Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Amusement park operator |
Founded | 2009 |
Founders | Kieran Burke and Gary Story |
Headquarters | Oklahoma City, United States |
Area served | United States, Canada |
Key people | Kieran Burke (CEO) Susan Hughes (CFO) |
Website | premierparks |
Premier Parks, LLC (formerly Rapids Holdings, LLC and Premier Attractions Management, LLC) is a limited liability company based in the United States. The company owns and operates several amusement parks and water parks across the country and one in Canada.
Kieran Burke and Gary Story previously held the positions of chief executive officer and chief operating officer at Six Flags for more than 10 years. In November 2009, the pair purchased Nashville Shores, consisting of a marina, RV park and water park. They redeveloped the water park for the 2010 season. In early 2011, it was announced the pair had purchased the Ocean Breeze Waterpark in Virginia with plans to renovate it for the 2011 season. [1]
In 2011, the newly founded Premier Attractions Management began operating three properties owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties: Frontier City, SplashTown Houston, and White Water Bay [2] CNL Lifestyle Properties had terminated its lease agreements with PARC Management for eight parks in late 2010. [3] Burke and Story have since gained operational control of additional parks owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties. [4] [5] In 2013, the company changed its name to Premier Parks, LLC taking the former corporate name of the company that had acquired and took the name of Six Flags. [6]
In late 2016, CNL Lifestyle Properties sold their attractions portfolio to EPR Properties. [7] Upon this transaction, EPR transferred management of these parks to Premier Parks, LLC, including ones previously operated by different groups. [8]
In May 2017, operations of Waterworld California were transferred to Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which had previously owned the park and also own the nearby Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. [9] In May 2018, Six Flags announced that they had entered into a purchase agreement with Premier Parks to acquire the lease rights to operate 5 additional parks: Darien Lake, Frontier City, Wet'n'Wild Phoenix, Wet'n'Wild SplashTown, and White Water Bay. [10]
Full Ownership
Operated for EPR Properties
Operated for Kroenke Entertainment
Full Ownership
Operated for EPR Properties
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, formerly Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc., is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amusement-park company and has the seventh highest attendance in the world. The company operates 42 properties throughout North America, including theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, and a family entertainment center. In 2019, Six Flags properties hosted 32.8 million guests.
Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.
Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, was a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owned and operated eleven amusement parks, thirteen outdoor water parks, one indoor water park, and fourteen resort properties in the US and Canada.
Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park, colloquially known as Elitch's, is an amusement park in Denver, Colorado. It is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and operated by Premier Parks, LLC. Distinctive for being located in a downtown area, it is open April through October.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is a water park located north of Houston in Spring, Texas, United States.
Hawaiian Falls Waterparks is a chain of waterparks operated by ProParks Management Company. The five locations Hawaiian Falls operates are located across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area and Central Texas.
Wild Waves Theme & Water Park is an amusement park and water park in Federal Way, Washington. Opened in 1977 as The Enchanted Village, the park is a popular summer destination in the Pacific Northwest. The park's name was reverted to Wild Waves Water Park and Enchanted Village Amusement Park in April 2016, and once again changed to Wild Waves Theme and Water Park in November 2016, as a result of the park's acquisition by EPR Properties.
Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks; however, it was sold in 2011 to Merlin Entertainments.
Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, known as Magic Springs, is an amusement park and water park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 50 mi (80 km) from Little Rock. A single price admission includes all day use of the rides and attractions in both parks. The park is open weekends from April through October and daily late-May through mid-August. Magic Springs Theme and Water Park was opened in 1978, closed in 1995, and reopened in 2000. Magic Springs Theme and Water Park is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Premier Parks, LLC.
Wet'n'Wild Hawaii is a Hawaiian water park, located in Kapolei in the City and County of Honolulu on Oahu. The park occupies 29 acres (120,000 m2) of land and has more than 25 rides and attractions. It is currently the only water park in the state of Hawaii. It is one of six water parks operating under the Wet'n'Wild brand globally.
Wet ‘n Wild is a name used by various water parks across the United States, Brazil and Mexico, originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay. It is not to be confused with the Wet'n'Wild brand owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and CNL Lifestyle Properties or the stand-alone waterpark Wet N' Wild Waterworld in Anthony, Texas.
Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park opened in 1958, and is the third-oldest Six Flags park behind Six Flags New England and Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor.
Knott's Soak City is a seasonal water park owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation located in Buena Park, California. The Knott's Soak City name was previously used for two other water parks in Southern California, since sold to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and CNL Lifestyle Properties.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord is a seasonal water park located in Concord, California. It was initially developed, owned, and operated by Premier Parks. It is currently owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.
Adrenaline Family Entertainment, Inc. was an amusement park operator headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma. It was created in 2007 by private equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. when it acquired Clementon Park in Clementon, New Jersey. The company originally had plans to expand by building a portfolio of regional amusement and water parks across the United States. Plans also included upgrades to existing facilities and addition of new rides and attractions.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix is a water park located in Glendale, Arizona. The park is situated on approximately 35 acres (14 ha) of land, making it the largest theme park in the state. It is located in North Phoenix at Adobe Dam Regional Park.
Wet'n'Wild is a brand used for many water parks across the world owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and EPR Properties. It is distinct from the Wet 'n Wild brand originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay or Wet N' Wild Waterworld, a stand-alone water park in Anthony, Texas, US.
CNL Financial Group (CNL), formerly Commercial Net Lease, is an Orlando, Florida based private investment management and commercial real estate company. It was started in 1973 by James Seneff. The company has been a major player in efforts to redevelop Orlando's downtown. The original CNA tower was downtown Orlando's first modern skyscraper when it was completed in 1971. A new CNL Tower was constructed on the east side of Orange Avenue.
Palm Springs Surf Club is a surf club located in Palm Springs, California. The park operated under Cedar Fair's ownership as Knott's Soak City until 2013 when CNL Lifestyle Properties acquired it and changed the name to Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs. In 2019, the park was acquired by Pono Acquisition Partners I, LLC. The park opened in 2024.
EPR Properties, formerly Entertainment Properties Trust, is a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri, that invests in amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts, and other entertainment properties. It owns 353 properties as of 2022.