Cedar Fair sees increase in July 4 weekend revenue

SANDUSKY — Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point, announced it earned $579 million in net revenue through the July 4 holiday weekend.The Sandusky based entertainment company operates 11 amusement parks, five water parks, 2,300 resort rooms and 600 luxury RV sites. The July 4 holiday weekend, which ended Sunday, traditionally accounts for about 40 percent of Cedar Fair's full-year net revenue.This year, Cedar Fair saw an increase of $16 million, or three percent, from last year's revenue from the same time period, according to a company news release.The company accredits the increase to improvements in-park guest spending, out-park spending and the operation of the newly acquired Schlitterbahn water parks in Texas."Our commitment to enhancing and broadening the guest experience has led to strong underlying consumer demand when weather conditions are favorable, a positive and welcome indicator as we approach the busiest and most profitable stretch of the season," said Richard Zimmerman, the company's CEO and president.Zimmerman added the company has encouraged guests "to visit early and visit often," by adding attractions to its parks like the immersive Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island at its flagship park Cedar Point.The strategy seems to have worked because Cedar Fair has generated record season pass sales across all of its parks and record sales of all-season dining and beverage programs."The growth in both advance purchase commitments and guest spending gives us confidence our consumer is healthy, and that our new initiatives and guest services levels are resonating well with guests," Zimmerman said.Cedar Fair, however, has faced struggles with extreme weather conditions through early June and record rainfall, which adversely affected attendance in many of its key markets.But as the weather has improved, the company has seen a significant increase in guests with the three-week period which ended on Sunday generating six percent more attendance than last year."We believe the positive guest response to our broad array of attractions and immersive events, as emphasized by this year's high guest satisfaction ratings, combined with the strong growth in our advance purchase commitment channels, has us well positioned as we head into the second half of the year," Zimmerman said.He also added the company is excited about the potential of its recently acquired water parks in Texas and Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, but their contribution to this year's revenue would be modest.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterCedar Fair announced an improvement in attendance and total revenue from the same time frame last year at all of its park's including flagship attraction Cedar Point