Amusement Park News

A sea-change in ownership may just be coming to Palace Entertainment. Coming on the heels of the $8 billion dollar Cedar Fair and Six Flags theme park merger, Spanish theme and amusement park operator Parques Reunidos is undertaking a strategic review of its own properties. Parques Reunidos is one of the leading global amusement operators, with more than 50 different water parks, theme parks, and other entertainment and educational venues across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Australia.

The review is being handled through EQT, the private equity firm behind the Spanish theme park operator. EQT brought in JP Morgan to conduct the review which could potentially result in the merger or outright sale of EQT's assets in the U.S., now held by Pennsylvania-located Palace Entertainment.

Palace Entertainment properties could be valued as high as $1.08 billion should a sale be forthcoming. The company's robust theme park folder includes Pennsylvania's historic Kennywood and Dutch Wonderland, Connecticut's Lake Compounce, Iowa's Adventureland, Southern California's Castle Park and Raging Waters, and the Noah's Ark Water Park located in the Wisconsin Dells. Palace Entertainment operates some 20 venues in all, including several waterparks, and other smaller FEC properties.

While the theme park world waits with bated breath, Palace Entertainment recently appointed former SeaWorld executive John Reilly as CEO. Reilly had previously served as the COO for Palace Entertainment since 2019 and is also a member of the Executive Committee of parent company Paques Reunidos.

Meanwhile, rumors of a potential sale are operating on high, with predictions being that should EQT's assets be sold, the most funds could be gained from dividing properties for sale with theme parks, waterparks, and smaller properties each going to different purchasers.

Should the Palace offerings be sold, rumors of who could buy them are also rife, and include Merlin Entertainment which itself was once rumored to be considering a purchase of SeaWorld Entertainment. Other rumored potential buyers include CDA or Compagnie des Alpes, which owns a variety of European parks including a chain of Walibi theme parks; and ride manufacturer Zamperla, which is no stranger to amusement park investment, and currently operates Luna Park in Coney Island, New York and sister park Luna Farm in Bologna, Italy, as well as creating a wide range of attractions for theme and amusement parks throughout the U.S.  Zamperla also transformed Kernwasser, located outside Düsseldorf, Germany from a former nuclear power station to Wunderland Kalkar amusement park.

Herschend, which successfully runs U.S. theme parks such as Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, Kentucky Kingdom, and Wild Adventures; Ripley's; and Gene Staples' IB Parks & Entertainment, well known for having purchased, saved, and restored recently closed parks Indiana Beach, Clementon Park, and Niagara Amusement Park are also part of the rampant rumor mill of potential buyers for Palace Entertainment.

But at this point, it's all pure speculation, including whether EQT truly plans to divest itself of Palace properties. The thorough review now being undertaken could instead focus on maintaining and investing more heavily into Palace's theme and waterparks.

However, it's also noted that many U.S. Palace properties have been lean on new investments and attractions, with the exception of Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. Adventureland recently completely refurbished and reopened The Underground indoor wooden coaster, just in time for the park's 50th anniversary. They also added a new nighttime light show, Light up the Boulevard, and a new snack stop, Oinks, dedicated to all products pork related.

Palace CEO John Reilly describes the company's portfolio as “unique, but… also diverse. We have a collection of historic amusement parks and specific expertise in caring for these national treasures.” The parks are not newly built, but rather acquired, he adds. Reilly also notes that along with these amusement parks, the company contains eight stand alone waterparks between the U.S. and Australia locations.

The JP Morgan review is still at an early stage, having begun at the close of the peak summer park season, but should Parques Reunidos' U.S. operations be sold, they currently represent approximately 1/3 of the group's earnings. Parques Reunidos projected a cash flow of 224.8 million euros in 2024.

Several Palace Entertainment parks have recently cut operating costs by closing on Tuesdays from July on this summer. Tuesdays are typically the slowest days at theme parks, but closing for any day during the busy summer months is unusual. Palace properties that did so included Kennywood, Storyland, Adventureland, Dutch Wonderland, and Lake Compounce, which was closed on a variety of weekdays July through August. Waterparks Sandcastle, Splish Splash, Wet n' Wild Emerald Point, Idlewild, Soak Zone, and Water Country were all also closed on either Tuesdays or Mondays for the balance of their summer season starting in July.
 
Only California-based Palace properties Raging Waters and Castle Park were unaffected by this one-day-a-week closure policy.
    
This type of unprecedented closure added fuel to the fire of rumors about a potential sale for Palace Entertainment properties. But for now, it's simply wait and see.