CNL Lifestyle Properties Sells Amusement and Water Park Segment

Several U.S. theme and water parks will soon have a new owner, due to the sale of CNL Lifestyle Properties' leisure division to EPR Properties.  The parks came as part of a larger sale that includes many ski resorts, and in total the sale comes in at around $700 million.

Some of the parks (there are 15 in total) that are a part of the transaction include Darien Lake, Frontier City, Magic Springs, Wild Waves, Pacific Park, several Wet 'n' Wild parks, two Hawaiian Falls water parks and more.  Here is the complete list of parks now owned by EPR:

© EPR Properties

The slide is from a summary of the sale from EPR Properties, which isn't actually expected to close until the middle of 2017.  It is also worth noting that the comment at the bottom of the slide indicates that several parks will be leased to Premier Parks to operate when all is said and done.  Premier Parks was already operating most of CNL's parks, but now will pick up two water parks along with Magic Springs and Wild Waves.  Premier Parks currently also owns 4 amusements parks as well.

© EPR Properties

This slide also shows the growth of the group of parks being sold from 2011 through 2015.  Granted there may have been new parks that were added during these years, but it still makes the set look attractive.  Then again, the total revenue of all 15 parks is $207 million in '15, and I'm pretty sure Cedar Point alone makes more than that per year.

CNL previously owned even more parks, but sold off a handful of them individually in recent years, like Elitch Gardens.

EPR Properties' current amusement industry involvement is limited, owning three of the Schlitterbahn water parks, and the indoor and outdoor water parks at Camel Beach in Pennsylvania.

CNL Lifestyle Owned Parks to Soon Have New Owners

CNL Lifestyle Properties is an investment company that has owned several amusement and water parks for years now.  A recent filing with the SEC by the company points out that their are nearing the end of their investment cycle, which means that they will begin selling off their investments (for a profit, one would hope).  For instance, they just finished an agreement to sell a ton of golf courses they also owned.

Here's a list, created by CNL, of the parks they currently own:

This is quite a mix of properties, but there are several of note.  Those include Darien Lake, Elitch Gardens, Frontier City, Magic Springs, Pacific Park, and Wild Waves Theme Park.  There are also a lot of water parks, with bigger names like the North American Wet 'n' Wild parks, and two of the Hawaiian Falls parks.

CNL doesn't operate any of these parks, since they are investments, with different firms handling that portion under contract.

Darien Lake is managed by Herschend Family Entertainment, and has seen modest additions in recent years.  I have to wonder how tightly CNL held the purse strings, limiting what Herschend could really do.  It would make sense to me for them to purchase the park, but you never know.  If they do it could mean a whole new chapter in the park's life, and one that could be exciting.

Elitch Gardens, Frontier City, White Water Bay and the Wet 'n' Wild Parks are currently operated by Premier Parks, LLC - a company that has changed names several times already but was founded by former Six Flags executives.  I would also think that if they can get the loan, they would go for purchasing these parks as well.

Magic Springs is managed by AMP, Wild Waves by NorPoint Entertainment, and Pacific Park by Santa Monica Amusements LLC, so it is not clear if these entities could/would purchase those parks or if another operator would swoop in.

As for all the other smaller water parks and fun centers, well your guess is a good as mine right now.  I'm not sure I see any of the big operators - like Six Flags or Cedar Fair - going after and of CNL's parks, but it would be interesting if they did - for sure!  Either way I'm sort of glad to see the parks leave CNL ownership since I think they stifled them a bit.  I'll be excitedly on the lookout for news of sales.

Pacific Park Being Sold To CNL Lifestyle

The Santa Monica Daily Press is reporting that Pacific Park, located in Santa Monica, CA, is set to be sold to CNL Lifestyle Properties for $34 million. 

The amusement park has been owned and operated by Santa Monica Amusements since its opening in 1996.  If the city counsel approves the sale, it could come as soon as this evening.

CNL Lifestyle Properties is expected to keep most management already in place, much like they've done with the other parks they own.  CNL has been in the news lately due to their terminating of the lease they had with PARC Management to operate such properties as Darien Lake and Elitch Gardens, among others.

Now it looks like they will have one more park to offer potential management parties when they review CNL's portfolio.

