Breaking news from Journal-News.com:

 

CBS to sell Kings Island, other Paramount parks

Associated Press

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. | CBS Corp. is selling its Paramount Parks division, which operates Kings Island in Mason and four other sites in North America that draw more than 12 million visitors a year...

Cedar Fair, now's your chance!

It would be quite the catch for a company who has focused on slow growth. Cedar Fair would have to muster quite a bit of money to pull of a stunt such as buying the parks. It is not as though it isn't possible, but previous quick growth strategies in the Amusement Industry has not worked so well (See Six Flags). I'm sure Cedar Fair could do it, but there would be quite the risk in buying so many properties at the same time.

 

That brings up the question of whether or not CBS will sell them separately, and from what I have heard it was their intention to sell them as a whole. I also remember hearing that an investment firm led by a previous Viacom Executive might try to buy them out. If this falls through, and they decide to sell them separately, then I do hope that Cedar Fair picks up PKI, and performs a clean house of a bunch of people in upper management.

I think my friend who is in management at PKI has said that officials from Busch Gardens have checked out the park in the past (this was probably a couple of years ago).  Although obviously nothing came of it at the time, it does appear there was some sort of interest there.  PKI has been trying to generate revenue in the off season (WinterFest, Great Wolf Lodge), but Paramount/Viacom execs sometimes fail to remember the seasonal nature of a park like PKI.   

 

I'll have to talk to him and see what he's heard--I'm sure there are plenty of rumors going around.

 

Also, I assume CBS Corporation wants to focus more on its core business since it was separated from Viacom.  Viacom is pretty much just a bunch of cable channels now.  CBS Corporation consists of "mass-media brands, which are led by two broadcast networks in CBS and UPN; the CBS television stations group; CBS Radio; the CBS, Paramount and King World television production and syndication operations; the well-known premium cable brand Showtime; as well as Viacom Outdoor, Paramount Parks and Simon & Schuster."

^thanks for the info.

For the love of god, what ever happens I hope it isn't bought by Six Flags.  They are the dumpiest parks around.

It is HIGHLY unlikely that it will be bought by Six Flags, so don't worry (as Six Flags has been SELLING parks lately).

 

Cedar Fair is a good chance, though the Universal group and Busch group are also equally as interested.  It's anybody's game.

P&G should buy it and have "Ivory Soap" characters walking around the park.  They can hand out a free tube of crest at the gate. ;)

From the 2/20/06 Cincinnati Business Courier:

 

 

Paramount's Kings Island riding coaster of offers

Amusement park could fetch up to $200 million

Lisa Biank Fasig

Staff Reporter

 

Paramount's Kings Island, the Mason theme park now on the selling block, is expected to fetch a purchase price of as much as $200 million and attract some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, observers say.

 

Universal Studios, Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks and Cedar Fair -- the owner of Cedar Point near Cleveland -- are among the amusement park operators expected to bid on Kings Island and four other parks...

 

© 2006 American City Business Journals Inc.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/02/20/story5.html

 

I would love to see a Busch Gardens-Zinzinnati.  Of all those mentioned as possible buyers, I think Busch has the best parks.  The Busch Gardens parks don't have as many rides as the others but the ones they have are pretty cool.  They also have the most character, although Universal Studios isn't too far behind.  And, not to mention, they offer free beer tasting. 

Oh man, if Busch buys Kings Island and the other franchises...this will be one happy ColDayMan!

 

Universal ain't bad either. 

From the 4/14/06 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: Work crews put the final coats of paint on some of the buildings at Paramount's Kings Island in preparation for opening day today. The 34-year-old park draws about 3.2 million visitors a year.  The Enquirer/ Tony Jones

 

PHOTO: Kenny Snider cleans the area around the Rugrats Runaway Reptar ride at Kings Island in the expanded Nickelodeon Universe, getting it ready for today's visitors. It typically takes eight to 10 hours after the park closes for cleanup, according to Don Miller, vice president of park operations who started working as a ride operator for the Bavarian Beetle when the park opened in 1972.  The Enquirer/Tony Jones

 

Kings Island up for sale

Little change expected in Paramount theme

BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

MASON - Paramount's Kings Island will open today, bringing the promise of big bucks for the region and big excitement for more than 3 million park-goers.

