Cedar Fair Corporate Development Discussion Thread (FUN)

[CoasterGuy06]

If nothing else I think CF is on the right track again. Some people are probably still made at the drama with Q Investments, but IMO they saved the company. Without them CF probably "tricks" investors into a BAD buyout deal while the CF executives would have been just fine. They got some new blood in the company (there's nothing wrong with promoting from within, but you NEED to go out a hire from outside and get fresh ideas sometimes), have been making some decent improvements in their parks, and their numbers have done pretty well the past few years.

[larrygator]

I don't think anyone is upset about Q Investments, it was the Apollo Group incident that pissed many off (including myself) when Dick tried to sell the company at a discount price. It would have cost me close to $2,000.

[Jew]

"Stay on to see the deal through"="I need to see if I can fix this mess I created."

 

He didn't, lost his Chairmans position, and probably would have been forced out if not for this retirement plan. I doubt that's what he had in mind when he decided to stay on until 2012.

[ginzo]

^Dick's golden parachute was probably very large. Cheaper to just let him finish out his contract and have the time to help the new CEO get situated.

 

Even if he was going to retire in 2012 no matter what, it seems unlikely that his contract would have been renewed if he came up with another project that he wanted to do. The failed sell out to Apollo Group could not have helped him much.

[larrygator]

^Dick's golden parachute was probably very large. Cheaper to just let him finish out his contract and have the time to help the new CEO get situated.

 

Even if he was going to retire in 2012 no matter what, it seems unlikely that his contract would have been renewed if he came up with another project that he wanted to do. The failed sell out to Apollo Group could not have helped him much.

 

His golden parachute had to be huge if he was willing to sell his 1.3 million shares to Apollo for a price that was easily $5-$7 a share under fair market at the time.

[ginzo]

^I'm curious whether there were any additional incentives thrown into the deal with Apollo. He was tasked with trying to sell the shareholders on the deal. I doubt he was working for free on that (if the deal got closed).

[CoasterGuy06]

^Well IIRC the deal included a provision that all of the executives would get to stay on or would receive a hefty buyout if Apollo got rid of them (Dick's son Bart was included in that too, the only non company executive included in that from what I have read, and I'm sure that went over REALLY well with CF's other GMs and such ). Dick and Co. were only looking out for themselves and not the shareholders. I'm glad people like Q stood up and got people to realize how bad the deal was.

[Big Mike]

Dick was a HUGE fan of The Big Mike Road Show!

I still remember him asking for more hot babes in my updates!

[BigDipper 80]

I still remember him asking for more hot babes in my updates!

 

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-us--amusementparkboss,0,5748246,full.story

 

Stuck in a dreary staff meeting this summer, the new president of the nation's third-biggest amusement park chain decided to shake things up by taking everyone for a spin on one of the world's fastest roller coasters. As they neared the coaster, a young woman noticed an executive wearing a tie and somewhat jokingly asked if he could get her group to the front of the line. "As a matter of fact, I can," Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.'s Matthew Ouimet told her. "It just made my day, and it made theirs," he said.

 

Ouimet, who was named Cedar Fair's president this summer and adds the chief executive post this week, wants to bring more such magical moments to the company's parks in the Midwest and along both coasts. He knows how to do it after spending 17 years managing Walt Disney Co.'s resorts, theme parks and cruise line. He sees adding more rides that entire families can enjoy together and using technology to better connect with guests before they arrive and once they're inside the parks. And there might be a few surprises added along the way.

 

"We've always got to be known for great thrills," Ouimet said in a recent interview. "It has served us well. But I also want to be known for great connections, and that this is where families come together."

 

Once a regional amusement park chain, Cedar Fair has become an industry giant with 17 amusement and water parks, including Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio and Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles. It also has five hotels near its parks.

 

Its parks are known for big roller coasters and kiddie rides themed to the "Peanuts" comic strip characters.

 

Cedar Fair drew a record 22 million visitors in 2010 and is expected to announce even larger numbers for 2011, mainly because more people are looking for fun close to home. "If during a recession were doing record attendance, there's still something very solid about the product," Ouimet said. He came to the company in June to replace Richard Kinzel, who retired after running Cedar Fair for 25 years. He's spent the last six months getting to know the Sandusky-based company's staff and its properties.

 

"The vast majority of our guests come from within 300 miles," he said. "They grew up with these parks. They want it to be as good as they remember when they were kids."

 

His philosophy is fairly simple: Open the gates and rides on time; keep the park is clean; and make sure the employees are friendly. "You never lose focus that it's the people who work in the park who are most important to your success," Ouimet said. "If it's a choice between having a great roller coaster or a great team, I'll take a great team."

