[swampfox43]

Does anyone here subscribe to the Charlotte Business Journal? Sounds like a worthy article but you have to have a subscription to read.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/pr ... winds.html

[tarheel1231]

Can someone post it here or at least what it talks about?

[Cup]

When Carowinds owner Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. hired Kelley Semmelroth as chief marketing officer in 2012, she noticed the company didn’t especially value the guest experience at its 11 amusement parks.

Semmelroth came to Cedar Fair after Matt Ouimet was appointed CEO. He came to the theme park company from The Walt Disney Co., where he was credited with turning around its cruise and timeshare units. He and Semmelroth formed the idea that Cedar Fair would better build profits by “enhancing the guest experience” instead of by cutting costs, says Stacy Frole, Cedar Fair corporate vice president of investor relations.

In 2012, Cedar Fair launched FUNforward, a play on the company’s ticker symbol, “FUN.” The goal was to build revenue to $450 million by 2016. At the time, the figure was $375 million. In 2015, Cedar Fair reached $500 million — passing its goal a year early.

As a part of FUNforward, Cedar Fair looked at each of its parks to determine how it could create a more enjoyable experience.

While studying Carowinds, Cedar Fair determined it should become a top-tier park, bringing in many more guests than the current 2 million a year. That would require expanding attractions. For example, Carowinds had less than half of the number of water-park activities as Kings Island near Cincinnati. Kings Island had 15 family rides, while Carowinds had only eight.

“We felt that it was a park that was undersized for the market,” Frole says. “We really under-invested in Carowinds.”

The determination by Cedar Fair led to a decision in 2013 to build the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds as part of a $50 million expansion and renovation at the park, which spans the Carolina's state line at Interstate 77. “We’re not going to be afraid to spend a little bit,” says Semmelroth, who is based in Charlotte.

The efforts are paying off. Carowinds’ attendance, guest spending, season-pass sales, group bookings and accommodations are all on the upswing.

We asked Semmelroth about the changes at Carowinds and elsewhere in Cedar Fair.

What was the original inspiration for FUNforward?

In 2012, Matt Ouimet became CEO of Cedar Fair. With a new board of directors and management team in place, as well as strong industry dynamics, we felt it was important to communicate our long-term strategy with the investment community. This strategy identified attractive strategic growth opportunities in both the near and long term, and outlined our commitment to rewarding our shareholders.

Why was Carowinds picked for a $50 million expansion and renovation?

Our market assessment of Charlotte confirmed the significant annual growth of residents with attractive family demographics. This gave us great confidence that, with the right investment, Carowinds could drive significant attendance and revenue for Cedar Fair. It was already considered the “Thrill Capital of the Southeast” and had approximately 100 acres available for expansion. We were — and still are — committed to the park’s growth.

What were some of the initiatives in FUNforward?

We identified five themes that will drive our growth going forward. These themes have evolved from the ones in our original FUNforward strategy, but they still encompass our original initiatives and aren’t mutually exclusive. Under FUNforward 2.0, we will continue to focus on enhancing the guest experience, targeting a quality, family-oriented audience. We will focus on growing our advance purchase commitments for all of the products we offer, in all of our attendance channels; we will embrace digital technology in all aspects of our business.

Carowinds plays an important role in each one of these initiatives. I believe both customers and investors will continue to see us aggressively invest in Carowinds and the Charlotte market over the next several years.

How did you change the way you are marketing Carowinds?

The brand work for Carowinds first and foremost informed how and where we would invest in the park. We made trans-formative capital investments, including the construction of Harmony Hall in 2014, a beautiful new dining and entertainment venue. This was followed by Fury 325 and a new, modern state-of-the-art front gate design. Additionally, we hired an executive chef and brought more than 45 new menu items to the park, giving our guests traditional southern options.

We also created signature events like Taste of the Carolina's, which debuted this past spring, and Bands, Brews and BBQs coming this fall.

How big could Carowinds grow?

