# Six Flags

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.

## History
### Pre-merger

Six Flags Theme Parks originated 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. 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.
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. The initiative and various comments made by Bassoul proved controversial with shareholders, and was abandoned in November 2022 after park attendance plummeted by 33%.

#### Cedar Fair

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.

### 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. 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. 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.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair eventually merged in 2024 after announcing the pending agreement in 2023. Described as a "merger of equals", 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. The transition resulted in Cedar Fair stakeholders becoming majority owners, with "unitholders" owning a 51% stake in the new company. 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. 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. The merger was completed on July 1, 2024.

## 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

| Name | Location | Year opened | Year acquired | Notes |
| California's Great America | Santa Clara, California | 1976 | 2006 | Acquired by Cedar Fair following the purchase of Paramount Parks. The park is planned to close no later than 2033 after the sale of its land in 2022. |
| Canada's Wonderland | Vaughan, Ontario | 1981 | 2006 | The most visited seasonal amusement park in North America. Acquired by Cedar Fair following the purchase of Paramount Parks. |
| Carowinds | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1973 | 2006 | Acquired by Cedar Fair following the purchase of Paramount Parks. |
| Cedar Point | Sandusky, Ohio | 1870 | — | Previously Cedar Fair's flagship park and currently one of the two oldest parks in the merged company, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. |
| Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 1884 | 1992 | Acquired by Cedar Fair in 1992. |
| Frontier City | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 1958 | 2018 | Acquired by the Tierco Group (later Premier Parks, LLC) in 1981. It was initially sold in January 2007 to PARC Management and CNL Income Properties, but Six Flags re-acquired its operations lease in 2018. The park has been owned by EPR Properties since November 2016. |
| Kings Dominion | Doswell, Virginia | 1975 | 2006 | Acquired by Cedar Fair following the purchase of Paramount Parks. |
| Kings Island | Mason, Ohio | 1972 | 2006 | Acquired by Cedar Fair following the purchase of Paramount Parks. |
| Knott's Berry Farm | Buena Park, California | 1920 | 1997 | One of two year-round operated parks and the most visited park in the chain. Acquired by Cedar Fair from the Knott Family in 1997. |
| La Ronde | Montréal, Quebec | 1967 | 2001 | Built for Expo 67, with Six Flags Theme Park Inc. purchasing a 65-year Emphyteutic lease from the City of Montréal in 2001. |
| Michigan's Adventure | Muskegon, Michigan | 1956 | 2001 | Acquired by Cedar Fair management in 2001. |
| Six Flags America | Largo, Maryland | 1973 | 1992 | Acquired 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 | 1981 | 2018 | Acquired by Premier Parks in 1995. It was initially sold in January 2007 to PARC Management and CNL Income Properties, but Six Flags re-acquired its operations lease in 2018. The park has been owned by EPR Properties since November 2016. |
| Six Flags Discovery Kingdom | Vallejo, California | 1968 | 1997 (lease) 2007 (full ownership) | Operations lease was sold to Premier Parks by the City of Vallejo in 1997. It was originally named Marine World and later Six Flags Marine World; receiving its current name in 2007, of which Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. fully purchased the park from the city. |
| Six Flags Fiesta Texas | San Antonio, Texas | 1992 | 1996 (lease) 1998 (full ownership) | Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. acquired the park's operations lease from Gaylord Entertainment in 1996 and Premier Parks took over full ownership from USAA in mid-1998. |
| Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson, New Jersey | 1974 | 1977 | Acquired by Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. in 1977. Since 2012, Six Flags Wild Safari Adventure has been attached to the park, making Great Adventure the largest park in the chain. |
| Six Flags Great America | Gurnee, Illinois | 1976 | 1984 | Acquired by Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. from the Marriott Corporation in 1984. By acquiring this park, Six Flags gained the rights to the Warner Bros. licenses. Purchase price $114.5M |
| Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor | Queensbury, New York | 1954 | 1996 | Acquired 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 | 1971 | 1979 | Acquired by Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. from the Newhall Land and Farming Company in 1979. Purchase price $51M |
| Six Flags México | Mexico City, Mexico | 1982 | 1999 | Acquired by Premier Parks in 1999 and formerly known as Reino Aventura. It is one of the few year-round parks in the chain branded under the Six Flags moniker. |
| Six Flags New England | Agawam, Massachusetts | 1870 | 1997 | One 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 Six Flags Theme Park Inc. The park is majority owned by a limited partnership, managed and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., of which they will take full ownership by January 2027. |
| Six Flags Over Texas | Arlington, Texas | 1961 | — | The first theme park built by Six Flags Inc. The park is partly owned by a limited partnership and is majority-owned, managed, and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corp. The company has the option to buy out the partners in 2028, notification of exercising the option is required by December 31, 2025. |
| 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 Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. |
| Valleyfair | Shakopee, Minnesota | 1976 | 1978 | Acquired by Cedar Point's management in 1978, which led to the formation of Cedar Fair in 1983. |
| Worlds of Fun | Kansas City, Missouri | 1973 | 1995 | Acquired by Cedar Fair management in 1995. |

