Six Flags facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Logo used since 2024
Administrative offices at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: FUN Russell 2000 component S&P 600 component
Industry	Amusement parks
Predecessors	Cedar Fair Six Flags
Founded	July 1, 2024; 20 months ago (2024-07-01)
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations	42 (2026)
Area served	United States Mexico Canada Saudi Arabia
Key people	Marilyn Spiegel (board chair) John Reilly (CEO and president)
Brands	Hurricane Harbor Schlitterbahn Six Flags Soak City
Services	Amusement parks live entertainment lodging water parks zoological parks
Revenue	US$3.10 billion (2025)
Operating income	US$−1.38 billion (2025)
Net income	US$−1.60 billion (2025)
Total assets	US$7.80 billion (2025)
Total equity	US$0.55 billion (2025)
Members	7.4 million (2025)
Number of employees	95,225 (2025)
Footnotes / references Financials as of December 31,  2025 (2025 -12-31)[update].

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, often called Six Flags, is a big American company that runs amusement parks. Its main office is in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States.

The company was created in 2024 when two large amusement park companies, Cedar Fair and the original Six Flags company, joined together. Six Flags now owns 42 different properties. These include fun amusement parks, exciting water parks, and places to stay (resorts). Most of these are in the United States, but some are also in Mexico, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

Six Flags is the biggest regional amusement park company in North America. It is also the fifth-largest amusement park operator in the world by how many people visit. In 2024, over 50 million guests visited its parks! The company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FUN."

Many of the amusement parks use the "Six Flags" name. Its water parks have different names like Hurricane Harbor, Schlitterbahn, and Soak City. Six Flags has special permission to use popular characters from Warner Bros., like the Looney Tunes and DC Comics superheroes, in most of its parks in the U.S. and Mexico. You can also find Peanuts characters at some parks through another agreement. To help guests get on rides faster, many parks offer a special system called Fast Lane.

The Story of Six Flags

How the Original Six Flags Began

The first Six Flags park, Six Flags Over Texas, opened in August 1961. It was started by Angus G. Wynne and other investors. Over the years, the company built new parks and bought others. In 1984, Six Flags gained the rights to use Warner Bros. characters like the Looney Tunes. Later, Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery) owned Six Flags completely for a few years.

In 1998, another company called Premier Parks bought Six Flags. Premier Parks then started changing the names of its own parks to Six Flags. By 2000, the company was fully known as Six Flags.

During the 2000s, the original Six Flags company faced challenges with money and how it was organized. It sold some of its parks, including those in Europe. In 2009, Six Flags faced financial difficulties and needed a plan to reorganize its money. The parks stayed open during this time. In 2010, the company became Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and moved its main offices.

Later, Six Flags tried to build new parks in other countries like Dubai and China. However, these projects faced problems with building plans and money issues, and many were eventually canceled or sold. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also caused many Six Flags parks to close for a while.

The Cedar Fair Story

Cedar Point bought Valleyfair in 1978, which led to the start of Cedar Fair in 1983.

The Cedar Fair company started in 1983. It began when the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, bought another park called Valleyfair in 1978. The name "Cedar Fair" comes from "Cedar Point" and "Valleyfair."

Cedar Fair grew by buying more amusement parks across the United States. In 1997, when it bought Knott's Berry Farm, it also gained the rights to use Peanuts characters in its parks. In 2006, Cedar Fair bought five Paramount Parks amusement parks, which made the company even bigger.

Other companies like Apollo Global Management, the original Six Flags, and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment tried to buy Cedar Fair, but their offers were not accepted.

Before the big merger, other companies tried to buy Cedar Fair, but these attempts did not work out. For example, the original Six Flags company tried to buy Cedar Fair in 2019, but Cedar Fair said no. In 2022, SeaWorld Entertainment also made an offer, which was rejected. To help with its money, Cedar Fair sold California's Great America park in 2022.

The Big Merger

How the Companies Joined Forces

Longtime rivals, Cedar Fair and Six Flags, announced they would merge on November 2, 2023. This happened about four years after Six Flags first tried to buy Cedar Fair. Both companies had faced challenges with park attendance after the COVID-19 pandemic. They decided to merge to become more financially stable, save money, and better compete with other large theme park companies. They expected to save about $120 million within two years after joining.

