It’s been a little over three years since it was first announced that two behemoths of the amusement park industry, Six Flags and Cedar Fair, were becoming a single entity. Based on the number of locations, the merger created the biggest company in the industry by far – but it was clear from the very start that the new combined Six Flags might not remain quite so big forever.
Back in November, we saw Six Flags America in Maryland officially see its last guests. When the park closed for the season, it closed forever. The expectation is that when Six Flags Great America's current lease expires, the California park will also close. However, some new information indicates several other spots may not stay as Six Flags parks for long, though they may not be closing.
Is Six Flags Looking To Sell Some Parks?
A collection of new trademark filings has recently been discovered for a collection of current Six Flags locations, including Six Flags St. Louis, Michigan’s Adventure, and a few water parks located in Texas, Kansas City, and elsewhere. The trademark is for the name Enchanted Parks, which is a name that doesn’t mean anything, at least not yet.
On Reddit, fans have begun speculating what this could mean, and a handful of different theories have come out of it. First, there’s the possibility that Six Flags has sold several of its parks, and the announcement hasn’t been made yet. Next, Six Flags may want to sell and is grouping a few locations in a new company to make that easier. Alternatively, several parks may be about to be rebranded in a subsidiary company of Six Flags. Suggestions from fans include…
- Pure speculation but this sounds like Six Flags plans to achieve its desired nimble portfolio by dumping its small parks into a new chain and cutting ties with them. - Storm_Surge-
- Enchanted Parks listed as the owners too? Are they gonna spin these parks off into another company? - namevone
- I actually wonder if this is intended to be a park differentiator. I could see these as parks they want to focus on more as family parks and less as thrill parks. Breaking the Six Flags names removes a little of that thrill connotation. - Flying4ADragonWagon
- Looks like they are packaging up several parks in a sub company for sale. - TheNinjaDC
The sale idea seems to be the most popular, and there is evidence in favor of that argument. The new trademarks reportedly trace back to a company called Innovative Attractions Management, a small company made up of people with industry experience, whose own website says it is looking to grow by acquiring new locations. It’s possible Six Flags has made a deal or is in the process of making one to offload these locations to a new company.
Six Flags has been undergoing a lot of changes post-merger. While the top-tier parks of the company, like Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Cedar Point, and others, are still popular and well attended, there are certainly other locations not doing as well. The record-setting KingDa Ka roller coaster was closed, and then the attraction was blown up, a move that shocked many because the ride wasn't even that old.
What’s Next For Six Flags?
It’s not exactly a shock that Six Flags may be looking to sell a few locations. There are over 40 locations currently under the Six Flags umbrella, and that’s a lot. Not only that, but in a few places where Six Flags and Cedar Fair competed directly, there are now multiple parks serving the same territory.
Six Flags may not have the cachet of a Disney or Universal, but parks are still loved. Celebrities go to Six Flags as often as they go to Disney. Sometimes you just want to go to a park that's close by and has a couple of killer roller coasters.
On the plus side, whatever this means, it almost certainly means that these parks aren’t going anywhere. Following the closure of Six Flags America, the possibility of some of the smaller or underperforming parks closing became very real. This would seem to indicate that’s not happening, although some big changes seem to be in store.
