Xcelerator reopened on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Buena Park theme park, according to Knott’s officials.

ALSO SEE: Knott’s Berry Farm won’t add Six Flags to theme park name

During the summer, Knott’s began installing new parts from original manufacturer Intamin Amusement Rides before conducting commissioning tests on the launch coaster.

The relaunch of the beloved but temperamental coaster should delight coaster fans who have been eagerly awaiting the return of Xcelerator.

ALSO SEE: What Cedar Fair-Six Flags $8 billion merger means for Knott’s and Magic Mountain

Xcelerator closed in October 2021 for a new paint job and returned for only a couple months with a new red, orange, yellow, blue and gray color scheme before going down again in March 2022 for maintenance. Fans of the thrill ride have been waiting impatiently for the highly-anticipated return of the aging coaster.

Xcelerator accelerates from zero to 82 mph in 2.3 seconds with the assistance of a hydraulic launch, according to Roller Coaster Database. The Intamin Accelerator coaster trains quickly transition into a 205-foot-tall vertical top hat element before sending riders plunging downward. The relatively short ride covers 2,200 feet of track in a minute.

Knott’s paid $13 million for the Intamin extreme coaster in 2002, according to RCDB.

While Six Flags will be the corporate name of the combined company, there are no plans to change the names or branding of any Cedar Fair parks, according to Cedar Fair officials.

ALSO SEE: Halloween and Christmas are the new summer at theme parks

The Knott’s Berry Farm name will remain unchanged and will not include the Six Flags name, according to Cedar Fair officials.

That means there will be no Six Flags Knott’s Berry Farm or any other convoluted naming convention for the Buena Park theme park. The same goes for Cedar Fair’s sister park, California’s Great America in Santa Clara.

Knott’s Berry Farm owner Cedar Fair and Magic Mountain owner Six Flags agreed last week to an $8 billion merger of equals that will combine the two companies into a North American amusement park juggernaut.

ALSO SEE: Theme parks blame ‘extreme weather’ for attendance drops and financial loses

Theme parks fans quivering at the thought of a Six Flags Cedar Point, Six Flags Kings Island or Six Flags Canada’s Wonderland need not worry. The Cedar Fair parks won’t be adding Six Flags to their names.

That doesn’t mean the Six Flags name won’t appear anywhere in the Cedar Fair parks or the markets they operate. Six Flags could still show up on everything from drinking cups and shopping bags to season passes and TV commercials.

ALSO SEE: Will the new Six Flags get the details right?

The Six Flags name will be brought into play over time because of its national brand recognition, according to Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services.

“The Six Flags name as a brand in the theme park industry is better known than the Cedar Fair name,” Speigel said on an ITPS video commentary posted to YouTube. “We will see some branding of the Six Flags names come into play as it relates to marketing with the parks and the markets.”

Likewise, Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia won’t be shedding the Six Flags name. The same goes for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo and other existing Six Flags parks.

The names and branding for the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks will not change because of the merger, according to Cedar Fair officials.

​​The Six Flags brand is not expected to be removed from any current parks, according to Cedar Fair officials.

Knott’s Berry Farm owner Cedar Fair and Magic Mountain owner Six Flags agreed on Thursday, Nov. 2 to an $8 billion merger of equals that will combine the two companies into a North American amusement park juggernaut.

The combined company will be known as Six Flags once the deal is done.

That’s right. You’re going to have to get used to saying Six Flags Knott’s Berry Farm. Or Six Flags Berry Farm. Or Knott’s Berry Farm presented by Six Flags. Or some other mouthful of a name involving Six Flags branding. The Six Flags national name recognition is one of the key things Cedar Fair gets out of the deal.

ALSO SEE: Halloween and Christmas are the new summer at theme parks

Together, Cedar Fair and Six Flags will have a portfolio of 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks in the United States, Canada and Mexico that attracted 48 million visitors in the past year.

The expanded footprint of the Cedar Fair-Six Flags union will only have overlapping parks in two key markets: Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The good news for Knott’s and Magic Mountain? The year-round parks in Buena Park and Valencia are expected to reduce the seasonal impact that contributes to earnings volatility, according to the Cedar Fair-Six Flags announcement.

The overlap in Northern California will be relatively short lived. Cedar Fair has sold California’s Great America and the park will cease operating within a decade or less — which would eventually leave only Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in the Bay Area market.

Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman said on a call with investors that there are no plans to close any of the parks following the merger.

“These are irreplaceable assets,” Zimmerman said on the call. “How do you grow if you shrink your portfolio?”

ALSO SEE: Theme parks blame ‘extreme weather’ for attendance drops and financial loses

The Southern California market presents the biggest challenge for the new company, according to Theme Park Insider.

“In the L.A. market, ‘Six Flags’ means Magic Mountain,” according to Theme Park Insider. “Slapping the Six Flags brand on Knott’s Berry Farm only would cause confusion.”

It would make no sense to close either Knott’s or Magic Mountain — and a lot of sense to capitalize on their potential synergies.

Knott’s Berry Farm (3.9 million) and Six Flags Magic Mountain (3 million) both rank among the Top 20 North American amusement parks in annual visitors, according to the TEA/AECOM annual report.

Knott’s and Magic Mountain share some fans, but are on opposite sides of the Los Angeles metropolis. Southern California is home to seven theme parks and the local Cedar Fair and Six Flags locations have coexisted and competed in the region for decades.

There are plenty of differences between the two parks. Knott’s has long positioned itself as one of America’s oldest theme parks with themed lands akin to Disneyland. Magic Mountain is a “steel park” that brags about having more roller coasters than any other amusement park in the world.

Theme Park Insider argues that the shared Southern California market provides an opportunity for the new company to leave Knott’s Berry Farm without the Six Flags branding — extending to the well-established Knott’s Scary Farm and Knott’s Merry Farm events.

The combined companies plan to invest in new rides and expand access to season passholders.

A Knott’s-Magic Mountain season pass combo could drive sales and help introduce the twin audiences to each other.

A deluxe pass good for the entire 27-park chain could provide access to Cedar Fair’s crown jewels in Southern California (Knott’s) and Ohio (Cedar Point and Kings Island) as well as Six Flags’ biggest parks in the Los Angeles (Magic Mountain), Chicago (Great America) and New York/New Jersey (Great Adventure) metropolitan areas.

The combined company will have a trio of intellectual property brands — DC Comics, Looney Tunes and Peanuts — that can be used to theme rides and attractions.

The DC Comics line-up of superheroes could allow Knott’s and Cedar Fair to step up and compete on a themed attraction level with the Marvel superhero rides at Disneyland and Universal Studios Orlando.

Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services, called the deal a “win-win” for both chains and said the merger would result in the world’s largest regional theme park company.

“It would give them complete dominance in the regional theme park market in the United States,” Speigel told Cleveland.com. “This merger makes Six Flags a better company. And I don’t think it takes away from Cedar Fair at all.”

ALSO SEE: Disneyland Indy ride goes through tires ‘pretty quickly’ during grueling 18-hour days

The merger of equals appears to tilt in favor of Cedar Fair.

Cedar Fair will oversee the day-to-day park operations of the merged company.

The combined company will be based at Cedar Fair’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, with finance and administrative operations housed at the company’s flagship Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky, Ohio.

Zimmerman and CFO Brian Witherow will serve in the same roles in the combined company.

“I have great respect for the Six Flags team and look forward to joining forces as we embark on this next chapter together,” Zimmerman said in a Cedar Fair release.

ALSO SEE: See Disneyland Jungle Cruise boat towed to safety — and the skipper never misses a joke

Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul becomes the new chairman of the board while Six Flags CFO Gary Mick serves as Chief Integration Officer.

The merger has already been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Each company gets six seats on the new board of directors.

Cedar Fair shareholders will own 51.2% of the merged company.

The merger is expected to close in early 2024 after Six Flags shareholders approve the deal. Cedar Fair unitholders don’t need to approve the deal.

As with any merger, cuts are expected wherever there is a duplication of roles.

Administrative and operational synergies will result in $120 million in cost savings within the first two years of the merger, according to the Cedar Fair-Six Flags announcement.

The Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting that Cedar Fair and Six Flags could unveil a merger deal as early as this week.

ALSO SEE: Halloween and Christmas are the new summer at theme parks

Cedar Fair — the owner of Knott’s in Buena Park, California’s Great America in Santa Clara and other theme parks across the U.S. and Canada — could make an announcement on Thursday, Nov. 1 when the company reports quarterly results, Reuters reported.