The merger created a huge company worth $8 billion. It brought together 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and 9 resorts. This made the new company the largest amusement park operator in North America.

The merger was described as two equal companies joining. Cedar Fair owners became the majority owners, with 51.2% of the new company. Six Flags owners had 48.8%. The deal was done using company shares instead of cash. A new company called CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. was created for the merger. After the merger was complete, Cedar Fair and Six Flags stopped existing as separate companies. CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. was then renamed Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. It started trading on the New York Stock Exchange using Cedar Fair's stock symbol, FUN.

Approval and Challenges

The leaders of both companies approved the merger when it was first announced. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) started a review on January 22, 2024. They wanted to make sure the merger was fair and didn't create a monopoly. Mexico's government group that checks fair competition approved the merger on January 25, 2024. Most Six Flags owners voted to approve the merger on March 12, 2024. The DOJ finally approved the merger on June 26, 2024, allowing the companies to finish the deal. The merger was completed on July 1, 2024.

Not everyone was happy about the merger. A company that owned a small part of Six Flags disagreed, saying the deal wasn't the best for all owners. Another investment company that owned part of Cedar Fair also complained. They said the deal was set up so that Cedar Fair owners were not allowed to vote on it.

After the Merger

The company's main office moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, near its Carowinds park (shown here).

After the merger on July 1, 2024, Richard Zimmerman, who was the CEO of Cedar Fair, became the CEO of the new combined company. Selim Bassoul, the CEO of the original Six Flags, became the executive chairman of the board. The new company's main office moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, close to its Carowinds park. Important administrative and financial work also continued at Cedar Fair's former office in Sandusky, Ohio. Six Flags said that no big changes were planned for the parks themselves, and all parks kept their original names.

In late 2024, Six Flags started making plans to improve its collection of parks. This might include closing or selling some locations. The company filed plans on December 17, 2024, to fully own Six Flags Over Georgia, Hurricane Harbor Atlanta, and Six Flags White Water by January 2027.

On February 10, 2025, Six Flags and Qiddiya Investment Company announced an agreement. Six Flags now operates the new Six Flags Qiddiya City theme park in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. This park opened on December 31, 2025.

Six Flags America in Woodmore, Maryland, closed permanently on November 2, 2025.

On May 1, 2025, the company announced it would permanently close the Six Flags America theme park and its water park, Hurricane Harbor Maryland, in Woodmore, Maryland. The company said these parks did not fit its long-term plans. Hurricane Harbor Maryland closed on September 6, 2025, and Six Flags America closed on November 2, 2025. In late May 2025, Six Flags also announced it would reduce its full-time staff by 10%, which meant about 500 employees. This included removing the park president role at all 27 amusement parks, as the company moved to a regional way of operating. These changes were completed by June 2025.

Both of the first leaders after the merger stepped down in the second half of 2025. Six Flags announced on August 6, 2025, that CEO Richard Zimmerman stepped down. Then, on October 10, 2025, it was announced that executive chairman Selim Bassoul stepped down by the end of 2025. He stayed to consult for Six Flags Qiddiya City.

John Reilly, who had worked as a leader at other entertainment companies, became the new CEO and president on December 8, 2025. Marilyn Spiegel, who was already on the board, became the non-executive chair on January 1, 2026.

On January 5, 2026, the company announced it would not buy the remaining ownership of Six Flags Over Texas. On March 5, 2026, Six Flags announced it was selling seven of its theme parks to EPR Properties for $331 million. These parks include Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun, Michigan's Adventure, Schlitterbahn Galveston, Six Flags St. Louis, Six Flags Great Escape, and La Ronde. The sale is planned to close by the end of March 2026.

Six Flags Parks

As of March 2026, Six Flags runs 42 properties. These include 27 amusement parks and 15 separate water parks, plus nine resorts. The company owns the land for 26 of these properties.

Seven Six Flags properties are being sold to EPR Properties by March 2026.