Daily Spin 8.31.09

Adventure Park USA in New Market, Maryland has officially announced the addition of a 5.5-acre water park for the 2010 season. Construction will be completed in two phases. The first phase will consist of a 20,000 square foot wave pool, an interactive water play structure, and a 1500 square foot "Kiddy Spray" area. The second phase will incorporate a quarter mile long lazy river and slide towers. On an interesting note, park owner Larry Stottlemyer has stated in the past that he hopes to raise the majority of the funds required to complete the project through special multi-year pass sales. Additional renderings as well as information on these unique passes can be found on the park's web site.

Instead of counting down the number of days left in summer, how about counting down to something a little more pleasant? Southern California's famed Santa Monica Pier is gearing up to celebrate its 100th anniversary on September 9, 2009. The occasion will be marked by many festivities, including a ceremonial cake cutting by a group of centenarians and the pier's first large-scale fireworks display in 18 years. On a coast once dotted with amusement piers, Santa Monica's Pacific Park now stands as the last relic of a bygone golden age. The Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation hopes to draw upon this rich history to create an even brighter future. You can read more about the planned centennial festivities in the Los Angeles Times as well as on the pier's own centennial web page.

Back on the East Coast, Anthony Raffaelle and the rest of those formerly employed at Joe Sitt's Dreamland amusement park at Coney Island will be counting something entirely different: their losses. The state Supreme Court has denied Raffaelle's plea to force Sitt to reopen Dreamland, thus sealing the beleaguered park's fate for the remainder of the 2009 season. On the bright side, some lucky ride operator will now have the opportunity to purchase the park's Dragon Wagon roller coaster, which came from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, for a cool $95,000 on UsedRides.com. Butch Butler, the ride's owner, has decided to sell the coaster rather than attempt to truck it back to California. Amusing the Zillion has the full scoop.

Technology continues to be an enthusiast's best friend as more and more parks begin to utilize it to offer real-time information to guests. Not to be left off the bandwagon, Funtown Splashtown USA has announced the release of their new "Funtown Splashtown USA Virtual Brochure" application for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The application, which is available through the Apple iTunes App Store, can be used to access a park map as well as real-time information on everything from park hours to entertainment.

Aerial Antics: California's Beach Parks

The East coast is particularly rich in it's history of seaside amusement parks and piers, but let's not forget that there are some West coast classics as well!

First up we have Belmont Park.  Located in the Mission Bay area of San Diego, the park has a long, rich history of providing seaside amusements to throngs of people.  The star of the park is the Giant Dipper, which opened on July 4th, 1925.  Designed by Prior and Church, the classic wooden coaster is still thrilling riders today.

Here's a link to Bing's aerials.

Here's Pacific Park, located on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California.  Look familiar?  Well, that's probably because the park has been featured in countless TV shows, movies, and commercials.  It's quite often that I flip on the old boob tube and see the park in a car commercial, or Lifetime movie.  (did I just admit that I watch Lifetime movies!?)  The coaster is named West Coaster and was built by Morgan Manufacturing in 1996.

Pacific Park also made headlines last year when they auctioned their Ferris Wheel on Ebay, which ended up selling for $132,000 and will eventually reside in Oklahoma City.  Click here to see Pacific Park's aerials.

Last, but not least, we have the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which was founded in 1907 and is California's oldest operating amusement park.  Above we see a selection of the rides and attractions that the seaside park offers.

The Giant Dipper wooden coaster is easily Santa Cruz's most famous attraction.  The classic ride opened in 1924 and is now a National Historic Landmark.  Another Prior and Church design, the coaster was built in just 47 days at a cost of $50,000.

That Log Flume looks like fun!  We all know that I'm partial to flumes, though.  You can see the wide variety of rides that the park offers in this photo, including the park's kiddie coaster, the Sea Serpent.  Here's the link to the Bing aerials.

Pacific Park is For Sale

According to this article from the Santa Monica Daily Press, Pacific Park is now for sale by its current owners. This isn't some huge shock though, as the current investment group always planned to sell the property to make a return on their money when the time was right.

They also clearly point out that they intend for the new owners to keep the park operating similar to how it is now, so we have no fears of the place closing it looks.

I wish I had a ton of money - what a great purchase Pacific Park would be! Sigh ... daydreaming is fun though.