Cedar Fair Renews Peanuts License

[KIBeast]

http://ir.cedarfair.com/newsroom/press-releases/news-release-details/2017/Cedar-Fair-and-Peanuts-Worldwide-Extend-Peanuts-Licensing-Agreement-to-2025/default.aspx

From the Press Release:

Quote

- Agreement furthers a unique and immersive family amusement park experience
- Cements longstanding relationship between the two companies

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, Peanuts Worldwide, a subsidiary controlled by DHX Media, Ltd. (TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B; NASDAQ: DHXM), and the family of Charles M. Schulz have renewed the license agreement to showcase the iconic Peanuts characters, created by Schulz, throughout Cedar Fair's 11 amusement park locations. The agreement covers Cedar Fair's North American exclusive use of Peanuts in the company's attractions, entertainment and sports, food and beverage, lodging and retail operations. The new agreement extends the relationship to 2025.

Cedar Fair Chief Executive Officer Matt Ouimet said, "The renewed relationship between Cedar Fair and Peanuts Worldwide allows both companies to develop and extend their brands, creating a more immersive experience for guests through meet-and-greets, live entertainment, merchandise and themed areas throughout the parks. The value Peanuts brings to our parks is demonstrated in many ways; for example, our Peanuts themed Planet Snoopy children's area at Kings Island near Cincinnati was just named "Best Kid's Area" for the 17^th year by Amusements Today, the leading industry news source. With more than half of our parks now offering a free pre-K season pass for children, our continued showcasing of the beloved Peanuts characters underscores our commitment to entertaining young families."

The company recently announced the debut of an expanded Peanuts themed children's area at Carowinds, its popular park in Charlotte, N.C. The Camp Snoopy area will feature five new rides, an 8,000 square foot climb-and-play area called 'Beagle Scout Acres,' and enhanced dining and relaxation facilities. Parks throughout the portfolio offer value-added attractions featuring the Peanuts such as character breakfasts, seasonal events like The Great Pumpkin Fest, and other themed entertainment year-round. The Peanuts characters were first featured at Knott's Berry Farm, acquired by Cedar Fair in 1997; in 2014, the Southern California park unveiled a newly expanded and revitalized Camp Snoopy children's area in celebration of the 30-year relationship.

"Cedar Fair has been a long-standing and cherished partner to Peanuts, dating back many years to when Camp Snoopy first opened at Knott's Berry Farm in 1983," said Craig Schulz, son of Charles M. Schulz and President and CEO of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. "On behalf of my entire family, I look forward to many more years of bringing the joy of my father's characters to the fans in Cedar Fair's parks."

"On the heels of our recent acquisition of the Peanuts brand further cementing our relationship with Cedar Fair assures an extensive and continued North American presence in the amusement park area," stated Dana Landry, Chief Executive Officer of DHX Media. "This agreement extension speaks to the enduring appeal of the Peanuts brand, and as a leader in children's content and brands, we value the opportunity to work with Cedar Fair to reach an all-family audience for Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang."

About Cedar Fair

Cedar Fair, L.P. is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio, and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. It also operates an additional theme park under a management contract. Its parks are located in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Toronto, Ontario. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com.

 

[Gabe]

Because other parks were likely knocking down the door to become associated with the Peanuts brand.  I'd like to know what the renewal terms were.  I'd guess a small increase year to year over what they were paying, if nothing else than to account for inflation.  Not a lot of 'cheap' kid-friendly IP out there.  

[Voicetek]

Of course Cedar Fair renewed their Peanuts license.  Any other kid-friendly brand would be WAY too expensive for them to use in their parks.  Plus, it's not like they're going to drop the Peanuts brand and re-theme all of their kids sections across all their parks.  I'm sure they're getting a heck of a deal for this licensing deal when compared to other brands out there, plus they get to use them in all their parks.  I highly doubt we'll be seeing a re-theme from Peanuts any time soon, if ever. 

