Kennywood, Idlewild sale likely surpassed $500M as Dollywood owner augments holdings

Hello, Dolly!

American beauty Dolly Parton is certainly aware the company that owns Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is the new owner of the iconic Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Sandcastle in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township, an industry insider told TribLive Wednesday.

“She’s aware of this,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services Inc., a longtime Cincinnati-based industry consultant, said of the deal.

Herschend, a family-owned company in suburban Atlanta, bought the 20 properties operated by Palace Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of the Spanish conglomerate Parques Reunidos, the companies announced Tuesday.

The sale price wasn’t released, but it’s likely more than $500 million, Speigel said.

Speigel and his company weren’t involved in the deal, but he said he’s known and worked with the Herschend family since the 1970s and was involved with the 2007 deal that brought the local attractions under Spanish ownership, he said.

“This is a wonderful fit, I really think,” Speigel said. “I’m sure that Herschend will look at Kennywood as a jewel in their crown because that’s what it is.”

The family company also has owned the Harlem Globetrotters since 2013. The roundball showboats will be making several stops in the region in April, including shows in Indiana, Pa.; Charleston, W.Va.; Youngstown, Ohio; and Erie.

Herschend looks “for good properties that they think have an opportunity to grow,” Speigel said.

Parques Reunidos operates more than 60 amusement parks, water parks, zoos and other entertainment venues across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. The move allows it to focus on its core European market, the company said in a statement.

Kennywood Entertainment had been a family business since F.W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan in 1906 bought the West Mifflin trolley park from Monongahela Railway Co.

Idlewild has been recognized as the third-oldest amusement park in the nation, having opened in 1878 as a picnic area and campgrounds accessible by the Ligonier Valley Railroad owned by Judge Thomas Mellon. The park was acquired by C.C. Macdonald and Richard B. Mellon, Thomas Mellon’s son, in the 1930s, and they made improvements. Macdonald purchased Richard Mellon’s interest in the 1950s and expanded the park. Kennywood Park Corp. bought Idlewild in 1983.

Dollywood opened in 1961 as a small attraction called Rebel Railroad that in the 1970s became Goldrush Junction. It was then owned by former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell. It has been owned by the Herschend family since 1976.

In 1986, it became Dollywood through a partnership with Parton, who was born in Pittman Center, Tenn., about 15 miles northwest of Pigeon Forge.

Herschend said no immediate changes were planned for the parks. The company declined further comment until the deal officially closes.

Speigel said he is sure of two things he’d bet all-in on: the Thunderbolt and Potato Patch fries.

“They won’t be doing anything with those,” he said.

Kennywood opens April 12, Idlewild and Soakzone open May 17, and Sandcastle opens May 24.