What Is Up With CF Food Service?

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bunky666 said:
I don't think people go there thinking about all the delicious food they're going to eat, and I think if there IS that expectation, it's going to be a disappointing experience!

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Agreed. People probably go to the park expecting crap food that's overpriced.

The problem is that even with those expectations - the service at CF is subpar.

And that ignores the fact that many other parks seem to be able get it right on some level where CF fails.

Regardless of how integral to the overall experience it is, it's still a part of the experience and one that affects the kind of day you have.

Ah, true, Lord G. I haven't been to any other CF parks (sad but true that this coaster lover has never been to Cedar Point), but I haven't had too much trouble at Dorney. It's not GREAT, and it certainly is overpriced, but it's not repulsive. The worst experience I actually had was at Six Flags Great Adventure at the McDonald's. AWFUL!!! *grimace*

I understand what you mean about the experience being affected by the food, but so many other things about the parks are so great that they trump the bad food. The expectations that CF has for their food SHOULD be higher, and I think if I had children, I would be more upset by it all, but being married to a fellow coaster lover, we pretty much don't let anything affect our experience other than the atmosphere and the rides influence us.

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When you go to an amusement park, what do you want most of all? Not great food, I'm sure. You want quality coasters and thrill rides. Food is secondary.

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My wife and I had a "no-kids" trip to Disney for the holiday weekend. We had about 2-3 hours to kill today, so we went to Studios. In that time, we rode Tower once, saw a few of the Streetmosphere characters, and spent half our time in the park eating lunch at the Brown Derby restaurant. I had seared tuna with pickled vegetables. My wife a Cobb salad. We stuck to iced tea (though the bar had a nice wine list).

Earlier in the trip, we went to Epcot. We had dinner (three courses, drinks, wine, coffee) at Chefs de France. We were in the park about seven hours. We rode one ride (Soarin).

So, I think it is fair to say that some people are there for the food.

I seem to remember in previous years (perhaps a decade ago) that the food prices at the food stands included tax. Does anyone else remember this? Today, the prices don't seem to include the sales tax.

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Brian Noble said:
Stuff about food...

So, I think it is fair to say that some people are there for the food.

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You're 100% correct. I could go ON and ON about our food experiences at Disney a few weeks ago. The whole vacation was as much more about food and shopping as it was about anything else. (Boma was thre HIGHLIGHT of the week, for sure, though)

As I get older, I find that my relaxation time is better spent that way than doing what I used to do in the ol' days. Granted, there are still times to ride like hell, but mostly I don't do that anymore.

Josh

Who goes to Epcot to ride rides anyway? It's all about the world showcase. Total immersion, amazing food and drink, and a downright relaxing time.

One reason why Epcot is far and away my favorite park.

And heck I would rather spend 2 hours drinking a beer, having great food and socializing at Famous Dave's then wait for any ride at CP. Not that I don't like rides, but that is not at all what parks are about anymore to me unless it is a "new" park.

It's great going to a park and riding 2 or 3 rides all day long and still having an amazing time. *** Edited 5/28/2008 4:52:25 AM UTC by MagnumsRevenge***

Speaking of Disney and awesome non-ride fun...

If you are there without kids, (or can line up a babysitter), get yourself to the Adventurer's Club in Pleasure Island. It's a complete hoot, and the Kungaloosh has a strong kick for a fruity chick drink! So, either take an on-property bus, or plan to cab it. I suspect it's not that much fun sober.

We spent one night at PI at the Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club. We had so much fun at AC that we went back the next night rather than going in to a park.

http://allears.net/btp/faq_adv.htm

^We got in on an Adventurer's Club thing thru my sister's office a couple years' back. it was good fun and GREAT food. Lucky for us, transportation back to the hotel was part of the package. I wish my sister had kept that job... ;)

I suspect that quite a few people go to Disney parks for some of the more upscale dining, that some go to Busch and/or Herschend parks and enjoy the fare, and that most of those at CF/SF parks are there despite the food. ;)

Well, I finally got down to KI this past weekend, and "tried" to go to WINGS for dinner. The problem was that when we along with several other families tried to walk in, the doors were locked. People were inside eating, employees were standing at stations ready to serve...but the doors were locked! I saw what appeared to be a manager near the host/hostess station so I knocked on the door, he didn't acknowledge me, so I knocked again, he turned around made eye contact with me and another lady standing next to me, and walked away toward the serving lines. Now I'm starting to lose my temper, and so I knocked again. He over talking to a couple of servers, and then they come to the door, unlock it, come out and tell us they're out of food.

To their credit, they were extremely nice about how they spoke to us, during this time I saw the manager-looking guy disappear to the kitchen, and never return. The two young people who came out repeatedly said they were sorry, and I asked to speak to their manager, they said he wasn't available. The lady next to me said, "we know, he's hiding in the kitchen right now!", (they had 10 hungry people in their party, and she was really irritated!).

They two young people asked if we would like to speak to another manager to which I said, don't worry about it, I'm heading to guest services right now! On our way there, we ran into a manager in front of Central Grill in Nick Universe. We told him about our situation, and his answer was quite different than what we were told by the restaurant. He said, "we only budgeted the buffet to stay open until 6pm today."

