Offer Ideas On How To Save Cedar Fair Money In 2009

Let's face it, there are a lot of people with great ideas on how to save money but no one better to offer up suggestions than seasonal employees. Please offer up your ideas on how to save Cedar Fair money without chopping anymore jobs. Work smart ideas.

Get DK to discuss this instead of us.

Well something I have always thought about would be to contract out the parks foodservice operations and employees to another company. I don't know if it would be a good idea though for as big as the park is but it could be something to consider.

From the outside looking in, I would offer a hunch that DK listens mainly to himself, and the bottom line. I think the news about potentially dropping VF and WOF is strategically a smart move by the company...although finding a buyer seems risky.

Hire managers with business degrees, instead of people that worked there way up from sweeping and have no idea how to manage a budget or run a business.

I'm not saying thats the case for everyone, but it certainly is for a few.

lladnar said:
Hire managers with business degrees, instead of people that worked there way up from sweeping and have no idea how to manage a budget or run a business.

I'm not saying thats the case for everyone, but it certainly is for a few.

Not always the best answer. I have met a lot of stupid people with degrees. Just like you have met a lot of stupid people without degrees. A lot of times when it comes to job cuts, the first to go will be the most knowledgable as they tend to be paid the highest. If you have several people in the same position the one paid the most will probably be cut.

Personally though I beleive the idea of everyone needing a college education is one that will cause failure for the advancement of human kind as we will eventually have the reverse effect in which we can already see beginning to happen, and that is an all too flooded market in which having a degree or knowledge does not matter.

As well as the fact that promotion from within amongs the willing does prove to be very effect in driving a business forward with unique ideas. If you hire people from outside the company they will probably bring ideas from other companies with them or ideas from their school training, what if the companies that the outside people you hired came from failed? Would you feel wary about the ideas they just gave you... At least promotion from within brings genuine ideas with an equal chance of failing. If the person does not perform to company standards, then there is always demotions or pink slips. CP is good at demotions.

I don't think selling a park or two is bad idea, but why VF and WOF? I mean, we don't necessarily have other parks we own near them. Sell Geauga Lake and Kings Dominion.

But then again, I don't know the parks' attendance and net revenue, either.

So Top Dog if you are suggesting seasonal employees should be offering these ideas up, why isn't this in the employee forum?

I have not been an employee for a few years but for my ideas, how about investments in updates. We see alot of this in small increments, like how Tony blogs about possibly not needing a new Season pass card next year, just reuse and go. That in itself will save a lot of money.

Does CP use Fingerprint time clocks? If not they should, then they don't have to keep reissuing ID's. More money saved.

We all have indirectly seen the internal updates of the company network(s) through improved admissions procedures and such. WHat can the company think of to reduce paperwork flowing between departments. Save all that paper and do regular data backups to several sources and already saved a lot of money.

Cedar Point used to have a power plant at about the location of the Good time theatre. Why not return to this and cash in on green initiatives and install some solar panels to power buildings and a few wind turbines off the shore of the peninsula. The cost is dropping and now with new government funding. Technology is also getting better to provide more power. It may not be enough to cover all the power needs, but it will decrease power consumption, maybe even pipe it to the peninsula residents in the winter time for those who stay on the peninsula.

Cedar Fair is in effect a Real Estate company by default. (You need land for the parks, and after all the parks are improvments on the land increasing the value) Don't sell the land at Geauga Lake, instead look to land leases for now and make the money that way. Then sell at a future date. Maybe work out a similar deal for GA in california. Sure it would be outside the usual business for Cedar Fair, but why can't they run a stripmall temporarily. Why not make some sort of deal with the 49ers while we are at it, put your name on the stadium. The 49ers in Cedar Fair stadium... Money off the land and invaluable publicity....

Why did we go with an indoor water park? What was wrong with an indoor amusement park. Cedar Point is more known for the rides anyways We can still do that on a large scale, and even smooth over relations with Kalahari. Strike a deal with the Nelsons, buy the land which is for sale again across from Kalahari, and build an indoor amusement park resort complex. Sounds risky, but it is different for the area, and Indoor amusement parks do work out popularly even though most only last a month.

Yes these all require initial lump somes or legal deals worked out, but can draw in more revenue for the company. I love Cedar Fair because they are so good at cutting fat off the budget as it is right now. That is evident, we all can see it or taste it (if you know what I mean, you know food quality)

Ryan06 said:
Well something I have always thought about would be to contract out the parks foodservice operations and employees to another company. I don't know if it would be a good idea though for as big as the park is but it could be something to consider.

Look at Cedar Fair's balance sheet. Food service is the #2 source of revenue behind admission. Back "in the day", Cedar Point's food service was outsourced to several other companies, but they slowly brought it all in house because they realized outsourcing it was handing over potential profits to a 3rd party.

Basically the only time that anything is outsourced at the park anymore is when something requires special skills or equipment, such as the caricatures, on-ride video, the hibachi restaurant, etc. The exception is the Sneak Peeks photos, but I would venture to guess that their new sponsorship contract with Kodak was such that it was a better deal to let Kodak run Sneak Peaks with their own people than it was to do it in-house.