 

One of the first new moves under his direction will come in January when a new online platform will make it easier to buy tickets and daily parking passes and find information for Cedar Fair's four biggest parks. Sites for the rest of the parks will go live before their seasons open.

 

The company also is looking at how to reach visitors through their smartphones while they are in the park. "I can tell you which lines are shorter, where Snoopy is," Ouimet said. "You will have a better experience if we can get you better information."

 

Cedar Fair's formula in recent years has been to develop its parks by adding big steel coasters to bring in crowds. The drawback, Ouimet said, is that they aren't attractions an entire family can ride.

 

"The biggest gap we have, or opportunity, is to find rides or shows that everybody enjoys," he said. "That's what Disney pulls off very well."

 

Focusing on more than big thrills is a smart move, said Dennis Spiegel, a theme-park consultant who is president of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services Inc. "There's more to this business than roller coasters," he said. "Because when you attend as a family, you spend as a family." Spiegel, who helped build several of the parks Cedar Fair now owns, said Ouimet will bring a broad vision to Cedar Fair and expects him to emphasize "doing the little things nobody does better than Disney."

 

Ouimet wants to create some surprises in the parks, starting this summer. That might mean seeing more costumed characters or finding unexpected performers pop up in the parks. Some will be announced while others will be hidden finds. "It's not always what you expected that you remember. It's what you came across," Ouimet said.

 

While with Disney, he oversaw the financial management of its resort, theme park and corporate real estate projects in California, Florida and France. He later became president of the cruise line and Disneyland Resort. Ouimet also spent two years as president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts before leaving the company in 2008.

 

It's doubtful that Cedar Fair will be building any hotels soon, he said, even though it has plenty of room around several parks, including Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Mo.; Kings Dominion, near Richmond, Va.; and Carowinds, in Charlotte, N.C. That's mainly because the company still has a heavy debt of about $1.5 billion lingering from its acquisition of Paramount Parks Inc. in 2006. Instead, Ouimet would rather partner with existing hotels and develop the company's land with campgrounds and other attractions. The goal is to get people to stay a second day, making for more spending and a more relaxed visit.

 

"The world is more complicated and stressful than we want it to be," Ouimet said. "I'm successful if you're smiling and laughing."

[chadster]

And there might be a few surprises added along the way

 

Lo-Q. Actually I must give them credit with fast lane. It's a small step in the correct direction.

[CGA_88]

Could this mean lowering some of those ridiculously high height requirements? I sure hope so. And I don't know about the rest of the CF parks, but CGA has a lot of rides that don't open or close with the park, so hopefully we see less of "This ride opens at _____."

[Invertalon]

I look forward to the new management, for sure. I have high hopes for this guy.

[chadster]

And I don't know about the rest of the CF parks, but CGA has a lot of rides that don't open or close with the park, so hopefully we see less of "This ride opens at _____."

 

The water rides @ WoF open at 11 which for most days is 1 hour after the park opens.

[Angry_Gumball]

Ouimet wants to create some surprises in the parks, starting this summer. That might mean seeing more costumed characters or finding unexpected performers pop up in the parks

 

In terms of CGA, bringing back some of the marching bands would be awesome and I'm sure it would bring back memories for those who visited in the park's early years. Bring in some of the local drum corps, or even give high school marching band students an opportunity to show their stuff in the park.

 

Adding performers doing their acts in random spots in the park could very well liven up areas that appear to be dead, like during Haunt when the BANG group roams the park, sets up in random locations and provide entertainment and liven up an area where people are just waiting in line or aimlessly wandering.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I look forward to the new management, for sure. I have high hopes for this guy.

 

I dunno,after reading the article it sounds like the new CEO wants to do many of the same things Shapiro tried with SFI during his tenure & we all saw how that turned out.I see the whole "family rides" approach as simply a cost cutting method that may result in a decrease in attendance at their parks,,,,don't get me wrong family rides are important but so are thrill rides & coasters too.

[MrSum1_55]

Well, actually, this is really what I would expect to hear from a former Disney CEO, wanting to take greater steps toward family attractions. Cedar Fair is a chain known for bland rides, names, and theming. A former Disney CEO is probably just what this chain needs now, who knows how to effectively attract families. I am all for trying to make the parks more family-friendly, even if that means major coaster announcments will not be as frequent.

 

My only fear is the Cedar Fair will be run and treated too much like a Disney park, resulting in too much focus on making the parks family-friendly, and not enough focus on the thrill market. Disney has done this effectively, but Cedar Fair parks are ganerally thrill parks. I believe, chainwide, spending on new rides should be 50-65 percent family oriented, and 35-50 percent invested on thrills. I really hope Mr. O's plan works.

