The following are excerpts from Dick Kinzel's presentation on the first quarter call, held Friday, May 5:
MF is every bit as thrilling as we'd hoped it would be, if not more. He is more confident than ever that MF will be the signature ride that takes CP to the next level of attendance.
Media Day (today) - CP is expecting nearly 700 media people "from around the world".
Reservations for the Cedar Point-owned hotels for 2000 season have been very strong, and well ahead of last year.
MF is "just sheer excitement and energy". The best way of relating it is like being in a baby stroller going 90 MPH.
CF continues to "aggressively look for future acquisition opportunities, and we believe that there are a number of quality parks out there that could be a good fit".
As to VisionLand, they were unable to reach an agreement on several financial matters related to that park and the management contract. After much deliberation, it was in the best interest to step away.
Some questions that were asked:
What does the seasonal labor situation look like?
"We'll be adequately staffed. It's going to be a challenge to the managers to keep the levels of service as high as we want it, but there are no surprises. There was a large increase in the seasonal wage, there were amenities added to the seasonal workers. Also upgrades to the dorms were made. Also, we've got about 400 overseas employees at CP this summer."
Are you completely satisfied with the construction and safety of the restraint system of MF? (What a dumbass question this was)
Kinzel talked about his very high level of comfort on this issue.
That's all I've got to report at the moment. I'm typing this up as I'm listening, but I have to leave awhile. The last two questions (not the two I've listed, but the last two that were asked and omitted from my typed report) were nothing more than rehash of things that were discussed in this call previously. I think that these investors just like to hear themselves talk.
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Duane Cahill
Coming soon to an amusement park near you.
*** This post was edited by DBCahill on 5/11/2000. ***
It was also interesting to here his thoughts on the piece of legislation about the regulation of amusement rides. He did stress that his team has some input on the formation of this legislation, as he appears to be in agreement with certain aspects (he did not go into too much detail) He emphasized that Cedar Point is already under inspection from Ohio, and that this legislation has originated in California. He stated that the day before the conference call that the state officially handed over Millennium Force to the park. He did stress that if there was any indication of safety issues with Millennium Force, they simply would not open it to the public.
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Neil
The Dawn of the Millennium is upon us!!
Everyone, grab your season passes
and repent!!
A little bit of detail...
The State of California is presently crafting amusement park safety regulations. When last I heard, Knott's Berry Farm (Cedar Fair) was participating in the process, and Disney and Universal were conspicuously absent from the public meetings. This is probably the legislation that Mr. Kinzel was referring to.
I get the distinct impression that Cedar Fair has taken a most intelligent attitude on the issue of ride safety legislation ever since the Ohio laws were crafted ca. 1984. Cedar Fair participates in the process, presumably because they would prefer to have legislation that they can live with, good rules that make sense...rather than inappropriate regulations that are going to make life difficult while doing nothing to insure ride safety. A look at Jared Costanza's ride accidents web page (http://members.aol.com/~rides911/accidents.htm ) suggests (in the news articles) that when enhanced ride safety rules have been proposed in Alabama, Missouri, and California, Cedar Fair has come out in support of the regulations and has participated in the process. Even when, as in the case of Missouri, there is organized opposition from other members of the industry (OABA).
--Dave Althoff, Jr.