Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

6 Months Ended

Jul. 01, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets:

In accordance with the applicable accounting rules, goodwill is not amortized, but, along with indefinite-lived trade-names, is evaluated for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist. Until December 2010, goodwill related to parks acquired prior to 2006 was tested annually for impairment as of October 1, while goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibles, including trade-name intangibles, related to the PPI acquisition in 2006 were tested annually for impairment as of April 1. Effective in December 2010, the Partnership changed the date of its annual goodwill impairment tests from April 1 and October 1 to December 31 to more closely align the impairment testing procedures with its long-range planning and forecasting process, which occurs in the fourth quarter each year. The Partnership believes the change was preferable since the long-term cash flow projections are a key component in performing its annual impairment tests of goodwill. In addition, the Partnership changed the date of its annual impairment test for other indefinite-lived intangibles from April 1 to December 31.

During 2010, the Partnership tested goodwill for impairment as of April 1, 2010 or October 1, 2010, as applicable, and again as of December 31, 2010. The tests indicated no impairment of goodwill as of any of those dates. During 2010, the Partnership tested other indefinite-lived intangibles for impairment as of April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. After performing the December 31, 2010 test of indefinite-lived intangibles, it was determined that a portion of the trade-names at California's Great America, originally recorded with the PPI acquisition, were impaired. As a result, the Partnership recognized $0.9 million of additional trade-name impairment during the fourth quarter of 2010 which was recorded in "Loss on impairment of goodwill and other intangibles" on the consolidated statement of operations.

The change in accounting principle related to changing the annual goodwill impairment testing date did not delay, accelerate, avoid or cause an impairment charge. As it was impracticable to objectively determine operating and valuation estimates for periods prior to December 31, 2010, the Partnership has prospectively applied the change in the annual goodwill impairment testing date from December 31, 2010.

The Partnership tested goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibles for impairment on December 31, 2011 and no impairment was indicated. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update 2011-08, “Intangibles — Goodwill and Other,” which gives an entity the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the current two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the two-step goodwill impairment test is required. We adopted this guidance during the first quarter of 2012 and it did not impact the Partnership's consolidated financial statements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, “Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment,” which allows an entity the option to first assess qualitatively whether it is more-likely-than-not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, thus necessitating that it perform the quantitative impairment test. An entity is not required to calculate the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired. The revised standard is effective for annual impairment testing performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, however early adoption is permitted. We do not anticipate this guidance having a material impact on the Partnership's consolidated financial statements.

A summary of changes in the Partnership’s carrying value of goodwill for the six months ended July 1, 2012 is as follows:



(In thousands)	Goodwill (gross)			Accumulated Impairment Losses			Goodwill (net)
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	323,358		$	(79,868	)	$	243,490
Foreign currency translation	(251		)	—			(251		)
July 1, 2012	$	323,107		$	(79,868	)	$	243,239

At July 1, 2012, December 31, 2011, and June 26, 2011 the Partnership’s other intangible assets consisted of the following:



July 1, 2012	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Value
(In thousands)
Other intangible assets:
Trade names	$	39,799	$	—	$	39,799
License / franchise agreements	790		340		450
Total other intangible assets	$	40,589	$	340	$	40,249

December 31, 2011
(In thousands)
Other intangible assets:
Trade names	$	39,835	$	—	$	39,835
License / franchise agreements	760		322		438
Total other intangible assets	$	40,595	$	322	$	40,273

June 26, 2011
(In thousands)
Other intangible assets:
Trade names	$	40,403	$	—	$	40,403
License / franchise agreements	716		300		416
Non-compete agreements	200		200		—
Total other intangible assets	$	41,319	$	500	$	40,819

Amortization expense of other intangible assets for the six months ended July 1, 2012 and June 26, 2011 was $18,000 and $36,000, respectively. The estimated amortization expense for the remainder of 2012 is $20,000. Estimated amortization expense is expected to total less than $50,000 in each year from 2012 through 2015.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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