jedimaster1227 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 (edited) http://investing.businessweek.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201308140925PR_NEWS_USPRX____CL63938-1 Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, today announced that it has sold Knott's Soak City Palm Springs, a stand alone water park in Southern California, to CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. ("CNL"). Terms of the agreement were not disclosed and are not material to Cedar Fair's results of operations. The sale of the Palm Springs water park has no impact on the Company's other properties located in California. CNL will retain the rights to the Knott's Soak City Palm Springs name through the end of 2013 and no impact to customers is expected during this transition. The park will continue its regular operating schedule and all season passes sold will be recognized through the park's 2013 operating season currently scheduled to close on Sunday, October 6, 2013. The Company noted that the net proceeds from this sale will be reinvested in their core assets including the multi-year refreshment of hotel properties in Sandusky, Ohio which was announced last year. Edited August 14, 2013 by jedimaster1227 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Smart move. This park didn't make sense in their stable. I think they could shed off another property or two and be in much better shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 (edited) Heard about this yesterday. I'm surprised Michigan's Adventure has lasted as long as it has....... MA would fit right into their current portfolio. Edited August 14, 2013 by DJeXeL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterguy21 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^Michigan's Adventure has one of the highest profit margins in the chain. It isn't going anywhere nor being sold anywhere. Even when the chain was looking into selling parks, Worlds of Fun & Valleyfair were the first ones listed. I'm glad those stayed. The sale of this park and the San Diego park to SeaWorld were good sales in my opinion. This one isn't much different than the one adjacent to Knott's Berry Farm anyway. Now the question is, will Wildwater Kingdom eventually get sold or will it remain as the sole waterpark in the chain that isn't adjacent to an amusement park? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^If true, I can definitely see WoF or VF going first. Wildwater Kingdom would be a good purchase by CNL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterguy21 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^I don't see any of those parks being sold. In terms of attendance, Michigan's Adventure has the lowest but pulls in a profit like some of the bigger parks. Truth be told, I'd keep an eye on Wildwater Kingdom, but I think the sales will cease for awhile. It's good to see the chain is getting rid of a bit of properties they know in the long run may not be as beneficial as the other properties and using the money to upgrade the resorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 (edited) They've already said they now plan to keep WOnF, it's bringing in droves of people with it's Haunt event being one of the best in the chain. So much so they routinely run out of parking on Saturday's in October and Cedar Point is copying one of WOnF's in house designed haunts, Zombie High. ValleyFair seems to be the one I would divest if they are even still looking to divest theme parks. Edited August 14, 2013 by chadster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 How has VF been doing attendance wise? Do they ever have lines on any of their rides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^I don't see any of those parks being sold. In terms of attendance, Michigan's Adventure has the lowest but pulls in a profit like some of the bigger parks. Not meaning to be rude, but you're 21 years old and probably know very little about how the amusement business works. While I don't see any of those parks being sold anytime soon either, I've seen some CRAZY things happen in this business and nothing surprises me. So please just take that into consideration when you make posts like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 How has VF been doing attendance wise? Do they ever have lines on any of their rides? From what I hear they hit their goals year in and out which makes it attractive on many levels, especially with competition nearby at MOA. That being said I don't think CF will be selling any of their theme parks anytime soon, not to say they won't should the right $offer$ pre$ent it$elf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 If Wildwater Kingdom was to be put on the chopping block it won't be until they divest of Geauga Lake's former ride area. No sense selling a water park and yet still retain the white elephant across the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 How has VF been doing attendance wise? Do they ever have lines on any of their rides? From what I hear they hit their goals year in and out which makes it attractive on many levels, especially with competition nearby at MOA. That being said I don't think CF will be selling any of their theme parks anytime soon, not to say they won't should the right $offer$ pre$ent it$elf. Makes sense. I agree with you and don't think they will be selling any parks anytime soon but like Robb said, CRAZY things have happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterguy21 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^I don't see any of those parks being sold. In terms of attendance, Michigan's Adventure has the lowest but pulls in a profit like some of the bigger parks. Not meaning to be rude, but you're 21 years old and probably know very little about how the amusement business works. While I don't see any of those parks being sold anytime soon either, I've seen some CRAZY things happen in this business and nothing surprises me. So please just take that into consideration when you make posts like this. No offense was taken Robb, and I understand one may think I have "lower credibility" due to my age, but really that shouldn't mean anything. But honestly, my major is Business related (I say that