Cedar Fair
More actions
| |
| Status | Defunct |
| Headquarters |  |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Operated | 1983 to 2024 |
| Successor | Six Flags |
| Key people | Richard Zimmerman (CEO) |
| Website | http://cedarfair.com/ |
Cedar Fair was an entertainment company that owned and operated amusement parks. The company was based in Sandusky, Ohio at Cedar Point, their largest theme park. The company merged with Six Flags in 2024 with the resulting company retaining the Six Flags branding.
History
In 1978, Cedar Point Inc., owners of Cedar Point at the time, announced that it would acquire a second amusement park, Valleyfair.[1]
Cedar Fair was formed in 1983 following a buyout of shares in Cedar Point Inc. by a group of private investors.[2]
In 1992, Cedar Fair purchased Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania for $48 million from groups of investors and Harris Weinstein.[3] In 1995, it bought Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri from its original owner Hunt-Midwest for $40 million.[4]
In December 1997, Cedar Fair acquired Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California from the Knott family for $245 million after the deal was announced in October.[5][6] Knott's Berry Farm had the exclusive rights to use Peanuts characters in its park and at Knott's Camp Snoopy. Cedar Fair successfully negotiated with United Media Licensing for these rights be extended to its other parks.[7]
In 1999, Cedar Fair opened Knott's Soak City water park in Buena, California.
In December 1999, Cedar Fair acquired White Water Canyon in Chula Vista, California from its original owners for $11.5 million.[8] The park reopens as Knott's Soak City in 2000 after a refurbishment.
In June 2001, Cedar Fair purchased Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan for $28 million from Roger Jourden.[9][10] Also around this time, Cedar Fair also acquires Oasis Water Park in Palm Springs, California and later rebrands it under the Knott's Soak City name.[11][12]
In November 2003, Cedar Fair announced that Castaway Bay would be built for $22 million next to its Cedar Point park in Sandusky, Ohio. This was of the existing Radission Harbour Inn property. The indoor water park resort opened on November 5, 2004.[13]
In March 2004, Cedar Fair reached an agreement with Six Flags to acquire Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Aurora, Ohio for $145 million.[14][15] After the sale was complete, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure reverted back to the Geauga Lake name which also brought along many changes. The DC Comics and Looney Tunes branding under Six Flags were debranded and rebranded under generic themes with Peanuts characters later being added in 2005. The Hurricane Harbor Water Park was renamed as Hurricane Hannah's, while the "Wild Life" animal area was removed entirely with the animals being relocated to Six Flags Marine World and Six Flags Great Adventure, as the purchase did not include ownership of the animals since Cedar Fair does not expertise with animal attractions.[16]
In November 2004, Cedar Fair announced that the former SeaWorld Ohio/Wild Life site of Geauga Lake would become home to a standalone water park named Wildwater Kingdom for the 2005 season, costing $26 million.[17][18]
In January 2005, it was confirmed that Cedar Fair and Mall of America's contract to run Knott's Camp Snoopy would run out in March 2005. Following this, Mall of America solely took over ownership of the park.[19]
On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks chain for $1.24 billion from the CBS Corporation, with the deal closing on June 30. The acquisition gave Cedar Fair a 10 year licensing agreement for Paramount intellectual property and a separate 4 year licensing agreement for Nickelodeon intellectual property.[20][21][22] Cedar Fair opted not to continue the Paramount licensing after the first full year (removing the five Paramount Parks prefixes at the start of 2007), instead terminating it at the start of 2008. The Nickelodeon licensing remained as set out, expiring at the end of 2009.
On September 16, 2007, Cedar Fair operated Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom for the last time. On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that the amusement park section of Geauga Lake had closed permanently with the Wildwater Kingdom water park only opening in 2008.[23][24] An auction was held on June 17, 2008.[25][26]
On November 20, 2012, Cedar Fair confirmed that it would sell its Knott's Soak City water park in Chula Vista, California to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The park was rebranded as Aquatica San Diego in 2013.[27]
On August 13, 2013, Cedar Fair announced that it would sell its Knott's Soak City water park in Palm Springs, California to CNL Lifestyle Properties. The park was rebranded as Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs in 2014.[28]
On August 19, 2016, Cedar Fair announced that Wildwater Kingdom, the last remaining operating portion of the former Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom park, would close permanently on September 5, 2016.[29] Items and equipment from Wildwater Kingdom were auctioned off in September 2017.[30]
On June 13, 2019, Cedar Fair signed a $261 million deal with Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts to acquire Schlitterbahn Galveston in Galveston, Texas and Schlitterbahn New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas. The deal also included the rights to the Schlitterbahn name and the option to buy Schlitterbahn Kansas City in Kansas City, Kansas for an additional $6 million. Cedar Fair rejected the latter offer.[31][32]
On November 2, 2020, Cedar Fair sold the former land formerly occupied by Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom to Commercial Properties, LLC for $5.3 million.[33]
Following the end of December 2021, Cedar Fair and Gilroy Gardens Inc., the nonprofit that owns Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, California, decided not to renew their contract to operate the park.[34]
In June 2022, Cedar Fair announced that it was selling the land currently occupied by California's Great America in Santa Clara, California to real estate development company Prologis for $310 million.[35] With the deal, Cedar Fair signed an 11-year lease from the buyer and intends to close the park at the conclusion of the lease.
