Theme Parks: Giving Families a Fair Shake at Parks

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Giving Families a Fair Shake at Parks Jan 6th 2012, 22:45 Cedar Fair may not be as much of a household name as Disney or Six Flags, but as the parent company of Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Canada's Wonderland, and ten other properties, it is one of the major players in the parks industry. Its new CEO, Matt Ouimet, is a Disney parks veteran who served as the president of Disneyland as well as the Disney Cruise Line. According to an AP story, he says he'd like to bring some of the warmer and fuzzier family-friendly touches of the Mouse to the coaster-crazy parks he now oversees. If that sounds familiar, it's because another former Disney employee, Mark Shapiro, tried to bring a similar family focus to thrills-laden Six Flags during his tenure from 2005 to 2010 as CEO of the chain. Will the strategy work? I don't know, but my gut says it should. I was a fan of Shapiro and was sad to see the Six Flags regime that took over from him dismantle many of his pet projects such as the Thomas the Tank Engine and Wiggles lands. Reaching out to families with younger children and appealing to a broader audience surely helped bring new customers through the gates and, at least temporarily, helped to redefine the Six Flags brand. Some of the credit for the success that the current management team is experiencing probably belongs to Shapiro. But Cedar Fair faces similar hurdles as Six Flags during the Shapiro years. It retains a debt of about $1.5 billion from its purchase of the former Paramount Parks. And Ouimet may find it difficult to shake the park chain's image of big, bad coasters in his pursuit of more families and kids who don't meet the thrill machines' height requirements. Among his goals, he says that he would like to develop rides and shows that visitors of all ages could enjoy. He also wants to create unexpected moments - the kinds of chance discoveries that characterize the Disney parks. And he wants to better connect with park guests through the use of technology, another Disney hallmark. I wish Ouimet all the best and hope that he succeeds with his new vision for Cedar Fair. I also hope that he continues to bring incredible coasters, such as Intimidator and Diamondback, to the parks that he oversees. Connect with Arthur: Twitter | Facebook

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