 

But the future of the theme park is up in the air.

 

CBS Corp. in January put its Paramount Parks division - which includes Kings Island - up for sale...

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

Fun facts about the park

* Park cleanup takes eight to 10 hours every night.

* The tallest point in the park is Drop Zone at 300 feet.

* The park has four miles of wooden roller coaster track.

* The most common "special request" at the park: couples wanting to get married there; most often at the Eiffel Tower.

* The most common item in the lost and found: cell phones.

 

Then and now at PKI

Kings Island has had several makeovers in its three-decade run.

 

THEN

* When it opened in 1972, it covered 150 acres and included 31 rides.

* Admission was $5 to $6, and parking was free.

* It drew about 2 million people during its first season.

 

NOW

* It covers about 364 acres and has more than 50 rides.

* Admission prices vary. Online tickets for "adults," ages 7-59, cost $37.99. Online tickets for children ages 3-6; for those under 48 inches tall; and for people aged 60 and up cost $29.99. Walk-up tickets cost more. Group packages and multi-day tickets can cost less. Parking is $7 a day.

* It draws about 3.2 million visitors annually.

 

Source: Kings Island, Enquirer research

 

Park hours

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until the park opens daily May 24. The park also will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 19. The park's regular 10 a.m.-to-10 p.m. hours will begin May 26.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS01/604140430/1056/rss02

 

Cedar Fair Conisidering to buy Paramounts Kings Island

from The Toledo Blade

 

From the Annual Stockholder's Meeting:

"After the meeting, Mr. Kinzel (CEO of Cedar Fair) revealed Cedar Fair is considering buying Kings Island, an amusement park near Cincinnati that was put up for sale by its owner, CBS Corp. That park is one of five in CBS' Paramount Parks division."...

 

---

Well, this is big, huge news, as tiny as it is. If Cedar Fair is truly interested in PKI, and truly going to buy the park, then I feel it could be good or bad news for the park. It's good in the fact that Cedar Fair is an awesome chain with a proven track record, but it could be bad in that Cedar Fair will have a monopoly in Ohio over the major amusement parks. Owning the competitor is an easy way to take the competitor out of competition. Not necessarily a bad thing, though, as PKI in recent years has gone a different route than Cedar Point with their rides. Cedar Point would continue to cater to the big kids, while PKI could continue to be a world class family park. 

 

Personally, I really hope Cedar Fair buys the park. I'd really like to get a season pass I could use at both parks, that could be a huge selling point of season passes, and I also think that Cedar Fair would run the park in a wonderful manner.

 

I know for a fact that PKI has been sold (I used to be a manager at the park), but so far everyone has been mum on the subject until now. Hopefully the new owner will be revealed soon, and should it be Cedar Fair, hopefully we will see PKI revert to being homely Kings Island.

 

This would be great as long as Cedar Fair doesn't ruin the park like they did Geagua Lake when they bought it from Six Flags. There was alot of mess the first year as far as Cedar Fair not accepting season passes or tickets won as prizes from Six Flags as well as when people finally got into the park half the rides were shut down and the water park was not open. I don't know how it was last summer, but driving by on a hot sunny summer afternoon and seeing not one ride in operation or car in the parking lot is not a good sign. I'd be weary of Cedar Fair owning King's island unless they buy it and have a plan for seemlessly rebranding and opening the park. They do such a great job at Cedar Point you wonder how they could screw up a smaller park.

