Cedar Chips

The seasonal amusement park industry came to a close last week as the last of the spooky props came down after a feisty month of Halloween-inspired turnstile clicks. Now Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN) is coloring in the details of what it did this summer.

Thanks to the purchase of the Geauga Lake park from the Six Flags (NYSE:PKS) family, the company posted an 8% spike in revenues during the tell-tale September quarter. While attendance at its parks was down by 1.5% compared with last year, that was more than offset by looser purse strings as per capita spending rose by 3%. While bad weather was a factor in the lower turnout -- especially at the chain's water parks -- it's good to know that they weren't just buying ponchos at the parks.

Earnings came in at $2.02 per tax-advantaged unit during the quarter. That's below last year's $2.16 showing, but results would have been flat if it hadn't been for the late Geauga Lake acquisition.

There are plenty of reasons to look forward to the 2005 season. It will have an entire offseason to tend to the Geauga Lake property and ease its integration into the Cedar Fair chain. Knott's Berry Farm, the company's year-round park, has a new coaster on the way. After the quarter came to a close, October bounced back nicely with a 4% uptick in attendance. You also have Castaway Bay opening today just off the entrance to Cedar Point's picturesque peninsula.

As an indoor water park anchored to a resort hotel, Castaway Bay is a great way for Cedar Fair to help deflect some of its seasonality. Just as Halloween events have stretched the amusement park operating calendar, setting up a slip-sliding oasis will help draw crowds during the operating lull of winter.

While Disney (NYSE:DIS), General Electric's (NYSE:GE) Universal Studios and some of the Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) theme parks have the geographical fortitude to stay open all year long, Castaway Bay will give Cedar Fair something else besides Knott's Berry Farm and Camp Snoopy to look forward to during the slow first- and fourth-quarter bookends of the calendar year.

In short, it's how you build a more complete ride.

What do you think about Six Flags building the world's largest roller coaster for the 2005 season at its Great Adventure thrill park? What is the scariest roller coaster that you have ever been on? All this and more -- in the Rollercoaster Loving Fools discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves to chase coasters and made it out to both Knott's Berry Farm and Cedar Point this summer. He owns shares of Disney as well as units in Cedar Fair.