United States

• 7 in the Northeastern United States
  • 6 amusement parks
  • 1 water park
• 10 in the Midwestern United States
  • 7 amusement parks
  • 3 water parks
• 12 in the Southern United States
  • 6 amusement parks
  • 6 water parks
• 8 in the Western United States
  • 4 amusement parks
  • 4 water parks

International

• 2 in Canada
  • 2 amusement parks
• 2 in Mexico
  • 1 amusement park
  • 1 water park
• 1 in Saudi Arabia
  • 1 amusement park

Amusement Parks

     These parks used to belong to Cedar Fair.
     These parks used to belong to the original Six Flags.

Water Parks

This table lists water parks that are separate from amusement parks.

Resorts and Places to Stay

Former Properties

How Six Flags is Run

Company Leaders

As of January 1, 2026, here are some of the people who guide Six Flags:

• Marilyn Spiegel – The chair of the board; she used to be a leader at Wynn Resorts.
• John Reilly – The CEO and president of Six Flags; he used to be a leader at Palace Entertainment.
• Jonathan Brudnick – A board member; he is a partner at Sachem Head Capital Management.
• Sandra Cochran – A board member; she used to be a CEO at Cracker Barrel.

The main executive team, as of December 8, 2025, includes:

• John Reilly – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President
• Tim Fisher – Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Brian Witherow – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Who Owns Six Flags

As of December 31, 2025, the ten largest companies that own parts of Six Flags are:

Shareholder	Shares	in %
BlackRock	15,378,916	15.16%
The Vanguard Group	9,548,762	9.41%
Morgan Stanley	9,473,532	9.34%
UBS	5,279,720	5.20%
Darlington Partners Capital Management	5,200,000	5.12%
Sachem Head Capital Management	5,030,000	4.96%
Dendur Capital	4,953,000	4.88%
H Partners Management	4,650,000	4.58%
Jana Partners	4,116,099	4.06%
State Street Corporation	3,614,025	3.56%

Money Matters

Here's a quick look at how Six Flags makes and spends money.

Park Visitors

Company Attendance

These numbers show how Six Flags ranks among amusement park operators by how many people visit.

Most Popular Parks

These Six Flags parks were among the top 20 most visited amusement parks in North America in 2024.

How Six Flags Works

The entrance gates to Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California in 2025.

Six Flags makes money mainly in three ways: from park tickets (51.1%), from things bought inside the park like food and souvenirs (33.5%), and from other sources like hotels (15.4%). The company often sells season passes that are cheaper than buying daily tickets. People with season passes might spend less per visit, but they visit more often, so they spend more money overall each year. Six Flags tries to get more people to visit and spend more money inside the parks.

The company also earns money from special events. These include Halloween events like Fright Fest and Haunt, and winter events like Holiday in the Park and Winterfest. The Halloween events often use popular characters and themes to attract more visitors. A popular extra you can buy is Fast Lane. This system lets guests get into a shorter line or a virtual line for certain rides, helping them get on attractions faster.

Marketing and Special Deals

Marketing Efforts

Travis Kelce is a special helper for the Six Flags brand.

In April 2025, Six Flags started a new national advertising campaign called "We're Serious About Fun." This campaign introduced a new mascot character, the Funsultant, who is known for being funny and serious at the same time. You could see these ads on TV, online, on billboards, and on social media.

American football player Travis Kelce became a special helper for the Six Flags brand in March 2026. He works with the company on its marketing.

Special Characters and Partners

The DC Universe area at Six Flags Great America.

The Planet Snoopy area at Dorney Park.

Six Flags has special permission to use characters from Warner Bros. and Peanuts. The agreement with Warner Bros. lets them use Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters in their parks in North America (except for Las Vegas and Florida). The Peanuts characters are used in the United States and Canada at some parks that used to belong to Cedar Fair. Six Flags renewed its agreement to use Peanuts characters until 2030.

The Six Flags brand is also used for Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia, which Six Flags operates. Also, EPR Properties can use the Six Flags brand at the seven parks it is buying from Six Flags for the rest of 2026.

Six Flags also partners with food companies like Blue Bunny Ice Cream, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, The Icee Company, and Mars Inc. For ride photos, they work with different companies. The company uses Accesso for its online ticket sales.

See also

• Holiday in the Park
• Incidents at Six Flags parks
• Six Flags Fright Fest