The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 I had been waiting for confirmation, here it is: ...A spokeswoman for U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments Group said the company bought Cypress Gardens, its Splash Island water park and the botanical gardens for an undisclosed sum. Julie Estrada, Merlin's U.S. spokeswoman, wouldn't give any further details, but said it would reveal its plans for the property at a Thursday press conference.... http://www2.tbo.com/.../news-breaking/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Hopefully, the park can reopen and be a success under the leadership of Merlin. Especially since the Starliner was saved from destruction after it was moved from Miracle Strip to Cypress Gardens, only to have Cypress close. Glad to see that Merlin is interested in buying properties like Cypress Gardens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 With their interests in NBC Universal's Florida parks and now Busch, plus this, they have quite the interest in Florida parks (Merlin's parent is The Blackstone Group). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Maybe a monopoly on Florida parks so they can jack up the prices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 Disney sets the pricing in the Orlando market, and NBC Universal and Busch quickly fall right into line. Been that way for many, many years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 If Disney raises prices, then why would the other parks follow? If they had lower prices, then would they theoretically get more business since they'd be cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 Demand for theme park visits seems rather inelastic in the Florida market in most circumstances. People who go, go. Those who don't, don't. And Disney sets the bar at what the traffic will bear. Yes, they have promotions, but usually targeted at past guests, in an attempt to get repeat business. The parks down there do not seem to compete on price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Oh. So if people are gonna go, then they will go to do what they would do no matter which place was cheaper/more expensive? And if people aren't going to go because they want to go to Disney but it's too expensive, then Universal's cheaper prices won't make the people decide to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 People who are going to go to Disney, and are coming from many miles away, are not going to be impressed that Uni is $15 cheaper a day, if it were. Uni would still get about the same number of people, and would be giving up money they can and do charge now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Rider Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Well, this could be very good news. Hopefully this means the park can re-open pretty soon and get back to normal. Maybe a trip to Florida is in the cards should they get the park open!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Looks like Lego Land Orlando might just happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 I had been waiting for confirmation, here it is: ...A spokeswoman for U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments Group said the company bought Cypress Gardens, its Splash Island water park and the botanical gardens for an undisclosed sum. Julie Estrada, Merlin's U.S. spokeswoman, wouldn't give any further details, but said it would reveal its plans for the property at a Thursday press conference.... http://www2.tbo.com/.../news-breaking/ I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. Rumors have been around for sometime that Merlin was interested in bringing in the Legoland brand to the Orlando market. No doubt, it would do well here. They apparently had looked at 3 sites: a site near Old Town on the 192 strip (I believe that would have been a park built from scratch), the former Splendid China site (which has some existing infrastructure in place) and Cypress Gardens. To me, the Cypress Gardens location is the worse. I only went to Cypress Gardens once and I'm a local. Its location is a 30 minute drive off of I-4, give or take depending on traffic. Its pretty far out there and I felt a tremendous hassle to get to. The Park itself needs a lot of rennovation and upgrading to bring it to Merlin's standards, too. Not saying that it couldn't be done, but definitely some work to be done. From a business standpoint, this was probably a steal for them and the best way to expand into the market here....they just have their work cut out for them. I could see it being more successful than Cypress' previous attempts as a "thrill" park. For starters, the brand is well known. Secondly, there are a lot of cross marketing opportunities for them....in particular the Orlando Flex Ticket. For those who aren't familiar, its basically a multi-park ticket that covers Universal's parks, Wet 'n' Wild, SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens. As someone else also pointed out, offering shuttle service like SeaWorld does to and from Busch Gardens would be nice also. Given that we would all be operating under the same Blackstone umbrella (granted, still seperate companies) there are certainly a number of avenues that they could explore. Merlin has been very successful, no doubt they have done their homework. It will be interesting to watch this one development. - Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 What is Blackstone buying next? CF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 One can hope, I suppose. The "go shop" period continues, for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 The Motley Fool Chimes In: ...Blackstone has amassed an impressive theme-park portfolio. One of its buyout funds acquired the Busch Gardens and Sea World attractions from InBev three months ago. It also owns half of the Universal Orlando resort, with the other half in the process of being handed off from General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) in the NBC Universal deal. Now that Six Flags is mired in bankruptcy, and Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) is being acquired by a private-equity firm, Blackstone's Merlin can step up as the pure publicly traded play on regional amusement parks. Welcome to Florida, Legoland. Show us what you've got. http://www.fool.com/...ida-anyone.