On November 2, 2023, it was announced that Six Flags and Cedar Fair would merge.[36] The deal closed on July 1, 2024, with the resulting company retaining Six Flags' branding. The Cedar Fair brand was discontinued.[37]
Name
The name comes from a combination of two words from their first two parks' names (Cedar Point and Valleyfair).
Amusement parks
Former
| Park | Location | Opened | Acquired | Previously | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California's Great America | |
1976 | 2006 | Paramount's Great America | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Canada's Wonderland |  |
1981 | 2006 | Paramount Canada's Wonderland | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Carowinds | |
1973 | 2006 | Paramount's Carowinds | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Cedar Point | |
1870 | N/A | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Dorney Park | |
1884 | 1992 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Geauga Lake | |
1887 | 2004 | Six Flags Worlds of Adventure | Closed in 2007 |
| Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park | |
1884 | 2006 | Bonfante Gardens | Operation only, contract expired in 2021 |
| Kings Dominion | |
1975 | 2006 | Paramount's Kings Dominion | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Kings Island | |
1972 | 2006 | Paramount's Kings Island | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Knott's Berry Farm | |
1920 | 1997 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Knott's Camp Snoopy | |
1992 | 2005 | N/A | Sold in 2006 |
| Michigan's Adventure | |
1956 | 2001 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Valleyfair | |
1976 | Acquired by Cedar Point in 1978 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Worlds of Fun | |
1973 | 1995 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
Water Parks
Former
| Park | Location | Opened | Acquired | Previously | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castaway Bay | |
2004 | N/A | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Cedar Point Shores | |
1988 | N/A | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Knott's Soak City | |
2000 | N/A | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Knott's Soak City | |
1997 | 2000 | Whitewater Canyon | Sold to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in 2012 |
| Knott's Soak City | |
1986 | 2001 | Oasis Water Park | Sold to CNL Lifestyle Properties in 2013 |
| Schlitterbahn Galveston | |
2006 | 2019 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Schlitterbahn New Braunfels | |
1979 | 2019 | N/A | Merged with Six Flags in 2024 |
| Wildwater Kingdom | |
2005 | N/A | N/A | Closed in 2016 |
References
- ↑ "Cedar Point is moving to buy Minn. theme park". The Plain Dealer. 1978-09-02. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ↑ "Cedar Point sale OK'd". The News-Messenger. 1983-07-30. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ↑ "Dorney Park is sold $48 million deal completed after months of talks". Mcall.
- ↑ "Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun up for sale". The Kansas City.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Completes Knott's Deal". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair to acquire Knott's Berry Farm". Deseret News.
- ↑ Journals "Cedar Point benefits first from Peanut's exclusive". Amusement Business. Tim O'Brien.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ↑ "Cedar Fair completes water-park acquisition". Toledo Blade.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Announces Acquisition of Michigan's Adventure". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Completes Acqusition of Michigan's Adventure". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair to Purchase Palm Spring Water Park". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Completes Acquisition of Oasis Water Park". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Point to Build Year-Round Indoor Waterpark Resort". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ Cedar Fair, L.P. completes acquisition of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure - Amusement Today (Wayback archive)
- ↑ "Six Flags Worlds of Adventure To Be Acquired By Cedar Fair". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Completes Acquisition of Six Flags Park". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake plans expansion".
- ↑ "Geauga Lake 2005 Expansion Includes New Water Park". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Mall management to take over Camp Snoopy". CoasterBuzz.
- ↑ "Meeting with potential lenders re: acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS". Sec.gov.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair To Buy Paramount Parks For $1.24 Billion". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Completes Purchase of Paramount Parks". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake silences rides; water park stays". Aurora Advocate.
- ↑ "Historic Geauga Lake Amusement Park Closing Forever". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "More Geauga Auction News". NewsPlusNotes.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake auctions off an era of thrills". The Columbus Dispatch.
- ↑ "Soak City to become a SeaWorld water park". U-T San Diego.
- ↑ "CNL Lifestyle Properties Acquires Southern California Water Park". PRWeb.
- ↑ "Wildwater Kingdom Update". WildwaterFun.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom Relics Can Be Yours to Own". NewsPlusNotes.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. plans to enter Texas market with $261 million acquisition". Crains Cleveland Business.
- ↑ "New Braunfels' Schlitterbahn sold to Ohio company". Herald-Zeitung.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair Sells Former Geauga Lake Land". Coaster101.
- ↑ "Gilroy Gardens is no longer being managed by Great America's parent company". Silicon Valley Business Journal. 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair sells its land at California's Great America". Attractions Magazine.
- ↑ "Cedar Fair and Six Flags to Combine in Merger of Equals, Creating a Leading Amusement Park Operator". Business Wire.
- ↑ Chen, Eve (July 1, 2024). "Six Flags and Cedar Fair merge into one big company: What to know". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
External links
- Cedar Fair on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
