Jump to content

Cedar Fair Selling the park?


Karen
 Share

Recommended Posts

If SIX bought FUN combind, I really don't think there would be much left of Kings Island once that conversion takes place (At least IMO) Not only that, but Six would ruin Kings Island, if they didn't get rid of it.

BUT. if FUN bought SIX there'd be a whole different story (One I'd like really)

I'm more afraid of Six buying FUN than I am FUN buying out SIX.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah but don't forget what KI has that not all regional parks can offer. Nice and easy interstate access to not just one but within a 60-90 minute drive you have access to 71, 75, 70, 74, 64, 65... Not to mention that within 2-4 hours of the park you can rack up about a dozen or more "major cities" in the KI area...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The real question:

How many parks can a company successfully manage and integrate its brands without compromising each park's uniqueness for standard theming?

The difference IMO is that not a lot of people are aware of Cedar Fair as a chain. If someone has a bad experience at "a Six Flags Park", then they won't go back to a Six Flags park. If someone doesn't like their experience at Kings Island, they won't go back to Kings Island.

That doesn't say anything about not going back to Carowinds or Cedar Point.

Brand recognition. FUN -vs- SIX is very interesting indeed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Seconded.

 

I would assume a lot of the GP doesn't know that Carowinds, Kings Island, Cedar Point, and so on are owned and operated by the same company.

 

I've been to a couple of SIX parks. America and Great Adventure. My main gripe is the excessive advertising throughout the park. Why is it necessary to hang advertisements on the sides of Wild One at Six Flags America? Why is it necessary to wrap one train of El Toro to look like a Kia Soul?

 

One thing I did like, if I used my Discover Card at Six Flags, not only could I get ERT into the park on certain days but I believe I could have gotten discounts in the park with it. I never tried it out so I'm not 100% sure.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

I actually wish MIA were not a chain park.  I feel it could have potential as a decent smaller park a la Kennywood or Knoebels.  They'd need owners who'd actually care for the park in that way.  Its clear CF isn't going to do that on a regular basis.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

I actually wish MIA were not a chain park.  I feel it could have potential as a decent smaller park a la Kennywood or Knoebels.  They'd need owners who'd actually care for the park in that way.  Its clear CF isn't going to do that on a regular basis.  

Wasn't MIA supposed to get a Morgan hyper coaster at some point before Cedar Fair took over?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, silver2005 said:

I wonder why CF even acquired MIA in the first place.   The only major coaster they put there was Thunderhawk out of the fact that GL closed (yep, CF didn't give them Shivering Timbers).  

 

Quote
  • Cedar Fair considered building a new park from scratch in Michigan several times before purchasing Michigan’s Adventure in 2001.

https://www.coaster101.com/2016/01/12/book-review-dick-kinzel-biography/

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And from what I understand, Michigan`s Adventure attendance has remained relatively consistent without significant (and costly) capital investment.  Why spend money to put in a big new ride, when the park is already making money.  Doing so would produce lower profit margins.  Also, Michigan`s Adventure is not in a major metro area like Kings Island, Carowinds, or Canada`s Wonderland.  The closest large city is Grand Rapids, and the park is about an hour drive away from the city, depending on where in the city you are coming from.  The Grand Rapids MSA (metropolitan statistical area) had a population of 1,059,000 as of 2017.  The Cincinnati MSA by comparison had 2,114,000 as of the 2010 census.  

Cedar Fair has been investing some in MiA, just not large scale capital projects.  And on the most recent conference calls, Cedar Fair has stated they are going to try and spread out the cadence of large capital projects at their parks for new rides, and try and fill in with more special events, like Grand Carnivale, to drive urgency and visits.  Remember, the point is for every dollar invested to make the most money with that dollar.  If Cedar Fair only needs to invest $0.10 into Michigan`s Adventure for Camp Snoopy to make $1, why spend $1 if it is still only going to make them $1?  That would not be a good return on investment in that case.  Yes, I know I oversimplified the situation.  

I don`t think Cedar Fair is looking to sell off any parks anytime soon.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
On 12/23/2020 at 10:07 PM, CoastersRZ said:

Why spend money to put in a big new ride, when the park is already making money. 

I read your whole reply but wanted to respond to this comment.  Yes they're making money, but it would still be nice for a smaller park to have a new roller coaster added once every 5-10 years. I often hear people say, Michigan Adventure's is alright, but it's boring. Maybe if they add a GCI roller coaster like Mystic Timbers, that would put them on the map. Give people a reason to come to a park that's in the middle of nowhere. Take Holiday World for instance. The closest major city to them is Louisville, Kentucky. Other than that, they're in the middle of nowhere too.

  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a firm believer in the quote "if you build it they will come." I understand CF might be content with MA but I think giving them some new thrill ride might boost attendance somewhat. They don't have to load the park up with new rides every year but its been too long. The last installation was Thunderhawk in 2008 and last ground up coaster was Mad Mouse in 1999. Surely they'd benefit from something new or relocated that would hold the park over for another decade or two.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...