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 Not much new here, except the deal has been in the works for months: http://www.newschief.com/article/20100116/NEWS/1165012/1009/LIVING?Title=Buyer-is-the-second-largest-attractions-company-in-the-world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Well, Merlin has made it known that they would like to expand the Legoland brand, and this seems like a great opportunity. (Not that the Orlando market really needs another competitor for dollar$ and time...) I haven't been to this park in years, but from what I recall, it seems like a good size for the Legoland concept. Wonder what they'll do with the CG mainstays...like the waterskiing shows and the "southern belles"? (Personally, seeing the southern belles disappear wouldn't bother me in the least...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 ...While answers to that and other questions are expected during a Thursday morning news conference at the Gardens, Winter Haven Mayor Jeff Potter has already given us a hint of things to come."The plan is a two-year development, $150 million to turn it into Legoland," the mayor said.... http://www.newschief...INION?p=1&tc=pg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Which is what most people suspected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Merlin announces some details about the new Legoland (scheduled to open in 2011): http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/ Edit: sorry, this just links to the main page...my link to the actual story won't work for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 http://www.orlandose...a-park-20100121,0,1659229.story Try this and see if it works. Its to the article that I assume you were trying to link to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 ^ yep, thanks...it was screwing it up in Safari for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 It will be interesting to see what happens to the existing rides. It would be a shame if the just relocated Starliner roller coaster was met with the wrecking ball after already being saved once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Merlin said it plans to keep the popular Splash Island Waterpark operating, although it will be a separate, ticketed admission. Cypress Gardens' water ski shows and one of its two wooden roller coasters will probably be integrated into the new Legoland as well, Varney said. sounds like at least one of the two will be saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 One but not both. And the article stated "probably," which does not guarantee that when the park reopens as LegoLand, that there will in fact be a wooden coaster still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Well, there goes what was left of the charm that CG had left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Man Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 People who are going to go to Disney, and are coming from many miles away, are not going to be impressed that Uni is $15 cheaper a day, if it were. Uni would still get about the same number of people, and would be giving up money they can and do charge now... Well my grandpa was.When I was 6, we ended up going to Sea World instead of Disney because it was cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Well, there goes what was left of the charm that CG had left. How do you figure? When was your last visit? Rest assured, gardens excluded, the park lost its charm long ago. Merlin intends to keep the gardens, which many were initially concerned with, and even plan to keep the park's popular water ski show. They are a class act and don't half ass their investments. If the location obstacle can be overcome, this is will give Cypress a bright new future and will be a great addition to Central Florida's portfolio of theme parks. So just relax :-) - Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Picard Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I don't think the location obstacle is as big as it has been made out to be. It to me seems densely populated around Cypress Gardens and they are looking for 2 million in attendance in a year round operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I don't think the location obstacle is as big as it has been made out to be. It to me seems densely populated around Cypress Gardens and they are looking for 2 million in attendance in a year round operation. Honestly, I found it incredibly frustrating to drive out to Cypress (and I'm local). I know that construction is finished on 27, its a 6 lane highway in most places now....but you still deal with traffic lights. The location is about 22 miles off of I-4. To be honest, it really reminds me of driving from KI to Americana. Not all that far, really, but no convenient way to get there. I'm sure the park will be a big hit with locals, especially those that may not want to shell out for Disney, but obviously Merlin is after a much bigger piece of the pie than that. I realize Busch Gardens is even further, but its far easier and sometime FASTER for me to get to Busch than Cypress. Busch is partnered with SeaWorld / Universal on the Orlando Flex Ticket and has an inexpensive shuttle from several different locations in the attractions area that helps make it an enticing break away from Orlando. With the right marketing and services in place, I'm sure the Park is going to be successful in the long run. They've obviously done their homework and feel confident. - Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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