The Interpreter Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Regional amusement-park operator Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) closed 2007 much like its beleaguered Geauga Lake attraction: battered, cheaper, and longing for a new identity..... http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-in...er-regrets.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cory Butcher Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Watch your back, Cedar Fair, or someone will dismantle your dry rides, strip you of your legacy, and make a water park out of you, too. Um, OUCH?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 It is important to note that, prior to the Paramount Parks acquisition, Mr. Rick Aristotle Munarriz, the author of this piece, was one of the biggest boosters of Cedar Fair and its management I had ever seen. He is a park and coaster lover, and thought highly of Cedar Fair and its management. Oh, how things have changed. Note he particularly questions Mr. Kinzel's strategy of increasing distributions while trying to pay off massive debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 It is too bad that Munarriz is letting his personal feelings out in the article. I would take him more seriously if he would be objective and stick to the facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 He is objective and has stuck to the facts. Where does his opinion enter into it? Also note that he owns units in Cedar Fair as well as shares in Disney and Six Flags. I have personally seen Mr. Munarriz in Cedar Fair parks talking with Mr. Kinzel and others on more than one occasion. Other investors take his opinions VERY seriously, by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 ^ To answer your question: Watch your back, Cedar Fair, or someone will dismantle your dry rides, strip you of your legacy, and make a water park out of you, too. Cheap, enthusiast-minded comment. Did he really expect CF to continue to float a failing park? So where do we go from here? It's not much of a climb, my fellow coaster enthusiasts. The year 2008 was supposed to be a special one for Cedar Fair. It would be the company's third season watching over the Paramount Parks, realizing the synergies it spelled out at the time of the acquisition. This will not be the third season watching over the aquired parks. Does he actually believe that in July of '06 CF was going to come in and change everything? And how does he know if 2008 will not be a special year? Regional amusement-park operator Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) closed 2007 much like its beleaguered Geauga Lake attraction: battered, cheaper, and longing for a new identity. Considering that CF is exactly where they planned to be, how can they be longing for a new identity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 I can guarantee that Mr. Munarriz has had extended discussions with Cedar Fair officials in the past several weeks. If he says the company is longing for a new identity, I fully believe he has ascertained that based on his research...in other words, company officials told him exactly that. And even before Cedar Fair took over the parks on June 30, 2006; they were influential in shaping the 2006 season. Thank goodness. Much more of CBS running the places and heaven knows what would have happened! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikewhy Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Browntggrr says, "Did he really expect CF to continue to float a failing park?" You know, I simply do not buy that Cedar Fair did all they could to save Geauga Lake. There are still many things they could have done to try to save the park. I completely renounce the opinion that the park was failing and that no amount of work would have changed that. That is the story that Cedar Fair wants you to believe, but I strongly feel that the property could have become profitable under a different management strategy. What did Cedar Fair do to the place? They replaced the animal side with a water park, and they removed a few coasters. They never tried a real strategy of downsizing the park to make it better fit its footprint. They never tried to make it a unique smaller park with something unique to offer in comparison to Cedar Point. They gave up too soon because of all the Paramount debt they are suffering under. Sorry, I know the narrative says this was a failing park doomed to be closed, but I am not buying it. And you don't have to be an unrealistic enthusiast to believe that either. By the way, I enjoyed the fool.com article and agreed with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 ^ The thing is, GL was not just failing in the 4 years under CF, but in the 4 years under SF as well. And SF had the animal side, yet still was compelled to sell anyway. Sure SF did very well in the beginning, but things took a considerable downturn before they sold to CF. Honestly, enthusiast aside, do you actually think CF would not give 100% to keep GL operating? What advantage do they have to shut it down and sell it after 4 years of trying to make it work? Or even ask yourself these questions: why was CF the only party intrested in acquiring SFWoA? Why did Busch sell Sea World to SF in the first place when they could have easily acquired GL prior to SF? Busch is in the amusement and animal attraction business, yet chose not to do exactly what SF did. That alone speaks volumes. There is an infinite amount of things CF could have done. But when do you throw the towel in? After 8 years of losing money instead of four? But they can't operate a park in the red for an extended amount of time. Munarriz knows that. And if CF would have kept GL open, yet operate it in the red, he would have criticized CF for doing that as well. It is a shame what happened to GL, and I'm sure if someone would have came forward and offered CF a reasonable amount to purchase the park, they would have taken it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Assuming, of course, that Cedar Fair did not acquire Six Flags Worlds of Adventure to pre-empt other operators from competing with Cedar Point. And assuming, of course, that there will NOT be restrictive covenants in the sale of the lands now to prevent new operators from operating the lands as an amusement park...wait...it's being auctioned in subdivided lots, as well. How interesting. I am quite certain that Cedar Fair will take the reasonable prudent steps to ensure that the purchaser(s) will not in any way compete with or affect Cedar Fair's businesses, be they Cedar Point or Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king_cobra_27 Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.