The early-season success we have experienced from the introduction of Fury 325 and our new front gate has shown us that there are a lot of opportunities with Carowinds and the Charlotte market. We intend to continue to aggressively invest in this property and to continue to build upon the signature events that we have created.

Is there a chance that Carowinds could move into Cedar Fair’s top tier?

We fully expect Carowinds to become one of our top five properties within the near future.

[intaminboy]

Thank you Cup! That was a very interesting read!

[super7]

Judging by how low attendance was on July 13, they are taking a huge gamble spending so much there......the parking lot was pretty empty and the well-hyped Fury only had a 5 to 15 minute wait all day......

[intaminboy]

I know carowinds has its fair share of dead days, buts its not like every single successful park is packed every single day. Well that is except for a few.

[gabed]

When I went to Kings Island for two days in June the lines were fairly short. I also remember being at Cedar Point in 2013 and everything being a walk-on except for Maverick. (Yes, even Dragster was walk-on). Cedar Fair has already revealed that everything from Season's Pass sales to Ticket sales for Carowinds are up from last year. You don't need to be packed every day to be a big park.

[super7]

Cedar point and Kings Island have their low attendance days like other parts of the beginning or end of the season. July 11 is right in the middle of the prime attendance time for amusement parks. It does not look like Carowinds is doing that well this year.

[tarheel1231]

Sure, Fury just reached a million riders in the middle of July and there's no way Cedar Fair can justify all that spending.

[super7]

How many of the million riders were rerides? Easy to reride over and over again when nobody is in the park. In comparison, Millienium Force always has a 30 to 60 minute wait a Cedar Point during this same time of year, and Diamondback you will usually wait 30 minutes. Same capacity coasters...

[Sean978]

How many of the million riders were rerides? Easy to reride over and over again when nobody is in the park. In comparison, Millienium Force always has a 30 to 60 minute wait a Cedar Point during this same time of year, and Diamondback you will usually wait 30 minutes. Same capacity coasters...

Umm what? Do you not understand that attendance fluctuates? You will always have slow days because of weather, sporting events, etc. Just because Millennium Force "always" (One poster here already said that he's seen Millennium Force a walk on) has a wait doesn't mean that Fury is a failed investment and that Carowinds is now going to lose Fury and will become the next Michigan's Adventure. Also I personally was at KI recently and Diamondback was a walk on 2 days in a row.

[swampfox43]

I would bet money that this relentless heatwave, with temperatures hovering at or near 100 degrees since mid June, would be one of the reasons the park has had more slower days than anticipated. Most of the younger kids can handle it but I for one do not find any pleasure in waiting in lines in 100 degree heat. Now that so many of the covered que's have been eliminated, it's even worse. My last few visits have been after 7pm.

[LocalYokel]

^It's currently 87 degrees with a gentle breeze and the park is pretty empty. The only long line I've seen was the food check.

[Jonathan]

How many of the million riders were rerides? Easy to reride over and over again when nobody is in the park. In comparison, Millienium Force always has a 30 to 60 minute wait a Cedar Point during this same time of year, and Diamondback you will usually wait 30 minutes. Same capacity coasters...

Having spent an entire summer working at Cedar Point I can tell you that it definitely does not always have a 30 to 60 minute wait.

Also, you have to remember that Cedar Point and Kings Island have around 3.2 million visitors a year. Last I heard Carowinds had a bit over 2 million. That is a HUGE difference. Just because they built Fury doesn't mean they are going to suddenly have a 50% increase in attendance. My guess is the park breaks its all-time attendance record this season and just keeps on going up gradually from there.

[LocoDriver]

How many of the million riders were rerides? Easy to reride over and over again when nobody is in the park. In comparison, Millienium Force always has a 30 to 60 minute wait a Cedar Point during this same time of year, and Diamondback you will usually wait 30 minutes. Same capacity coasters...

Visited CP June 20th and 21st. Average ride times were as follows:

MF 15 minutes
TTD 15 minutes
Maverick 15 minutes
Gate Keeper 30 minutes
Magnum & Gemini, walk on