Six Flags

Last updated
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Company type Public
Industry Theme parks
Predecessors
FoundedJuly 2, 2024;6 months ago (2024-07-02)
Headquarters Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations
42
Area served
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Canada
Key people
Selim Bassoul
(Executive Chairman)
Richard Zimmerman
(President and CEO)
Revenue
  • Decrease2.svg US$1,358,236,000 (2022) [1]
  • US$1,496,905,000 (2021) [2]
  • Decrease2.svg US$108,928,000(2022) [1]
  • US$129,923,000 (2021) [2]
Number of employees
1,450 full-time; 40,000 seasonal (2022) [1]
Website sixflags.com

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags company. The combined company owns and operates 51 properties throughout North America, including amusement parks, water parks, and resorts.

Contents

History

Pre-merger

Six Flags Theme Parks originated in with the creation of The Great Southwest Corporation by Angus G. Wynne and other investors, who would go on to open the chain's original park, Six Flags Over Texas, in August 1961. After the Pennsylvania Railroad gained a controlling stake in the company's shares, a handful of new parks were constructed, and multiple independently-owned parks were purchased over the following two decades. Following the acquisition of Marriott Corporation's Great America theme park in 1984, Six Flags acquired the rights to feature Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated characters at their properties; Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery) subsequently purchased much of the company and was its sole owner from 1993 to 1995. Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. was later bought out by Premier Parks – an Oklahoma-based real estate firm and theme park chain – on April 1, 1998, for $1.86 billion. [3] Premier began to apply the Six Flags name to several of their existing properties in North America and Europe, eventually fully assuming the brand name in 2000.

Throughout the 2000s, Six Flags began to suffer from growing debt and organizational bloat, eventually resorting to selling off assets like its European parks and Worlds of Adventure in 2004. Some of the company's largest investors grew frustrated with Six Flags and demanded change; Daniel Snyder's Red Zone, LLC successfully gained control of Six Flags' board of directors in 2005 by means of a proxy battle. New management continued to sell off various American amusement park locations throughout 2006-2007, although their cash flow continued to decrease, falling $120 million annually under Red Zone's board. Weighed down by the financial crisis of 2007–2008 part of the Great Recession, and the New York Stock Exchange's decision to delist their stock, Six Flags filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009 but continued to operate the parks as normal. Six Flags re-emerged as Six Flags Entertainment Corp. on May 3, 2010, moving head offices from New York City to Grand Prairie, Texas and allowing lenders to control 92% of the company in exchange for canceling $1.13 billion in debt. [4]

Jim Reid-Anderson was instated as chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) on August 13, 2010 and succeeded by Mike Spanos in late 2019. New initiatives were launched to build Six Flags theme parks in global markets; the previously cancelled Six Flags Dubai was revived in 2014 before being called off again in 2018. Six Flags Zhejiang and Six Flags Chongqing both began construction in China before a declining real estate and the collapse of its local investment firm in 2020 forced both projects to be sold on to other developers. The COVID-19 pandemic also hindered Six Flags' operations during 2020, forcing many parks to remain closed for the year. Mike Spanos stepped down in 2021, allowing chairman Selim Bassoul to assume the role of CEO. Seeking reinvention, Bassoul announced a new strategy favoring guest experience over capital investments; this meant raising prices in order to lower daily park crowds, thus improving the park experience for higher-paying guests. [5] The initiative and various comments made by Bassoul proved controversial with shareholders, and was abandoned in November 2022 after park attendance plummeted by 33%. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Cedar Fair

This section is an excerpt from Cedar Fair § History.[ edit ]

Cedar Point Amusement Park began as a bathing beach resort in the 1870s, and its growing popularity as a recreational destination led to the formation of Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company in 1887. The company was founded with the purpose of expanding the resort commercially. An economic depression in the 1890s threatened the resort's future, however. A newly formed business, Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company of Indiana led by George Arthur Boeckling, purchased Cedar Point for $256,000 in 1897. It was later reorganized as the G.A. Boeckling Company. [10]

