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Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Logo used since 2024
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: FUN S&P 600 component
Industry	Entertainment
Predecessors	Cedar Fair Six Flags
Founded	July 2, 2024; 17 months ago (2024-07-02)
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations	51 (2026)
Area served	United States Mexico Canada Saudi Arabia
Key people	Marilyn Spiegel (board chair) John Reilly (president and CEO)
Services	Amusement parks lodging sports complexes water parks zoos
Revenue	US$2.71 billion (2024)
Operating income	US$0.311 billion (2024)
Net income	US$−0.231 billion (2024)
Total assets	US$9.13 billion (2024)
Total equity	US$2.04 billion (2024)
Number of employees	98,000 (2024)

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 owns and operates 50 different places across North America. These include 26 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resorts. It is the largest company of its kind in North America. Six Flags also operates Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia.

This company was created on July 2, 2024. It was formed when two long-time rival companies, Cedar Fair and the original Six Flags company, joined together. The new company kept the Six Flags name. The former Cedar Fair owners now hold a slightly larger share of the new company.

Six Flags has special rights to use characters from Warner Bros. in its theme parks. You can also find Snoopy at some parks through a different agreement. The company uses special systems called Fast Lane and The Flash Pass to help guests skip long lines. The Flash Pass system was replaced by Fast Lane in January 2026. In 2024, Six Flags parks welcomed 50.3 million guests. This made it the fifth most visited theme park company in the world.

How Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Started

The Original Six Flags Company

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 right to use Warner Bros. characters like the Looney Tunes. Later, Time Warner owned most of the company. In 1998, another company called Premier Parks bought Six Flags. Premier Parks then changed the names of many of its own parks to Six Flags. By 2000, the company was fully known as Six Flags.

In the 2000s, the original Six Flags company faced money problems. It had to sell some of its parks, including those in Europe. Some major investors wanted changes in how the company was run. New leaders continued to sell parks to help with finances. After facing a big economic downturn in 2008, Six Flags reorganized its business in 2009 to manage its money better. It continued to operate its parks as usual. In 2010, the company became Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and moved its main offices.

New leaders tried to build Six Flags parks in other countries. Plans for parks in Dubai and China were started but later faced problems and were stopped or sold. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also caused many parks to close for a while. Later, a new CEO tried a strategy to improve guest experience by raising prices. This led to fewer visitors, and the idea was stopped in 2022.

The Cedar Fair Company

Cedar Fair started in 1983. It was formed after the Cedar Point amusement park bought Valleyfair in 1978. The name "Cedar Fair" comes from "Cedar Point" and "Valleyfair." The company grew by buying more amusement parks. These included Dorney Park (1992), Worlds of Fun (1995), Knott's Berry Farm (1997), and Michigan's Adventure (2001). In 1997, Cedar Fair also gained the rights to use Peanuts characters in its parks.

In 2006, Cedar Fair bought five theme parks from Paramount Parks. These parks had been owned by Viacom. Cedar Fair later decided not to use the Paramount-licensed characters. The company closed Geauga Lake park in 2007. In 2010, another company tried to buy Cedar Fair, but the deal did not happen.

In 2019, the original Six Flags company tried to buy Cedar Fair, but Cedar Fair said no. In 2022, SeaWorld Entertainment also tried to buy Cedar Fair, but that offer was also rejected. To help manage its money, Cedar Fair sold California's Great America park in 2022. By the end of 2022, Cedar Fair needed to reduce its money owed.

A New Chapter: The Merger

Joining Forces

On November 2, 2023, Six Flags and Cedar Fair announced they were joining together. They wanted to be more financially stable, save money, and better compete with other big theme parks. This merger created a huge company worth US$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 equals joining. The owners of Cedar Fair became the majority owners of the new company. They held 51.2% of the shares. The owners of the original Six Flags company held about 48.8%. They created a new main company called CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. Both companies merged into this new company. After the merger, CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. was renamed Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The leaders of both companies approved the merger.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reviewed the merger starting in January 2024. They asked for more information from both companies. Because the original Six Flags owners would have a smaller share, about 80% of them voted to approve the merger in March 2024. The DOJ approved the merger on June 26, 2024. The merger was officially completed on July 1, 2024.

After the Merger

Significant administrative and financial operations for Six Flags are held at Cedar Fair's former headquarters in Sandusky, Ohio, inside Cedar Point.

