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Iron Gwazi was testing today when I was at BGT. I have a VIP passholder reservation to ride it next Friday on February 11th. Then they will have it open exclusively to passholders on select days until March 11th when it opens to the public.

Yes. However, I think Cedar Fair has been investing in the infrastructure because it can lead to increased guest spending. Not to mention making sure rides and buildings are painted helps protect them from the weather and can prevent costly maintenance items due to water and corrosion. Cedar Fair has always kept up with the maintenance and kept a park that looks nice at KI and at CP.

This would be a DISASTER for any of us that has enjoyed Cedar Fair ownership of these parks. From attending Busch Gardens over the last 10 years, i can attest the quality of experience has went in the gutter there. The SEAS parks are run by penny pinching. They are constantly cutting hours, entertainment, food service, theming etc. Christmas Town this year looked HORRIBLE because they cut the lights so much. Here is a great example of the low-quality experience that BG has become. They advertise a 10 am opening, but open the park in phases and normally do not have the full park operational until an hour or hour and a half after opening. Another example is Pantheon has $0 theming. Its station is a box with 6 posts. Compare that to the quality renovations of Area 72, Blue Ridge Junction, and Jungle XPedition under Cedar Fair. Remember SEAS has little cash. They had liens filed on them in 2020 because they could not pay vendors. They would be SOOO leveraged to buy CF that their cash flow would be going to pay interest, and park improvements will be less and less and less and cuts would be more and more and more. And then theirs the possibility of beautiful Kings Dominion getting the Geauga Lake treatment. That would be a sad day as that park has so much potential. And for those that like their season dining passes, day goodbye. SEAS doesn't offer that. SEAS pricing is much higher than CF ($190 for a one park pass). While CF is underpriced, SEAS is overpriced for what they offer. I would much rather be paying separate admissions to both chains than see this fiasco happen.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-01/seaworld-said-to-make-3-4-billion-takeover-bid-for-cedar-fair

You are correct. A stock offer isn't always bad, but the Six Flags offer was mostly in stock at a time when the Six Flags stock price was crashing. Analysts think this deal will end up in the $70-80 per share range. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/seaworlds-bid-for-cedar-fair-makes-sense-but-it-may-have-to-pay-more.html

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the Six Flags offer to be paid in stocks. If this Seaworld offer is in "cash" it may be more intriguing for CF to accept. idk, I'm not a finance expert in these types of dealings. I actually hope they will not accept the offer. I have been very pleased with the operations and direction KI is heading under CF. Even though I have been a skeptic of feeling CF would not let KI shine above CP. But I accept this in how well the park is ran in my opinion . . I love our management team. I love Kings Island.

They could just move KD directly next to KI, tower and all, and then the sky ride would connect to the two. Wouldn't that be something?

I may be in the minority here, but I actually wouldn't mind CF and SW combining. As pointed out before, SW management has been kind of rocky lately going through so many CEOs. Also, I don't think SW has been in that great of finanical shape as there was some difficulty paying off Iron Gwazi. So can they really afford this? That would be the main concern. But, what if this were to open to door for CF to make a counter-offer? Maybe that's what they are hoping for. Going that route may make more sense. BGT and SWO are my home parks and I enjoy them. If that were to happen, I would just hope they keep their staff that is experienced with caring for the animals. But I don't think CF can afford it either. I think they will reject it just like they did with Six Flags.

https://www.micechat.com/313670-seaworld-to-buy-knotts-cedar-fair-parks/ anyone seen this?

I agree about not wanting to see. I feel like Cedar Fair is finally going in a good route for the parks and doing some great job with theming. Carowinds county fair and blue river junction areas look great. For Kings Island Area 72 is a great addition with lots of potential for expansion and Mystic Timbers has fantastic theming for a regional park like ours. SEAS has some nice theming at their parks but a lot of it was done in the past. Their recent additions have been pretty sparse theming wise as mentioned with Pantheon. They aren't completely devoid of any but it is minimal compared to what it was, and looking at Journey to Atlantis they have been gutting some theming currently there. A lot of the big thematic parts on newer installations like Cobra's Curse and Iron Gwazi's stations are remnants of prior attractions that are just being reused and not newly built. With this in mind though I don't think a merger would be horrible but buying it out completely and replacing CF I don't like the idea of. when they seem to be struggling a bit financially already, I can't imagine how they would be starting out with spending tons on these new parks and then trying to manage them all with new capital.

I agree, KI has been heading in a very good direction, especially with the park trying to honor the parks own history.

I do not like this at all. I’ve really been liking the direction KI is headed and I feel this takeover would stop everything dead in its tracks.

I was way more worried with the Six offer a while back than I am now.

Good to hear! Yeah, International Showplace needs some TLC. Honestly, if the 50th anniversary brought a revamped Festhaus, a great show in International Showplace, and the return of the International Restaurant, I'd be very happy.

BUMP! Iron Gwazi opens March 11th!!! https://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20220122/32252/exact-opening-date-finally-announced-iron-gwazi

Universal throwing some shade.

SEAS does not have 3.4B laying around to buy another chain. It would be a stock/unit swap and a borrowing of money. If it happens, it would likely follow the same pattern as when CF bought the CBS parks. If the economy is booming, it may turn out better, but if the economy tanks, then it will be a bleak outlook. My beloved KD would get gutted But maybe KI could get another Eiffel Tower for the parking lot, and a skyride could stretch between the two to act as a transport system.