NewsPlusNotes: California's Great America

Showing posts with label California's Great America. Show all posts

Monday, August 28, 2023

Pacific Gliders Opens at California's Great America to Complete New Themed Section

California's Great America recently opened the last piece of their newly rethemed section of the park - called NorCal County Fair - which was the park's expansion for 2023. The project was announced in May of this year, must later than usual for larger parks, and opened in bits since then.

The area's concept art can be seen up top. It was a total retheme of the park's Action Zone area, which was an odd leftover from the Paramount days. The theme is tied directly to the area surrounding the park which is a trend we're seeing more and more from Cedar Fair in the theming department.

The retheme includes one new ride, a renamed and newly themed 2nd ride, upgrades to the picnic area and general thematic upgrades to the games area. "From hiking and rafting amid the redwoods, soaring above the coastline's sandy beaches, cruising along wonderful scenic roadways, to enjoying the great fresh food and wine grown in its vast agriculture fields, Northern California has so much to see and do. NorCal County Fair will be just that: An all-new ride, a retheming of a beloved attraction, a renovated games gallery and a fully upgraded picnic area for more fun in the sun."

Barney's Oldfield Speedway, the park's antique auto ride, was rethemed into Barney Oldfield's Redwood Rally, to match its journey closer to the County Fair vibe. There are a lot of videos out there that show all the theming the park added to the ride path, and it all looks very well done.

Just recently the final piece of the NorCal County Fair came online, and that's the Pacific Gliders flat ride. One of Zamperla's WindstarZ rides, which allows riders to control the up and down movement of their individual gliders while they speed around. It's a family ride, but a fun one that kids enjoy.

For a park that seemed doomed to close after Cedar Fair's announcement last year, it's great that the park got some love in 2023. Nothing was announced for next year, however since this expansion was announced so late you never know!

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Cedar Fair Sells California's Great America Land + Plans to Close Park

Last week Cedar Fair announced that they have sold the land that California's Great America sits on and plans to "wind-down" the operation of the park and close it permanently. As part of the sale of the land the company will immediately lease back the operation of the park. The land was sold to Prologis Inc., a company who "acquires, develops and maintains the largest collection of high-quality logistics real estate in the world" - basically they develop and own warehouse operations.

The land was sold for $310 million, and if you recall Cedar Fair purchased the land under California's Great America in 2019 for $150 million. Ironically, at that time Cedar Fair's CEO commented that the purchase "underscores Cedar Fair’s long-term commitment to California’s Great America." That commitment appears to have lasted until the land more than doubled in value.

But, to be fair, the pandemic got in the way. Cedar Fair's press release on the sale points out that the money from the land sale will be used for "reducing debt to achieve its $2 billion target, investing in high-return projects within its portfolio such as upgrading resort properties, and reinstating a sustainable unitholder distribution." I think the restart of the distribution is key here, as the company has long sold itself to investors as a solid and reliable dividend payer - and obviously the dividend was stopped during the pandemic. Slapping a bunch of cash against the debt they took on to survive the pandemic will allow them to restart the dividend in just a couple months from now.

Cedar Fair put some additional details in their filing with the SEC about the sale. The lease they have runs for six years, and has an optional 5 year extension. So the maximum the park can operate is 11 more years. However, Prologis can notify Cedar Fair they want the park closed with a 2 year notice. Cedar Fair will pay $12.2 million in rent each year to operate the park, with the rent going up 2.5% each year. Without knowing each parties' exact intentions it is still hard to believe that the park will operate beyond the initial 6 year lease, and potentially will cease operations well before that.

California's Great America was poised for a large expansion period that started back in 2017 when Cedar Fair started talking with local officials about adding large rides and making a big part of the park a shopping and dining area with no gates. Things did get a bit suspect over the years as none of these big plans ever materialized, aside from the waterpark expansion, which in hindsight makes sense. We actually wrote a post back in 2016 that referenced a story of another developer wanting to raze the park for housing, so uncertainty has always been floating above the park. Going back further, in 2011 Cedar Fair actually agreed to sell the park only to have the sale fall through - though that was very much tied to their unhappiness with the development of the giant stadium next door.

