Upgraded Food Reviews / Menu & Pricing Changes

At the resorts and marina they are selling pop for $2.50. I've never had a problem bring it in the gate.

If you go to this link and click on the Meals tab, that is probably one of the better deals you can get if you don't have a platinum pass.

http://www.cedarpoint.com/tickets/

Whoa, randinator. I can't believe I didn't see any mention of that meal deal. Sounds like a really good value.

Isn't a 32 oz refillable souvenir mug close to $10 itself? So basically, you either get that or the meal free. Then you get cheap refills the rest of the day. Aren't they 99 cents, or is that another park I'm thinking of?

Randinator, that is a terrific deal even if you do have a platinum pass (I know you get discounts with it, but wow, those are nice deals)...and you get the cup. For some reason I just love collecting the cups.

If you want good bang for your buck, Dragons Inn is the way to go. Their chicken tenders basket always filled me up and I remember it being like $8.50 in years past?

Ffej said:
So, Cedar Point didn't get the new burritos, fresh Philly cheese steaks, fresh fruit stands, and salads that people are raving about at Kings Island?

Oddly enough, the guy running food down there came from CP. I'm kind of nervous about him not being at CP, but KI definitely needed help in a big way.

We ate at Famous Dave's, and it's the predictable franchise food you'd expect. The menu seems smaller, but honestly, I haven't been to a Dave's since last summer, and that was in Seattle. Service is a little rough, but I'm willing to cut them some slack since it was opening day.

Plus $5 for processing.

tst2620 said:
What about TGI Friday's and Famous Dave's? Are the prices comparable to other locations?

For most menu items, I'd estimate the cost is usually about $2 more than you'd pay at the franchises outside of the park, which is really a pretty good deal. I ate at the Fridays inside of Breakers on Friday night, and was actually surprised at how cheap our bill was, even with a beer included.

Hoping they still refund parking at Famous Dave's if you take your parking receipt there.

Yeah, the Friday's isn't that badly priced compared to the norm, but the big catch is that they don't take the corporate coupons. I never eat at Friday's anymore without using a buy 1 meal, get the 2nd free or some kind of good coupon. So, that makes CP Friday's prices effectively double for me.

As a result, I usually just hit up Thirsty Pony or some other local Sandusky restaurant. But, I will be eating inside the park entirely my next visit with the Platinum Pass offers. If I'm impressed with the quality, CP will be getting my money going forward.

Edit: I don't imagine it'll happen this season, but I can't wait until Fun Perks rolls out to all the Cedar Fair parks. The rewards are better than I was expecting, and I could see the program being a hit with the regulars. Free all-day drink wrist band just for signing up at funperks.com. It only can be used at Kings Island though.

Los Gatos in Frontier Town has had burritos for a few years. They are similar to Chipotle and not badly priced for CP.

Pop refills are $1.99 or $2.12 including tax.

I noticed the Dino gift shop had 32oz sodas for $4.50. Not sure what the 20oz is going for.

Additionally, I know this is a small thing. But, I thought it was a nice touch. I spoke with Gary at KI. (the foods guy who came from CP) He pointed out the food changes and also mentioned that the wrappers which were a generic "Cedar Fair" print in previous years are now park specific.

Yes you still get your parking refunded at Famous Dave's if you spend at least $25, not including any alcohol. You must tell them before they give you your bill.

It's also nice seeing them staffing the small rollaway stands. Usually they only bring out some like the Smore's stand during the fall. Also they changed the Millennium Chill Snowcone stand so you can now put your own flavors on it.

Are the Sno Cones still the same price as last year (I think $7)? I felt that was actually a value, considering they're so large that they can be shared with 2-3.

So, it's self serve like Icee Mix-It-Up now? That's cool, but it seems like it'd be a huge mess with syrup everywhere.

Although it was not worth $10, the chicken tenders at the Dragon Inn over by Iron Dragon were very good.

But print off the $10.65 meal pass that randinator mentioned, and then you get the chicken tender basket AND a 32 oz refillable souvenir mug. Then is it worth the $10?

Edit: Oh, I see what Sam was saying now. There is a $5 processing fee, which is silly. If you only bought 1, you'd pay $15.65. But, you could still buy the meal passes in bulk I suppose, or do you have to set the day it can be used?

Ffej said:

So, it's self serve like Icee Mix-It-Up now? That's cool, but it seems like it'd be a huge mess with syrup everywhere.

That is my fear as well. Unless the parent is helping the kid there is going to be a sticky mess. Heck, even with me helping the 7 year old we almost made a lemon-lime puddle. Here come the bees!

First off, I tried the new fresh cut fries at the stand by Windseeker. There were 4 of us, so I requested 2 of the Platinum Pass offers. She said "Sure!" with a smile and the total was around $14 instead of around $40.

I can't say I noticed much of a difference over previous years, but they were delicious as always. They were straight out of the fryer and cooked perfectly. The chili and cheese was new for me, and I enjoyed it. The huge savings really put me in a happy mood, and we all purchased much more stuff in the park as a result.

Next up, I tried the new fresh, never frozen burgers at Coasters, using the Platinum Pass deal, which saved over 50%. This was the first hamburger I'd ever had in the 25 years visiting the park, and it was not good at all. First, my friend argued with me that it wasn't fresh as I had hyped...it was a perfectly-stamped cylinder patty, and he didn't believe me. I was curious if I was wrong and that Coasters wasn't a fresh, never frozen place?

The hamburger was cold, as if it had been sitting, and it was smothered in some kind of gross horseradish sauce, which we both wiped off. There were 2 squares of completely-unmelted, cold cheese, topics on the side, and it was served on a big, thick, stale bun. The lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles were fresh and acceptable though. When eating the hamburger, I couldn't taste the meat, because the horseradish sauce I had wiped off still overpowered the meat flavor.

The fries served with this hamburger were among the worst I've ever had. They tasted as if they had been sitting in a pan for 5 hours. They weren't greasy or crisp in any way. They were just hard to chew and VERY dry, and they were mostly thrown away.

I would have complained and requested new food if I was paying the full menu prices, but because of the Platinum Pass offer, I just took note, and I won't be eating there again. I have been seeing similar complaints about the burgers elsewhere. It looks like they mainly need to fix the process of preparing and serving them, to give a consistently fresh, quality product. If Fast Food places can do it, so can Cedar Point.

Lastly, we got the 6 giant cookies for $6 Platinum promo. While the peanut butter chocolate chip and standard chocolate chip left more to be desired, we really enjoyed the M&M ones.

Where is the cookie deal? Can't say I'll be getting the burger anytime soon. I have to say, I noticed a huge difference in the fries' taste, but we get them every year.

I had also never had the chile/cheese fries, and I thought they were quite good, and that is a great deal with the 2 drinks included. 7 bucks for 2 orders and 2 drinks. :)

And the worker even asked how much ice we would like in the drink; a nice touch, as sometimes employees are auto-set to put as much ice as possible in the drink.

If my dream came true, Cedar Point would have, somewhere near the beach, a giant fresh-fried (or grilled) perch stand.