Six Flags reiterates potential sale of some parks following Cedar Fair merger
Six Flags conducted “comprehensive review” of its 42 parks and may sell some of them, just months after merging with Cedar Fair.
Updated Feb. 27, 2025; original version published Nov. 6, 2024.
Six Flags’ Project Accelerate, ‘comprehensive review’ of parks
The 42 theme parks and water parks under the recently combined Six Flags and Cedar Fair may dwindle to a lesser number. The company now known as Six Flags Entertainment Corporation sees “portfolio optimization” as a priority going forward, as stated plainly as one of five “key objectives” in an initiative called Project Accelerate. Six Flags detailed these pillars during its quarterly earnings call on Nov. 6, 2024 and reiterated the initiative in a separate earnings call on Feb. 27, 2025.
November 2024: Optimization announced
As “portfolio optimization” is defined in its presentation to investors, Six Flags said the company will conduct a “comprehensive review of the portfolio to evaluate the potential divestiture of non-core assets to help reduce leverage.” In layman’s terms, Six Flags will review its roster of parks and may consider selling some of them.
Project Accelerate’s other four key objectives are enhanced guest experience, margin expansion, disciplined capital allocation, and IT system integration (all transcribed in detail below).
Six Flags also presented an eight-point “playbook for driving long-term success” (also transcribed below), which includes greater attention to food and beverage and a desire for Six Flags parks to feel “comfortably crowded,” a phrase business executives repeated throughout the quarterly earnings call.
Photo by Blake Taylor
The entities formerly known as Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation merged to form a combined company going by the name of the latter. The merger was completed on July 1, 2024.
Following the merger, the combined Six Flags company now operates 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Among the full list is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio and Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles, Calif. The corporation’s headquarters are in Charlotte, N.C., the hometown of its Carowinds park (and formerly the Cedar Fair headquarters).
Project Accelerate
The following is a transcript of Six Flags’ Project Accelerate, as presented in its quarterly earnings call on Nov. 6.
Project Accelerate – Key Objectives
1.) Enhanced guest experience
Invest in the guest experience to deliver a stronger price-value proposition and drive demand2.) Margin expansion
Identify and activate operating efficiencies that generate cost synergies and drive margin expansion3.) Disciplined capital allocation
Maintain a disciplined approach to the prioritization and activation of capital investments to realize the full market potential of each park, while maximizing free cash flow efficiency4.) IT system integration
Integrate technology stacks with a focus on harmonizing systems, eliminating redundancies, and enhancing the guest-facing digital experience5.) Portfolio optimization
Comprehensive review of the portfolio to evaluate the potential divestiture of non-core assets to help reduce leverage
Playbook for success
The following is a transcript of Six Flags’ “playbook for driving long-term success” for its parks, as presented in its quarterly earnings call on Nov. 6.
Our playbook for driving long-term success
1.) Maintaining and increasing guest satisfaction is vital to unlocking long-term growth opportunities
2.) Strategically investing marketable capital back into the business drives growth and ensures the long-term sustainability of our business, even in challenging economic times
3.) As a volume-driven business, keeping our parks “comfortably crowded” drives longer length of stay, higher per caps, and better pricing power
4.) Season pass programs are the financial engine of our business and provide us with a recurring and reliable revenue stream
5.) Unique, high-quality food and beverage is an essential and increasingly valuable part of the guest experience
6.) Safety, park cleanliness, attractive landscaping, and family entertainment are important drivers of guest satisfaction
7.) Staff our parks to operate fully yet efficiently without sacrificing excellent customer service
8.) Leverage the power of scalable technologies, which is fundamental to the guest experience
February 2025: Portfolio review complete
The portfolio review was complete as of Feb. 27, 2025, as shared during a quarterly earnings call on that day.
“We have completed our initial review, having identified properties that are less strategic and critical to our long-term growth objectives — properties that we would consider divesting under the right circumstances,” said Richard A. Zimmerman, president and CEO of Six Flags.” These include some of the smaller, non-core parks as well as excess undeveloped land that isn’t critical to future expansion plans.”
Smaller, non-core parks: Zimmerman did not specify which parks the company might divest, but said “we are continuing to evaluate options.”