The sale of the park is only the land, Cedar Fair retains all rides and structures, so there is a possibility for some of the attractions to be relocated or sold to other operators.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

California's Great America to Open New Liberty Twirler Ride + Offer Special Events in 2022

California's Great America is preparing to open for their 2022 season on March 12th, and has announced a new ride for the park and a bunch of special events to take place throughout the season. In fact, the park will offer visitors something special in all four seasons, including events, live shows, the return of fan favorite rides and splashing good times in the water park.

New this year is the Liberty Twirler, set to open in May. Located in the All-American Corners section of the park, the ride will be a classic scrambler attraction. The new ride will be a part of a larger renovation in the All-American Corners themed area, giving it a refreshing all around.

The park's new ride will also be joined by a full season of special events in 2022. These include Friday Nights at Great America, running select Fridays March to November, with live bands, special food and drinks and more. Red, White and Brews will return on select dates from May 27th through June 19th, a "hometown celebration of Americana food and fun" in the park's Hometown Square area. The event will feature live entertainment, gourmet food and locally sourced beer, games and more for the entire family.

Carnivale at Orleans Place will debut this summer, from July 20th through August 7th. It will offer a "larger-than-life New Orleans festival featuring bold Cajun flavors, fireworks, lively music and entertainment."

This fall California's Great America is retiring Halloween Haunt in order to introduce the family friendly, and not scary, Tricks and Treats event. From September 23rd through October 30th families will find tons of Halloween fun with no fright included. During Tricks and Treats families can find "ghastly great things to do as they choose their own path to follow, from exploring mazes, to dressing up for costume parties, playing game shows, dancing with spooky characters and enjoying boo-licious food and drinks."

To end the season the park will bring back WinterFest, running from November 25th through January 1st, 2023. The immersive holiday event will be back and brighter than ever, filled with holiday cheer as the theme park is transformed into a winter wonderland and holiday festival.

Saturday, March 6, 2021

California Amusement Parks Can Open April 1st With Strict Capacity Limitations

California has provided a new plan that will allow amusement and theme parks to open in the state as soon as April 1st, although with strict capacity limitations in place. Prior to Friday's update the only way to get to reopen a large park was for the county it is located in to reach the yellow or "minimal" rating, which has proven impossible as the pandemic continues.

Now, even parks in counties that are in the 2nd red "substantial" tier can open starting April 1st. The reason this is important is because the counties that contain the largest parks in the state are expected to move from the purple "widespread" ranking into the red ranking in the next couple of weeks. I believe that California's Great America is already in a county in the red ranking.

In the red ranking parks are limited to 15% capacity, which is a very small amount. The state wants no groups larger than 10 visiting the parks and no more than 3 household groups together. Indoor attractions will have a 15% max capacity, with "time restrictions" in place, there will be no indoor dining and quite importantly, no out of state visitors are allowed at the parks.

In the orange or "moderate" ranking the capacity limits increase to 25%, with the other rules still in place, although indoor dining is allowed. In the least restrictive yellow phase capacity is limited to 35%, but indoor capacity remains at 25%.

So this is progress, no doubt, but 15% capacity will be a big issue for parks like Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios Hollywood. One has to wonder if when they reopen with those restrictions in place if they will hold expanded versions of the food and retail festivals nearly all of them are already holding. Knott's has been at this for almost a year now, with Disney and Universal joining them soon. Adding some rides and attractions to the mix, kind of like what Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been doing, could but a good fit for 15% capacity.

These parks could continue to hold separate cost (or discounted for pass holders) events that will help them more easily stay within the 15% capacity limit, while still charging a higher ticket price that can help things stay positive at the bottom line. Especially with the popular Disney parks, I can't see them just having it be a free for all with regular daily tickets offered for such a small attendance amount. Perhaps this could work for parks up North, like California's Great America, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and while not North, even maybe Six Flags Magic Mountain. Maybe. I'm not convincing myself fully though.

I remember last year a lot of parks started out by limiting the amount of season pass holder reservations available each day, but when the crowds didn't materialize those restrictions quickly fell off. That could come back as a more important issue this year for the California parks. I guess regardless of the capacity mix of pass holders versus day tickets, I can't image these parks will be able to open all their attractions with a 15% capacity limitation, as keeping costs to a minimum will be a major concern.

Unless, of course, we see daily ticket prices go up to $250 a person or something! I think Disneyland Resort fans would happy whip out their credit cards, but probably not so viable for the other parks. One thing is for sure, the parks will get creative and find some way to entertain their guests despite these strict rules. And that's great news to look forward to!