“An agreement could be finalized as soon as this week assuming there is no last-minute snag,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Cedar Fair owns 15 theme parks and water parks in the U.S. and Canada — including Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, Kings Dominion in Virginia and Carowinds in North Carolina.

Six Flags owns 27 amusement parks and water parks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico — including Magic Mountain in Valencia and Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.

ALSO SEE: Theme parks blame ‘extreme weather’ for attendance drops and financial loses

“A combination would bolster Six Flags’ portfolio of parks, especially in the Midwest,” according to the Wall Street Journal. “Cedar Fair would join a nationally recognized brand, though it isn’t clear if the chain would rebrand any of its parks under the Six Flags name.”

Cedar Fair has rebuffed interest from Six Flags in 2019 and SeaWorld in 2022.

Cedar Fair and Six Flags stock market shares rose on the news, according to Reuters. Cedar Fair ($1.8 billion) and Six Flags ($1.7 billion) have similar market values, Reuters reported.

“A tie-up between the two companies would come as concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown and consumers curbing their discretionary spending have weighed on their stock performance,” according to Reuters. “Merging would allow them to weather a slowdown from a stronger position.”

Here is a list of some (but not all) bakeries and markets in Orange County where you can get your hands on pan de muertos for the annual holiday, which falls on Wednesday, Nov 1 and Thursday, Nov. 2.

Anaheim: Brizuela’s Bakery (1721 W. Katella Ave., suite R), La Reina Market (508 N. East St., Anaheim), Max’s Baked Goods (3414 W. Ball Road, suite J), Northgate Market (929 S. Euclid St.), Panaderia La Pequena (888 W. Lincoln Ave.), Panaderia Los Volcanes (2659 W. Lincoln Ave.)

Buena Park: Panaderia Indio (8204 Commonwealth Ave.), Porto’s Bakery (7640 Beach Blvd.), Northgate Market (1120 S. Bristol St.)

Costa Mesa: La Espiga De Oro (805 W. 19th St.), Panificadora Bakery (2200 Harbor Blvd., suite E120)

Dana Point: Buena Vista Market (34065 La Plaza)

Fullerton: Panaderia Y Pasteleria (2230 W. Orangethorpe Ave.)

Garden Grove: Estrella De Mexicali (12859 Chapman Ave.)

Huntington Beach: Chelos Panaderia (18029 Beach Blvd.)

La Habra: La Central Bakery (764 W. La Habra Blvd.), My Bakery (350 N. Harbor Blvd.), Northgate Market (1305 W. Whittier Blvd.), Panaderia y Pasteleria la Mexicana (1951 E. La Habra Blvd., suite 1A)

Lake Forest: Efren’s Bakery (24601 Raymond Way, #7), El Molino de Oro (23532 El Toro Road)

Orange: El Molino De Oro (728 N. Tustin St.), La Espiga De Oro Panaderia Carniceria (East Wilson Avenue), La Reina Market (909 N. Tustin St.), La Poblana (604 W. Chapman Ave.)

Placentia: Mil Hojas (642 W. Chapman Ave.)

San Juan Capistrano: El Molino De Oro (31886 Plaza Drive), Mercado El Rey (32252 Camino Capistrano) and El Campeon Bakery (31921 Camino Capistrano, #14)

Santa Ana: Cafe Cultura (324 W. Fourth St.), El Gallo Giro (1442 S. Bristol St., #1A), El Metate Panaderia (1338 W. First St.), El Panadero (1818 S. Standard Ave.), La Rancherita Bakery (2709 Westminster Ave., suite B), Northgate Market (230 N. Harbor Blvd., 1120 S. Bristol Street, 1010 South Main St.), Panaderia La Mejor (1331 E. First St.), Panaderia Paloza (1701 E. McFadden Ave.), Rosas Pasteleria Y Panaderia (1009 S. Fairview St.), Tlaxcala Bakery Panaderia (1208 S. Standard Ave.), Soy Concha Bakery (709 N. Bristol St., suite J)

Stanton: Leobardo’s Bakery (11841 Beach Blvd.), Panaderia Cortez (7506 Cerritos Ave.)

Already visitors have been enjoying contests such as pie eating and cutest baby; they’ve been shopping the marketplace of crafts and local businesses; and they’ve been thrilled by the carnival rides.