[teenageninja]

Not a chance they are going to pay more for another "popular" property for their children's area.  Most children know Snoopy, at least to some extent.  

[KIBeast]

Really, it all boils down to money and recognition of these characters. With the recent movie, they have brought Peanuts to a whole new generation. As long as this license doesn't reach a price point where they feel it would be better to purchase another more popular brand, then as you guys have said, it will stay with CF. 

[shark6495]

Really, it all boils down to money and recognition of these characters. With the recent movie, they have brought Peanuts to a whole new generation. As long as this license doesn't reach a price point where they feel it would be better to purchase another more popular brand, then as you guys have said, it will stay with CF. 

Respectfully as a parent of little ones and working in a school (mainly high school but I do my rounds in the k-5 building)....


The Peanuts movie did come out true... but the majority if not most of all kids do not actively even think of the Peanuts characters. It's not on heavy rotation for any channels etc.

I'd guess that to many children that the Peanuts characters and Snoopy are thought of as a cartoon solely for KI (or whatever home park is theirs). My son knows snoopy because of KI. Not any other reason (yes we do watch the holiday specials).


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[westcoaster]

To a dark immersive non shootem up seasons Peanuts ride 

[KIBeast]

No arguments in that there are more recognizable characters. Again, I am guessing price point and being recognizable at all are what keeps them renewing. Until either becomes just too extreme, it will stay Peanuts.

[Hmrapp]

Cedar Fair parks are known for their snoopy based theming in the kids sections. It would definitely hurt family attendance if they were to get rid of the snoopy theming. I have a 5 year old cousin and he loves going to Cedar Point just to visit snoopy and the crew. Another good move by Cedar Fair. 

[teenageninja]

Just now, Hmrapp said:

Cedar Fair parks are known for their snoopy based theming in the kids sections. It would definitely hurt family attendance if they were to get rid of the snoopy theming. I have a 5 year old cousin and he loves going to Cedar Point just to visit snoopy and the crew. Another good move by Cedar Fair. 

He would love going to a park and visiting any character just the same, I would think.  Kings Island doesn't seem to have seen any negative impact from going from Hanna-Barbara to Nickelodeon to Peanuts.

[IndyGuy4KI]

As a parent of 3, and one of them old enough to know the difference when we changed from Nick to Peanuts. He did not say a word about the change. You know why, because I didn't make a big deal out of it. He was just excited to be at KI to enjoy the rides. It seems to me the kids that care about the theme are the parents who care about the theme.

The character theme is secondary in my book. I care that the area looks nice, clean and the rides are safe. All check boxes for KI's kids area for me.

[Outdoor Man]

20 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

As a parent of 3, and one of them old enough to know the difference when we changed from Nick to Peanuts. He did not say a word about the change. You know why, because I didn't make a big deal out of it. He was just excited to be at KI to enjoy the rides. It seems to me the kids that care about the theme are the parents who care about the theme.

The character theme is secondary in my book. I care that the area looks nice, clean and the rides are safe. All check boxes for KI's kids area for me.

I agree for the most part.  I hope that the Peanuts license carries out indefinitely so they don't run into the habit of changing ride names every so many years.  

However, in a few years our youngest will be out of the kid area all together, at which point I won't care...

[shark6495]

I don't disagree. My biggest check boxes like Indyguy is safety, cleanliness, and how they treat my sons.... after that it's all secondary.

With that being said in a perfect world (and maybe it's nostalgia) it would be nice to see my sons' reactions to riding in Blaze the truck versus the Peanuts off road rally. But they don't care. Just wishful thinking.

Now if they could do something about Boo Blasters....


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[purdude86]

I think Peanuts is a good one too as it is a classic IP that is still at least mildly relevant as specials are still aired throughout the year for holidays and comics in papers. They might not have the biggest name recognition for kids but they can still enjoy them. however other IPs like when it was Nick Central have a time limit on them before they are forgotten and need replaced. So if they latched on and used the current popular characters it would likely have to be changed and returned regularly to keep up. Peanuts does not require that and I can't really think of many, if any, IPs like that which aren't already used by other parks (like Disney and Universal's franchises or DC Comics at Six Flags)

[Magenta Lizard]

^ not just the nick cartoons had an expiration date. 

