CP. Or, they could replace Chickie's & Pete's or Joe Cool Cafe with a regular sit down Melt. That said, I'm not a huge fan of the food. Very high in fat and calories and the bread slices for the sandwiches are too thick. Whenever I've had their food, I feel like I have a giant lump of concrete in my stomach and I can almost feel my arteries being clogged in real time.

I've had many excellent meals at Bay Harbor over the years but the place does need updating, especially the bar. Very much stuck in the 70s and 80s. They should build a new pool complex for the marina, maybe where Cedars is now, and expand and renovate the Bay Harbor bar into the present pool area. Keep at least the bar open late and boaters would have a fine place to eat and drink.

I've mentioned before, I would really like to see soup (chili, chicken + noodle, beef barley) ...for Halloweekends. Would be nice to have the scent wafting down the Frontier Trail on a cool, chilly night.

Walking and sipping warm soup from a warm mug...keeping your hands and tummy warmed on those cool October nights.

**I know that nobody wants soup on a hot summer day, but only for Halloweekend nights**

I would hope the Management at Melt would take a long close look at how a 'CP' Melt could adversely affect people impressions of what Melts are.

Cedar Fair, and CP second only to KI in my opinion, Foods division needs serious help in consistency, training, staffing, quality, service speed or pretty much anything a restaurant is supposed to do that they pretty much fail at all season.

Cleanliness used to be somewhat of an issue but has been thoroughly addressed in recent years.

^^ I hear that, but it would be no different than a coffee or hot chocolate. Providing it's in a cup with a lid.

I think most folks would sit down to eat, or you could do a chicken and star soup ...that's drinkable through a special beverage lid.

Just thinking of a warm/filling option, as we don't eat fried food...french fry, elephant ears, churros, cheese on a stick, french waffle...those are a no-go for me.

***was a reply to a prior comment that seems to have vanished**

How's the perch in the park? Never had but have wanted to try. I know that place by GK has some. Is it fried?

Fried perch, one of the better choices in the park in my opinion. I was sad to see it removed from season dinning.

XS NightClub said:

I would hope the Management at Melt would take a long close look at how a 'CP' Melt could adversely affect people impressions of what Melts are.

Cedar Fair, and CP second only to KI in my opinion, Foods division needs serious help in consistency, training, staffing, quality, service speed or pretty much anything a restaurant is supposed to do that they pretty much fail at all season.

Cleanliness used to be somewhat of an issue but has been thoroughly addressed in recent years.

That was part of the intention behind my comment about how Matt doesn't expand wherever, whenever, but rather wants to properly develop and train management and staff. I don't know if a seasonal operation is something that would fit those plans. The QSL location at CB would have been more ideal.

In reality, I'm not sure how well a Melt Bar & Grilled would do in Sandusky. They might have some success near the Kalahari resort, with the conventions that go through there.

Out of park could work like you said, and I think it may be worth a good look at.

It is some kind of Disney magic that Somehow, virtually every restaurant in Sandusky and Perkins manages to properly staff and train year round, yet CP cannot get deep fried hot dogs and French fries correct at a stand that only serves those two items.

Another post referring to a possible CP location, from Melt themselves.

Interesting. I'd be up for replacing the Joe Cool cafe location. It's one of the few sit down places at CP that I don't touch anymore because of prior experiences there. I think that a Melt location in that spot could work with families. I see lots of families now at the Lakewood Melt location and think this would be a good addition. Now only if Matt would expand to Lorain County, Rt.83 Avon area by the new Panda Express ;) That locale would make a killing.

It was rumored to be on the chopping block last year, but it still opened this year. Maybe it will be gone next season and replaced by Melt. I remember that used to be Macaroni Grill. I would hope that it's a sit-down location and not a walk-up like at Progressive Field.

I love Melt, with two locations in Columbus now, at Easton and Short North. I wouldn't worry about out of towners not digging it, the place is very Cleveland-centric for sure (down to the decor) and I know here in Columbus people were eager to try it. When they were brand new you couldn't get in. I love Mom's Meatloaf Dinner, the Godfather lasagne, and the Korean War Pig bbq pork. Yum.

I agree about the bread, though. My partner watches his sugar and they only offer white, white, and white bread. We'd go there a lot more often if there was at least one whole grain choice.
Trust me, we've suggested it.
Another thing is portions, which are huge. It's ok if you're going home, you can take the other half of your sandwich for lunch tomorrow. At the park or at the hotel it's difficult to carry out.

I still try to invent in my mind a city walk concept for Cedar Point. We've been through the pluses and minuses before, as well as locations. But I still envision a nighttime place for the Cedars property with nice chain restaurants with bars. (That don't mind a seasonal schedule.- I know, good luck with that) But there's Famous Daves already, so maybe this Melt, a Chuy's, a Gordon Biersch, a Hot Chicken Takeover, a Mellow Mushroom, and let Bay Harbor do their needed rebuild. Provide shuttles from the hotels and it could serve them and the marina community as well.
It may even prove to be an interesting year-round venue. Bay Harbor already does that with some success.

Don't get in an uproar with me about this, guys and gals. It's just an idea. (I can think of more than one on here that would like this, too.)

XS NightClub said:

... virtually every restaurant in Sandusky and Perkins manages to properly staff and train year round, yet CP cannot get deep fried hot dogs and French fries correct at a stand that only serves those two items.

The operative words here might be "properly staff and train year round". No matter how thoroughly you train seasonal staff, there's a learning curve involved, and everyone's not going to take the curve at the same speed, whilst facing thousands of diners daily. It took me a while to really master all the details of my job the summer I worked at Cedar Point. Whereas a restaurant open year round has the time to bring new staff up to speed.

Okay, Ohio people, no fair! You got Quaker Steak and Lube and now you've got Melt, and you have the White Turkey Drive-In. Why do you guys get all the good restaurants?

Anything with an updated interior. The TGI Fridays for example needs to be addressed for example. I'd love for the burritos in Frontier Town to be converted to a "burrito bar" like the one at KI (i think someone already suggested that).
As for speed of service, I have noticed that there is a serious lack of a "sense of urgency" in every position at almost every food stand. From the person on the register to the person putting burgers together, they move excruciatingly slow.
Although, I have patronized PINKs a lot this year and they aren't too bad with speed.