The Cedar Fair parks closed their gates for the 2014 season, with the exception of Knott’s Berry Farm and Gilroy Gardens. Looking back on the year, we have seen quite a bit of progression in the world of dining at the parks. So lets take a look back and see what the most popular news stories were for the year.

1) By far the biggest change that we saw in 2014 was the introduction of the meal plans across all of the Cedar Fair parks. Several parks had their own versions of plans, but it was not until this year that they were all united together.

When Cedar Point introduced the meal plan, we finally got a peak into what would be offered in March. This was by far the most popular news story on the website for the year.

2) There is becoming a large demand for healthy and fresh options in the park. While burgers and fries have their place, guests are also willing to pay a premium for your atypical selections.

Salads are rather hard to find at Cedar Point, but there are two places that feature a salad bar that is popular with guests, Midway Market and Joe Cool Café. We sat down and took a look at what get for your money at the Joe Cool Café salad bar.

3) Giving is always better than receiving, and we found this in what was the third most popular post of the year. By donating blood to the Red Cross, guests received a free ticket to Cedar Point.

4) Ever since Coca-Cola took over as the official Cedar Fair beverage supplier in 2013, their My Coke Rewards program has offered tickets to users. Typically, a ticket to any of the Cedar Fair parks costs 1,000 points. However, when MCR discounted Cedar Fair tickets to only 250 points, guests responded in high demand.

5) Many people purchase the souvenir cups with free refills for the day, and the advertised $0.99 refills all season. However, did you know you can reactivate your souvenir cup for the day?

6) As the long winter wrapped up earlier in the year, we were all excited for the opening of the parks across the country. When Cedar Point released their 2014 souvenir cup artwork (Pipe Scream), guests were excited to

7) We definitely saw a good share of promotions during 2014, with the parks offering all kinds of additional benefits and discounts to get you in the gates. While not a promotion, the Arthritis Foundation (a partner) offered discounted Cedar Point tickets which proved to be popular with guests.

8) We eat a lot of food when we are in the park (hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!). The food runs the gambit from full meals to tempting treats. One of our personal favorite meal plan options at Cedar Point is the Perch sandwich combo. Crispy fish with excellent tartar sauce and fresh veggies.

9) As the Cedar Point meal plan was used throughout the year, guests were requesting that it also be applicable at Soak City, their onsite but separately ticketed water park. Ask and you shall receive, and Cedar Point added Soak City to the meal plan.

10) One of the major benefits of having franchise brands associated with Cedar Point, is getting licensing agreements for their iconic roller coasters. The Cedar Point Dairy Queen, located outside of the park, has exclusive rights to use Cedar Point imagery on their frozen cakes. Which will you order?

While quite a lot has happened in 2014, we have a great outlook on what is to come at Cedar Fair parks across the country in 2015. With many of the parks bringing Executive Chefs onboard, there is a big push to bring premium food offerings for guests.

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