My wife then asked him why in the world they would only budget for a partial days business on Memorial Day weekend? And also why they would close the buffet at dinner time? Why not open up at 3-4pm and stay open until closing time, (or maybe close an hour before park closing.)

He, (the manager) couldn't really give us any other answers, but said he would head down to WINGS right away to see if he could make sense of whole situation. We went ahead and ate outside the park that night, but as the manager headed on down to the restaurant he was met by the other lady too. I don't know what happened from there though, we headed on over toward Coney Mall to catch a couple of more rides before we left.

It's unfortunate, because the buffet looked better than it has since they switched it over to buffet-style eating. It looks like they definitely did remodel the restaurant over the off-season. I just hope they get a better grip on their day-to-day operations.

Wooooow!! That is AWFUL! That manager should be fired, and Cedar Fair really DOES need to do something about their food service. I just can't...wow, that's just craptacular!

Amusingly enough, I went to DP today, and I was sooooo hungry, but after all the horror stories I heard in the past few days on this site, I had no appetite to eat at the park. Once my stomach started growling, I looked around for a serviceable place to eat, but I just couldn't tolerate the idea of eating at a Cedar Fair establishment. I took my butt to a grill outside the park and got me some ribs instead. Took less time to order and eat the ribs than it takes for DP to just cook one basket of chicken fingers, and it was only three dollars more. Ridiculous. Maybe that's why Dorney Park is always dead--all the patrons are deceased from starvation and food poisoning. LOL

^^Wow that sounds like someone screwed up royally and budgeted the service and man hours for a regular early season Monday rather than a holiday. Sometimes if the prior year's Memorial day was rainy or cold and caused for soft attendance numbers a newbie manager that does the budgeting would assume it's a soft night. Someone should have caught that and adjusted accordingly though, what a mess.

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bunky666 said:
Once my stomach started growling, I looked around for a serviceable place to eat, but I just couldn't tolerate the idea of eating at a Cedar Fair establishment.

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Being a little dramatic, don't you think?

I went to the park today for a couple of hours by myself, and intended to eat lunch at the park, but there was one little problem...most of the "better" restaurants weren't opening until around noon that I could see. I finally did find a place I wanted to eat, (Panda Express @ the Festhaus), but didn't bring enough money in to get what I wanted, (purposely did that to make sure I didn't spend every last penny I had).

When I finally did leave at about 12:30, I went over to Culver's, and got what I feel was a much better meal anyway.

Nope....after I read all the different posts about the different things people had witnessed at Cedar Fair parks, I actually chuckled to myself at DP when I thought of how easily my food experience was ruined after discovering this forum topic. LOL And, if I really think about it, I subconsciously probably just didn't want chicken fingers. I don't like the pizza or the burgers there, I'm sick of Subway, and the idea of shrimp prepared ANYWHERE outside of a reputable restaurant grosses me out regardless of CF status.

There is a Culvers in Mason? Where?

This Wisconsinite is still bitter that there isn't one up here in Toledo.

Not too far from KI. Culvers.com has the location.

PS - If you're in Toledo, you'll be glad to know that there's a Culver's not to far away from you in Adrian, MI.

So in other words, bunky, your opinion is based entirely on those of others and not personal experience. And that makes you qualified to concur?

^^Thats a bit far for a meal for me to drive. So close yet so far.

Well good to know I now have another place I visit a few times a year that has a Culvers.

Tell you what!! I went to Idlewild Monday and the food was damn good!! Not cheap... but Good..

Jeff, I am sorry if I offended you somehow. I really am. I came on this site to speak to people who are just as fascinated with roller coasters and amusement parks as I am, and the last thing in the world I wanted to do was to tick off the webadmin guy. :) If it's my handle, I swear it's nothing satanic, it is just a tribute to my very evil but very beloved cat who passed away. Still, I made an ignorant statement about food service at CF parks, and you called me narrow-minded and said I had to expand my range of thought. I was offended because typically I am very open-minded and can see all sides of a discussion. Then I thought, gee, maybe he's right, and I retracted my statement, or at least, expanded on it and apologized for being such a jerk. I'm not against having said discussion, and I'm not even against having a full-on heated argument, but for every serious OR joking comment I've made in this forum, you have had a nice little insult to fling at me, whether it be that I am overly dramatic or that I'm pretty much a sheep who cannot make up her own mind without the assessment of other people to guide me. Let's have discussions and arguments, but maybe we could stay away from the personal attacks??

And I AM qualified to change my mind based on my new knowledge of what happens at some of these parks related to the food. Plus, I have eaten at so many different places with so many different foods, including food cooked by five-star chefs, so I think I'm qualified to make a new assumption based on those opinions around me. Finally, a girl doesn't get to be so....fluffy as I am (fluffy enough that I worry about fitting into Intamin seats) without doing some serious eating. However, I was ignorant about the things that go on at the amusement parks in terms of their food, and since reading about those experiences of fellow park goers, I have decided to forego. I didn't have a horrific experience at a park (other than some surly servers), but I don't think that makes me less qualified to make a more INFORMED decision about what to eat.