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Cedar Fair Parks Release 2021 Opening Dates

This past week several Cedar Fair parks sent out e-mails to their mailing lists that provided their opening dates for the 2021 season. We previously heard from Cedar Fair that they were evaluating opening some parks later this season, and that did happen for some parks in varying degrees. The full operating calendars have not been released yet, just the opening dates. The parks promise more information on operating days and hours in the coming weeks.

The earliest opening announced is for Kings Island, which plans to have a season passholder weekend preview on May 8th and 9th. This is later than their usual opening in April each year. While it was not stated yet when operations begin for all visitors, it is hoped it will be the following weekend.

Cedar Point will open on Friday, May 14th, which is similar to past (normal) seasons pre-pandemic. Canada's Wonderland also announced plans to open on May 14th. That park was not able to open at all during 2020, so fingers are crossed that this given date works out in the end.

The weekend after, specifically Saturday, May 22nd, will be the opening date for a longer list of other Cedar Fair parks. These include Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun. This date is just a few weeks later than pre-pandemic opening dates for many of these parks, but much later for some like Carowinds, Worlds of Fun and Kings Dominion.

California's Great America also announced plans to open on May 22nd, and since we know that no amusement or theme parks are currently allowed to open in California we hope that happens for them.

Last but not least, Michigan's Adventure plans to open on Saturday May 29th, just in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

The parks appear to be planning to continue the safety measures that were in place when they closed for the 2020 season - though they are not ready to release details on that just yet.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

California Releases Strict Rules for Parks Reopening During Pandemic

All California theme parks have stayed shuttered during the pandemic, with only some opening in order to have special food and retail festivals or operate as zoos. While parks in some parts of the country opened as early as June, there have been no rides operating in California since March, or so. Recently the parks across the state have urged the California Governor to release a plan so that they know when they will be able to open the gates again, and now the plan has been released. You can read the full document here, but in short, parks in California won't be reopening any time soon.

The plan features color coded stages related to positive COVID-19 test results and cases rates per county. Purple (Widespread) is the worse, followed by Red (Substantial), then Orange (Moderate) and finally Yellow (Minimal). These follow the larger reopening plan that the state has had in place for some time, and the risk matrix for each stage is below.

No parks are allowed to open at all in counties in both the purple and red stages. Starting in the orange stage "small" parks (overall capacity less than 15,000) can open but on at a maximum of 500 guests or 25% of capacity, whichever is less. That's a severe restriction that would make operations unprofitable for nearly every park I can think of. Plus, in the orange stage, these parks cannot open indoor attractions and visitors can only be from the same county the park is located in. The logistics of checking that operationally seems like a nightmare as well.

If a county gets to the yellow stage then a park within it can operate at 25% of maximum capacity and all indoor locations in the park can only have 25% capacity. That would allow parks to open in similar ways that others around the country already have, as there are also a full set of rules related to face masks, cleaning, social distancing, etc.

The catch is that currently less than 10 counties in California are in the yellow stage, none with parks in them. Less than 15 counties are in the orange phase, which would come with the strictly limited attendance, and they don't have parks in them anyway. So all the bigger parks, like Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California's Great America and a multitude of others, are currently stuck in purple or red stages.

Essentially, this means that under the Governor's current plan we won't see any of these parks open any time soon, especially with COVID-19 cases surging across the country once again.

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Closed-In-2020 Cedar Fair Parks Detail Extra Pass Perks for 2021

When several Cedar Fair parks decided that they would not be able to open in 2020 they announced that season pass holders would be getting some extra benefits out of their Pass Perks program in 2021. It was designed to be an extra benefit to pass holders who didn't get to visit their park this year, but at the time no real details were given.

I noticed that now some of the parks that weren't able to open are listing more specific benefits for next year, and they are pretty nice. Pass Perks debuted at the parks a couple seasons ago, and after a visit to the park, season pass holders sometimes get an e-mail with a free perk, like a food treat, steep discount on retail, etc.

California's Great America has stepped that up a bit with their 2021 program. Season pass holders who purchased before August 4th will receive a monetary credit on their pass that they can use freely (with some restrictions) in the park. Silver level pass holders will receive $25, Gold and Platinum will receive $35.