Community performers and bands have been entertaining the crowds throughout the three-day festival.

Sunday opens with a 7 a.m. pancake breakfast and there is chili cookoff and classic car show.

The Buena Park Noon Lions Club hosts Silverado Days as a fundraiser for local charities. This is the event’s 67th year.

If you go

When: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Where: Peak Park, 7225 El Dorado Drive

Cost: Admission is free

Information: silveradodays.com

At 5 p.m. on Friday the marketplace opens for shopping crafts and businesses. Carnival rides also open the first night.

The Miss Silverado Scholarship Program will be held at 6 p.m.

Saturday is full of contests, starting at 10 a.m. with the horseshoe throwing. Community performers and bands will entertain throughout the weekend.

Sunday opens with a 7 a.m. pancake breakfast and there is chili cookoff and classic car show.

The Buena Park Noon Lions Club hosts Silverado Days as a fundraiser for local charities. This is the event’s 67th year.

If you go

When: 5 to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Where: Peak Park, 7225 El Dorado Drive

Cost: Admission is free

Information: silveradodays.com

Enjoy them now, because most of these league rivalries are very unlikely to be around next season.

They could continue as nonleague games, but it’s more fun when a playoff berth or a league championship is at stake.

Orange County high schools agreed this past spring to reassemble its football leagues and conferences after this season. With the exception of the Trinity League teams, all of the Orange County 11-player football teams will placed into one basket. CalPreps’ ratings will be used to place teams into leagues. This is a football-only plan. League and conference memberships will be different for other sports.

If the 2023 football season was over, what would the leagues look like in 2024?

Let’s do this … but first a couple of items to know …

Again, the Trinity League is excluded. The four football teams with the top ratings by CalPreps will be in one league, then there will be 10 six-team leagues, and the bottom five teams in one league.

The league names have not been finalized, so the working titles are Orange County Football Conference A (OCFC A) and Orange County Football Conference B (OCFC B),etc. For this exercise, we’re going with “leagues.”

The previous two years of ratings will be used to place teams into leagues, weighted at 65 percent for the 2023 season and 35 percent weighted for the 2022 season.

Going into this week’s games, with rounded-off ratings totals, here are what the leagues would look like in 2024 (league members listed in alphabetical order):

League A: Edison, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, San Clemente.

League B: Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.

League C: Capistrano Valley, Cypress, El Modena, Trabuco Hills, Tustin, Western.

League D: El Dorado, Foothill, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills.

League E: Crean Lutheran, Dana Hills, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Northwood, Orange.

League F: Aliso Niguel, Canyon, El Toro, Santa Ana, St. Margaret’s, Troy.

League G: Brea Olinda, Esperanza, Kennedy, Segerstrom, Sonora, Sunny Hills.

League H: Beckman, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Marina, Valencia, Westminster.

League I: Buena Park, Calvary Chapel, Pacifica, Portola, University, Woodbridge.

League J: Estancia; Katella, Los Amigos, Ocean View, Rancho Alamitos, Santa Ana Valley.

League K: Anaheim, Bolsa Grande, Costa Mesa, La Quinta, Loara, Santiago.

League L: Century, Godinez Magnolia, Saddleback, Savanna.

The margins could be tight when teams are placed into football leagues for the 2024 season. Through eight games of this season, using the Calpreps ratings, Irvine’s rating is 4.79 and Aliso Niguel’s is 4.78. So if the 2023 season was over now, Irvine would be the bottom team in League E and Aliso Niguel would be the top team in League F.

NOTES

CIF-SS football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. The 8-man football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. …

Yes, Orange County has 8-man football. Sage Hill, in Newport Beach, is in the Prep League and is 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league and averages 48 points a game. Vista Meridian, in Santa Ana, plays a freelance schedule and is 1-4. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 football championship game will be played at the Coliseum on Nov. 24. The first CIF championship football game played at the Coliseum was in 1923 when Long Beach Poly defeated Glendale 15-8. The most recent CIF final at the Coliseum was in 1997 when Long Beach Poly beat Mater Dei 28-25. …