^ You are scaring me :(

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/business-6/1148306054183300.xml&storylist=cleveland

 

Cedar Fair buys Paramount Parks for $1.2 billion

5/22/2006, 9:52 a.m. ET

The Associated Press  

 

NEW YORK (AP) Cedar Fair LP, an Ohio-based amusement park operator, is buying the Paramount Parks business from CBS Corp. for $1.24 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday...

 

 

Very interesting. 

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

What rivarly?!  We own you b*tches!  LOL  :-P

^I guess you're right...they are called 'theme parks' and Cedar Point is know for its landmark rides not its actual themeing of them or the park....whereas that has been the focus for KI for some time now...along with great rides!

Horrible. 

 

Cedar Fair's track record is abysmal (Valleyfair, Geauga Lake, Worlds of Fun, dropping Camp Snoopy).

 

Lord knows P. Great America is already horrific; adding Cedar Fair is only going to kill the Bay Area's only theme park (SF Marine World is a joke).  This is terrible news.  I honestly would've rather had Six Flags bought it (atleast then, it'd know priorities).

 

Alas.

Well, I knew this was coming, and I can say that in time this will probably be better for the parks. Sure, they could charge an arm and a leg to get in, but then there are those few competitors that could seize the moment, The Beach and Holiday World. First, the Beach could capitalize on the fact that a large portion of PKI passholders use their pass as a swim club membership, and I would venture to say that it is quite the nice club membership. If the prices become exorbitant, then it would become the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the prices and reestablish their dwindling passholder numbers. Secondly, it is only a short drive to other parks such as Holiday World, Indiana Beach, and Kentucky Kingdom, and some of those parks are really good. Personally, I love Holiday World, their amazing woodies, their free Beverages (yes Free), amazing waterpark (voted number 2 in the nation), and low price. I would imagine that should gouging begin more people would start to have my viewpoint too. The same could be applied to the Cleveland Market, if gouging begins, then why not go to Kennywood? Sure it is in Pittsburgh, but that does not change the fact that the park is amazing.

 

While it is possible for gouging to occur, I highly doubt that we are going to see it. Cedar Fair is a buisness that capitalizes on return visits, and when people feel screwed, they are not going to return, and those lack of returns will seriously hurt the company's bottom line. This fact is especially true when a company has to pay off a 1.25 billion dollar purchase. Add in that there are still nearby Non-CF properties that are high quality, and I find it highly unlikely that that we should worry about gouging. After all, Cedar Fair's stock symbol is FUN, and there is no FUN in gouging.

 

I see a huge marketing opportunity available for Cedar Fair, in that they could easily market all three parks as a package. Why go to Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, and Kennywood when you could go to Michigan's Adventure, Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, and Kings Island for less? Kind of sounds nice, don't you think? I really, really hope that they implement a system wide season pass. Doesn't anyone else think that that would be a nice deal.

 

Fun fact, should this transaction go through (and it will), Cedar Fair will own the top three Seasonal Parks by attendance. Those are in order, Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, and Cedar Point.

 

EDIT: Read through the conference call powerpoint presentation by Cedar Fair, interesting that they are looking to only break even in 07 and 08, and that they specifically call out that they now have access to the Nickelodeon Brand. It would not be surprising at all if Nick properties are brought into all parks, as let's face it, but kids love Nickelodeon, and it is a gold mine waiting to be fully exploited.

Like I posted in another thread I just hope they don't pull a Geauga Lake at Kings Island. They have screwed up enough aquired parks that by now they should know what NOT to do.

Having grown up going to King's Island I am a little wary of this also.  While it has very successfully gone after the family demographic (i.e. expanding offerings to small children) in recent years they still have some great thrill rides.  Will Cedar Fair try to differentiate the parks more, and other than Cedar Point are any of the other Cedar Fair parks very good?  From a business standpoint you would think they would do everything to make them both successful, but I wonder if at some point King's Island loses out on capital improvements to keep the home park strong.

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

What rivarly?!  We own you b*tches!  LOL  :-P

 

Since when is "we" Sandusky?