At Carowinds, Silver pass holders will receive a $35 credit, and Gold and Platinum pass holders will receive $50! Kings Dominion will have the same levels as Carowinds, Silver pass holders will receive the $35 credit, Gold and Plantinum will receive $50. Valleyfair, which also did not open in 2020, does not have detailed information up yet, and Canada's Wonderland, which is still in limbo with regard to 2020, also does not.

This is a really nice benefit for pass holders, especially since it's not the park's fault that they couldn't open. Consider that for a family of 4, even at the lower levels, will start the season with a total of $100 - $140 to spend. That's a couple meals or quite a bit of shopping if they choose.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

California's Great America Shows Off New for 2021 South Bay Shores Waterpark

While California's Great America was not able to open at all for the 2020 season, the park is still working hard on their massive water park transformation, South Bay Shores, which will now debut in the summer of 2021.

The park just recently uploaded a detailed look at the work that has taken place so far, and it lets us see how much progress has been made on the expansion. And there is a lot! Up top is the area's new thrilling water slide tower, Pacific Surge, which features a total of six slides for visitors. Four of the slides feature trap-door freefall starts, followed by twisting turns as riders make their way to the runout below. There are also two tube slides, one with a massive bowl element and the other with a large drop finale.

Tide Pool Lagoon is South Bay Shores' new kiddie area, which transforms an existing wading pool into an exciting area with eight miniature water slides for kids. The park has installed most of the slides, though there is still work to do before kids can take over the area.

Other areas of the waterpark that already catered to kids and families are also receiving improvements. The family water play structure has received all new paint and new theming will be applied soon. The area surrounding it will feature tons of lounge chairs along with covers to keep families comfortable.

South Bay Shores will also feature new food and beverage options, the largest of which can be seen above and is called the Pier 76 Cafe. The high capacity food outlet will offer items like fried shrimp, fish tacos, chicken tenders and waffle fries.

Elsewhere in the water park there will be a new Sand Bar with more food and beverage options, and the park has built new lockers, changing areas and upgraded the landscaping throughout the park. Make sure to check out the full update from the park for even more photos and details!

Friday, May 8, 2020

Cedar Fair Parks Update on What's Staying for 2020 and What's Pushed to 2021

Cedar Fair has sent out updates for all their parks that detail what attractions and special events planned for 2020 will remain for 2020 when the parks can reopen, and which ones have been bumped to 2021. Also, no estimated opening dates have been set for any parks yet, as they continue to work with local officials on the reopening process.

Instead of doing separate posts for each of the parks, here is one big summary of each of the updates from the properties.

Kings Dominion will continue to debut their water park expansion, Coconut Shores, in 2020. It will feature a new water fun house named Lighthouse Landing, and kiddie wave pool named Sand Dune Lagoon. Grand Carnivale will be postponed until 2021, along with the Memorial Weekend Salute. The park's Run & Ride event will only take place virtually.

Dorney Park will still open their new family water play area, Seaside Splashworks, in 2020. They are also working on remodeling Center Stage and adding more green areas to the park. Both the new Summer Nights block party event and Grand Carnivale will be postponed until 2021.

The two Schlitterbahn parks in Texas will have to delay their annual American Heroes Week for now. The parks have already had a ton of changes done for 2020, all of which will remain. These include remodeling entrances, painting and refurbishing slides, adding food options, more seating and more.

Kings Island is still planning to open Orion, the park's new giga coaster, as soon as the park opens for 2020. However, both the Summer Nights and Grand Carnivale special event celebrations are being postponed until 2021.

Michigan's Adventure's park update didn't specifically call out their new Camp Snoopy expansion in any way, though the expansion is still on the website as New For 2020 - so we will assume that remains true for now.

Valleyfair has been hard at work on several projects, all of which are still on for 2020. These include the new Lakeshore Landing event space, renovated restrooms, changes to food offerings and more. The park unfortunately will not have Monster Jam Thunder Alley in 2020. They have also had to postpone both Grand Carnivale and The Peanuts Celebration until 2021.

