Six Flags this week accomplished an $8 billion merger with rival Cedar Honest to create the most important amusement park operator in the USA. Collectively, they function 42 amusement and water parks throughout 17 states.The success of the deal will decide the way forward for these amusement parks, and diehard rollercoaster followers are watching rigorously. Some are optimistic that the situation of Six Flags’ parks will enhance. Others fear it can turn into costlier to get into their favourite parks.Many amusement park followers are passionate concerning the parks’ design and historical past and spot the smallest of adjustments. For now, every park within the new firm will maintain its previous branding and title. However followers worry the parks may lose their nostalgic parts and turn into a sea of company sameness.“There’s apprehension,” mentioned Invoice Kneass, who has been a Six Flags season passholder on and off (however totally on) for 30 years, twisting via Nitro and Surprise Lady rides at Six Flags Nice Journey in New Jersey.Kneass goes to the park together with his sons and his buddies. He additionally goes by himself generally to soak up the roar of the coasters or discover quieter spots across the park gardens. He highlights every go to with a visit to see the engraved brick he purchased on a park pathway to commemorate Six Flags’ fiftieth anniversary.“If the brand new Six Flags can discover a technique to honor the historical past of their parks and herald new sights for all sorts of fans, they’re poised for achievement,” he mentioned.Chris Miller, who runs a YouTube channel about amusement parks known as Coaster Conquest and co-hosts the Theme Park Stan podcast, is “cautiously optimistic” concerning the merger.“I’m hopeful that becoming a member of forces will assist deliver a wide range of totally different new rides to parks that don’t usually see updates,” he mentioned. However he’s “anxious that the price of an all-park season go shall be tremendous costly” due to much less competitors.He additionally worries the “stunning” Cedar Honest parks will lose their distinct identities and turn into extra like Six Flags.“I hope they maintain the parks as they’re,” he mentioned.The brand new firm, Six Flags Leisure Corp., doesn’t anticipate making any main adjustments on the park degree, mentioned spokesperson Gary Rhodes. Followers additionally shouldn’t anticipate any “instant adjustments” to costs, ticket choices or season passes.“We anticipate this mix will allow us to ship much more participating and entertaining experiences to visitors,” he mentioned.Knott’s Berry Farm in California, lengthy owned by Cedar Honest. – Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Occasions/Getty ImagesSix Flags strugglesThe two corporations are becoming a member of to compete with vacation spot parks equivalent to Disney and Common and to make use of their new scale to drive down prices with distributors and suppliers. Individuals come from around the globe to go to Disney parks, whereas Six Flags and Cedar Honest are regional sights.Story continuesCedar Honest controls 51% of the brand new firm, and Six Flags owns 49%. The corporate, with the inventory ticker FUN, shall be led by Cedar Honest CEO Richard Zimmerman.Six Flags has struggled lately, going via numerous administration adjustments and methods. Its inventory has dropped 40% over the previous 5 years.Six Flags hiked ticket costs in 2022, elevating the typical value of admission to $35.99 from $28.73. The transfer induced a 26% drop in annual attendance.It was a part of Six Flags’ “premiumization” plan to herald fewer individuals to parks however get them to spend extra. CEO Selim Bassoul complained in 2022 that Six Flags had become “low cost day care facilities” for youngsters and mentioned the corporate wished to “migrate…just a little bit from what I name the Kmart, Walmart to possibly the Goal buyer.”The shifting methods impacted the expertise on the park, Kneass mentioned.Six Flags, he observed, centered on including thrill rides and ignored smaller rides for youths and households and different park actions, equivalent to night leisure and exhibits. Staffing on the park and customer support additionally turned inconsistent.“Six Flags can really feel a bit disjointed,” he mentioned. “Funds had been extra essential than the visitor expertise.”Attendance at Cedar Honest, which operates its flagship Cedar Level park in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California; and different parks, outperformed Six Flags final 12 months. Analysts and followers take into account Cedar Honest a stronger supervisor of day-to-day park operations than Six Flags.That provides followers like Matt Kaiser, who runs the 23,000-member Fb group Nice Journey Connoisseurs, optimism.“Lots of people used to Six Flags parks are comfortable that they’re merging and look ahead to Cedar Honest behind the wheel,” he mentioned. “Individuals are likely to assume Cedar has higher service.” Thomas P. Costello/ImagnPotential changesThe amusement park business faces vital volatility, together with the rising menace of maximum climate pushed by local weather change. Six Flags has mentioned it’s including extra shaded buildings, water misters, splash zones and air-conditioned areas to deal with excessive warmth.Merging makes the 2 corporations much less depending on anyone park or area if climate forces them to close down.“They’re so strategically laid out throughout the USA. There’s not lots of overlap,” mentioned Dennis Speigel, the chief government of consulting agency Worldwide Theme Park Providers. “In the event you take these parks and meld them collectively, you’ve large advertising alternatives.”Park fans may see different adjustments, together with new season go choices and loyalty packages that give passholders entry to extra parks, mentioned Chris Woronka, an analyst at Deutsche Financial institution. Retaining and rising season passholders is important as a result of they make up greater than half of annual attendance for Cedar Honest and Six Flags’ parks.The brand new firm may mix its mental property licenses at parks to design new themed rides and sights. Six Flags has a cope with Warner Bros. Discovery for the rights to DC Comics and Looney Tunes characters, and Cedar Honest has the rights to Peanuts and Snoopy characters. (CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)It may imply, for instance, that Looney Tunes rides are featured at each manufacturers of parks.Halloween has turn into a major visiting time for theme park followers, and there may very well be adjustments to those occasions. Cedar Honest hosts Halloween Hang-out and Six Flags hosts Fright Fest.However Michael Musil, who lives in Bay Village, Ohio, and is a longtime Cedar Level customer, worries that Cedar Level will undergo.“Six Flags goes to corporatize it and price range out every part and find yourself with this very sanitized, fastened model of the amusement park,” he mentioned. “That is perhaps nice for the underside line, however it could be boring.”For extra CNN information and newsletters create an account at CNN.com