The resort thrived under Boeckling's leadership, which lasted through 1931. [10] G.A. Boeckling Company continued to control operations at the amusement park for much of the 20th century. [10] A proposal in 1974 to build an amusement park in Cambridge Township, Michigan, was contemplated and later abandoned the following year. [11] Then in 1978, Cedar Point acquired Valleyfair amusement park. Parent company Cedar Fair Limited Partnership, commonly known as Cedar Fair, was formed in 1983. [12] Its name was derived from both parks – "Cedar" representing Cedar Point and "Fair" representing Valleyfair. [13] The company went public on April 29, 1987. [12] Under Cedar Fair's leadership, Cedar Point grew to become one of the largest amusement parks in the world, and the company increased its portfolio by acquiring other amusement properties throughout the United States. [10]

Merger

Previous unsuccessful attempts had been made to assimilate Cedar Fair in the decade leading up to the merger. One such deal with Apollo Global Management fell apart in April 2010. [14] On October 2, 2019, Reuters reported that Six Flags had first approached Cedar Fair with a cash-and-stock acquisition offer, although the proposal was quickly rebuffed. [15] [16] In February 2022, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (now United Parks & Resorts) made an unsolicited all-cash bid to buy Cedar Fair for $3.4 billion; the offer was rejected two weeks later. [17] [18]

Six Flags and Cedar Fair eventually merged in 2024 after announcing the pending agreement in 2023. [19] Described as a "merger of equals", [19] the combined company retained the Six Flags name, formed a net worth of $8 billion, and created a portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and 9 resort properties. [20] The transition resulted in Cedar Fair stakeholders becoming majority owners, with "unitholders" owning a 51% stake in the new company. [19] President and CEO of Cedar Fair, Richard Zimmerman, became President and CEO of the new combined company, while Selim Bassoul, former President and CEO of Six Flags, became the executive chairman of the company's board of directors. [19] The combined company's new headquarters is scheduled for relocation to Charlotte, North Carolina, with significant administrative and financial operations being located at Cedar Fair's former headquarters in Sandusky, Ohio. [20] The merger was completed on July 1, 2024. [21]

Properties

Year acquired lists the year the property was acquired by the property's previous respective owner among the current company's two predecessors.