Cedar Point has made the tough decision to postpone their 150th anniversary celebration until 2021. That also includes their new attraction, Snake River Expedition, which won't open in 2020. The Celebrate 150 Spectacular will also move to 2021, along with the opening of the new Town Hall and merchandise promotions. The park's new food offerings will still open in 2020. Essentially all other special events for the season, including Performances in the Park, Spring Youth & Education Programs, CoasterMania!, Frontier Festival, Coaster Campout, Run & Ride and Season Passholder Appreciation Weekend will all not take place in 2020.

California's Great America's update did not address their massive waterpark transformation, South Bay Shores, but it is largely completed and still shown as "opening soon" on the website. The park will not hold their Red, White and Brews festival this year, and Monster Jam Thunder Alley will no longer take place in 2020.

Worlds of Fun's new waterslide, Riptide Raceway, is still planned to open when the park is able to in 2020. The park's special events Summer Nights and Grand Carnivale will be postponed until 2021.

Like Cedar Point's tough decision, Knott's Berry Farm has also decided to postpone their 100th anniversary celebration until 2021. The park's new ride, Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair, will be ready when the park reopens in 2020. Ghost Town Alive! will also not take place in 2020, but will return in 2021. The Knott's Chicken-To-Go Restaurant, Farm Bakery and Knott's Berry Market are open in limited capacity for to go orders.

Carowinds will still open their new water slide, Boogie Board Racer, in 2020. Two events, Carolina Summer Nights and Grand Carnivale will be postponed to 2021. Monster Jam Thunder Alley will take place in 2020.

Finally, Canada's Wonderland posted that both of their new attractions, Mountain Bay Cliffs and Beagle Brigade Airfield, should be completed within a month and will still open in 2020.

We heard on Cedar Fair's conference call that a lot of capital was cut from the 2020 season, and now we can see that a significant portion of that was in festivals and other limited time events. While sad to see so many items pushed off a year, it's still better to have them at the parks when they can fully be enjoyed!

Sunday, March 8, 2020

California's Great America to Celebrate Seasons of Fun Throughout 2020

California's Great America has already announced a massive transformation of their water park into South Bay Shores for Summer 2020, but the park has now announced more special events and festivals to fill the whole year with fun.

As with several other Cedar Fair parks, these limited time special events are large scale productions that are meant to entice visitors to the park before they miss out. California's Great America has packed their year with a ton of limited run events, giving something new to explore each visit.

Starting off this Spring, the park will hold Spring Fiesta, a brand new event that honors Hispanic culture. From April 25-26, May 2-3 and May 9-10 the park's Hometown Square will transform into La Plaza, filled with authentic food and drink, dance and live entertainment.

Also in May the park's greatly transformed South Bay Shores water park will open to guests for the first time.

Monster Jam: Thunder Alley will also roar its way into California's Great America starting June 20th and running until July 12th. The popular event was at three Cedar Fair parks last year, and will be traveling to three new parks in 2020. Experiences at the event include riding in a real monster truck, interactive displays, play areas, retail offerings and more.

Also running on weekends from June 27th through July 12th is the return of Red, White and Brews. The event features a "hometown celebration of Americana food and fun." Located in Hometown Square, Red, White and Brews features delicious treats, plenty of everyone's favorite beers, family activities, entertainment and fireworks.

This year California's Great America has stepped up their game by making their existing New Orleans style event bigger than ever. Now known as Carnivale at Orleans Place, the event will be home to the Spectacle of Color Parade, already a hit at many Cedar Fair parks.

The event will take place every day from July 28th through August 2nd. There will be plenty of authentic New Orleans style food to try, live entertainment at every corner and even fireworks on select nights.

The Fall will user in the return of Halloween Haunt for adults and The Great Pumpkin Fest for kids, with Winterfest not far after celebrating the holidays.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

California's Great America to Debut New In Park "High-Tech Kid Locator"

California's Great America and announced that they will soon be offering a brand new high-tech kid locator system that's available to rent at the park - starting already with the opening of Winterfest! The technology is powered by Luboo, which we first heard about last year during the IAAPA Expo. At that point the company was planning on entering the North American market in "late 2019" which turned out to be pretty spot on.

For parents who want the added security of knowing where their kids are at all times while in the park, the system allows them to download an app from Luboo and keep track of just that. The app will show a map of the park and constantly update with their kids location, every 60 or 10 seconds depending on setting.

