CEDAR FAIR TO ACQUIRE TWO AWARD-WINNING TEXAS-BASED WATERPARKS

BY GABRIELLE

Waterpark and theme park operator Cedar Fair is to acquire two iconic, award-winning waterparks in Texas – the Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort New Braunfels and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston.

The acquisition is to cost $261 million and will bring Cedar Fair’s portfolio to a total of 15 parks, resort accommodation comprising of more than 2,000 rooms across six parks and over 600 luxury RV sites.

The purchasing of the two Schlitterbahn waterparks is part of Cedar Fair’s strategic plan for growth over the next five years.

Richard Zimmerman, Cedar Fair’s President and CEO, shared his enthusiasm about the acquisition.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to bring these two award-winning Texas water parks into the Cedar Fair family.

“These properties represent new markets for us with attractive demographics in the growing Central Texas region, and they align with our strategy to identify compelling opportunities to accelerate our growth and profitability.

“The investments we have made over the past five years to strengthen our back-of-house and customer-facing systems will support a smooth integration of these properties by ensuring a premium guest experience, strong team collaboration and superior execution.”

“Schlitterbahn employees are known throughout the industry for their innovation and dedication to the quality of the guest experience. Because of their work, the water park located in New Braunfels has been recognised as the ‘Best Water Park in the World’ for 21 straight years, and Galveston has received recognition as the ‘Best Indoor Water Park in the World’ for a decade.

“We look forward to adding these parks to Cedar Fair’s industry-leading portfolio of regional entertainment resorts,” Zimmerman added.