It looks like the Pacific Coast Conference schools will present a proposal at Monday’s releaguing meeting that would exclude Rosary from its group. This past spring Orange County schools included Rosary in the Pacific Coast group in the approved releaguing plan for all sports outside of football. The Freeway League, which would be broken up in the passed proposal, has indicated that it would present a proposal that would keep its membership intact. …

Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, so far, are making it easy to select the Orange County boys and girls cross country athletes of the year by winning or finishing high in just about every race they enter. Barker won last weekend’s Orange County Championships and earlier finished first in the Central Park Invitational. Noonan finished first in the Orange County Championships, the Woodbridge Classic and was third in the Clovis Invitational. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 girls volleyball playoffs started Wednesday. Mater Dei swept Palos Verdes in three sets (the first was a tough one, 27-25), Los Alamitos lost to Mira Costa in three sets and Huntington Beach swept Alemany (and another tough first set there, with the Oilers winning 28-26). Division 1 pool play resumes Tuesday with Los Alamitos at Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach beat Los Alamitos in their two Surf League matches. …

Newport Harbor’s girls flag football team had its closest win of the season Wednesday, a 14-12 victory over Edison. Newport Harbor is 21-1, with the loss to Woodbridge, which Newport Harbor defeated a couple of weeks later.

What makes souffle pancakes different from classic flapjacks is the addition of egg whites whipped to form a meringue which is then folded into the batter (hence the “souffle” name). Cooked in a pan or griddle, the souffle pancakes, which also use less flour, rise tall with an ever-so slightly crispy top and bottom and a more delicate interior.

With a new addition coming to Orange County later this year, the nationwide food trend sees no signs of slowing down. Fluffy Fluffy, the largest souffle pancake chain in North America and a division of Fuwa Fuwa Pancakes, will arrive at The District shopping center in Tustin. Look for it to open in late fall of this year.

For those of you who cannot wait, here are some of the best places in Orange County now serving the bouncy sweet treats.

Basilur (Buena Park): In addition to afternoon tea service with pastries, sandwiches and scones, this Buena park coffee and tea house that specializes in serving high-quality Ceylon tea, serves souffle pancakes that come in five flavors: plain, strawberry, blueberry yogurt, tiramisu and Earl Gray. 6920 Beach Blvd., The Source OC, K-129, Buena Park; basilurteacoffee.com

Baum Tea (Irvine): The souffle pancakes here come in varieties that range from strawberry and custard to bear-shaped and matcha topped with Lucky Charms marshmallows. While enjoying the jiggly pancakes, don’t forget to look at the library wall filled with tea cases that look like books. 13955 Yale Ave., suite A, Irvine; instagram.com/baum_tea_coffee

Burnt Crumbs (Irvine): What began as a food truck has grown into a brick-and-mortar in Irvine, helmed by chef-owner Paul Cao, a Vietnamese-American chef with fine-dining cred (he was sous chef for Michael Mina’s then-Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point). After becoming obsessed with souffle pancakes, Cao attempted roughly 1,000 pancakes before finally perfecting it and adding it to his brunch menu. Ever since, he’s had lines coming out the door for his souffle pancakes, of which he sells an estimated 500 every weekend. Comes in original, blueberry or strawberry iterations. 8549 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine; burntcrumbs.com

Nostimo Cafe (Westminster): Head to Westminter’s Little Saigon neighborhood to find ube souffle pancakes. Super soft and airy, these stacks are topped with ube flavored sweet cream. Other flavors include tiramisu, matcha, Nutellamisu, mango and strawberry. 15568 Brookhurst St., Westminster; instagram.com/nostimocafe.tea

The sign was installed on the corner of Orangethorpe Avenue and Beach Boulevard near the entrance of the Source Mall, a mixed-use retail, restaurant and entertainment complex home to several big-name Korean businesses. Councilmember Joyce Ahn described it as the “landmark” of Buena Park’s Koreatown.

“‘Koreatown’ is more than a name; it’s a recognition of a community that has significantly shaped the cultural and economic landscape of Buena Park,” Ahn said. “I am filled with pride as we take this step forward in celebrating our city’s beautiful diversity.”

The city’s Koreatown runs along the section of Beach Boulevard between Orangethorpe and Rosecrans avenues. Additional signage displaying the Koreatown moniker will be placed at key intersections where Beach Boulevard intersects with Artesia Boulevard and Commonwealth, Malvern and Rosecrans avenues.