Amusement parks

NameLocationYear openedYear acquiredNotes
California's Great America Santa Clara, California 19762006Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. Initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park is planned to close no later than 2033 after the sale of its land in 2022. [22]
Canada's Wonderland Vaughan, Ontario 19812006The most visited seasonal amusement park in North America. Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger, and initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks.
Carowinds Charlotte, North Carolina 19732006Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. Initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks.
Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 1870—Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. It was the flagship park of the company and is currently one of the two oldest Six Flags parks.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Allentown, Pennsylvania 18841992Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. Initially acquired by the company in 1992. [23]
Frontier City Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 19582018Acquired by the Tierco Group (later Premier Parks, LLC) in 1981. It was initially sold in January 2007 to PARC Management, but Six Flags re-acquired its operations lease in 2018. The park has been owned by EPR Properties since 2016.
Kings Dominion Doswell, Virginia 19752006Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. Initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks.
Kings Island Mason, Ohio 19722006Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. Initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks.
Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park, California 19201997One of two year-round operated parks and the most visited park in the chain. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company from the Knott Family in 1997. [24]
La Ronde Montréal, Quebec 19672001Until the Cedar Fair merger, this was Six Flags' only theme park in Canada. It was initially built for Expo 67, with Six Flags purchasing a 65-year Emphyteutic lease from the City of Montréal in 2001.
Michigan's Adventure Muskegon, Michigan 19562001Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. The company initially acquired the park in 2001.
Six Flags America Largo, Maryland 19731992Acquired by the Tierco Group (later Premier Parks, LLC) in 1992. Formerly known as Adventure World and Wild World.
Six Flags Darien Lake Darien, New York 19812018Acquired by Premier Parks in 1995. It was initially sold in January 2007 to PARC Management, but Six Flags re-acquired its operations lease in 2018. The park has been owned by EPR Properties since 2016.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Vallejo, California 19681997 (lease)
2007 (full ownership)		Operations lease was sold to Premier Parks by the City of Vallejo in 1995. It was originally named Marine World and later Six Flags Marine World; receiving its current name in 2007, of which Six Flags fully purchased the park from the city.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 19921996 (lease)
1998 (full ownership)		Six Flags acquired the park's operations lease from Gaylord Entertainment in 1996, and took over full ownership from USAA in mid-1998.
Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson, New Jersey 19741977Acquired by Six Flags in 1977. Since 2012, Safari Off-Road Adventure has been attached to the park, making Great Adventure the largest park in the chain.
Six Flags Great America Gurnee, Illinois 19761984Acquired by Six Flags from the Marriott Corporation in 1984. By acquiring this park, Six Flags gained the rights to the Warner Bros. licenses. Purchase price $114.5M [25]
Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor Queensbury, New York 19541996Acquired by Premier Parks in 1996. Until 2022, the park did not have the "Six Flags" brand in its name; and before the Premier purchase, the park was known as Storytown USA.
Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia, California 19711979Acquired by Six Flags from the Newhall Land and Farming Company in 1979. Purchase price $51M [26]
Six Flags México Mexico City, Mexico 19821999Acquired by Six Flags in 1999, and formerly known as Reino Aventura. It is the only year-round park in the chain branded under the Six Flags moniker. [27]
Six Flags New England Agawam, Massachusetts 18701997One of the two oldest parks in the chain, although it predates the founding of the first Six Flags Park by nearly a century. It was acquired by Premier Parks in 1996 and renamed under the Six Flags moniker in 2000. It was formerly known as Riverside Park.
Six Flags Over Georgia Austell, Georgia 1967—One of the three initial parks built by the chain.
Six Flags Over Texas Arlington, Texas 1961—The first theme park built by the chain. The park is partly owned by a limited partnership and is majority owned, managed and operated by Six Flags.
Six Flags St. Louis Eureka, Missouri 1971—Known as Six Flags Over Mid-America until 1996, this was the last of the three initial parks built by the chain.
Valleyfair Shakopee, Minnesota 19761978Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. It was initially acquired by Cedar Point's management in 1978, which led to the formation of Cedar Fair in 1983. [28]
Worlds of Fun Kansas City, Missouri 19731995Acquired in the Cedar Fair merger. It was initially acquired by the company in 1995. [29]