As for the sale of the parks, I would venture to say they chose VF and WoF because those parks have both been in the chain for a long period of time and are at the end of their growth cycle for the markets they serve. Obviously if they were "cash cows", there would be no reason to sell them, but I have a feeling that those parks are at the end of their growth potential and the company feels as if other parks have more growth and profit potential than VF or WoF going forward. Lets face it, the company has a huge debt and if they can pay it down by $200-300 million or more by selling a few parks, it will dramatically help the bottom line due to the reduced interest payments alone.

MonsterMan said:
Does CP use Fingerprint time clocks? If not they should, then they don't have to keep reissuing ID's. More money saved.

CP charges employees $15 for lost IDs and guests $10 for lost season passes. Since I'm sure a plastic card doesn't cost $10-$15, they're making pretty good money off of the situation.

Cedar Point used to have a power plant at aboutthe location of the Good time theatre. Why not return to this and cashin on green initiatives and install some solar panels to powerbuildings and a few wind turbines off the shore of the peninsula.

"Personal" windmills have been popping up all over the Sandusky region lately, and I imagine it's only a matter of time before CP installs some form of renewable energy. I could swear I read an article a year or two ago where CP conducted a study about putting a windmill on the tip of the peninsula and how it could power all or most of LHP and Sandcastle. I've not been able to locate the article since then, so maybe I'm imagining things.

I don't think selling a park or two is bad idea, but why VF and WOF?

Im not sure anyone really knows...I would guess that maybe they already know of some interested parties, or perhaps they simply aren't performing? Not to assume, but I would have to guess that someone ran some projection models that included/excluded various parks, and these two were identified as 2 expendable parks. That said, I have never personally been to either of the parks, but they seem akin to Dorney Park in size and what they offer.

Ralph Wiggum said:

CP charges employees $15 for lost IDs and guests $10 for lost season passes. Since I'm sure a plastic card doesn't cost $10-$15, they're making pretty good money off of the situation.

Wow! $15, I thought it was high when it was only $5. The question is are they actually collecting the money? I remember that as long as you had a valid reason that it was lost while performing the duties of your job that they issued you a new one for free. Such as a gust of wind rips it off your uniform while riding the back of the train. A lifeguard jumps in for a rescue and the id fly's off and happens to enter an intake. You're taking out the trash and it happens to fall in and there is no way you are reaching into the world of the known....

I would be interested if you find that write up about CP's interest in a Turbine. I've always thought that, no matter how profitable or cost effective new ideas were Dick Kinzel was not going to enter the realm of the unknown. It had to be something that fit into the same old system he has known for years. CP definitly has the maintenance team to maintain the suckers, they do make turbines that do not need preference for direction of wind. ALA giant anemometer. You could put maybe 7 normal turbines off the shore of the beach (and maintain the swim zones and views.) The anemometer type does not need the blade clearance and could easily fit more in, and has the potential to generate more power.

Empowerment.

Unless there has been a massive cultural shift at the Point, empowerment is not a word embraced by Kinzel.

I'm not sure on the providing a valid excuse for a new ID thing. They may very well hand them out if you have a good excuse, but I've never heard of it happening. A friend of mine had his bag stolen from his work location with his ID (and everything else) inside of it. Even with a police report he still had to pay for a new ID. I do know they will replace damaged IDs for free if you give the damaged one back to them.

Kevinj said:

I don't think selling a park or two is bad idea, but why VF and WOF?

That said, I have never personally been to either of the parks, but they seem akin to Dorney Park in size and what they offer.

2005 revenue per CF's public release after the PP acquisition:

Cedar Point $210 mil
Knott's Berry Farm $186 mil
King's Island $108 mil
Canada's Wonderland $93 mil
King's Dominion $81 mil
Great America (CA) $63 mil
Carowinds $60 mil
Dorney Park $56 mil
Valley Fair $36 mil
Worlds of Fun $35 mil
Geauga Lake $26 mil
Michigan's Adventure $19 mil

VF & WOF produced about 2/3rds the revenue that Dorney did in 2005

Revenue without knowing what the profit is doesn't indicate anything.

And somehow, I can't imagine that a bunch of CP fanboys can offer anything constructive to the company.

^Jeff you know that is dead wrong. We can and do offer something constructive to the company...

Wait for it...

Our money ;)

But if they sell off Valleyfair what will the company be called? Cedar Farm? Cedar Dominion? Cedar Island?

Monsterman said

Why did we go with an indoor water park? What was wrong with an indoor amusement park. Cedar Point is more known for the rides anyways We can still do that on a large scale, and even smooth over relations with Kalahari. Strike a deal with the Nelsons, buy the land which is for sale again across from Kalahari, and build an indoor amusement park resort complex. Sounds risky, but it is different for the area, and Indoor amusement parks do work out popularly even though most only last a month

Just to inform you that property across from Kalahari has been purchased by NASA. They are currently in the process of determining exactly where they are putting in a large 2-1/2 mile runway. Also NASA is looking to build a space camp on that land. I will look it up but I know this was in the Sandusky Register at one point in November. So that land wouldn't be able to be used for any type of amusement park idea.http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/09/11/front/402790.txt

Also on this site: http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2009/02/cuyahoga_erie_commissioners_ba.html

There is a lot of potential at NASA's Sandusky facility. That runway would really benefit the area, not to mention the potential of a tourist attraction.