### Water parks
#### Outdoor

| Name | Location | Year opened | Year acquired | Notes |
| Located in amusement parks |||||
| Carolina Harbor | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1982 | 2006 | Located 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 | 1982 | 1995 | Located 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. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor | Queensbury, New York | 1995 | 1996 | Located 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 | 1982 | 1992 | Located 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. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Darien Lake | Darien, New York | 1990 | 2018 | Located 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 New England | Agawam, Massachusetts | 1997 | 1998 | Located 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 | 1992 | 2006 | Located 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 | 1989 | 2006 | Located 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 | 2004 | 2006 | Located 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 | 1992 | 2006 | Located 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 | 1991 | 2001 | Located 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 | 2017 | 2018 | Located 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 | 2006 | 2019 | Purchased by Cedar Fair in 2019 from the Henry family. |
| Schlitterbahn New Braunfels | New Braunfels, Texas | 1979 | 2019 | Purchased 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 | 1983 | 1995 | Acquired 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 | 2017 | 2016 | Reopened in the former Parque Acuatico Oaxtepec location. Located one hour from Six Flags Mexico. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord | Concord, California | 1995 | 2017 | Opened as WaterWorld USA Concord in 1995 and was acquired by Premier Parks in 1996. It was sold in January 2007 to PARC Management and CNL Lifestyle Properties, but Six Flags purchased back the operations lease in 2017. It is located about 15 miles from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and is owned by EPR Properties. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix | Phoenix, Arizona | 2009 | 2018 | Owned by EPR Properties; operated by Six Flags. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown | Spring, Texas | 1984 | 2018 | Acquired by Premier Parks as SplashTown USA in 1999. It was sold in January 2007 to PARC Management and CNL Lifestyle Properties, but Six Flags purchased back the operations lease in 2017. It is located a few miles nearby the defunct Six Flags AstroWorld, and is owned by EPR Properties. |
| Six Flags White Water | Marietta, Georgia | 1983 | 1999 | Located 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. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 1981 | 2018 | Located 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 | 1984 | 2019 | Owned 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. |
| Six Flags Hurricane Harbor San Antonio | San Antonio, Texas | 1992 | 1998 | Located 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. |

#### Indoor

| Name | Location | Year Opened | Year Acquired | Notes |
| 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

| Name | Location | Year opened | Year acquired | Notes |
| 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

| Name | Location | Year opened | Year acquired | Notes |
| Castaway Bay | Sandusky, Ohio | 2004 | 2024 | Located 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 | 1954 | 1995 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

| Name | Location | Year Opening | Notes | Source |
| Six Flags Qiddiya | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 2025 (expected) | 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. | |

## 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. 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. There is also Fright Lane, which is Fast Lane for the haunted attractions during the Halloween events. 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. 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.
A water park version of the virtual system called Q-band was first tested at Six Flags White Water in 2011. Guests wear waterproof RFID wristbands that can be scanned at kiosks near participating water park attractions.