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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 fastidiously. Some are optimistic that the situation of Six Flags’ parks will enhance. Others fear it would develop into costlier to get into their favourite parks.
Many amusement park followers are passionate in regards to the parks’ design and historical past and see 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 develop into a sea of company sameness.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Instances/Getty Pictures
Knott’s Berry Farm in California, lengthy owned by Cedar Honest.
“There’s apprehension,” stated Invoice Kneass, who has been a Six Flags season passholder on and off (however totally on) for 30 years, twisting by Nitro and Marvel Lady rides at Six Flags Nice Journey in New Jersey.
Kneass goes to the park together with his sons and his associates. He additionally goes by himself typically to absorb 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 approach to honor the historical past of their parks and usher in new sights for all sorts of fans, they’re poised for achievement,” he stated.
Chris Miller, who runs a YouTube channel about amusement parks referred to as Coaster Conquest and co-hosts the Theme Park Stan podcast, is “cautiously optimistic” in regards to the merger.
“I’m hopeful that becoming a member of forces will assist carry quite a lot of completely different new rides to parks that don’t usually see updates,” he stated. However he’s “fearful that the price of an all-park season go might be tremendous costly” due to much less competitors.
He additionally worries the “lovely” Cedar Honest parks will lose their distinct identities and develop into extra like Six Flags.
“I hope they maintain the parks as they’re,” he stated.
The brand new firm, Six Flags Leisure Corp., doesn’t anticipate making any main adjustments on the park stage, stated spokesperson Gary Rhodes. Followers additionally shouldn’t anticipate any “quick adjustments” to costs, ticket choices or season passes.
“We anticipate this mix will allow us to ship much more partaking and entertaining experiences to friends,” he stated.
The 2 corporations are becoming a member of to compete with vacation spot parks similar to Disney and Common and to make use of their new scale to drive down prices with distributors and suppliers. Individuals come from world wide to go to Disney parks, whereas Six Flags and Cedar Honest are regional sights.
Cedar Honest controls 51% of the brand new firm, and Six Flags owns 49%. The corporate, with the inventory ticker FUN, might be led by Cedar Honest CEO Richard Zimmerman.
Six Flags has struggled in recent times, going by numerous administration adjustments and techniques. Its inventory has dropped 40% over the previous 5 years.
Six Flags hiked ticket costs in 2022, elevating the common value of admission to $35.99 from $28.73. The transfer prompted 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 was “low cost day care facilities” for youngsters and stated the corporate needed 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 stated.
Six Flags, he observed, centered on including thrill rides and missed smaller rides for youths and households and different park actions, similar to night leisure and exhibits. Staffing on the park and customer support additionally turned inconsistent.
“Six Flags can really feel a bit disjointed,” he stated. “Funds have 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 contemplate 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 pleased that they’re merging and sit up for Cedar Honest behind the wheel,” he stated. “Individuals are inclined to suppose Cedar has higher service.”
The amusement park trade faces important volatility, together with the rising risk of maximum climate pushed by local weather change. Six Flags has stated it’s including extra shaded buildings, water misters, splash zones and air-conditioned areas to cope with excessive warmth.
Merging makes the 2 corporations much less depending on anybody 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,” stated Dennis Speigel, the chief government of consulting agency Worldwide Theme Park Providers. “Should you take these parks and meld them collectively, you may have large advertising alternatives.”
Park fans may see different adjustments, together with new season go choices and loyalty applications that give passholders entry to extra parks, stated 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 might also mix its mental property licenses at parks to design new themed rides and sights. Six Flags has a take care of 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 develop into a major visiting time for theme park followers, and there could possibly 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 endure.
“Six Flags goes to corporatize it and finances out all the things and find yourself with this very sanitized, fastened model of the amusement park,” he stated. “That is perhaps nice for the underside line, however it could be boring.”