Reopening Dates Planned for Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando + First Cedar Fair Parks to Open

© Disney

Some major announcements came today with regard to parks reopening, the largest of which is Walt Disney World in Orlando starting to reopen on July 11th (pending final approval from Florida's Governor).  On that day both the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will open, and a few days later on July 15th both Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot will welcome back guests.

The property has paused new ticket sales and hotel reservations in order to focus on guests with existing tickets and hotel plans - this includes annual passholders.  Guests will need to utilize a reservation system in order to visit the parks to control crowding - the park's attendance will be limited as expected.

The parks will hold off on holding shows, parades and fireworks for now, since these events create crowd gathering situations.  Face masks for anyone aged 3 and up will be required across the entire resort, except for when people are eating or swimming, and touchless temperature checks will be used.

Walt Disney World is a gigantic property, and arguably the largest park (set of parks) reopening that this country will see.  To that end everyone has a lot of questions about the property's 'new normal' so be sure to check out this site for some additional details.

© SeaWorld Entertainment

SeaWorld Orlando has also detailed their plans to reopen their park, which they hope to do on June 11th.  The park would like to hold an employee appreciation/test day on June 10th as well.

The park appears be waiting for final approval from the Governor until they update their website with official plans, however several sites are covering information from their presentation today.  The park will require guests aged two and a half and older to wear a mask, and will also utilize temperature screenings.  Interestingly, they do still plan to have parades though all guest interaction will be removed from them.

The reopening plans include Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove - all properties will have strict social distancing markers in place to keep guests spaced out.  That is an especially big concern for animal exhibits, where visitors commonly gather.

Expect to see more from the park with regard to their full plan as soon as they receive final approval.

© Cedar Fair

It also looks as though we have our first set of Cedar Fair parks to open, the recently purchased Schlitterbahn New Braunfels and Schlitterbahn Galveston.

No specific dates have been set yet for these two water parks to reopen, but the parks did post this today:

"We are pleased that Governor Abbott’s reopening plans now include waterparks. The safety of our guests and associates has always been, and will always be, our top priority.  Schlitterbahn is preparing to reopen our properties mid-June with enhanced safety measures and operational changes throughout both of our parks. We miss you and cannot wait to welcome you back to the Hottest, Coolest Time in Texas."

Unless another Cedar Fair park makes an announcement soon, it seems that these parks opening in "mid-June" could be the first for the company.

Schlitterbahn Galveston Indoor Water Park Closing for Extended Refurbishments

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Schlitterbahn Galveston, now a part of the Cedar Fair family, has announced that it will close its indoor operations early for the season on November 17th for extended refurbishments and improvements.

Touting a "new and improved experience in 2020," the water park will see a number of changes that will make guests more comfortable starting when it reopens on February 29th, 2020.  When Cedar Fair closed on the purchase of the two Schlitterbahn water parks they said that they were planning some significant capital expenditures for them over the next two years, this seems to be the first of them to be announced.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

So what exactly is happening?  The park has posted an information update about the changes and described some of them in detail.  They plan to focus on attraction maintenance, improve the food and beverage operations of the park, renovate all the restrooms, and give the park's main entrance a full makeover to make getting in the park faster, more streamlined and "prettier."

Granted none of these things are an exciting massive new water slide or attraction, but after Cedar Fair has some time to make cosmetic and operational changes this year I wouldn't be shocked to see a big new attraction in 2021.

Schlitterbahn Galveston also promises additional announcements, surprises, and updates to be posted to their blog as work progresses, so stay tuned for more details.

Cedar Fair Enters Agreement to Purchase Two Texas Schlitterbahn Water Parks

Some exciting (and surprising!) news broke this morning as Cedar Fair announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to purchase two water parks, one with a full resort attached, from Schlitterbahn.

Cedar Fair will spend about $261 million to become the owner of Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort in New Braunfels, Texas and Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Galveston, Texas.  The deal also comes with the ability for Cedar Fair to purchase 40 acres of land in Kansas City, Kansas that Schlitterbahn was operating as a water park for an additional $6 million.

The company's press release notes that Cedar Fair believes they will be able to incorporate the parks into their system of parks easily over the course of two or so years.  They see the Texas market as a developing one and are already proud of the fact that Schlitterbahn New Braunfels has been voted the country's best water park for 21 years, and Schlitterbahn Galveston has been ranked the best indoor water park for a decade.

The deal is expected to close in the 2nd quarter of 2019, which means by the end of this month, and the company will take on new long term debt to pay for it.

