1. Chase Harrison

2. Company Overview Brief History Paramount Parks purchase Economic and Political factors in Home and Host Countries Expansion into Canada Recommendations

3. Master Limited Partnership operating a chain of Amusement Parks Current CEO is former Disney imagineer Matt Ouimet Owns and operates eleven amusement parks, three outdoor water parks, one indoor water park, and five hotels. Founded in 1983 Headquartered in Sandusky Ohio. Owns parks in the U.S. and Canada.

4. Roots date all the way back to 1860s but did not officially become a limited partnership until 1983 when Cedar Point in Ohio and Valleyfair in Minnesota decided to merge into a partnership. The name comes from the Cedar in Cedar Point and Fair in Valleyfair. In 1992 the firm acquired Dorney Park in Pennsylvania

5. In 1995 Cedar Fair acquired Worlds of Fun in Missouri 1997: Cedar Fair acquired Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California 2001: They acquired Michigans Adventure which is…..in Michigan In 2006 Cedar Fair made a bold move in purchasing the entire Paramount Parks chain from Viacom.

6. The Paramount Park purchase was worth $1.24 billion which gave Cedar Fair a massive debt. This purchase helped Cedar Fair expand into an international territory with the purchase of Canadas Wonderland, the most visited amusement park in Canada, located outside of Toronto, Ontario

7. The purchase also net Cedar Fair: Kings Dominion in Doswell, VA Carowinds in Charlotte, NC Kings Island in Cincinnati, OH Californias Great America. All of the Paramount Parks include free water parks creating tremendous value.

9. Amusement parks in the U.S. generate $12 Billion in revenue. Contributes $57 million to the U.S. economy. Regulations are set by the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) F-24 Committee on Amusement Rides and Devices. Most regulations are set by states. Congressman Ed Markey has a panel of doctors, biodynamic consultants, medical experts, and ride safety specialists to study the industrys safety record which concluded federal regulation would not be more efficient than the current method of regulation for amusement parks. Most rides are designed to be safer than driving to work, and statistically have been proven to be safer than driving to work. Most accidents that occur are due to rider error however the recent New Texas Giant accident in which an oversized woman was allowed on a ride was due to negligence of the operators in letting her on the roller coaster.

10. Canadian Amusement parks are regulated by the governor of the province they are located in. In 2012 the Canadian amusement industry generated $472.9 million dollars. Very little difference from U.S. for amusement parks.

11. Canadas Wonderland was already a large established park when Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks Canadas Wonderland is the most popular amusement park in Canada. Due to the fact Cedar Fair does not own Paramount licenses all the Paramount movie themed rides had to be made into a generic theme. In 2008 Cedar Fair installed a large 230 foot tall roller coaster. In 2012 Cedar Fair installed a 306 foot tall roller coaster. The latter of the previous two resulted in a 5% attendance boost for Canadas Wonderland that season. Canadas Wonderland is currently the 13 th most visited park in North America.

12. It appears the expansion into Canada was a very simple process for Cedar Fair. The park already had all required Canadian licenses that comply with all Canadian rules and regulations. To make more profit off the expansion into Canada I would recommend installing more large roller coasters at Canadas Wonderland as that seems to correlate with large attendance boosts. Also putting more large ones at Kings Dominion wouldnt hurt…..

13. www.iaapa.org http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables- tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/arts60a- eng.htm http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables- tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/arts60a- eng.htm http://www.gettravel.com/themeparks/cedar. shtml