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

What rivarly?!  We own you b*tches!  LOL  :-P

 

Since when is "we" Sandusky?

 

If Columbus can claim Chillicothe we (Cleveland) can claim Cedar point.

Kings Island still owns six flags over Georgia.

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

What rivarly?!  We own you b*tches!  LOL  :-P

 

Since when is "we" Sandusky?

 

If Columbus can claim Chillicothe we (Cleveland) can claim Cedar point.

Cedar Point probably pulls more people from metro Detroit than Cleveland. I could definitely be wrong though.

From the Middletown Journal:

 

New owner: no changes now at Kings Island

By John Nolan

 

The sale of Paramount's Kings Island and four other amusement parks to the company that owns the Cedar Point park in northern Ohio won't mean any immediate changes in operation of the parks, an executive overseeing the deal said Monday...

 

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/content/shared/oh/news/0522kingsislandweb.html

What does this do to the Cedar Point v King's Island rivalry?

 

What rivarly?!  We own you b*tches!  LOL  :-P

 

Since when is "we" Sandusky?

 

If Columbus can claim Chillicothe we (Cleveland) can claim Cedar point.

 

Trust me, Columbus doesn't claim Chillicothe.  The Census does.  It's Cleveland that wants to claim everything from Sandusky to Conneaut to Wooster.

 

If anything, Cedar Point is Detroit/Michigan's.

Bigger, better rides in store?

King's Island sold to Cedar Point's parent for $1.2B

BY JAMES MCNAIR | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

By summer's end, the Beast and the Raptor could be siblings.

 

While the prospective new owner of Kings Island gave few details of its plans Monday, experts said the purchase by Cedar Point's parent company could mean lower admission prices for visitors to the Mason amusement park...

About the two parks

Cost: Admission prices won't change this year. Cedar Point actually dropped its admission price for this summer and costs less than Kings Island.

 

Paramount's Kings Island

Location: Exit 24 off Interstate 71, Mason

Favorites: In its 35th season, PKI has more than 55 rides. The Beast is the world's longest coaster ride (4 minutes, 50 seconds). Son of Beast is the world's tallest (214 feet) and fastest (78 mph) wooden coaster.

New: Hanna-Barbera Land turned into Nickelodeon Universe, a concentration of Nick-themed rides. Nickelodeon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, roam the grounds.

Hours: Daily starting Wednesday through Aug. 23, then Sept. 2-4, Sept. 24 and 30, Friday-Sunday through Oct. 29. Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay opens Saturday.

Tickets: $49.99 for a one-day pass, although there are a variety of discounts if you buy online (including three-days in advance); $29.99 for a child ages 3-6, an adult 60 or older or anybody 48 inches in height or shorter; children 2 or younger free; daily parking $10. All prices include water park. Season passes are $106.99 (through today) for adults; "four pack" $319.96; $73.99 for children and seniors; season parking (for one driver) is $29.99. Passes are good at all other Paramount parks.

Information: (513) 754-5700; www.pki.com

 

Cedar Point

Location: 1 Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky.

Favorites: Nestled along Lake Erie, Cedar Point is celebrating its 137th year. It's known as America's Coaster Coast because of its 16 roller coasters, ranging from Top Thrill Dragster (420 feet high; 120 mph) to Jr. Gemini (20 feet high; 6 mph). Its most popular non-coaster thrill rides are Power Tower, a 300-foot drop ride, and Demon Drop, a 131-foot freefall that plummets at 55 mph.

New: One thrill ride and one light show. The thrill ride is Skyhawk, a vicious version of the backyard swing that towers 134 feet in the air. Riders experience weightlessness at the top of each arc as they hit speeds close to 60 mph. The light show is "Hot Summer Light: Fire Up the Night," a 10 p.m. show that combines music, light, video and pyrotechnics.