[John Peck]

See, I disagree with some of you. You don't need to build one extreme coaster/thrill ride after another to be successful. I do feel that many of the Cedar Fair parks have been a bit off balance lately, with so many new rides requiring a 52 or 54" height requirement. Coaster after coaster mixed in with kiddie ride after kiddie ride, it seems like the middle range has been forgotten. Long gone are the days of the Arrow mine train with a 42" height restriction. I wonder what is keeping manufacturers from finding a better rider height balance.

 

Recent disappointment with Cedar Point is the loss of Paddlewheel in my book, but perhaps there may be more to it than what we see on the surface.

[Philrad71]

In addition to the family rides, I think they need to get back to more of a well rounded park like CP used to be. Bring back things like Oceana's aquarium, the Keystone Kops (bands on the midway) and more live and interactive shows.

 

On hot days, it's nice for us older folk to be able to kick back and take a load off versus shambling around in the 90 degree heat from one ride/coaster queue to the next like a giddy 14 year old.

 

When we were close to suffering heat stroke in August in Carowinds, it was nice to pop in and watch Peanuts On Ice - but that was about it for show offerings that we could find in the park. We ended up leaving the park for about three hours and went to an air conditioned sports bar/restaurant until temps started to cool off (like into the 80's).

 

Go to Dollywood and there are about 8-10 shows you can choose from on any given time throughout the day. CF & SF parks you might be lucky to have 3-4.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Well, actually, this is really what I would expect to hear from a former Disney CEO, wanting to take greater steps toward family attractions. Cedar Fair is a chain known for bland rides, names, and theming. A former Disney CEO is probably just what this chain needs now, who knows how to effectively attract families. I am all for trying to make the parks more family-friendly, even if that means major coaster announcments will not be as frequent.

 

My only fear is the Cedar Fair will be run and treated too much like a Disney park, resulting in too much focus on making the parks family-friendly, and not enough focus on the thrill market. Disney has done this effectively, but Cedar Fair parks are ganerally thrill parks. I believe, chainwide, spending on new rides should be 50-65 percent family oriented, and 35-50 percent invested on thrills. I really hope Mr. O's plan works.

 

That is exactly what I'm fearing will happen....I'd hate to see KD become one giant kiddie park but the real reason for that is cost effectivness,it costs far less to install a couple of kiddie rides than it does to install one standard flat ride or even a small coaster.

 

Wouldn't mind seeing one of those SF style spinners at KD though.

[The49er]

Could this mean lowering some of those ridiculously high height requirements?

 

What exactly do you mean by this? Are you referring to Jaguar at Knott's?

[-Edge of Beast-]

Matt seems like a good guy to have, so I'm happy Cedar Fair chose him to lead them. About that Worlds of Fun land, it would be nice to get a new hotel or two, but they already have a campsite and cabins, plus about 5 hotels around it. Whatever, I'd much like them to use the land for attraction development and not hotel developments.

[Swimace]

I think this is a good move!

 

Frankly, Cedar Fair parks often have good attractions, but they can often have a painfully bland atmosphere and a lack of charm. I'm sure we'll keep seeing thrill coming to Cedar Fair properties, but hopefully the Disney experience will make the parks more well rounded with a little bit more "personality".

[CGA_88]

Could this mean lowering some of those ridiculously high height requirements?

 

What exactly do you mean by this? Are you referring to Jaguar at Knott's?

 

For example, Demon at CGA has a 48" requirement while the identical Demon at SFGam has a 42" requirement. All CF enterprise rides (Orbit, Witches Wheel, etc.) have an unnecessarily high requirement of 54" while all Six Flags enterprise rides have a 42" requirement. CF rapids (not sure if all) carry a 46" requirement, while other parks have much lower requirement. The list goes on.

[CoasterGuy06]

Could this mean lowering some of those ridiculously high height requirements?

 

What exactly do you mean by this? Are you referring to Jaguar at Knott's?

 

For example, Demon at CGA has a 48" requirement while the identical Demon at SFGam has a 42" requirement. All CF enterprise rides (Orbit, Witches Wheel, etc.) have an unnecessarily high requirement of 54" while all Six Flags enterprise rides have a 42" requirement. CF rapids (not sure if all) carry a 46" requirement, while other parks have much lower requirement. The list goes on.

 

Huss raised the height restriction on their Enterprise rides to 54" a few years ago, which is the version the CF parks have. I do agree with you on the other though. Also Adventure Express at KI is 48", which blows my mind.

Edited January 2, 2012 by CoasterGuy06