For those of us who grew up on discussion boards and social media following the goings-on of amusement parks and roller coasters, there was no more fundamental a divide than that between Six Flags and Cedar Fair. For decades, these two regional parks operators battled back and forth, inciting the “Coaster Wars” in their continuous battle for amusement supremacy. Pitting their flagship parks against one another, Six Flags and Cedar Fair raced to compete. As of July 2024, though, that long-waged war has officially ended in a truce.
Yep, in July 2024, it became official. Six Flags and Cedar Fair would officially combine in a “merger of equals” (in other words, not one acquiring the other). The newly formed company bears the Six Flags name, but is comprised 51% of Cedar Fair’s unitholders and helmed by Cedar Fair’s CEO, Richard Zimmerman. There’s no question that it’ll take years for Zimmerman to sort out the new company’s structure – how capital expenditure schedules will adjust, how park operations should align (or not), how (or if) to merge the two portfolios’ separate licensing deals, annual pass programs, food suppliers, marketing, branding, etc… but in the meantime, a bigger question has emerged…
Quality Over Quantity
No discussion can be had about the new Six Flags without addressing a common debate around the old one: quality. Whether Six Flags’ reputation is earned or not, the fact of the matter is that the Six Flags brand is associated much more with quantity than quality. Six Flags has acquired, sold, re-acquired, or re-sold more parks over the last three decades than Cedar Fair has ever had to begin with.
The old Six Flags’ strategy seemed to be “growth at any cost,” amassing a portfolio of parks across the country (and at one point, across the world) where “off-the-shelf” coasters were often “copy-pasted”; where rock bottom admission prices and annual passes turns parks into “babysitting for teens”; where maintenance, cleanliness, and family offerings were often deferred in favor of bare steel coasters and “label-slapped” IPs. Frankly, it’s curious that the new company would choose the “Six Flags” brand as its new overarching label. Sure, it’s more recognizable than Cedar Fair… but at what cost?
Anyway, the new Six Flags now has no choice but to stare down the barrel of the ultimate question of quantity and quality: the unimaginable collection of 27 amusement parks it now shepherds. To be clear, Six Flags has only said that their “Project Accelerate” initiative will conduct rigorous reviews of their now-gargantuan portfolio to “optimize assets,” but that that doesn’t necessarily translate to any immediate plans to close or sell off parks… Still, let’s take a moment to divide this massive new collection of parks into tiers to imagine what Six Flags may be seeing…
Flagships
These parks are the anchors of the new Six Flags chain, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll see any of these parks closed or sold.
- CEDAR POINT (Sandusky, Ohio) – The flagship of all flagships, Cedar Point is a legendary park that is famously home to the first coasters to break the 100, 200, 300, and 400-foot height records. Its world-class collection includes Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Raptor, and Top Thrill 2. There is absolutely zero chance that Cedar Point will change hands.
- SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN (Valencia, California) – Certainly the “Cedar Point of Six Flags,” Magic Mountain is the park chosen by the old Six Flags to go toe-to-toe with Cedar Fair’s flagship (hence why it has the most roller coasters on any park on Earth), regularly receiving record-breaking rides like X2, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Tatsu, Twisted Colossus, and Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage.
- KINGS ISLAND (Cincinnati, Ohio) – When Cedar Fair initially acquired the five “Paramount Parks” in 2007, it’s said that then-CEO Dick Kinzel was willing to spend the $1.2 billion mostly to get his hands on Kings Island – a beloved theme park born of the post-Magic-Kingdom formula of themed lands, a park icon, etc. A premier park for the region, Kings Island is one of the highest performing seasonal parks in the country and anchored by rides like The Beast, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Orion, Banshee, and more.
- CAROWINDS (Charlotte, North Carolina) – Carowinds was identified by the old Cedar Fair as a flagship-in-the-making, leading to years of sustained investment there, anchored by Fury 325 (regarded as one of the best roller coasters on Earth) and Copperhead Strike. The new Six Flags has also designated Charlotte as their new corporate headquarters (with limited operations remaining in Sandusky), suggesting Carowinds will continue to be an anchor park and is viewed by the company as a property still brimming with potential.
- SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE (Jackson, New Jersey) – Great Adventure was clearly a flagship for the old Six Flags, anchored by El Toro, Jersey Devil, Medusa, and (for at least the 2024 season), the tallest-and-fastest coaster in the world, the so-called “King of Coasters,” Kingda Ka. Even with the surprise announcement of Kingda Ka’s closure, Great Adventure still has something no other legacy Six Flags park has: it’s a true “resort” with on-site accommodations, a water park, and an entire Safari park. That makes it a likely jewel in Six Flags’ crown going forward.
- KNOTT’S BERRY FARM (Buena Park, California) – Located just a few city blocks from Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm is a historic and beloved park that was purchased by Cedar Fair from the Knott family in 1997 (allegedly, Disney put in a bid for the park, too). Though it’s not a mega destination like Cedar Point or Magic Mountain (which it shares the L.A. metro area with), it’s still an intergenerational icon anchored by Ghost Rider, Xcelerator, HangTime, and an enviable collection of classic dark rides. A real treasure that goes above and beyond most amusement or theme parks, Knott’s is unlikely to go anywhere.
But those seven parks leave twenty more for us to parse through… See which we think are safe and which might be on the chopping block on the next page…