because I'm a double major) and I have studied these models, so I know a lot about how it all works. It has been pointed out by Cedar Fair themselves as well as in several articles that Michigan's Adventure has one of the highest profit margins in the chain. Of course, that doesn't mean it makes the most money. Even in the FunForward presentation last year, it was specifically stated that "Michigan's Adventure pulls in less than 1 million people but pulls in the profits comparable to some of our larger parks" (speaking specifically about margins though because the profit itself is nowhere near the higher parks). Age is but a number , but I got into studying this stuff when I was really young because it really interested me, and I can tell you that the park is an asset to the chain. One may ask "Then why are no rides put in?" but that's another story on its own. I do agree with you on CRAZY things happening. Lets say from a "what we know" standpoint, there's lots more behind the scenes that we don't know from what is made publicly or to investors every year. So I'll say "I hope those parks don't get sold". I get what you're saying that "things can rapidly change" etc... I don't see it happening based on their current model and portfolio shift, but that doesn't mean its impossible. But it really makes sense presently with the direction that the chain is going to get rid of those waterparks. It'll really help with the resort upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^Book smarts vs. street smarts. How things look on paper is one thing (and kudos to you for at least being as informed as you can be), but how things actually play out in this industry (one that Robb has been around for 20+ years) is entirely another. Being in and around the industry for so long teaches you things and introduces you to people with valuable information that no model will ever show, which is what I think Robb's point is. At the end of the day, it would take a lot of profitable years to equal a cash payment from selling the park. A notable example of "you never know what to expect" would be Six Flags publicly stating SFMM was up for sale a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterguy21 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 ^I totally understand. It doesn't always look so good on paper either because things can change quickly. I know there is a difference between "experience" and "experience", I study it and use them for my papers and such, but I haven't worked on the business side of an amusement park (and as much as I love them, I don't really plan to either). So I'll just post what I know from what I've studied every now and then and rely on everyone else here for the other information . It's a good place for it, there's lots of knowledge around here. Yeah, that really was a shocker. Quite a few parks went up then too. I'm just glad to see Cedar Fair focusing on shedding some weight and focusing on the debt load and upgrading resorts. I like the direction the company is going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double0Kevin Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 It's much harder to sell a struggling park than it is with one that makes money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I noticed that the website is exactly the same minus all the cedar fair references. Does anyone know if Cedar Fair is still doing the daily operations for soak city throughout the end of the season, or if CNL is already operating it. It seems like it would have made more sense to wait to sell it in the off season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I'd imagine that CF is still doing the operating right now. All of the employees, etc will probably be absorbed by the new company. The press release even said that all Soak City passes would be honored until the end of the operating season. Also keep in mind that due to the park being in Palm Springs that it has a longer operating season and a shorter off season. So they most likely wanted to get it done early so they can start re-branding the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I noticed that the website is exactly the same minus all the cedar fair references. Does anyone know if Cedar Fair is still doing the daily operations for soak city throughout the end of the season, or if CNL is already operating it. It seems like it would have made more sense to wait to sell it in the off season. It takes time to fully integrate everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazma Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 (edited) There was a second press release that hit the news, sounds like that one was from CNL, not Cedar Fair, that discussed things in more detail. Edited August 17, 2013 by jazma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Well, the GM for Soak City PS already left over the summer, so he's not running things. Wonder what it will be renamed? Splashtown? Or maybe back to Oasis Waterpark? I don't blame Cedar Fair selling these Separate admission waterparks. Kinda hard to add attractions as There's only so many slides to build. I'll bet you Wildwater Kingdom, Ohio is next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Also, how did Cedar Fair get the soak city parks. Were they acquired with Knotts Berry Farm, or each separately bought etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazma Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I am sure that Wildwater Kingdom is next, too. No, when they acquired KBF in 1997, it was only the Buena Park property. They bought (Cedar Fair) Oasis in Palm Springs first (I think in 2000), and then White Water Canyon (or whatever it was called; it was originally gold rush themed) in Chula Vista a year later I think. The Chula Vista property was in bankruptcy at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I think the fate of White Water Kingdom is tied to if/when they can sell the rest of the land they own around there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazma Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Yes, you're probably right, and that's been for sale for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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