The Story Of: Cedar Fair

Originally Published: August 3, 2019

Based in Sandusky, Ohio. Having 24 total properties and one city contract. The most popular of which is on an island everyone thinks is a peninsula, This is…

The Story of:

Cedar Fair

The story of Cedar Fair actually begins over 100 years ago in 1870. That year, Cedar Point had opened as a recreational area and had kept the same management for the next hundred years, being under ‘Cedar Point Pleasure Company.

In 1974, the company proposed building an amusement park in Cambridge Township, in Michigan. Though these plans were canceled in 1975.

Though their plans for a second location weren’t foiled yet, for in 1978 they acquired the Shakopee, Minnesota park, Valleyfair.

This is where the name ‘Cedar Fair’ comes from. ‘Cedar” Point + Valley ‘fair’ = Cedar Fair.

Which was then the name of the company running Cedar Point after it was founded in 1983, going public in 1987.

From 1992 to 2011 seems to be regarded as the ‘Dick Kinzel Era’ for the obvious reason that he was the CEO at the time.

And, with all companies, the buying waves came in very quickly. Starting in 1992 with the purchase of Dorney park, a park between two Pennsylvania cities which was originally owned by Harris Weinstien. The buying spree of the 90s continues with Worlds of Fun, a Kansas City park, in 1995 from Hunt-Midwest.

Though the most prevalent of the 90s spree was defenatley in 1997 when they bought Knott’s Berry farm from the family, ending the era of “America’s 1st Theme Park’ being family owned.

That was actually the inspiration for this video, since I’ll be there the week this video goes live. See SamSchrantz for videos from that in the coming week.

Sorry for that little derail, but that’s not all they bought from the Knott’s, the purchase also included a small park within a mall, ‘Camp Snoopy’ indoor park in the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota.

Though this was less of a purchase and more of a lease, since the park was given to Mall of America in 2005 to run themselves.

The park is now called ‘Nickelodeon Universe.’

And after the purchasem in 1999, 2000 and 2001 saw three new parks called ‘Knott’s Soak City’ open around SoCal after a bunch of land acquisitions. Buena park in 1999, Chula Vista in 2000 and Palm Springs in 2001.

Also in 2001, they bought Michican’s Adventure, a park located within Muskegon County, from the state.

And they opened an indoor water park right next to Cedar Point in 2004 called ‘Castaway Bay.’ It was built as an add on to the Radisson Hotel, which Cataway promptly completely took over, the hotel rooms now being part of the water park as a Great Wolf Lodge-esque hotel-waterpark.

That same year, in 2004, they bought Six Flags World of Adventure, and then proply renamed it back to Geauga Lake, the name it had before Six Flags came in and re-branded it in 2000.

Though everything immediately went south when park attendance dropped and rides began being torn down. Rumors spread about closure which were confirmed on September 21, 2007 closure was announced, stating that only the neighboring water park would remain, keeping the name of ‘Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom’ Which was changed in 2011 to just ‘Wildwater Kingdom.’

This waterpark did not absorb a hotel.

It also closed in September 2016.

September was not a good month for Geauga Lake.

But going back to 2006, despite the last park it bought on it’s way to death, they bought all the parks owned by Paramount Pictures, who perhaps opened them to ride the movie park trend.

This purchase included management of Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, California, as well as ownership of ‘Star Trek: The Experience’ in Las Vegas, Nevada.

That last one is connected to a hotel that it would not absorb.

Cedar fair continued later in 2006 by just buying Paramount Parks from CBS and began to merge it into themselves.

This caused a slightly confusing with a pointless rename to ‘Cedar Fair Entertainment Company’ from ‘Cedar Fair LP.’

though Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is only used in business, and it is still legally Cedar Fair LP.

Why they did any of that? I’m not sure.

Unlike the successful Six Flags purchase, Paramount’s parks would not be renamed until 2007. When the parks were rolled back to their previous names.

Did Cedar Fair not learn their lesson.

Though these parks are still around so credit where it’s due.
And despite the deal letting them use any Paramount properties in the naming of attractions and parks for the next ten years, they opted to cancel the deal as to not pay the annual fee that CBS had asked for the names.

All references to Paramount or CBS properties were removed by the 2008 season.

This resulted in a loss that shook Las Vegas, as Star Trek: The experience closed due to the license no longer being in Cedar’s hands.

A moment of silence for a fallen legend.

But in December of 2009 Cedar Fair was under attack by Apollo Global Management, which offered to buy the company at 11.50 a share, a nice premium over market prices, to make Cedar a private company.

Not only would Cedar be given $635 million in cash, but their $1.7 Billion in Debt would also be assumed by Apollo, valuing the total acquisition at $2.4 billion.

A Shareholder meeting was planned, and then postponed due to the two-thirds of shareholder votes needed to pass not being secure.

But finally, in April of 2010, the deal was terminated, requiring only that Cedar Fair pay $6.5 million to reimburse Apollo for their expenses in the proposed transaction.

Cedar would soon adopt a Shareholder Rights plan, which is basically a way to protect companies and shareholders from any future Hostile Takeover.

In September of 2011 a company called ‘JMA Ventures LLC’ offered to buy California’s Great America, as well as the management contract for Gilroy Gardens from Cedar Fair, who seemed to have agreed to the offer.

Due to Gilroy Gardens though, the offer needed to be passed by a vote from Santa Calra’s city council to pass, which was scheduled for December of that year. And before that meeting to take place, JMA backed out of the deal.

On Jun20, 2011, it was announced that the long time CEO of the company, Dick Kinzel, would be retiring in early 2012. Matt Ouimet would take his place and the Dick Kinzel Era would come to an end.

Matt seemed qualified though. As he had been president of the Disney Cruise line and Disney Hotel for the past 17 years.

It was on January 3rd when Kinzel stepped down, and Matt became the new CEO of Cedar Fair.

A few of the first things he did after becoming CEO was launching new websites for their parks and started a new marketing campaign called Trills Connect

In 2012 they sold their ‘Knott’s Soak City’ location in San Deigo to SeaWorld Parks & Entertaiment.

And 9 months later their Palm Springs location was sold to CNL Lifestyle properties.

In 2016 WildWater Kingdom died, leaving the land that was once a theme park and water park up for development.

And in 2017, Matt Ouimet stepped down, and his COO, Richard Zimmerman stepped up on New Years Day, 2018.

He will hopefully stay for longer than Matt, taking a new position as executive chairman of the board of directors.

A humble position.

Just earlier this year, Cedar announced a partnership with ‘Field Entertainment’ to bring a Monster Jam area to certain parks.

And to tie up this story are a few more acquisitions.

Cedar recently bought two water parks from ‘Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts’ their Galveston and new Braunfels, Texas locations. As well as an option to also purchase their Kansas City location and the rights to the Schlitterbahn name.

And it would seem as if they also bought the entire company as Cedar is not listed as Shlitterbahn’s owner.

And finally, soon after it was announced that they had bought Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio.

And by Huron I mean right next to Sandusky.

Cedar Fair now owns Sandusky, Ohio.