Water parks

Outdoor

NameLocationYear openedYear acquiredNotes
Located in amusement parks
Carolina Harbor Charlotte, North Carolina 19822006Located within the grounds of Carowinds. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park originally opened as Ocean Island and was renamed Riptide Reef, WaterWorks and Boomerang Bay throughout its existence.
Oceans of Fun Kansas City, Missouri 19821995Located adjacent to Worlds of Fun. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company in 1995. Originally a separately-operated park; it became included with admission to Worlds of Fun in 2013. [30]
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Queensbury, New York 19951996Located within the grounds of Six Flags Great Escape, initially opening as Splashwater Kingdom. It was acquired with the park by Premier Parks in 1996.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Maryland Largo, Maryland 19821992Located adjacent to Six Flags America. It was initially acquired by the Tierco Group (later Premier Parks, LLC) with the park in 1992. It was originally named Paradise Island and renamed to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in 2005, adorning the "Maryland" prefix in 2023. [31]
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Darien Lake Darien, New York 19902018Located within the grounds of Six Flags Darien Lake, and was initially acquired with its main park by Premier Parks in 1995. It was initially sold in January 2007 to PARC Management, but Six Flags re-acquired its operations lease in 2018 while the park has been owned by EPR Properties since 2016. Originally named Barracuda Bay and Splashtown at Darien Lake.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Agawam, Massachusetts 19971998Located within the grounds of Six Flags New England. It initially opened up as Island Kingdom under Premier Parks.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Austell, Georgia 2014—Located within the grounds of Six Flags Over Georgia. It is a smaller alternative to the nearby Six Flags White Water.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Eureka, Missouri 1999—Located adjacent to Six Flags St. Louis.
Soak City Doswell, Virginia 19922006Located within the grounds of Kings Dominion. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park originally opened as Hurricane Reef and was later known as WaterWorks.
Soak City Mason, Ohio 19892006Located adjacent to Kings Island. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park originally opened as WaterWorks, and then renamed Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay and then solely Boomerang Bay.
Soak City Shakopee, Minnesota 1983—Located within the grounds of Valleyfair. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was originally known as Liquid Lightning and later Whitewater Country.
South Bay Shores Santa Clara, California 20042006Located within the grounds of California's Great America. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park originally opened as Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay and then was renamed to solely Boomerang Bay.
Splash Works Vaughan, Ontario 19922006Located adajent to Canada's Wonderland. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company following the purchase of Paramount Parks.
WildWater Adventure Muskegon, Michigan 19912001Located adajent to Michigan's Adventure. It was acquired in the Cedar Fair merger and was initially acquired by the company with the park itself in 2001.
Wild West Water Works Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 20172018Located within the grounds of Frontier City. Initially opened as a water play structure of the same name in 2012 and was turned into a water park in 2017 with the opening of three water slides. Six Flags purchased the operations lease in 2018 with the park itself. It is owned by EPR Properties.
Separate admission or property
Cedar Point Shores Sandusky, Ohio 1988—Located adjacent to Cedar Point. Previously known as Soak City until being renamed for 2017.
Knott's Soak City Buena Park, California 2000—Located adjacent to Knott's Berry Farm, Opened under the name, Soak City U.S.A.
Schlitterbahn Galveston Galveston, Texas 20062019Purchased by Cedar Fair in 2019 from the Henry family.
Schlitterbahn New Braunfels New Braunfels, Texas 19792019Purchased by Cedar Fair in 2019 from the Henry family.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles Valencia, California 1995—Located adjacent to Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Arlington Arlington, Texas 19831995Acquired from Wet 'n Wild. Located across Interstate 30 from Six Flags Over Texas.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor New Jersey Jackson, New Jersey 2000—Located adjacent to Six Flags Great Adventure.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oaxtepec Oaxtepec, Mexico 20172016Reopened in the former Parque Acuatico Oaxtepec location. One hour from Six Flags Mexico.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord Concord, California 19952017Opened as WaterWorld USA Concord in 1995 and was acquired by Premier Parks the following year with its former sister park Waterworld Sacramento. It was renamed Six Flags Waterworld for the 2004 season, and renamed again to Waterworld California in 2007 following the purchase of the park by PARC Management in January 2007. On April 27, 2017, Six Flags announced they had entered into an agreement with EPR Properties to manage the park. On February 22, 2018, Six Flags announced that the park would be renamed from Waterworld California to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord. [32] Located about 15 miles from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona 20092018Owned by EPR Properties; operated by Six Flags.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown Spring, Texas 19842018Acquired by Six Flags as Splashtown USA in 1999 and renamed to Six Flags Splashtown the following year. It was purchased by PARC Management in January 2007 and renamed SplashTown Houston, and eventually Wet 'n' Wild SplashTown in 2013. The park is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.
Six Flags White Water Marietta, Georgia 19831999Located about 15 miles from Six Flags Over Georgia. Owned under the same limited partnership as its sister park, but operated by Six Flags. Six Flags will take on full ownership of the park beginning in 2027. [33]
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 19812018Located about 15 miles from Frontier City, the park is owned by EPR Properties and is operated by Six Flags.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Rockford Cherry Valley, Illinois 19842019Owned by Rockford Park District, operated by Six Flags under a ten-year lease agreement beginning April 1, 2019.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Chicago Gurnee, Illinois 2005—Located adjacent to Six Flags Great America. It became a separate gate from Great America, making it the company's 27th amusement park and was rebranded to Hurricane Harbor Chicago in 2021. [34]
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor San Antonio San Antonio, Texas 19921998Located adjacent to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Formerly called Ol' Waterin' Hole from 1992 to 1998, Armadillo Beach from 1999 to 2005. It was rebranded to Hurricane Harbor San Antonio and became a separate gate in 2023. [35]

Indoor

NameLocationYear OpenedYear AcquiredNotes
Castaway Bay Sandusky, Ohio 2004—Located inside the resort of the same name.
White Water Bay Queensbury, New York 2006—Located inside Six Flags Great Escape Lodge.