The kids wear the wristbands that are seen in these photos from the park, and they provide the GPS location with a high level of accuracy. California's Great America is renting the system for $12 plus a refundable deposit when the wrist band is returned. Amusement and theme parks have long looked for great ways to avoid "lost parents" as they call them, and this system appears to be a nice way to tackle that problem.

Saturday, August 10, 2019

California's Great America to Transform Water Park in 2020 to South Bay Shores

The long awaited water park transformation at California's Great America is taking place for the 2020 season the park has announced, that is when the all-new South Bay Shores water park will debut.

Say good bye to Boomerang Bay, as South Bay Shores will totally change the existing water park, and expand it in the meantime. Using land the park has gained the past few seasons from closing a handful of attractions bordering the water park, the new park will be 15 acres, growing by almost 5 acres.

South Bay Shores will not only be physically bigger, it will also offer a much fuller water park experience to guests. In addition to an all new theme and new names for existing attractions, the total number of rides and slides will go from 10 to 18, there will double the amount of lounge space, and the number of dining options will increase from one to three.

The expansion will see a brand new slide tower go up, featuring six separate slides. Shark Reef Plunge is four separate trip door body slides that start from six stories above the ground. Feeding Frenzy and the Barracuda are two raft slides also on the tower, the former features a large whirlpool finale, and the latter has tight turns and a giant drop at the end.

Kids will also find an all new play area, named the Tide Pool, complete with eight new child friendly water slides. The zero depth entry pool will be a great place for families to splash and play, and comes with plenty of seating and lounge space. Another addition, Barefoot Beach, is a sand play area that will let kids mimic a day at the beach.

All this new fun will have visitors to South Bay Shores pretty hungry, and California's Great America is also expanding food options with two new locations. Pier 76 Cafe is a large new restaurant serving foods from the area, such as fried shrimp and fresh fish tacos. Also new is the Sand Bar, which will offer cool drinks for guests to enjoy.

South Bay Shores will also feature "a brand new entrance, new family changing/showering areas, more lounge chairs, additional shade and lush landscaping with native plants." Existing cabanas in the park will also be upgraded with "free Wi-Fi, charging stations, ceiling fans, TVs and dedicated food and beverage service."

"South Bay Shores represents the newest phase of a multi-year revitalization of California’s Great America, building on our nearly 50 year heritage of giving Bay Area residents even more reasons to call the park their favorite destination for fun,” said Manny Gonzalez, vice president and general manager of California’s Great America. “Along with the waterpark, recent investments such as the innovative RailBlazer roller coaster, new dining venues, and general park improvements are showing guests and the community that the park’s transformation is fully underway here in the South Bay.”

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Cedar Fair's Purchase of California's Great America is Official + 2020 Construction Is Underway

Cedar Fair's previous announcement of their plans to purchase the land (versus leasing it as they have in the past) that California's Great America sits on is now complete. The company announced that the land acquisition had closed and they paid $150 million for the 112 acres of property.

The land purchase seems like it will give the park a green light on future expansion, which to some degree has stalled in the past year or so.

Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said, “Our purchase of the land on which the park operates underscores Cedar Fair’s long-term commitment to California’s Great America, a unique, family-friendly entertainment destination serving those who call Northern California home. I want to thank the City of Santa Clara for being a valuable partner since our acquisition of the park in 2006, and we look forward to building upon that relationship as we continue to focus on the development of California’s Great America.”

California's Great America was originally expected to have a major water park expansion this season, which now appears to be moving ahead full steam for 2020. Several photos have appeared on social media of the park working on the project, and this video on YouTube from user Railblazer CGA shows a ton of water slide pieces on site along with foundations for a slide tower going in.

The slide pieces look pretty similar to those that have been used in the WhiteWater drop-tower slides that have gone into numerous Cedar Fair parks in the past 5 or so years, and are already being assembled. It seems more pieces have been arriving recently, so there may be even more slides involved as well.

While the park hasn't confirmed it, everyone expects that the park will remove the Boomerang Bay name and theme for the water park, giving it something that fits the park's history more closely.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Cedar Fair to Purchase Land Under California's Great America for $150m

Cedar Fair announced today that they have reached an agreement with the City of Santa Clara to purchase the land under California's Great America for approximately $150 million. Previously the city owned the land and Cedar Fair, and the owners before it, leased it from them. The park originally opened in 1976.

Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said, “This is a once in a generation opportunity to solidify our control of 112 acres in the heart of Santa Clara. The transaction underscores our long-term commitment to enhancing and expanding California’s Great America, insuring a high-quality, family-friendly entertainment destination for those who live and work in Northern California.”

Calfornia's Great America has had a history where, at times, it has seemed as though the park's future was in doubt. The building of the 49ers stadium near the park caused a lot of friction, and tight zoning restrictions were also required by Cedar Fair to be removed in order to clear the path for the future of the park. Those zoning changes were made in 2017, where a new master plan was issued for the park (read more here and here). That plan was filled with new rides, a water park expansion, and the creation of an outside-the-park dining, entertainment, and retail area.

The plan started strong with infrastructure improvements in 2018, RailBlazer this past year, but appeared stalled once again. The park had applied for a tall roller coaster for 2019, then pushed it to 2020, then dropped the application completely. The park also cleared out a huge area for an expected water park expansion that seemed certain for this year, but that hasn't materialized either. It is focusing on additional small improvements and changes for 2019.

But now with this purchase made public, perhaps a bit of light is shed on what the hold up was - conjecture on my part of course, but maybe Cedar Fair was more comfortable owning the land under the park before it started to pour tens of millions into the park.

Time will tell on that, but the news is definitely encouraging. Cedar Fair expects to close the purchase of the park in the next three months, and will finance it through new long-term borrowings.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

California's Great America Gives Drop Tower a New Inspired-By-Nature Look for 2019

While there are no large capital expansions on deck for California's Great America's 2019 season, the park is still taking on plenty of projects to improve the property for this season.

One of them was just detailed on the park's official blog, and that's the transformation of Drop Tower's color scheme to one inspired by Northern California's famous sequoia and redwood trees. The ride is currently being scrubbed of its former paint scheme and soon will have a totally new look.

The park released this image to give an idea of the ride's finished look. Just as on the giant trees of the area, the ride will start with brown at the bottom and slowly transform through orange to green, with the highest part of the tower the lightest green color.

The ride's six cars are also being refurbished and will include new paint schemes to match Drop Tower's new look. The blog does not make any mention of a new name for the attraction, but perhaps that's still in the cards - it would be a perfect time to give the attraction a unique name that better fits its new California-inspired look.

Drop Tower, created by Intamin, opened in 1996 and stands 224 feet tall. Riders free fall toward the ground at speeds of around 62 miles per hour.

Friday, August 3, 2018

Heard On... Cedar Fair's Q2 2018 Conference Call

This week Cedar Fair released their results for the second quarter of 2018, and for the first time in recent memory the results were what you would categorize as less than impressive. The press release can be found at this link, but the company's conference call was where all the good information was. Here are some notes from the call:

• Looking at quarter two alone, revenues were down $12m or 3%, with attendance down 363,000 visits or 5%. There was a 1% increase in per cap revenues, and a $2m or 4% increase in out-of-park revenues. This led to an overall decrease in EBITDA of $23 million, which both the company and investors pay close attention to.

• At the end the second quarter, the company did see deferred revenue up $18m, which comes from season pass and all-season dining (and other product) revenues - this at least is healthy growth. The poor quarter was mostly blamed on weather and record rain in the Mid-Atlantic, much lower season pass sales at Kings Island, and construction and regulatory delays on RailBlazer at California's Great America.

• Cedar Fair also gave a year-to-date update through the end of July 29th, and the results did not show much improvement. Revenue was down 2% or $15m, attendance was down 3% or 408,000, showing more slipping in July instead of gains. Per cap revenue was still up 1% and out-of-park revenues had climbed 4% or $3m. This has led the company to warn that they may not reach the low end of their earlier guidance for the full 2018 year, which was $1.34b to $1.38b in revenues, and $475m to $495m in EBITDA.

• The company is looking to reduce costs in light of the results. Some tactics mentioned were to adjust the parks operating calendars based on demand, investing in technology to schedule the tens of thousands of seasonal workers the parks employ, and to "eliminate rides and attractions that have run their course and are no longer popular." So watch for more announcements of older rides being retired for the 2019 season.

• The Cedar Point Sports Center is performing beyond their expectations, and leading to higher hotel occupancy rates in the Spring and Fall. They still want to build more of these but getting a private/public funding package together is proving tough. The entire resort sold out the past couple weekends. The destination resort marketing for Cedar Point is working, and they are seeing guests coming from further away and staying overnight.