After the merger, Richard Zimmerman, who was the CEO of Cedar Fair, became the CEO of the new combined company. Selim Bassoul, the former CEO of the original Six Flags, became the executive chairman of the board. The main office of the new company moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Important business and money operations are also handled at Cedar Fair's former headquarters in Sandusky, Ohio.

Six Flags said that it did not plan to make big changes to the parks. All parks kept their names from before the merger. Trading of stocks for both Cedar Fair and the original Six Flags company stopped. The new company's stock began trading on July 2, 2024, using the Six Flags name and Cedar Fair's stock symbol "FUN." In late 2024, Six Flags announced plans to look at all their parks to see how they could make them even better. This might include closing or selling some locations.

On December 17, 2024, the company filed plans to acquire the remaining ownership of Six Flags Over Georgia, Hurricane Harbor Atlanta, and Six Flags White Water. This transaction would cost US$332.6 million. It would increase Six Flags' ownership of these three parks from 31.5% to full ownership.

On February 10, 2025, Six Flags and Qiddiya Investment Company announced an agreement. Six Flags would operate the new Six Flags Qiddiya City theme park in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. This park, first announced in 2018, opened on December 31, 2025. It is the first Six Flags park outside North America since 2004.

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

On May 1, 2025, the company announced it permanently closed the Six Flags America theme park and its water park, Hurricane Harbor Maryland, in Woodmore, Maryland. The company stated 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.

Company leaders stepped down in the later half of 2025. Six Flags announced on August 6, 2025, that Richard Zimmerman stepped down as CEO and president. He also left the company's board. On October 10, 2025, it was announced that Selim Bassoul stepped down as executive chairman by the end of 2025. He continues to advise on Six Flags Qiddiya City. Marilyn Spiegel became the new non-executive chair on January 1, 2026. John Reilly was announced as Zimmerman's replacement on November 24, 2025. Reilly, a former executive at other entertainment companies, became president and CEO on December 8, 2025.

On January 5, 2026, the company announced it decided not to acquire its remaining ownership in Six Flags Over Texas. It stated that the current contract terms did not match its financial priorities.

Six Flags Properties

Amusement Parks

Parks that were part of Cedar Fair Parks that were part of the original Six Flags

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
California's Great America	Santa Clara, California	1976	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2006. The park is planned to close by 2033 after its land was sold in 2022.
Canada's Wonderland	Vaughan, Ontario	1981	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2006.
Carowinds	Charlotte, North Carolina	1973	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2006.
Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	1870	This is the oldest park in the company.
Dorney Park	Allentown, Pennsylvania	1884	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 1992.
Frontier City	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1958	The original Six Flags company began operating this park in 2018.
Kings Dominion	Doswell, Virginia	1975	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2006.
Kings Island	Mason, Ohio	1972	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2006.
Knott's Berry Farm	Buena Park, California	1920	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 1997.
La Ronde	Montréal, Quebec	1967	The original Six Flags company began operating this park in 2001.
Michigan's Adventure	Muskegon, Michigan	1956	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 2001.
Six Flags Darien Lake	Darien, New York	1981	The original Six Flags company began operating this park in 2018.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Vallejo, California	1968	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 2007.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas	San Antonio, Texas	1992	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1998.
Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson, New Jersey	1974	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1977. It is part of the Six Flags Great Adventure Resort.
Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, Illinois	1976	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1984.
Six Flags Great Escape	Queensbury, New York	1954	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1996.
Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, California	1971	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1979.
Six Flags México	Mexico City, Mexico	1982	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1999.
Six Flags New England	Agawam, Massachusetts	1870	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1996. It is one of the oldest parks in the chain.
Six Flags Over Georgia	Austell, Georgia	1967	Six Flags manages and operates this park. They will take full ownership by January 2027.
Six Flags Over Texas	Arlington, Texas	1961	This was the first theme park built by the original Six Flags. Six Flags manages and operates this park.
Six Flags Qiddiya City	Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia	2025	Owned by Qiddiya Investment Company; operated by Six Flags. It opened on December 31, 2025.
Six Flags St. Louis	Eureka, Missouri	1971	This park was formerly known as Six Flags Over Mid-America.
Valleyfair	Shakopee, Minnesota	1976	Cedar Point acquired this park in 1978, which led to Cedar Fair forming in 1983.
Worlds of Fun	Kansas City, Missouri	1973	Cedar Fair acquired this park in 1995.