Safari Parks

NameLocationYear openedYear acquiredNotes
Six Flags Wild Safari Adventure Jackson, New Jersey 1974—Located adjacent to Six Flags Great Adventure. The drive-through Safari experience was merged into park operations in 2012 as the Safari Off-Road Adventure.

Resorts

NameLocationYear openedYear acquiredNotes
Castaway Bay Sandusky, Ohio 20042024Located about a mile from Cedar Point, a legacy Cedar Fair park. Acquired in the Cedar Fair deal, and contains an indoor water park of the same name.
Six Flags Darien Lake Hotel & Campground Darien, New York 19541995
2018		Located across from Six Flags Darien Lake, existing prior to the park's construction. The complex contains a hotel, a campground with cabins, guest houses and rentable RVs; Darien Square and Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.
Six Flags Great Escape Lodge Queensbury, New York 2006—Located across from Six Flags Great Escape. Contains the White Water Bay Waterpark inside the grounds.
Six Flags Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa Jackson, New Jersey 2024—Located within Six Flags Wild Safari Adventure in Six Flags Great Adventure.

Upcoming properties

Amusement parks

NameLocationYear OpeningNotesSource
Six Flags Qiddiya Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2025 (expected) [36] This will be the first Six Flags-branded theme park in Saudi Arabia, and the first Six Flags park outside of North America since 2004. [37]

Fast Lane

Fast Lane is an expedited queue system in use at parks formerly associated with Cedar Fair. It was first announced for Kings Island on July 18, 2011. [38] The park served as the testing park for the system. For an increased cost, visitors get a wrist band which gives them the ability to wait in a shorter queue for most attractions. Originally, it could only be used from noon to 7:00 PM, but it was soon expanded to be available all day. Fast Lane would be rolled out to all Cedar Fair parks for the 2012 season. [39] There is also Fright Lane, which is Fast Lane for the haunted attractions during the Halloween events. [40] For the 2016 season, Cedar Fair began testing all season Fast Lane at Valleyfair and Dorney Park. By the 2019 season, all parks offered all season Fast Lane.

The Flash Pass

The Flash Pass is an optional, pay-per-person virtual queue system offered at amusement parks operated by Six Flags before the merger. The system, named after DC Comics character The Flash, allows guests to reserve places in line at participating attractions, and access must be purchased for a nominal fee in addition to the general park admission price. The first iteration, called Q-bot, was designed by Lo-Q and was first implemented at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2001. Guests are given handheld devices, which are then used to make reservations and receive notifications when it is their turn to ride. [41] Another iteration is where guests can scan a QR code on in-park signs or through the mobile app, and guests can buy individual Flash Passes per ride or use their season pass or membership Flash Pass. This feature was adopted in 2021. [42]

A water park version of the virtual system called Q-band was first tested at Six Flags White Water in 2011. [43] [44] Guests wear waterproof RFID wristbands that can be scanned at kiosks near participating water park attractions. [45]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "2022 Annual Report" (PDF). investors.sixflags.com. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  2. 1 2 "Six Flags Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Performance". investors.sixflags.com. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  3. ↑ "Time Warner Completes Sale of Stake in Six Flags for $440 Million in Cash | Time Warner Inc". Time Warner.
  4. ↑ Church, Steven (August 21, 2009). "Six Flags Would Be Owned by Lenders Under Proposal (Update2)". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
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  14. ↑ "Apollo's deal for Cedar Fair collapses". Reuters.
  15. ↑ "Exclusive: Six Flags in bid to acquire Cedar Fair-source". Reuters. October 2, 2019.
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  32. ↑ "Concord Water Park is Now Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord" (Press release). 2018-02-22.
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  36. ↑ Revell, Eric (2023-11-19). "Record-shattering roller coaster simulates falling from cliff with 155 mph speeds". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  37. ↑ "International Expansion Continues with Six Flags-Branded Park in Saudi Arabia". investors.sixflags.com.
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  41. ↑ "Six Flags, Inc. extends the agreement with Lo-Q to four years". Blooloop. November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  42. ↑ "The Flash Pass". gr.sfflashpass.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
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