Undeveloped land: The executive cited land adjacent to the company’s park near Richmond, Va. (presumably Kings Dominion) as an example of such a divestiture, with a sale of that land anticipated within the next 12-18 months.
Six Flags will host an “Investor Day” on May 20, 2025 to share details about the company’s “long-term strategy.”
Below is Zimmerman’s full quote from the earnings call on Feb. 27 concerning Six Flags potentially selling some of its parks and land:
I want to provide an update on our ongoing portfolio optimization efforts. As we noted on our last earnings call, as part of Project Accelerate, we initiated a comprehensive review of our properties, including excess of undeveloped land, with the goal of optimizing our asset base, narrowing management’s focus, and reducing risk. We have completed our initial review, having identified properties that are less strategic and critical to our long-term growth objectives — properties that we would consider divesting under the right circumstances. These include some of the smaller, non-core parks as well as excess undeveloped land that isn’t critical to future expansion plans.
As an example, we are currently in the process of developing undeveloped land adjacent to our park in Richmond, Va., and I’m pleased to say these efforts produced significant interest. Although there is still much work to be done, we are optimistic that our ongoing discussions will result in a transaction within the next 12-18 months.
Regarding certain smaller, non-core properties, we are continuing to evaluate options and over time, we will consider transactions that enhance shareholder value. In the meantime, we are excited with the prospects of operating all 42 of our parks this season.
We will continue to pursue initiatives to enhance the performance of these valuable and unique assets that will not only contribute to our financial results, but also support the local communities in which they operate.
Consistent with those efforts, we are taking decisive steps to unlock the full potential of our combined portfolio and increase shareholder value. The positive impact of our initiatives is already evident in better guest satisfaction scores, higher attendance levels, and improving operating margins, all of which reinforce our confidence in delivering on our ultimate goal of driving long-term growth and free cash flow.
With momentum at our backs, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the resiliency and strength of our business model in 2025. As we head into the peak operating season, we do so with confidence and excitement for what lies ahead. We have the right strategies and teams in place, and we see a clear path to success. We are focused on building on the momentum we’ve established, as well as delivering an outstanding 2025 season for our guests, associates, and shareholders alike.
We look forward to sharing more details on our outlook for the season ahead and our long-term strategy at our upcoming Investor Day on May 20 at Cedar Point. This event will provide attendees with an in-depth look at how our strategic initiatives our transforming our operation and enhancing our performance across the combined portfolio.
Richard A. Zimmerman, president and CEO of Six Flags, Feb. 27, 2025
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I say leave Six Flags St. Louis open. Bring back more summer shows. Bring in new full time management that knows what they’re doing.
I think it would be a very good experience for the company to provide backup harnesses for handicap individuals that want to ride the rides at all the theme parks I also think that if a problem occurs that there should be a reimbursement funds for the pastors that they buy also there should be a way to compensate the loss of being able to ride those rides because of company failure to provide backup harnesses see I know this first hand because I’m handicapped and every time I visit the park at Eureka St Louis Missouri Six Flags there’s always an excuse to why the harnesses are out now I’m aware that the harnesses have to be checked daily okay but during those checks there should be back up harnesses for the customer to have an experience entertainment and fun entertainment not having to walk away or leave the park in a very mood or sad mood emotionally or when a man and his wife visit the park to get away from the rigors of home life and work life get should be enjoyable for both of them and it’s not
Well that all sounds really sophisticated and business like, but when my family stands in line and groups of people line jump with no ramifications, it’s no reason to come back.or, the parks open for the season and half of the attractions are busted or still graffiti covered or covered in chewing gum, there is no reason to come back. Six flags have always been slums.get security, throw misbehaving guests out, and clean up, and the folks will come back. Maybe eliminate all the stupid marvel and Looney tunes stuff and spend all those licsensing fees on security and repairs. People don’t come to ride rides because they’re badged as super man or Tweety bird. They come for the ride!
Why would you have surcharge? Just raise the price.
I really hope that Dorney Park will never be sold off by the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. I would love for Dorney to always be an operable safe from being sold amusement park.