Water Parks

Water Parks Inside Amusement Parks

These water parks are part of a larger theme park. They are not counted as separate locations.

Name	Location	Year opened	Associated theme park	Notes
Carolina Harbor	Charlotte, North Carolina	1982	Carowinds	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2006.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Queensbury, New York	1995	Six Flags Great Escape	Acquired with the park by the original Six Flags company in 1996.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Atlanta	Austell, Georgia	2014	Six Flags Over Georgia	—
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor St. Louis	Eureka, Missouri	1999	Six Flags St. Louis	—
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Darien Lake	Darien, New York	1990	Six Flags Darien Lake	The original Six Flags company began operating this water park in 2018.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor New England	Agawam, Massachusetts	1997	Six Flags New England	—
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor San Antonio	San Antonio, Texas	1992	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	—
Oceans of Fun	Kansas City, Missouri	1982	Worlds of Fun	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 1995.
Soak City	Doswell, Virginia	1992	Kings Dominion	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2006.
Soak City	Mason, Ohio	1989	Kings Island	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2006.
Soak City	Shakopee, Minnesota	1983	Valleyfair	—
South Bay Shores	Santa Clara, California	2004	California's Great America	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2006.
Splash Works	Vaughan, Ontario	1992	Canada's Wonderland	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2006.
WildWater Adventure	Muskegon, Michigan	1991	Michigan's Adventure	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 2001.
Wildwater Kingdom	Allentown, Pennsylvania	1985	Dorney Park	Cedar Fair acquired this water park in 1992.
Wild West Water Works	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	2017	Frontier City	The original Six Flags company acquired this water park in 2018.

Standalone Water Parks

These water parks have their own entrance and are counted as separate locations.

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
Cedar Point Shores	Sandusky, Ohio	1988	This water park is next to Cedar Point.
Knott's Soak City	Buena Park, California	2000	This water park is next to Knott's Berry Farm.
Schlitterbahn Galveston	Galveston, Texas	2006	Cedar Fair purchased this water park in 2019.
Schlitterbahn New Braunfels	New Braunfels, Texas	1979	Cedar Fair purchased this water park in 2019.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Arlington	Arlington, Texas	1983	This water park is across the highway from Six Flags Over Texas.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord	Concord, California	1995	The original Six Flags company began operating this water park in 2017.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Chicago	Gurnee, Illinois	2005	This water park is next to Six Flags Great America.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles	Valencia, California	1995	This water park is next to Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor New Jersey	Jackson, New Jersey	2000	This water park is part of the Six Flags Great Adventure Resort.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oaxtepec	Oaxtepec, Mexico	2017	The original Six Flags company purchased this water park in 2017.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1981	Six Flags operates this water park.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix	Phoenix, Arizona	2009	Six Flags operates this water park.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Rockford	Cherry Valley, Illinois	1984	Six Flags operates this water park under a lease agreement.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown	Spring, Texas	1984	The original Six Flags company began operating this water park in 2017.
Six Flags White Water	Marietta, Georgia	1983	This water park is about 15 miles from Six Flags Over Georgia. Six Flags will take full ownership by 2027.

Indoor Water Parks

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
Castaway Bay	Sandusky, Ohio	2004	This indoor water park is inside the resort of the same name.
White Water Bay	Queensbury, New York	2006	This indoor water park is inside the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge.

Safari Parks

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
Six Flags Wild Safari Adventure	Jackson, New Jersey	1974	This safari park is part of the Six Flags Great Adventure Resort.

Sports Complexes

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
Cedar Point Sports Center	Sandusky, Ohio	2019	Six Flags owns this sports center.

Resorts

Name	Location	Year opened	Notes
Carowinds Camp Wilderness Resort	Charlotte, North Carolina	1973	This campground is open all year and is next to Carowinds.
Castaway Bay	Sandusky, Ohio	2004	This resort is about a mile from Cedar Point. It has an indoor water park.
Hotel Breakers	Sandusky, Ohio	1905	This hotel is located inside Cedar Point.
Knott's Hotel	Buena Park, California	1968	This hotel is located near Knott's Berry Farm.
Sawmill Creek Resort	Huron, Ohio	1972	This resort is about 8 miles from Cedar Point.
Six Flags Darien Lake Hotel & Campground	Darien, New York	1954	This complex is across from Six Flags Darien Lake. It includes a hotel, campground, and other facilities.
Six Flags Great Escape Lodge	Queensbury, New York	2006	This lodge is across from Six Flags Great Escape. It has an indoor water park called White Water Bay.
Six Flags Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa	Jackson, New Jersey	2024	This resort is located within the Six Flags Great Adventure Resort.
The Resorts at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels	New Braunfels, Texas	1979	This resort is located within Schlitterbahn New Braunfels.

