I've been covering the theme park/amusement park industry for years, but there has rarely been a day quite as big as this one. While the industry is always changing with new rides being introduced all the time, it's rare that the industry changes in such a major way as it just did. As I write this two of the largest amusement park companies are announcing that they have agreed to become one massive entity as Six Flags and Cedar Fair are merging. The merger was rumored yesterday, but it was unclear then how likely this all was to happen.
In what is being touted as a "merger of equals" Cedar Fair and Six Flags are each making up almost exactly half of a new company that will exist under the Six Flags name. This means that Cedar Fair, the company that currently owns iconic parks like Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm, will cease to exist, though there's no expectation that the parks themselves will change drastically.
