Six Flags facts for kids

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, often just called Six Flags, is a big American company that runs amusement parks. Its main office is in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States. Six Flags owns and operates 41 fun locations across North America, including 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.

The company formed on July 2, 2024. This happened after two long-time rival companies, Cedar Fair and the original Six Flags company, joined together. The new company kept the Six Flags name.

Six Flags has special rights to use popular characters like the Looney Tunes and DC Comics superheroes in most of its parks in the United States and Mexico. You can also find Peanuts characters at some parks through a different agreement. In 2024, Six Flags parks welcomed 50.3 million guests, making it one of the top theme park companies in the world.

Quick facts for kids
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; 18 months ago (2024-07-02)
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 (president and CEO)
Brands	Hurricane Harbor Schlitterbahn Soak City
Services	Amusement parks animal theme parks lodging resorts safari parks water parks
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)
Footnotes / references Financials as of December 31,  2024 (2024 -12-31)[update].

About Six Flags: A World of Fun

How Six Flags Began

The First Six Flags Company

The story of Six Flags Theme Parks started with Angus G. Wynne and his team. They opened the very first park, Six Flags Over Texas, in August 1961. Over the next twenty years, more parks were built and bought. In 1984, after buying the Great America park, Six Flags gained the rights to feature Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes characters. Later, Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery) owned the company completely from 1993 to 1995. In 1998, Premier Parks, another theme park company, bought Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. Premier Parks then started using the Six Flags name for many of its own parks and fully became Six Flags in 2000.

During the 2000s, the original Six Flags company faced financial challenges. It sold off some parks, including its European locations and Worlds of Adventure in 2004. In 2005, new leaders took over after a disagreement about who should run the company. These new leaders continued to sell parks in 2006–2007. However, the company's money problems continued. Due to the 2008 financial crisis and a tough economic time, Six Flags reorganized its business in 2009. The parks continued to operate normally. Six Flags re-emerged as Six Flags Entertainment Corp. on May 3, 2010. Its main offices moved to Grand Prairie, Texas, and lenders took control of most of the company in exchange for canceling a large amount of debt.

Jim Reid-Anderson became the chairman, president, and CEO on August 13, 2010. Mike Spanos took over in late 2019. The company tried to build new Six Flags parks in other countries, like Six Flags Dubai and parks in China. However, these projects faced problems and were eventually sold to other developers. The COVID-19 pandemic also caused many Six Flags parks to close in 2020. Mike Spanos stepped down in 2021, and Selim Bassoul became the new CEO. He tried a new plan to make visits better for guests by changing prices. However, this plan didn't work out as expected, and park attendance went down by 33%. The plan was stopped in November 2022.

Cedar Fair's Story

In 1978, the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, bought the Valleyfair amusement park. This led to the creation of Cedar Fair Limited Partnership in 1983. The name "Cedar" came from Cedar Point, and "Fair" came from Valleyfair. The company became public on April 29, 1987. Cedar Fair grew by buying more amusement parks across the United States. These included Dorney Park (1992), Worlds of Fun (1995), Knott's Berry Farm (1997), Michigan's Adventure (2001), and Geauga Lake (2004). In 1997, Cedar Fair also gained the rights to use Peanuts characters in its parks after buying Knott's Berry Farm.

Cedar Fair later bought Paramount Parks in 2006 for US$1.24 billion. This included five theme parks. Cedar Fair decided not to use Paramount-licensed characters for a long time. The company then started doing business as Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. It closed Geauga Lake in 2007. In 2010, another company tried to buy Cedar Fair, but the deal did not go through.

In 2019, the original Six Flags company offered to buy Cedar Fair, but Cedar Fair said no. Then, in 2022, SeaWorld Entertainment offered to buy Cedar Fair for US$3.4 billion, but this offer was also rejected. To reduce the money it owed, Cedar Fair sold California's Great America in Santa Clara, California, in 2022 for US$310 million. By the end of 2022, Cedar Fair owed about US$2.2 billion.

The Big Merger

Six Flags and Cedar Fair, who had been rivals for a long time, announced they would merge on November 2, 2023. This happened about four years after Six Flags first tried to buy Cedar Fair. The merger came at a time when amusement parks were trying to get more visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic. Both companies wanted to be more financially stable, save money, and better compete with other big theme parks. They expected to save US$120 million in costs within two years. Including debt, the new company was valued at US$8 billion. It created a group of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and 9 resorts, making it the largest amusement park operator in North America.

This was called a "merger of equals". Cedar Fair shareholders became the majority owners, holding 51.2% of the new company. Six Flags shareholders owned 48.8%. The merger was done by exchanging shares. Each Cedar Fair share became one share in the new company, and each Six Flags share became 0.58 shares. A new company called CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. was formed, and both companies merged into it. After the merger, CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. was renamed Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The company's shares started trading under Cedar Fair's stock symbol, FUN, on the New York Stock Exchange.

The leaders of both companies approved the merger when it was first announced. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began reviewing the merger on January 22, 2024, to ensure fair competition. They asked for more information from both companies. About 80% of Six Flags shareholders voted to approve the merger on March 12, 2024. The DOJ approved the merger on June 26, 2024. The merger was 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 president and CEO of Cedar Fair, became the president and CEO of the new combined company. Selim Bassoul, the president and CEO of the original Six Flags company, became the executive chairman of the board of directors. The new company's main office moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Important business and money operations are also based at Cedar Fair's former headquarters in Sandusky, Ohio. Six Flags stated that they did not plan to make big changes at the parks themselves, and all parks kept their original names.

