Being a copy cat isn't so bad when it works

The issue why Frontier Festival at Cedar Point flopped the last two years was very simple:

1) All food (and I mean all food) was themed around 1 ingredient. 2023 was cherry and 2022 was corn. Whether it was a flatbread, dessert, taco, slider, wings, a dip - had a cherry in '23 or corn in '22 base.

2) Did not allow guests to purchase food or beverages at the stands. Forced all customers to buy a card and even if purchased in advance online, had to wait in a long line to pick up card before even going to a stand. They're a cashless park. Tapping or inserting a credit card is not meaningfully less efficient than punching a card. Why SEAS and DIS can do it but CP refused to - I will not understand (and they have the capability to, because the same stands were repurposed for CP Nights on the beach before that was cut in 2023 by Tim Fisher and you could purchase items a la carte at the stands w/ electronic payment).

Lastly, Cedar Point will be cutting Live E expenses significantly even further in 2024 by removing Frontier Festival.

Tim Fisher continues to bludgeon the guest experience.

You just described Knotts' Boysenberry Festival. Which I believe is successful, or they wouldn't keep doing it every year, right? I went once (did not plan for it, it just happened to be going on during our visit) and quite enjoyed it.

As a CP local, I might be interested nowadays because CP has only recently proven that they can offer desirable food. 5 years ago, not so much. It may also depend on the "featured ingredient." Cherry, yes. Corn... IDK. I'd never in a million years buy a Boysenberry BBQ sauce, but I went back for seconds on the Spare Ribs and B-BBQ sauce at Knotts!

I'm reasonably certain that Epcot would not be doing it year-round to serve locals.

Isn’t Cleveland considered Cedar Point Local? Sandusky Adjacent? Maybe people aren’t leaving Bay Village after work to swing by but with the right festival and the right advertising people might plan their visit around a foodie event.
Carowinds benefits with their Carolina-themed event. Knott’s has their namesake berry. Kings Island and Kings Dominion each have international foods during their Carnival event. What Sandusky lacks isn't customers, it’s a theme tying cuisine to the area. Maybe an annual Walleye festival with all things fish?
(Btw, the cherry thing may have been an attempt to link the popular Whitehouse (Toledo) Cherry Festival or to capitalize on one of Michigan’s famous seasonal crops.)

Tommytheduck

Yesterday, 11:40 PM
You just described Knotts' Boysenberry Festival. Which I believe is successful, or they wouldn't keep doing it every year, right? I went once (did not plan for it, it just happened to be going on during our visit) and quite enjoyed it.

A little bit of a difference between an entire festival themed around the boysenberry and the boysenberry has been a staple and integral part of the Knott's Berry Farm experience for over 100 years.... what did Ouimet call it? Genetic vacation behavior, I believe. Heck, the Knott's color scheme is from the boysenberry.

And picking a random ingredient such as a cherry or corn and building your entire food offerings off of that 1 ingredient - of which did not tie into or relate to the theme of the festival anywhere else.

Regardless, the biggest issue was Cedar Point's refusal to allow guests to purchase items a la carte at the stands.

Chicago07:

And picking a random ingredient

Am I the only one thinking about the Iron Chef "secret ingredient" reveal?

Chicago07:

Why SEAS and DIS can do it but CP refused to - I will not understand

This goes back to my post about how the park always refused to just do what was already successful at other parks. I'm sure it was brought up and someone said, "We aren't Disney, we are better than them". Saw it all the time when I worked there and it was exhausting.

Now, the idea of having a punch card is great if you offer it at a discount. Purchase a card for $50 and get $65 worth of food vs. paying full price a la carte. That is probably the plan they should have went with.

Usually they swing and miss right out of the gate. But they had 2-3 fantastic years of Brew & BBQ and then opted to find a way to screw it up.

Brews & BBQ had everything everyone is suggesting except for pay per item. But it didn’t matter because the ticket pack was affordable.

Kennywood has been doing Bites & Pints in the spring and it’s pretty good. The discount with a pass brings the price per item below $4. I think they’ve nailed it for what it is.

Brews & BBQ had everything everyone is suggesting except for pay per item. But it didn’t matter because the ticket pack was affordable.

This, then they tried to emulate Knotts with a weird food theme, but without the operational expertise, then they started pricing it too high.

Corn is the most abundant crop in Northwest OH, but we don't have an abundance of great regional dishes with it. So it was a very odd choice.

Just bring back the Food Truck Festival add in breweries, and wineries, have them run it themselves, and rotate food trucks. That way you don't have to staff it, and run it.

Then hopefully we can budget a show for Lusty Lills.

NW Ohio is also tomato country, so there’s always…
ok then.