Park bounces back with record spending, season pass sales
Knott's Berry Farm and its sister parks have seen record spending and a spike in season pass sales during the first half of 2022 after suffering devastating losses in 2020 and 2021 during pandemic closures of its theme parks.
The parent company of Knott's has set new record highs for net revenue, theme park spending and season pass sales through the first half of 2022, according to financial statements released by Cedar Fair.
In addition to the Buena Park theme park, Cedar Fair owns and operates theme parks in SantaClara (California's Great America), Ohio (Cedar Point and Kings Island), Virginia (Kings Dominion), North Carolina (Carowinds) and elsewhere across North America.
Cedar Fair parks are seeing solid demand as they head into the busiest and most profitable weeks of the season, according to company CEO Richard Zimmerman.
“Our strong early-season trends indicate that consumer demand remains healthy,” Zimmerman said in a statement released by the company.
Ohio-based Cedar Fair announced the financial results Thursday at the traditional midpoint of summer and following the Fourth of July weekend. Cedar Fair compared results from the first half of 2022 to the same period in 2019 because of the financial impact of pandemic closures on theme park operations in 2020 and 2021.
Net revenue through the first half of 2022 was up 20% to a record $704 million, according to Cedar Fair. Inpark spending climbed 26% to a record $59.52 per visitor.
Season pass sales increased 31% and all-season dining and beverage sales were up 55% during the first half of 2022. Season passes represent more than 60% of attendance so far in 2022 at
Cedar Fair parks.
Season pass sales drove a modest 2% attendance increase across Cedar Fair parks during the first half of the year that was in line with expectations. Attendance in 2022 through the Fourth of July weekend at Cedar Fair parks totaled 10.7 million visitors.
Cedar Fair will release second quarter financial results in early August.