Former Properties

These parks are no longer owned or operated by Six Flags.

Name	Location	Year opened	Year closed/sold	Notes
Six Flags America	Woodmore, Maryland	1974	2025	The original Six Flags company acquired this park in 1992. It closed on November 2, 2025.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Maryland	Woodmore, Maryland	1982	2025	This water park was part of Six Flags America. It closed on September 6, 2025.

Six Flags Leadership

Board of Directors

As of January 2026, the people on the Six Flags board of directors are:

Marilyn Spiegel – non-executive chair (the leader of the board)
John Reilly – director
Jonathan Brudnick
Sandra Cochran
Michael Colglazier
Felipe Dutra
Steven Hoffman
Chieh Huang
Jennifer Mason
Arik Ruchim

Executive Team

Most of the current executive team worked for Cedar Fair before the 2024 merger. As of January 2026, the main leaders of Six Flags are:

John Reilly – chief executive officer (CEO) and president
Tim Fisher – chief operating officer (COO)
Brian Witherow – chief financial officer (CFO)
Brian Nurse – chief legal and compliance officer and corporate secretary
Christian Dieckmann – chief commercial officer
Dave Hoffman – chief accounting officer
Ty Tastepe – chief digital officer
Seenu Sarma – chief procurement officer

Marketing and Fun Partnerships

Marketing Campaigns

In April 2025, Six Flags launched its first big advertising campaign after the merger. It was called "We're Serious About Fun." This campaign introduced a new mascot character, the Funsultant. The ads appeared on TV, online, and in other places.

Characters and Brands in Parks

The DC Universe themed area at Six Flags Great America.

The Planet Snoopy themed area at Dorney Park.

Six Flags has rights to use characters from Warner Bros. and Peanuts. The Warner Bros. agreement lets them use Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters in their North American parks. However, this does not include areas like Las Vegas or Florida. The Peanuts characters are used in some parks that used to belong to Cedar Fair. Six Flags renewed this agreement until 2030.

Other partners include food companies like Blue Bunny Ice Cream, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, The Icee Company, and Mars Inc. Six Flags also works with companies that provide on-ride photos.

Faster Lines: Expedited Queue Systems

Six Flags parks have special systems to help guests get on rides faster. These are called Fast Lane and The Flash Pass. The Flash Pass system was replaced by Fast Lane in January 2026.

Fast Lane

Standard and Fast Lane queue lines for Blue Streak at Cedar Point.

Fast Lane is a system used at Six Flags parks to let you skip the regular lines. It was first used at parks that belonged to Cedar Fair. It started at Kings Island in 2011 as a test. If you pay extra, you get a wristband that lets you use a shorter line for most rides. At first, it was only for certain hours, but now it's available all day. Fast Lane was introduced to all Cedar Fair parks in 2012. There is also "Fright Lane" for haunted attractions during Halloween events. By 2019, all Cedar Fair parks offered a Fast Lane pass for the whole season.

All parks that were part of the original Six Flags company switched to Fast Lane from The Flash Pass in January 2026. This means The Flash Pass system is no longer used.

The Flash Pass

The Flash Pass was a system that let you reserve your spot in line at Six Flags parks before the merger. It was named after the DC Comics character The Flash. Guests paid an extra fee to use this system. The first version, called Q-bot, started at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2001. Guests used handheld devices to make reservations and get alerts when it was their turn to ride. Later, guests could also scan a QR code on signs or use a mobile app. They could buy passes for single rides or use a season pass version. This feature was added in 2021.

A water park version, called Q-band, was tested in 2011. Guests wore waterproof wristbands that they could scan at kiosks.

The Flash Pass system was removed by the end of the 2025 season. All parks that were part of the original Six Flags company switched to the Fast Lane system in 2026.

More to Explore

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

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