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Cedar Fair L.P.
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
Company typePublic
NYSE: FUN
IndustryAmusement Parks
Founded1983
HeadquartersSandusky, Ohio
Number of locations
13
Area served
United States
Canada
Key people
Matt Ouimet,
CEO
RevenueIncrease US$ 1.24 billion (2015)[1]
Decrease US$ 232.6 million (2012)[2]
Increase US$ 112 million (2015)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 2.072 billion (2016)[2]
Total equityIncrease US$ 159.3 million (2012)[2]
Number of employees
1,700 full time, 41,000 seasonal (June 2014)[3]
Websitewww.cedarfair.com
Cedar Fair's corporate headquarters at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

Cedar Fair, L.P., doing business as the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park, and five hotels.[4] Cedar Fair also manages Gilroy Gardens under contract with the city of Gilroy, California.[5]

History

Cedar Point opened in 1870 as a recreational area. The park was developed over the years going through only a few managements. The park belonged to the Cedar Point Pleasure Company. In 1974, Cedar Point Pleasure Company proposed building an amusement park in Cambridge Township, Michigan on the former Frontier City amusement park site. Those plans were abandoned in 1975.[6] Three years later, Cedar Point acquired Valleyfair. The name Cedar Fair then was derived from the names of both parks, "Cedar" coming from Cedar Point and "Fair" coming from Valleyfair. Cedar Fair was founded in 1983 then went public on April 29, 1987.[7]

Dick Kinzel era

The first acquisition of the new Cedar Fair company came in 1992 when Cedar Fair bought Dorney Park from Harris Weinstein. Cedar Fair also bought Worlds of Fun from Hunt-Midwest in 1995.[8] One of the biggest acquisitions came in 1997 when Cedar Fair bought Knott's Berry Farm from the Knott family.[9][10] This marked the first time Cedar Fair operated a year-round amusement park. Several new water park properties named Knott's Soak City have opened around the southern California area since the acquisition which included Buena Park in 1999, Chula Vista in 2000 and Palm Springs in 2001.[11][12] Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan and was purchased for $27.6 million in 2001.[13]

Cedar Fair opened their first indoor water park in November 2004, Castaway Bay. It replaced the former Radisson Hotel and is open year-round.[14]

The biggest acquisitions have come recently starting in 2004 with Six Flags World of Adventure. Cedar Fair bought the park for $145 million and reverted its name back to Geauga Lake, the name the park used until its conversion by Six Flags in 2000.[15][16] However, with it being so close to Cedar Point, the park started losing attendance and various rides, leading to rumors of the park closing. On September 21, 2007, it was announced that Geauga Lake would close and only the connected water park would operate as Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom.[17] Most of the rides at Geauga Lake were sent to other Cedar Fair parks to operate. In 2011, the water parks name was shortened to just Wildwater Kingdom, removing the Geauga Lake prefix.[18]

On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair announced they had outbid competitors and intended to purchase all five parks in the Paramount Parks chain, including Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton and the management agreement of Bonfante Gardens. On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair announced that it had completed its acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in a cash transaction valued at $1.24 billion USD.[19][20] Shortly following the transfer of ownership, Cedar Fair began the process of integrating the two companies by eliminating the Paramount Parks corporate office in Charlotte, North Carolina and transferring all decision-making to Cedar Fair's offices in Sandusky, Ohio. With the purchase of the Paramount Parks, Cedar Fair changed its name to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.[21]

The 301-foot WindSeeker at Cedar Point which opened in 2011. Other models of the ride exist at Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, Worlds of Fun, Carowinds and Kings Dominion

The individual parks continued to operate under their Paramount names during the 2006 season, however Cedar Fair began removing the Paramount name and logo from the parks in January 2007. The names of the parks were changed back to their original pre-Paramount names (the Paramount's prefix was removed) with the Cedar Fair corporate logo added. They also changed Bonfante Gardens to Gilroy Gardens. Cedar Fair began removing references to Paramount Pictures since they did not have the licenses to use them. All these changes were made before the beginning of the 2007 season.

In December 2009 it was announced that Apollo Global Management would offer Cedar Fair $11.50[22][23] per share, a 28 percent premium over the market price, as part of a takeover plan which would also make Cedar Fair a private company.[24] The deal included a cash payment of $635 million in addition to assuming Cedar Fair's debt of over $1.7 billion USD putting the total value of the transaction close to $2.4 billion USD. Cedar Fair planned to hold a shareholder meeting on March 16, 2010 to vote on the transaction but postponed the meeting to April 8, 2010, implying that two-thirds of the shareholder vote needed for approval wasn't yet secured.[25] On April 6, 2010, the deal was terminated, and Cedar Fair paid $6.5 million to reimburse Apollo for expenses incurred from the proposed transaction.[23][26] Cedar Fair also adopted a unitholder rights plan as a preventative measure to help protect unitholders in the event of any future hostile takeover.[27]

