New York
CNN
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Six Flags this week accomplished an $8 billion merger with rival Cedar Honest to create the biggest amusement park operator in the US. 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’s going to develop into dearer to get into their favourite parks.
Many amusement park followers are passionate concerning the parks’ design and historical past and see the smallest of modifications. For now, every park within the new firm will hold its outdated branding and identify. However followers concern the parks might lose their nostalgic parts and develop 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 by Nitro and Surprise Lady rides at Six Flags Nice Journey in New Jersey.
Kneass goes to the park together with his sons and his pals. 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 herald new points of interest for every type of fans, they’re poised for fulfillment,” 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 carry a wide range of completely different new rides to parks that don’t usually see updates,” he mentioned. However he’s “frightened that the price of an all-park season cross can be tremendous costly” due to much less competitors.
He additionally worries the “stunning” Cedar Honest parks will lose their distinct identities and develop into extra like Six Flags.
“I hope they hold the parks as they’re,” he mentioned.
The brand new firm, Six Flags Leisure Corp., doesn’t anticipate making any main modifications on the park degree, mentioned spokesperson Gary Rhodes. Followers additionally mustn’t anticipate any “fast modifications” 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.
The 2 corporations are becoming a member of to compete with vacation spot parks resembling 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 points of interest.
Cedar Honest controls 51% of the brand new firm, and Six Flags owns 49%. The corporate, with the inventory ticker FUN, can be led by Cedar Honest CEO Richard Zimmerman.
Six Flags has struggled in recent times, going by varied administration modifications and techniques. Its inventory has dropped 40% over the previous 5 years.
Six Flags hiked ticket costs in 2022, elevating the typical worth of admission to $35.99 from $28.73. The transfer brought about a 26% drop in annual attendance
It was a part of Six Flags’ “premiumization” plan to herald fewer folks 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…a bit of bit from what I name the Kmart, Walmart to perhaps the Goal buyer.”
The shifting methods impacted the expertise on the park, Kneass mentioned.
Six Flags, he seen, centered on including thrill rides and missed smaller rides for teenagers and households and different park actions, resembling night leisure and reveals. Staffing on the park and customer support additionally grew to become inconsistent.
“Six Flags can really feel a bit disjointed,” he mentioned. “Funds have been extra necessary 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 yr. Analysts and followers think about 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 blissful that they’re merging and sit up for Cedar Honest behind the wheel,” he mentioned. “Individuals are inclined to assume Cedar has higher service.”
The amusement park trade faces vital volatility, together with the rising risk of utmost climate pushed by local weather change. Six Flags has mentioned it’s including extra shaded constructions, water misters, splash zones and air-conditioned areas to take care of 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 US. There’s not a whole lot of overlap,” mentioned Dennis Speigel, the chief government of consulting agency Worldwide Theme Park Companies. “When you take these parks and meld them collectively, you will have super advertising and marketing alternatives.”
Park fans might see different modifications, together with new season cross 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 additionally mix its mental property licenses at parks to design new themed rides and points of interest. 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 might imply, for instance, that Looney Tunes rides are featured at each manufacturers of parks.
Halloween has develop into a main visiting time for theme park followers, and there might be modifications 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 finances out all the pieces and find yourself with this very sanitized, fastened model of the amusement park,” he mentioned. “That may be nice for the underside line, however it will be boring.”