Tickets: $39.95 single-day admission for adults; $9.99 for seniors and children under 48 inches tall; children 2 or under free; $9 parking. Fee for water park. Season passes $99.95 for adults and $54 for people 62 or older and children under 48 inches tall; $154.95 season pass for both parks; season parking pass $65.

Information: (419) 627-2350; www.cedarpoint.com

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/BIZ01/605230353

^I grew up in Sandusky, and worked at Cedar Point and local hotels while growing up.  I would wager that more people come from Greater Cleveland than anywhere else, but that the Michiganders have the largest local impact, due to the fact that they are much more likely to stay over night.  Clevelanders tend to drive in and out on the same day, since it's only an hour away for most, and much less than an hour for many west siders.

Kings Island still owns six flags over Georgia.

 

Really, are you sure about that?

Kings Island still owns six flags over Georgia.

 

This is not correct.  I wasn't at TW corporate at the time, but IIRC, TW (Six Flag operated under the Time Warner Entertainment Division) sold its 49% holding of the Six Flags brand to Prime Star.  TW was unloading "bad debt" businesses as the theme parks along with some of the TV channels and recorded music division were doing badly and largely in debt.

 

TW holds a 35% (i think) interest in Prime Star.

lol I meant the slang term for owning something...sorry about the confusion. I went to Six Flags Over Georgia and noticed Kings Island is significantly better. Not just with the amount of rides but Kings Island has a really good selection of food compared to the Six Flags I went to and Kings Island seems to have a lot more acrage and appears less crowded because there's more open area to walk.

 

...and what the hell? Six Flags has over 2 Billion in debt? How do they plan to pay that off with such a low profit margin?

Has anyone been to Geauga Lake in the last year?  I know the first year CF operated the park things were very rough.  This happend because CF purchased the park right before the season, and since Six Flags still owned the branding/theaming on the rides, CF imediatly HAD to remove them, based on the purchasing contract.  I never went there when it was Six Flags, but I did go the first year CF owned it, I liked a lot of the rides but the park itself did need some work.

 

Since Paramount is completely out of the thrill park business, CF has the ability to plan the integration of the Paramount parks into the CF system.  The fact that they are looking to keep the Nickolodian name is promising, maybe they will keep some other stuff.  I don't see them doing one season pass for the whole system, although it would be awesome to use your Kings Island Season Pass at Knott's Barry Farm or whatever.  I do imagine, though, that they will do something where you can use the same pass at all 3 Ohio parks.

What ever happend to Sea World? That was a fun place.

What ever happend to Sea World? That was a fun place.

 

In 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold Sea World of Ohio to Six Flags. 

From the 5/24/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Parks in buyout deal unlikely to give Cedar Fair big profits

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Cedar Fair LP's decision to buy five amusement parks was made easier because the five don't compete with any parks the company now owns.

 

But all five new parks - Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, Carowinds near Charlotte, N.C., Kings Dominion near Richmond, Va., Great America in Santa Clara, Calif., and Kings Island near Cincinnati - have competition from other park operators...

 

Contact Jon Chavez at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060524/BUSINESS06/605240377/-1/RSS04

---

From the 5/23/06 Enquirer:

 

 

Park-goers pleased with Cedar Fair

BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

MASON - Kings Island fans and local roller-coaster enthusiasts think Cedar Fair's proposed purchase of the amusement park will be good for the park and the region.

 

"I think the news ... is outstanding," said Don Helbig, 43, of Fairfield...

 

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/BIZ01/605230354/1076/rss01

 

But Mr. Slade said Kings Island has stiff competition from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Holiday World in Santa Clause, Ind., and Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky.

 

Hey Mr. Slade, please pass the pipe...  WTF is Beech Bend Park?  Kentucky Kingdom & Holiday World... please!

 

Let me put it this way, when I lived in St. Louis, everyone talked about King's Island and Cedar Point.  I didn't even know what Holiday World was and it was closer then King's Island is to St. Louis.  I will agree that King's Island and Cedar Point somewhat compete for attendees.  King's Island is probably the reason why I am typing this today in Ohio.  It was a road trip to King's Island that made me fall in love with Cincinnati and move here a year later.

