Cedar Fair FUNforward Presentation

If you count the ticket price then yes I think the number becomes more plausible. But then the $7 for the teenager makes no sense as he would need a ticket. Seems like a mismatch on the data.

Good lord - a souvenir cup and three refills. Do people really drink that much pop?

Season pass?

I would estimate my family's per cap last year (2 adults, one of whom was pregnant the other of whom is a cheap enthusiast, 1 two year old) was about $15. Probably a total of 20 visits or so and $300 in total spending, 2 SP's included. (Not counting the spending that other people did because I took them to the park).

When I was a college student, I definitely got my per-cap below $7 a few seasons but I had to really try and I don't think most people will. I mean, you have to go 10 times without spending a dollar, just to get your season pass price down to that level.

I'm working on the assumption that the teen has a season pass and visits multiple times per year. A pass at $84 on 12 visits gets your magic $7 number.

If that much pop bugs you then just call it two drinks, ice cream and a funnel cake. The point is $16 for 'snacks & stuff' over the course of the day.

I thought about the season pass angle but that seems to skew the data to the way they want to show it. Hmmm, aren't there a few other threads going about that?

Change the two drinks to a snowcone and the funnel cake to an elephant ear and I am sold.

I suspect the data may be for an Orlando-type park, which would tend to higher per caps.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Lord Gonchar said:
The only way that works, is if they're not including ticket prices in the per-caps - and that isn't right.

Then it was MY mistake - I thought that gate price was "separated out" and that they were talking about IN-park spending...

Assuming Gonch is right, ignore what I said and move along...or I'll sic Officer Barbrady on yas! ;)

Seems to be a popular misconception that the per cap number doesn't include admission.

Just for clarity, it is my understanding that per cap is how much the parks gets from each guest (per capita). This would include all spending.

In it's simplest form, Per Cap is Revenue divided by Attendance.

(and I know that most of you know this - I'm just throwing it out there)

According to Cedar Fair's 2010 annual report:

"Combined in-park guest per capital spending ("per capital spending") includes all amusement park, outdoor water park, causeway tolls and parking revenues for the amusement park and water park operating seasons. Revenues from indoor water park, hotel, campground, marina and other out-of-park operations are excluded from per capita statistics."

Exactly. (althought this is Coasterbuzz and I often forget that we have to break everything down to the most minute detail even if in all other situations something would be understood)

So when CF says per caps are $40 that includes everything - parking, causeway, ticket, all in-park spending, waterpark, etc.

Or in other words, the cost of visiting the park.

Which, in a related note, is why I'll never understand the argument that amusement parks are too expensive.

I thought you didn't understand that because you have buckets of money.

That's what I've been told.

Lord Gonchar said:

A ticket, two meals, two games and a souvenir cup with 3 refills would be $90.

Somehow I suspect those numbers aren't that far off.

There's still toys/shirts counting towards per cap right? One of the kids feels cold = new sweater.

Yeah, souvenirs too.

What if I buy a hat from the hat store. That still counts toward my per "cap"? (See what I did there?)

What if I feed the dirty sea chickens half my boardwalk fries? Does that purchase still count? (Sea what I did there?)

Wait. What if I buy a leather wallet from Frontier Trail, but when I get home, I give it away as a birthday gift? Does that count towards per cap spending or not?

;)

Lord Gonchar said:
Exactly. (althought this is Coasterbuzz and I often forget that we have to break everything down to the most minute detail even if in all other situations something would be understood)

So when CF says per caps are $40 that includes everything - parking, causeway, ticket, all in-park spending, waterpark, etc.

Or in other words, the cost of visiting the park.

Which, in a related note, is why I'll never understand the argument that amusement parks are too expensive.

Is $40.00 a real quote? If that's what they are claiming, that would certainly be debateable. Just like them saying that they only have 3 million visitors a year. Which I highly doubt, that number is most likely a lot lower than their actual attendance. As somtimes you might think there are several hundred thousand people there on a single day.

Considering that parking at Cedar Point is $15.00 and admission to Soak City is Seperate from Cedar Point, not including locker rental. This would suggest that a majority of the people are spending little or no money in the park, as fees for Parking, lockers, and other rentals and souvinirs would eat up that $40.00 pretty quick.

This also from the park that said they only have enough parking for 2,000 cars in their lot on a program about roller coasters. I think, take that number and multiply it by ten.

What they're "claiming?" It's a public company. They can't lie about stuff like that, because people would go to jail.

$40 is the average over all of their guests for the year, I believe, which actually makes perfect sense. I mean, I seem to see a lot of cheap enthusiasts on any given day when I go, and they probably spend even less than those $7 teens that are clogging the midways bouncing their basketballs and acting all tough. ;)

Cedar Fair's 2010 annual report lists $39.21 as combined in-park guest per capita spending for 2010, $39.56 for 2009, $40.13 for 2008, 40.60 for 2007 and $38.71 for 2006.

Lord Gonchar said:
So when CF says per caps are $40 that includes everything - parking, causeway, ticket, all in-park spending, waterpark, etc.

Timber-Rider said:
Is $40.00 a real quote?

GoBucks89 said:
Cedar Fair's 2010 annual report lists $39.21 as combined in-park guest per capita spending for 2010, $39.56 for 2009, $40.13 for 2008, 40.60 for 2007 and $38.71 for 2006.

Exactly. (althought this is Coasterbuzz and I often forget that we have to break everything down to the most minute detail even if in all other situations something would be understood)

See what I did there, Krause? :)

---

So....

1. Yes, the average per guest at CF for the past few years has been right around $40

2. Claiming anything other than actual numbers would land a few people in prison.

3. I'm wondering what Cedar Fair's incentive would be for fudging the numbers for the worse. But you're definitely in the running for most unique conspiracy theory of 2012, Timber-Rider. (you're slacking, Krause!)

4. I'm trying to find another piece of info that I can generalize so that GoBucks can open up those annual reports again, but I'm coming up blank. ;)

5. There is no #5.

If the park considers them guests, I bet that most employees' free use of the rides, shows, ect. pull the per cap down. On the other hand, I remember spending all kinds of money while I worked there on food and souvenirs.