The new map of Cedar Fair properties © Cedar Fair

Cedar Fair states that the two Schlitterbahn parks and the resort had attendance of 1.2 million and revenues of $68 million in 2018.  They hope to get the parks to their overall EBITDA margin of 35% within two years, an important factor for Cedar Fair's overall growth goals over the new few seasons.  At the close of the transaction, Schlitterbahn's 221 rooms will combine with Cedar Fair's existing resort operations to total more than 2,000 rooms, 600 RV sites and two marinas.

© Schlitterbahn New Braunfels

The fact that Cedar Fair is purchasing two of Schlitterbahn's water parks is a surprise, but the fact that they were for sale is not.  Schlitterbahn has had some troubles over the past few years, not the least of which was the accident at the Kansas City park, that I won't detail here.  The family-owned company was heavily leveraged on the Kansas development, and now that it has closed it sounds like there was not much of a choice but to sell the remaining parks to pay off that debt before they became bank owned.

Also of note, the Schlitterbahn park and resort in South Padre will remain family owned but will be rebranded to remove the Schlitterbahn name.  A 4th park, Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi, was sold off during a bankruptcy proceeding in 2018 so it ss already technically no longer a part of the chain.  It sounds like both may no longer use the Schlitterbahn name after the 2019 season concludes.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Schlitterbahn has a FAQ up already regarding the sale, available here, which has some interesting tidbits.  They state that "it’s important to know that Cedar Fair values Schlitterbahn’s character and brand promise.  They have committed to not only keeping Schlitterbahn awesome but helping us grow!"  While I have not personally been to a Schlitterbahn water park, it's well known that their attraction roster and operating policies are quite different than Cedar Fair's.   For instance, the FAQ notes that guests will still be able to bring their own food and drink into the parks... at least for the 2019 season.

Schlitterbahn's corporate statement on the transaction, which is really saving them from a heap of trouble, paints the future equally bright for the remaining two branded parks:

Cedar Fair is a dynamic, brand-oriented company.  Under Cedar Fair’s leadership, the Schlitterbahn brand will have an opportunity to grow and expand like the early days when the sky was the limit. While it’s a difficult decision, after several challenging years, we believe that our team, communities, guests, and fans are going to enjoy what lies ahead.  We believe Cedar Fair, with their approach to embracing parks that have a unique footprint, will be a phenomenal owner, and with the talented people that are the Schlitterbahn Family, will take Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts to the next level of world-class family entertainment.

To be clear, I'm not saying that the future of these two water parks is not bright, but I definitely think it will be a lot different than it is now.  And maybe that is a good thing, depends on perspective.  It's interesting that Cedar Fair appears to be set on keeping the Schlitterbahn name in use... and these quotes even hint at possibly growing the name in time.  We will see.

As for the Kansas City property, I fully expect Cedar Fair to purchase it, sit on the land for a number of years, remove the water park attractions, then resell it for other development.  The property is only a 26 mile drive from Worlds of Fun, a well established Cedar Fair park.  I simply cannot see them competing with themselves on that front by continuing to develop the former Schlitterbahn park.

Exciting news though, as it's been a long time since Cedar Fair added parks to the chain!  Will be interesting to watch down the road.

New Infinity Racers Slide Tower Opening at Schitterbahn Galveston This Summer

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

A pair of record-breaking head first mat racing water slides will open this summer at Schlitterbahn Galveston, the water park has revealed.

Called Infinity Racers, the slides will be individually named Orbiter and Galaxy and be themed after outer space and the great men and women of the NASA program, according to Schlitterbahn Galveston.

The multi-million dollar investment is planned to open in June of 2019.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

This layout shows the individual paths of both Orbiter and Galaxy, each start at 75 feet above the ground.  Mat racing slides are traditionally much smaller than this and features a few mild hills on the way down, but Schlitterbahn Galveston has sized-up the slides to a full 696 feet long.

The slides will be built out of a pairing of Schlitterbahn and WhiteWater West, containing enclosed slide sections from start to final splashdown.  The paths will feature unique sections of slide that let multi-colored light into each side in alternating patterns.  The main colors of the slide are "deep space blue, event horizon green and astronaut ice cream pink."

The new slides will be built on the top of an existing tower that already has three slides currently coming off of it - a great way to save costs and space!