Stocks for both Cedar Fair and the original Six Flags company stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The new company began trading on July 2, 2024, using the stock symbol FUN. In late 2024, Six Flags shared plans to improve its collection of parks. This included looking at closing or selling some locations.

On December 17, 2024, the company announced plans to fully own Six Flags Over Georgia, Hurricane Harbor Atlanta, and Six Flags White Water by January 12, 2027. This purchase cost US$332.6 million and increased Six Flags' ownership of these parks. On February 10, 2025, Six Flags and Qiddiya Investment Company announced an agreement. Six Flags became the operator for the new Six Flags Qiddiya City theme park in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. They also developed and licensed the Six Flags brand for the park. This theme park, first announced in 2018, was planned to open in late 2025.

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

On May 1, 2025, the company announced it would permanently close Six Flags America and its water park, Hurricane Harbor Maryland, in Woodmore, Maryland. The company explained that these parks did not fit its long-term plans. The property was to be redeveloped. Hurricane Harbor Maryland closed on September 6, 2025, and Six Flags America closed on November 2, 2025. In late May 2025, Six Flags announced plans to reduce its full-time staff by about 500 employees. This included changing how parks were managed by removing the park president role. These changes were completed by June 2025.

Both initial leaders after the merger stepped down in late 2025. Six Flags announced on August 6, 2025, that Richard Zimmerman, the president and CEO, stepped down. On October 10, 2025, it was announced that Selim Bassoul, the executive chairman, also stepped down by the end of 2025. He stayed on to advise for the new Six Flags Qiddiya City.

John Reilly became the president and CEO on December 8, 2025, replacing Zimmerman. Marilyn Spiegel became the non-executive chair on January 1, 2026, replacing Bassoul.

Six Flags Qiddiya City opened on December 31, 2025. The company announced on January 5, 2026, that it did not plan to buy the rest of its ownership in Six Flags Over Texas. They stated that the agreement terms did not fit with their current spending goals.

Where to Find the Fun: Six Flags Parks

Amusement Parks

     Parks that used to be part of Cedar Fair        Parks that used to be part of the original Six Flags company

Water Parks

Most Six Flags water parks fall into three main groups:

• Hurricane Harbor — Water parks with a Caribbean theme. Some are standalone, and some are part of an amusement park.
• Schlitterbahn — Water parks located in Texas that are standalone properties.
• Soak City — Water parks where admission is usually included with a nearby amusement park.

Water Parks Inside Amusement Parks

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

Standalone Water Parks

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

Indoor Water Parks

Resorts

Other Fun Places

Parks That Are No Longer Part of Six Flags

Who Leads Six Flags

Board of Directors

As of January 3, 2026, the current Six Flags board of directors includes:

• Marilyn Spiegel – The non-executive chair; she used to be president of Wynn Resorts.
• John Reilly – Director and CEO of Six Flags; he used to be CEO of Palace Entertainment.
• Jonathan Brudnick – Director; a partner at Sachem Head Capital Management.
• Sandra Cochran – Director; she used to be CEO and executive chair at Cracker Barrel.
• Michael Colglazier – Director; CEO of Virgin Galactic.
• Felipe Dutra – Director; he used to be CFO of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
• Steven Hoffman – Director; he runs Python Global Ventures.
• Chieh Huang – Director; president of Global Collaboration Village.
• Jennifer Mason – Director; CFO-elect, officer, treasurer, and risk management at Marriott International.
• Arik Ruchim – Director; a partner at H Partners.

Executive Team

With the exception of John Reilly, all current executives held their roles at Cedar Fair before the 2024 merger. As of January 3, 2026, the current Six Flags executive team includes:

• John Reilly – Chief executive officer and president.
• Tim Fisher – Chief operating officer.
• Brian Witherow – Chief financial officer.
• 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.

Who Owns Six Flags

Large investment companies mostly own Six Flags. As of September 30, 2025, these companies owned about 109.71% of the available shares. The ten largest shareholders are:

Marketing and Fun Ideas

How Six Flags Advertises

In April 2025, Six Flags launched its first big advertising campaign after the merger, called "We're Serious About Fun." This new ad campaign introduced a new mascot character, the Funsultant, known for a funny, serious way of speaking. The campaign appeared on TV, online, billboards, social media, and through email.

Special Characters and Partners

The DC Universe themed area at Six Flags Great America.

The Planet Snoopy themed area at Dorney Park.

Six Flags has special rights to use characters from two popular brands: Warner Bros. and Peanuts. The agreement with Warner Bros. lets Six Flags use Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters in its parks in North America, except for the Las Vegas metropolitan area and Florida. The Peanuts characters are used in the United States and Canada at some parks that used to be part of Cedar Fair. Six Flags renewed its agreement with Peanuts Worldwide through 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. Pomvom operates at former Six Flags parks, Colorvision International at most former Cedar Fair parks, and Kaman's Art Shoppes at Dorney Park, Michigan's Adventure, and Valleyfair. The company uses Accesso for its ticketing system, making it easy to buy tickets online.

Fast Lane: Skip the Line!

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

Fast Lane is a special system at Six Flags parks that lets you get on rides faster. For an extra cost, visitors get a wristband that allows them to use a shorter line for most attractions. There is also Fright Lane, which is the Fast Lane for haunted attractions during Halloween events.

Fast Lane was originally a Cedar Fair product. It was first announced for Kings Island on July 18, 2011, and then rolled out to all Cedar Fair parks for the 2012 season. After the 2024 merger, all former Six Flags parks switched to Cedar Fair's Fast Lane system in January 2026. This replaced their old virtual queuing system, The Flash Pass.

More Fun Facts

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