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Paramount Parks
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Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994.
The company once owned and operated five theme parks in North America and managed Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, California. From late 2001 until late 2004, Paramount Parks also managed Terra Mítica, an amusement park in Benidorm, Valencia, Spain.
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Encyclopedia
Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994.
The company once owned and operated five theme parks in North America and managed Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, California. From late 2001 until late 2004, Paramount Parks also managed Terra Mítica, an amusement park in Benidorm, Valencia, Spain. The company's flagship park was Paramount's Kings Island.
History
Paramount Communications, previously known as Gulf and Western, in turn had acquired the parks from Nelson Schwab and his management group. Schwab and his KECO Entertainment acquired the group in a management-led LBO from the Taft Broadcasting Company, which had built Kings Island in Cincinnati using cast off rides from Cincinnati's Coney Island and to this day there is a small area in the Cincinnati park called "Coney Island" (Named "Coney Mall" in later years) still featuring some of those original rides.
The parks were part of Viacom's Blockbuster Entertainment division until 2002 when they were moved back to Paramount Pictures. After another Viacom corporate shuffle in 2004 the parks became part of Viacom Recreation, a division of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks.
In early 2006, as Viacom went through a corporate split (creating a new version of Viacom and renaming the original company CBS Corporation), Paramount Parks was assigned to CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation, in order to "toss overboard" any unnecessary company assets, sought to sell the parks during the 2006 season, planning to continue their operation until a buyer was found. Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., owners of the well known Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm theme parks approached the company in 2006. They officially purchased the parks and a 10-year license, stating that the parks could continue to use the "Paramount" prefix and the titles of any Paramount movies effectively until 2017. However, in 2008, all references to Paramount were removed in the parks.
Park Acquisitions
Paramount Parks were never built as Paramount Parks. Each park had been pre-existing and purchased, branded with the Paramount name. Any attractions added after the purchase were generally branded with a Paramount movie name (ex. Top Gun: The Jet Coaster, Face/Off, The Italian Job Stunt Track, Tomb Raider: The Ride, Drop Zone: Stunt Tower).
In the 1970's and 1980's, Taft Broadcasting created a division called KECO Entertainment (King's Entertainment Company), which was formed in order to build theme parks nationwide. In 1972 and 1975, KECO built Kings Island and King's Dominion respectively. In 1975, KECO led a forced purchase on the Carowinds Corporation, a bankrupt company, leaving them no choice but to sell Carowinds theme park in North & South Carolina. In 1981, KECO opened Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Additionally, hotel company Marriott, owner of two parks (both named Great America) put their parks up for sale. Six Flags purchased one, branding it Six Flags Great America, while KECO purchased the other, retaining the name Great America.
In 1992, KECO Entertainment sold their six of their seven parks to Paramount Communications (which was later purchased by Viacom). Subsequently, in 1993 the "Paramount's" prefix was added to six of the parks, save Canada's Wonderland which, to avoid the use of a double possessive noun, was simply "Paramount Canada's Wonderland." Thus, the first five parks of the Paramount Parks were established. Paramount's Kings Island, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Paramount's Great America,Paramount's Carowinds, and Paramount Canada's Wonderland.
In 2000, Paramount Parks purchased the majority of shares in Spanish theme park Terra Mitica (Land of Myth), branding it Terra Mitica: A Paramount Park. In 2004, Paramount dropped its shares in the park, and the name was reverted without the Paramount suffix.
Management Style
Paramount Parks considered by theme park insiders to be of a better quality than Six Flags parks, but of lesser quality than those of Universal Studios. Unlike Universal Studios parks, Paramount Parks were not highly themed. Rather, generic roller coasters and rides were built, then branded with Paramount movie names that made sense with the type of ride. While all the Paramount Parks are undisputably theme parks (as opposed to amusement parks), they are not always consistent or thorough in the theme.
Paramount's Kings Island contained the "Paramount Action Zone", a loose mix of brightly colored rides with action movie names (ex. FACE/OFF, Top Gun, Drop Zone). "Paramount Action Zone" was devoid of foliage and made to look like a stunt show stage or a back stage action movie area.
Paramount's King's Dominion had a themed area called "The Congo" which held Volcano: The Blast Coaster, Tomb Raider: Firefall, and Avalance (a bobsled coaster.) The theme isn't especially thorough throughout, often representing different time periods, locations, and storylines all within one light "jungle" theme.
Sale to Cedar Fair
On January 27, 2006, the CBS Corporation announced its intent to sell Paramount Parks due to the fact that it didn't fit well within the company's core business (producing and distributing television content). A number of groups expressed interest in purchasing the company, several placed bids, and on May 22, 2006 it was announced that regional theme park operator Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (best known as the owner of Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio) had outbid competitors and intended to purchase all five parks in the Paramount chain, including Star Trek: The Experience at The Las Vegas Hilton and the management agreement of Bonfante Gardens.
On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair announced that it had completed its acquisition of Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in a cash transaction valued at $1.24 billion. Shortly following the transfer of ownership, Cedar Fair began the process of integrating the two companies by eliminating the Paramount Parks corporate office in Charlotte, North Carolina and transferring all decision-making to Cedar Fair's offices in Sandusky, Ohio.
The individual parks continued to operate under their Paramount names during the 2006 season, however Cedar Fair began removing the Paramount name and logo from the parks in January 2007. The names of the parks were changed back to their original pre-Paramount names (the Paramount's prefix was removed) with the Cedar Fair corporate logo added. As of January 25, 2008, the parks were given their own named websites, rather than being linked to from the old Cedar Fair web portal.
Former Properties
Amusement Parks
*Paramount Canada's Wonderland (Vaughan, Ontario) (Renamed Canada's Wonderland)
Water Parks
Other
Note: All Paramount Parks offered the water park free with park admission
External links
See also
Former Paramount Park Sites
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