^Cincinnati really is that much better than St. Louis? I've never been there but it seems like they would be very similar although I've heard the crime in ST.L is supposed to be a lot worse.

What ever happend to Sea World? That was a fun place.

 

In 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold Sea World of Ohio to Six Flags. 

 

and then six flags sold it to ceder piont with gauaga lake but they didnt get shamu

What ever happend to Sea World? That was a fun place.

 

In 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold Sea World of Ohio to Six Flags. 

 

and then six flags sold it to ceder piont with gauaga lake but they didnt get shamu

 

looking at some files, when six flags purchased the property, the animals (the brand) was not apart of the deal.  This enabled AB to expand their san diego & san antonio properties (the winter homes of various animals) as shipping the animals to/from Cleveland in the late fall then again in the spring was costly.

I bet it was costly..it can't be that easy to haul a whale around.

What ever happend to Sea World? That was a fun place.

 

 

 

In 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold Sea World of Ohio to Six Flags. 

 

and then six flags sold it to ceder piont with gauaga lake but they didnt get shamu

 

looking at some files, when six flags purchased the property, the animals (the brand) was not apart of the deal.  This enabled AB to expand their san diego & san antonio properties (the winter homes of various animals) as shipping the animals to/from Cleveland in the late fall then again in the spring was costly.

 

 

Good point I don't think i would have thought off that, shipping a whale has got to cost allot of money.

^Cincinnati really is that much better than St. Louis? I've never been there but it seems like they would be very similar although I've heard the crime in ST.L is supposed to be a lot worse.

 

Cincinnati is a billion times better than St. Louis.  - Yes!

But Mr. Slade said Kings Island has stiff competition from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Holiday World in Santa Clause, Ind., and Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky.

 

Hey Mr. Slade, please pass the pipe...  WTF is Beech Bend Park?  Kentucky Kingdom & Holiday World... please!

 

Let me put it this way, when I lived in St. Louis, everyone talked about King's Island and Cedar Point.  I didn't even know what Holiday World was and it was closer then King's Island is to St. Louis.  I will agree that King's Island and Cedar Point somewhat compete for attendees.  King's Island is probably the reason why I am typing this today in Ohio.  It was a road trip to King's Island that made me fall in love with Cincinnati and move here a year later.

 

i've been to beech bend park lol!, but it was yrs ago when i was in grad school at wku. its a big camp ground more than an amusement park. i dont recall any any coasters being there, but who knows today? it was nothing then tho.

 

i love above on this thread how some of the southerners are getting so worked up because the northern ohio yankees bought kings island. too funny!  :laugh:

 

I didn't realize a Michigan company bought Kings Island.

Analysis:

 

 

To buy Paramount Parks, Cedar Fair steps up debt

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Known for its hair-raising thrill rides, Cedar Fair LP found a new way this week to scare some of its investors: spending $1.24 billion on five amusement parks and arranging to borrow up to $2 billion.

 

"They took a tremendous risk," Doug Schaller, head of Schaller Investments, of Winston Salem, N.C., said of the Sandusky company's decision to buy Paramount Parks Inc...

 

 

Contact Jon Chavez at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/BUSINESS06/605250453/-1/RSS04

 

"I'm not concerned with them choking on the debt," he said. "My only concern is it's a bad time to be getting in that much debt with interest rates rising."

 

 

True statement, the grow or die theory has some huge holes in it.

 

I still like the pickup even though i unloaded my FUN shares last month, the season pass ideal that can work for any park could be great for Ohio tourism.

i love above on this thread how some of the southerners are getting so worked up because the northern ohio yankees bought kings island. too funny!  :laugh:

 

Was that some wise ass remark that Cincinnati is Southern?  Watch yourself buddy, I don't take kindly to Cincinnati being called southern.  You should know better!  :roll: