GAcoaster Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 The combined company will use the Six Flags name: https://investors.sixflags.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2023/11-02-2023-100020810?fbclid=IwAR1oAGiPUhdQes4BDNs1k6fMUTSvDXnen92SJDNr1HmZ5KxE7-tNdPJE-jg&mibextid=Zxz2cZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medusa42 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 As soon as the deal closes, they will be on the phone with Zamperla ordering Kingda Ka 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkopp23 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 This is how I see this resulting: Pros: -New ideas spread from combined company -Potentially better park atmosphere with Cedar Fair onboard -Larger investments could be made down the line as Cedar Fair has done with their big parks -Season Tickets may be more valuable if they include access to more parks Cons: -Less competition usually comes with less innovation and less investments (new rides and overall park improvement will just need to happen to keep guests coming back, where as these investments in the past were partially made in order to get people to go to Great Adventure instead of Dorney) -Can Great Adventure and Dorney coexist in this new merger? -Are the future additions that were planned at Great Adventure not happening now? They were just turning the corner with the 2024 additions and looked like they were going strong for 2025. I think this is a positive move for the company, but not for the guests. It will take a few years to see the major results of this, so I guess we will have to see what happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbadude44 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 I thought April Fools Day passed months ago! But seriously, remember about 10-15 years ago when Six Flags was struggling badly? Eliminating tons of rides, opening other terrible ventures like those barber shops, and eventually filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy? After hearing the news, it's uncanny how they've been able to bounce back from that to get to this point. Also, I wonder how competing parks in the same area (e.g. Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm) will eventually fare from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkellySkeletor Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 4 hours ago, Medusa42 said: As soon as the deal closes, they will be on the phone with Zamperla ordering Kingda Ka 2. I believe there's a quote from Thrillathon where management states they're not planning on conversion or removal of Ka for the next decade at least, so no 500 foot spike just yet. This entire ordeal feels like a fever dream. Six Flags and Cedar Fair merging sounds like some 13 year old enthusiast daydream, not the actual future of both companies. I think ultimately GAdv will be a park that wins under CF style management, but I fear for the mid tier parks of both chains 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry2004 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 (edited) well, why not sell the mid tier parks, I like to see someone like merlin, seaworld, herchend family entertainment or palace entertainment buyout a park like dorney park or michigan adventure I wonder how that affected the ips six flags & cedar fair uses Edited November 2, 2023 by harry2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 I can't see Cedar Fair and Six Flags getting regulatory approval, if the DoJ decides to enforce "Sherman". The combined company has too much overlap. Either they dispose of multiple parks, or they shut them down. I really hope this doesn't happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted November 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 I can't see an issue with approvals-- theme parks are not a necessity, and there is still plenty of competition. It's interesting to see their current strategy will keep Peanuts and the DC/Looney Toons stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry2004 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 well, what about casinos?, caesars has to sell Ballys when they merging with eldorado Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted November 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 People keep poo-pooing this and I remember when Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks and it was the same kind of complaints. They came out just fine with a few growing pains. I think this will be the same, and I think we'll see Cedar Fair taking the lead on rolling out similar cleanliness, and maintenance standards company wide. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 48 minutes ago, GAcoaster said: People keep poo-pooing this and I remember when Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks and it was the same kind of complaints. They came out just fine with a few growing pains. I think this will be the same, and I think we'll see Cedar Fair taking the lead on rolling out similar cleanliness, and maintenance standards company wide. Paramount and Cedar Fair didn't overlap outside Ohio. The merger killed Geaugua Lake. A Six Flags/Cedar Fair consolidation basically gives the combined company a monopoly on major regional theme parks. It's the equivalent of Disney acquiring Universal and Sea World Orlando. Either parks get sold/shuttered, or "New Six Flags" raises prices significantly to cover debt. Granted, DoJ rarely considers public benefit as a condition any longer. I expect to see bankruptcy, or sale of significant real-estate assets to pare down debts, if this merger happens. "Lease back" will kill the company. If I'm a city with a Six Flags or Cedar Fair Park, I'd start suing to block this merger immediately. Tax revenue and seasonal job loss will effect them. If I'm a customer, expect ticket price increases and an end to "cheap" season passes. Truthfully, Six Flags should have ended the latter decades ago. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 1 hour ago, GAcoaster said: I can't see an issue with approvals-- theme parks are not a necessity, and there is still plenty of competition. It's interesting to see their current strategy will keep Peanuts and the DC/Looney Toons stuff. Disney isn't losing sleep over Fun Spot. It's not competition despite existing. Who else competes at scale? Palace and Parques Reunidos aren't in the same league with Six Flags or Cedar Fair as is. Let alone combined. DC stays. You can leverage that IP. Looney Toons vs. Peanuts likely rests on licensing fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 3 hours ago, GAcoaster said: People keep poo-pooing this and I remember when Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks and it was the same kind of complaints. They came out just fine with a few growing pains. I think this will be the same, and I think we'll see Cedar Fair taking the lead on rolling out similar cleanliness, and maintenance standards company wide. It seems like on most Cedar Fair park discussion boards and Reddit, so many are focusing on the negatives from Six Flags but none of the positives that could possibly benefit Cedar Fair parks if implemented there. Longer operating seasons even without HITP in most cold weather regions, SFNE opens around a month earlier than Dorney. Most Six Flags parks allow re-rides when most Cedar Fair parks don't allow them. No separate ticketed Halloween events, I know the Fright Fest attractions cost extra at Six Flags parks but if someone is just there for the rides they can stay at night or visit on a day there is only the Halloween event offered (like a Friday night). I also think Flash Pass is a better system than Fast Lane especially for people not using it. Someone can continually loop a ride over and over again using Fast Lane and at times get instant access to a ride when the regular line could be an hour. I remember seeing one of the two loading stations at Top Thrill Dragster just for Fast Lane effectively cutting the capacity in half. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarioSonic94 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 5 hours ago, GAcoaster said: It's interesting to see their current strategy will keep Peanuts and the DC/Looney Toons stuff. I'm guessing the licensing fees from those IPs are dirt cheap, since their respective owners barely seem to do anything super big with those characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 Looney Toons was licensed to Six Flags for 99 years. DC was licensed before the superhero craze exploded. I'd imagine the licenses are very cheap, considering they're barely mentioned in the SEC Filings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 Today’s news reminds of a movie recently on TCM! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted November 3, 2023 Report Share Posted November 3, 2023 The daydream of many 13 year old theme park forum posters has finally come true. Besides the other issues many have posted, there is also the issue of market cannibalization. In some areas its not much of an issue like SoCal as Knotts and SFMM target different market segments. Knotts being a themed family park while SFMM is the extreme thrill park and hangout for LA's lowlifes, that is besides both parks being pretty far apart from each, especially with SoCal traffic. But in situations similar to our tri state area where Dorney and GADV are not as far apart and have similar market segment targets will make cannibalization worse between the two. Its crazy to think of Dorney as being the closest SF park to GADV. Guess they will have to change the neighboring SF park sign by the exit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted November 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2023 It's interesting to see all the doom and gloom on this around the fan groups-- I see mostly plusses, and I get Cedar Fair park fans fears of their parks declining, but Six Flags can only improve at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 Unlike when it was first announced that they were going to close California's Great America, there is now a chance (albeit small) that Great Adventure could get their Columbia Carousel! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 (edited) Hopefully this merger will lead to improvements in GADV's haunted houses as most of them are lame compared to Dorney's haunted houses. Also hopefully that the terrible operations at Dorney will be improved. Of course the big concerns are the loss of competition, likely budget cuts and price hikes, and possible parks either being sold off or closed. Edited November 5, 2023 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medusa42 Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 3 hours ago, GAcoaster said: It's interesting to see all the doom and gloom on this around the fan groups-- I see mostly plusses, and I get Cedar Fair park fans fears of their parks declining, but Six Flags can only improve at this point. It has been fun watching the Cedar Fair fans meltdown. I keep on telling people that Kings Island is going to turn Action Zone into DC Universe and retheme Banshee to Batman The Ride. They aren't handling the merger news well. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry2004 Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 (edited) it may be a unpopular opinion but why can't someone like village roadshow take over six flags instead, I mean, they didn't have theme parks in the usa and the fact they sold wet n wild in las vegas means that they didn't have parks in the usa anymore, so why not have village roadshow buyout six flags instead? Edited November 4, 2023 by harry2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted November 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2023 Lance did a pretty good analysis of the merger for BlooLoop, and it's worth a read: https://blooloop.com/theme-park/opinion/six-flags-cedar-fair-merger-impact/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted November 15, 2023 Report Share Posted November 15, 2023 On 11/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, GAcoaster said: People keep poo-pooing this and I remember when Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks and it was the same kind of complaints. They came out just fine with a few growing pains. I think this will be the same, and I think we'll see Cedar Fair taking the lead on rolling out similar cleanliness, and maintenance standards company wide. I have to admit that, overall, from the guests perspective, I hope to see an improved overall experience and better value proposition. I realize the days of pay-one-price are gone, but the ridiculous upcharging guests for particular parking spots, creating some VIP experience that has traditionally been a part of the general park experience, and creating an arbitrary "force the guest to pay" for many things inside the park, I see as a real problem (not just at GA, but industrywide). I hope and pray that Cedar Fair's cleanliness and maintenance standards are implemented at GA. Of course, in reality, I'm yearning for a GA of the 1970's through the mid-1990's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 15, 2023 Report Share Posted November 15, 2023 44 minutes ago, Daved Thomson said: Of course, in reality, I'm yearning for a GA of the 1970's through the mid-1990's. In my opinion, I’d love to see a park similar to what GA was in 1983. I view that as SFGA at its pinnacle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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