If it wasn't for the Smurfs being part of Hanna-Barbera IP, and them joining the pantheon at KI, most of the characters being used at KI would have already been nearly irrelevant to me as a child in the early 1980s. I didn't really know Winnie Witch, Quickdraw McGraw, etc. outside of the park, but I loved them for their  association with Kings Island. I guess I still watched Scooby Doo and Flintstones, but I understood them as having been from an earlier time, and I almost never saw any of the other H-B cartoons on my TV. Only Smurfs felt new and fresh. 

I really think that Peanuts is a good choice for the park simply for its staying power. They've been known for a long time, so grandparents and parents have positive feelings, and I think kids will feel positive about anything associated with the park, whether they're seeing it outside or not. That was my experience as a child. 

[Aaron88stang]

Peanuts are timeless characters that have been loved for generations. The Nick stuff and most of the Hanna Barbara characters just don't have the staying power (Scooby Doo excluded of course). I think the Peanuts are every bit as relevant as the Looney Tunes characters at Six Flags. 

[shark6495]

^ not just the nick cartoons had an expiration date. 
If it wasn't for the Smurfs being part of Hanna-Barbera IP, and them joining the pantheon at KI, most of the characters being used at KI would have already been nearly irrelevant to me as a child in the early 1980s. I didn't really know Winnie Witch, Quickdraw McGraw, etc. outside of the park, but I loved them for their  association with Kings Island. I guess I still watched Scooby Doo and Flintstones, but I understood them as having been from an earlier time, and I almost never saw any of the other H-B cartoons on my TV. Only Smurfs felt new and fresh. 
I really think that Peanuts is a good choice for the park simply for its staying power. They've been known for a long time, so grandparents and parents have positive feelings, and I think kids will feel positive about anything associated with the park, whether they're seeing it outside or not. That was my experience as a child. 

We watched a lot of Cartoon Network when I was a kid born in 85. Cartoon Network aired all of the old HB cartoons and then they had their own channel Boomerang (maybe?). So we knew them as well.

As for Nick Characters (just as an aside).... Spongebob, Bob the Builder, and Fairly Odd Parents are still on. So who knows. This is what CF has done tho. And in the end as long as my oldest son enjoys it over the next few years and my youngest begins in a few years that's all that matters


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[TheRickster]

I'm willing to bet most kids don't even notice the more detailed themeing. Other than seeing the characters themselves, I never really noticed anything had any relation to HB. I knew I could go there and meet Fred, Dino, Scooby etc. But my alertness to any themeing pretty much ended there. Other than the old HB Carousel having the characters as well. Because it was fun riding on Jabberjaw or Dino.

[shark6495]

Maybe I was a freak haha. I enjoyed the flintstone bumper cars and jetson flying ride ha


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[KIBeast]

Oh yeah, the old boulder bumpers. Loved that ride.

[Voicetek]

Maybe it's just because I'm an artist/designer (and years ago, an aspiring animator), but one thing I've always been drawn to is the theming.  I'm also drawn into shows and movies that have appealing characters where something about their design really ignites something in my brain - I can't really explain it.  Even as a child, I was drawn to Hanna-Barbera Land and it's characters and always found their characters to be highly appealing (design wise).  I felt the same way with the Nicktoons.  Something about their design and their colors really appealed to me - ignited that thing in my brain - and I found I was really drawn to it.  However, something about the Peanuts characters just never really did it for me, even when I was a child.  Perhaps it's their simple designs, maybe it's the muted color palette, who knows.  However, out of all the Peanuts characters, I find Snoopy to be the most appealing to me.  I know that I'm evaluating things from a completely different perspective as pretty much all of the general public, but maybe this explains a little bit why I prefer the older characters as opposed to the Peanuts.