Massiv - World's Tallest Water Coaster - Now Open at Schiltterbahn Galveston

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Schlitterbahn Galveston Island has opened the world's tallest water coaster, aptly named Massiv, to eager riders.  Massiv, German for the world massive, represent a large investment into the Texas water park that is sure to turn heads of both visitors to the park and those passing by.  Featuring slide pieces in green, red and white, the towering attraction stretches nearly 1,000 feet long and gives riders a coaster-like experience including four uphill sections.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Much secrecy went into keeping the actual height of Massiv from the press for many months, even as construction of the slide was finished.  Just recently park officials (seen above) had the ride measured by Guinness World Records to verify that its height - 81 feet, 6 and three quarter inches - makes it the tallest of its kind in the world.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

The water coaster's thrills start after a climb of 123 steps to the very top, where riders launch in a double tube down the first drop.  The 135 segments that make up Massiv include several steep plunges, tunneled curves and a translucent helix section.  The finale of the ride is a triple-down plunge toward the splash pool, touted by the park as the first on a water coaster.  Additionally, the uphill sections do not have a net 'cage' around them like other water coasters (thanks to a new slide design), giving riders an unparalleled view of the action.

Schlitterbahn Galveston's MASSIV Ride Animation + Work Progress

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Schlitterbahn Galveston is hard at work on MASSIV, the park's new 10th anniversary water roller coaster present which will be the tallest in the world when it opens this June.  New renderings, like the one above, of the attraction have also been released.  Here we can see how all of the 135 slide segments will come together to create the slide, which will stretch an impressive 926 feet long.

While the park isn't ready to say just how tall the slide is (that should come next month or so), plenty of other statics like 4 uphill blasts and a translucent helix section, are available.

Just recently released, this point of view ride on MASSIV shows all the thrill that await riders.  The ride ends with a big triple-down series of drops, which could provide a bit of air to those on board the rafts.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Finally, Schlitterbahn Galveston has been keeping tabs on the MASSIV construction work, with a somewhat recent blog entry detailing the progress so far.  The above photo shows how the park is building the ride in a pretty thin strip of land - but by going up very high they're getting a ton of slide in a small space!

World's Tallest Water Coaster - Massiv - Opening at Schlitterbahn Galveston in '16

Schlitterbahn Galveston has been promising the reveal of something big for quite some time now, and today they made good on that promise.  The new attraction that is coming is named Massiv (named after the German word for massive), which will be the world's tallest water coaster when it opens.

Schlitterbahn will build Massiv in partnership with WhiteWater West, and the water coaster will feature white, green, red and one translucent "belly of the beast" curve.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

Here is what Massiv will look like when completed, featuring 923 feet of water coaster track with an undisclosed height - however the park is happy to confirm it will be the tallest in the world.  The layout features four separate uphill blast sections, and a first-of-its-kind triple down element into the final splash area.  Riders will be in one or two person rafts that they will carry up the 123 steps to the very top.

© Schlitterbahn Galveston

“We are thrilled to be bringing this iconic ride to Galveston Island,” said Ron Sutula, General Manager for Schlitterbahn Galveston Island. “It’s a massive anniversary present to all our guests, and is going to be a blast to ride!”  The exact height of Massiv will be revealed later this Spring, and an official opening date will come once the ride is built and tested.

Schlitterbahn Galveston Teasing "Massive" New Ride for 2016

'Tis the season for teasing yet unannounced new attractions, at least for Schlitterbahn Galveston Island, located on Galveston Island in Texas.  The popular indoor/outdoor water park combination has released a new teaser video for an attraction that seems like it will turn plenty of heads next Summer when it opens.

Here's the new video:

This "massive" new attraction is still shrouded in mystery, though I think it is worth pointing out that they mention and show footage of Verruckt at Schlitterbahn Kansas City, which is the world's tallest waterslide.  Schlitterbahn had an extensive test and adjust phase for that ride and even made physical modifications to it, however, so perhaps one of the same scale isn't in the cards - but you never know.

If you watch through to the end of the clip there's some claw marks that slash down the screen, and the creepy eyes that are at the top of this story also flash.  Leads to a pretty obvious conclusion that the new attraction will be animal themed, perhaps to a type of jungle cat.  We'll have to stay tuned to hear more from the park about what this will be!

Schlitterbahn Galveston 2011: Shipwreck Harbor

You know you have a good thing going when you are voted the best indoor water park for three years running, but Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark isn't one to rest on its laurels.  The park has announced a major new addition for the 2011 season: Shipwreck Harbor Wave Lagoon.

 © Schlitterbahn

Schlitterbahn Galveston features both a massive indoor section, and also an outdoor water park as well.  The new, 100,000 gallon wave lagoon, will be located in the outdoor Blastenhoff section.  The pool will feature "three foot waves along with a new beached ship kids' slide, a whimsical clam shell slide, enormous lifeboat shade structures, additional lounging and more picnic tables."

 © Schlitterbahn

The new area is scheduled to be open for the Summer season.  More information about Schlitterbahn Galveston is available at its website.