On September 16, 2011, JMA Ventures, LLC entered into an agreement to purchase California's Great America from Cedar Fair and take ownership of the Gilroy Gardens management contract.[28][29] The agreement required approval of Santa Clara's city council which was scheduled to vote on the matter on December 6, 2011. However, JMA cancelled its plans to purchase Great America and bowed out of the agreement.[30][31]

Matt Ouimet era

On June 20, 2011 Cedar Fair announced that long term CEO Dick Kinzel would retire on January 3, 2012 and that Matt Ouimet will take his spot as the CEO of Cedar Fair.[32][33] Ouimet was employed by The Walt Disney Company for 17 years. He served as president of Disney Cruise Line and president of the Disneyland Resort. He officially became CEO on January 3.[33] Cedar Fair launched new websites for their parks in 2012 as well as a new marketing campaign, Thrills Connect.

On November 20, 2012, Cedar Fair announced they had sold its Knott's Soak City: San Diego location to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.[34] About nine months later, Cedar Fair announced it had sold its Knott's Soak City: Palm Springs location to CNL Lifestyle Properties.[35]

Properties

Amusement parks

Name Location Year Opened Year Acquired Notes
California's Great America Santa Clara, California 1976 2006 Acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Canada's Wonderland Vaughan, Ontario, Canada 1981 2006 Cedar Fair's most visited seasonal park, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Carowinds Charlotte, North Carolina 1973 2006 Acquired in Paramount Parks deal. A portion of the park is in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 1870 — Cedar Fair's flagship park and the oldest park in the chain. Cedar Fair's corporate headquarters are at this park.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Allentown, Pennsylvania 1884 1992 First park acquired under the Cedar Fair name, acquired from Harris Weinstein.
Gilroy Gardens Gilroy, California 2001 2006 Currently in a management contract with Cedar Fair, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Kings Dominion Doswell, Virginia 1975 2006 Acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Kings Island Mason, Ohio 1972 2006 Acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park, California 1940 1997 Cedar Fair's only park open year-round. Most visited Cedar Fair park, acquired from Knott Family.
Michigan's Adventure Muskegon, Michigan 1956 2001 Acquired from the Jourden family.
Valleyfair Shakopee, Minnesota 1976 1978 Acquired by Cedar Point. Valleyfair and Cedar Point then formed Cedar Fair in 1987.
Worlds of Fun Kansas City, Missouri 1973 1995 Acquired from Hunt-Midwest.

Water parks

Outdoor

Included with admission
Name Location Year Opened Year Acquired Notes
Boomerang Bay California's Great America 2004 2006 Located within California's Great America, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Carolina Harbor Carowinds 1989 2006 Located within Carowinds, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Oceans of Fun Worlds of Fun 1982 1995 Located adjacent to Worlds of Fun. In 2013, the water park became included with admission to Worlds of Fun.[36]
Soak City Kings Dominion 1992 2006 Located within Kings Dominion, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Soak City Kings Island 1989 2006 Located within Kings Island, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
Soak City Valleyfair 1983 — Located within Valleyfair.
Splash Works Canada's Wonderland 1992 2006 Located within Canada's Wonderland, acquired in Paramount Parks deal.
WildWater Adventure Michigan's Adventure 1991 2001 Located within Michigan's Adventure.
Wildwater Kingdom Dorney Park 1985 1992 Located within Dorney Park.
Separate admission/property
Name Location Year Opened Notes
Knott's Soak City: Orange County Buena Park, California 1999 Located adjacent to Knott's Berry Farm. Opened under the name, Soak City U.S.A.
Cedar Point Shores Sandusky, Ohio 1988 Located adjacent to Cedar Point.

Indoor

Name Location Year Opened Notes
Castaway Bay Sandusky, Ohio 2004 Cedar Fair's only indoor water park, located about a mile from Cedar Point.

Former

Wildwater Kingdom
Name Location Year Acquired Year Sold/Closed Notes
Geauga Lake Aurora, Ohio 2004 2007 Purchased from Six Flags in 2004 for $145 million. Closed ride side in 2007, the water park, Wildwater Kingdom, is scheduled to close after the 2016 season.
Knott's Camp Snoopy Mall of America 1992 2005 In 2005, closed for renovation. MOA and Cedar Fair dissolved their agreement in 2006. Now operates as a Nickelodeon Universe park.
Knott's Soak City: Palm Springs Palm Springs, California 2001 2013 Opened under the name, Oasis Water Park. Sold to CNL Lifestyle Properties.[35]
Knott's Soak City: San Diego Chula Vista, California 2000 2012 Opened under the name, White Water Canyon. Sold to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.[34]
Star Trek: The Experience Las Vegas, Nevada 2006 2008 Acquired in Paramount Parks deal. Closed in 2008, Cedar Fair lost rights to reopen the attraction from CBS Studios in 2010.
Aurora, Ohio 2005 2016 Located on former SeaWorld Ohio site.