• Kings Island had a "very slow start" to their year, with bad and cold weather in the Spring that hurt attendance and also brought season pass sales down significantly. However, that is compared to 2017 which was an outstanding year for the park, so even with the declines 2018 is on track to be the second highest season pass program in the park's history.

• Cedar Fair did not go into much detail into what caused RailBlazer at California's Great America to open late, but they did say that it hurt the park's season pass sales as well. Since the ride opened, and they noted it has received glowing reviews, the park has performed "largely as expected."

• One bright spot was the performance of Knott's Berry Farm, which is on pace to have a record year of season pass sales, overall attendance and per cap revenues. The park opened Hangtime this year, and has also been a smash success at creating 'four seasons of fun' and being responsive to what their audience wants via festivals and events.

• The overall percentage of season pass holders renewing each year has continued to rise. This fall the company will debut a 12 month payment installment for season passes versus the 9 month schedule they have now to see how each market reacts.

• One analyst asked if the company believes there has been a change in what consumers want, implying that it is no longer amusement parks. Cedar Fair replied that they have seen "nothing to suggest wholesale changes in our guests' attitudes toward the unique entertainment we provide." Cedar Fair is continuing to research what guests want at each park to achieve successful brand positioning (as was done with Knott's), and they're using more focus groups and surveys to do this. This effort has already led to increased special events, parks having executive chefs, upgrades to catering areas, the "seasons of fun" marketing program to drive urgency, and chain-wide resort improvements.

• Cedar Point is having a very tough year from how it sounds. The improvements in the resort's hotels and accommodations are on track to create a record year for out-of-park revenues. Steel Vengeance has led to higher purchase rates of Fast Lane passes, but not much else about the ride was said - very odd. Overall, more investments for the property are coming soon, and it sounds like they meant especially on the resort side of things. Attendance is down this year, which is rough considering Steel Vengeance just opened. They cited examples of rainy weeks in July where attendance was down high single digits to low double digits, but then on a nice week attendance was only up low single digits - meaning the good days are no where near enough to make up for the bad ones.

• A question was posed about acquiring new parks, and the company noted that they are built on mergers and acquisitions in their history, but haven't done one since 2006. They are however "constantly engaged in dialogue on opportunities that maybe are out there." They also gained international park management experience with their new COO, so conversations on global expansion are on the table.

• As for 2019, the parks will "soon" announce "additional world class coasters, immersive and interactive areas for families" and enhancements to in park locations especially food and beverage. In the second half of 2019 the new indoor sports center at Cedar Point will open, and SpringHill Suites will open at Carowinds. Executives have challenged teams to create incremental revenue with less reliance on capital expenditures (like the new Sunset Wine tours that CP is starting). Going forward it sounds like they might try to reign in capital spending, especially since many big projects like current resort expansions and wifi are done. There will be a continued push to try to find a way to boost early season attendance at all the parks.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

RailBlazer Opens June 14th at California's Great America

California's Great America has announced that RailBlazer will open to the public this Thursday, June 14th. The highly anticipated single-rail roller coaster, one of only two on the planet, has had all finishing work completed and is now ready to take visitors on a trek through the California wilderness.

The park's post about the ride opening even includes some snips of on-ride footage, which looks great. I see that they've added a walkway to the first 180 degree turn after the lift and before the first drop:

The adventure begins June 14. #RailBlazer opens to the public this Thursday!

Hit the trail early with Season Passholder preview rides today through Wednesday. Don’t have your Season Pass yet? Don’t wait any longer! Prices go up June 12. https://t.co/s2dHA05Eq4 pic.twitter.com/ReCffiFXkr
— CA Great America (@CAGreatAmerica) June 9, 2018

I love the view at the very end showing the first drop with that tiny opening in the rock formation waiting at the bottom!

Interestingly, the park is actually giving season pass holders rides on RailBlazer right now, as a special preview. They made it clear it will take place all today, but I'm not sure if it will continue Sunday through Wednesday before the ride's official opening.

I was just watching the ride for a bit on the park's live webcam, and it appears they are using two trains right now with very quick dispatches. I'm still quite amazed at how fast the train moves throughout RailBlazer's course, the ride looks like such a blast!

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