Lodging and campgrounds

Fast Lane

Fast Lane is Cedar Fair's version of a virtual queue system. It was first announced for Kings Island on July 18, 2011.[37] The park served as the testing park for it. For $50, visitors get a wrist band which gives them the ability to get to the front of the line on the parks most popular attractions. Originally, it could only be used from noon to 7:00 PM, but it was soon expanded to be available all day. On January 19, 2012, it was announced that Fast Lane would be rolled out at all the Cedar Fair parks for the 2012 season.[38] There is also Fright Lane, which is Fast Lane for the haunted attractions during the Halloween events.[39]

Attendance

Cedar Fair has some of the most visited seasonal parks in the North America with a combined 24.45 million people visiting their parks in 2015. Cedar Fair's most visited park is Knott's Berry Farm.[40]

Parks organized with visitors per year:

3 million 2 million 1.5 million 1 million or fewer
Canada's Wonderland[38] Carowinds[41] Valleyfair[38] Worlds of Fun[38]
Cedar Point[38] — Kings Dominion[38] Michigan's Adventure[38]
Knott's Berry Farm[38] — Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom[38] —
Kings Island[38] — California's Great America[38] —

Awards

Cedar Fair parks have earned several major Golden Ticket Awards for roller coasters and amusement park operation from Amusement Today, a trade newspaper which ranks amusement parks and roller coasters.[42] In addition, the readers of Amusement Today have voted Cedar Point as The Best Amusement Park In The World for 15 consecutive years.

The Maverick steel roller coaster at Cedar Point received the Best New Ride of 2007 - Amusement Park title from Amusement Today when it debuted in 2007.

The Prowler wooden roller coaster at Worlds of Fun received the Best New Ride of 2009 - Amusement Park title from Amusement Today when it debuted in 2009.[43]

The Fury 325 steel roller coaster at Carowinds received the Best New Ride of 2015 - Amusement Park title from Amusement Today when it debuted in 2015.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cedar Fair Concludes Year Strong; Reports Fifth Consecutive Year Of Record Results". cedarfair.com. Sandusky, OH: Cedar Fair. February 19, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Cedar Fair, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 25, 2013" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  3. ^ Topey, Melissa (June 8, 2014). "Minimum Wage fight". Sandusky Register. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Mar 8, 2013" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Properties". Cedar Fair official site. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Ceder Point sells Cambridge Township property". Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 23, 1994". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  8. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Aug 9, 1995". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jan 13, 1998". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  10. ^ Merritt, Christopher, and Lynxwiler, J. Eric. Knott's Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm, pp. 156-60, Angel City Press, Santa Monica, CA, 2010. ISBN 978-1-883318-97-0.
  11. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 30, 2001". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  12. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Apr 1, 2002" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  13. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Nov 14, 2001". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  14. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 424B2, Filing Date Jul 15, 2004" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  15. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Apr 23, 2004". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  16. ^ Potter, Derek (2004-03-10). "Cedar Fair Buys Six Flags World of Adventure". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  17. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Sep 26, 2007" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  18. ^ "Aurora Wildwater Kingdom nixes Geauga Lake name". wkyc news. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jul 7, 2006". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  20. ^ "Cedar Fair to Acquire Paramount Parks". The Point Online. 2006-05-22. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  21. ^ "Cedar Fair to call self entertainment company". Toledo Blade. October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Dec 17, 2009". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  23. ^ a b "Cedar Fair: Takeover not happening". The Seattle Times. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  24. ^ Samavati, Shaheen (16 December 2009). "Cedar Fair to be acquired by New York private-equity firm". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  25. ^ "UPDATE: Knott's grandson weighs in on sale delay". The Orange Register. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  26. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Apr 6, 2010" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  27. ^ "Cedar Fair and Affiliates of Apollo Global Management Mutually Terminate Merger Agreement". Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  28. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Sep 21, 2011" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  29. ^ "Gilroy Gardens Management to Transfer to JMA Pending Approval of JMA's Acquisition of California's Great America". Gilroy Gardens. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  30. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Dec 7, 2011" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  31. ^ "JMA cancels $70M California Great America purchase". Business Journal. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  32. ^ "Cedar Fair, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 24, 2011" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
  33. ^ a b "Press Releases :: Cedar Fair Entertainment Company". Cedarfair.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
  34. ^ a b Weisberg, Lori (November 20, 2012). "Soak City to become a SeaWorld water park". Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  35. ^ a b "CNL Lifestyle Properties Acquires Southern California Water Park". PRWeb. August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  36. ^ Shastry, Sangeeta (2012-08-31). "Oceans of Fun prepares for a huge expansion". KansasCity.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
  37. ^ "kings island announces fast lane". newsplusnote on Blogspot.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  38. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Fun Forward Presentation" (PDF). Cedar Fair. 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  39. ^ "cedar point 2012". point buzz. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  40. ^ "TEA/AECOM 2015 Global Attractions Attendance Report Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  41. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2016/02/26/carowinds-breaks-2-million-mark.html
  42. ^ "Golden Tickets 2007" (PDF). Amusement Today. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  43. ^ "2009 Golden Ticket Awards — The Best of the Best!". Amusement Today. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
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