Now that the shock is wearing off following the merger of Six Flags with Knott’s Berry Farm parent Cedar Fair, it’s time to consider whether this deal will be a good one for theme park fans.
Sure, it’s going to feel strange to have Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm be part of the same company. But at this point, the new company’s management has not told fans anything about what changes might be coming to their favorite parks as a result of the deal.
We know that the new company will be called Six Flags, and that its shares will trade under Cedar Fair’s old ticker symbol, FUN. Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman will assume the same title in the new company, and its headquarters will be located at Cedar Fair’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both companies have sold passes that allow fans admission into all parks in the chain, and many fans are hoping for a new pass offering that includes everything in the supersized Six Flags. A pass that allowed unlimited admission to both Knott’s and Magic Mountain surely would sell well among Southern California thrill ride fans — assuming that it is not priced at Disney levels.
You can buy 2024 season passes to Knott’s and Magic Mountain now for a combined $220, or $245 if you want Soak City included, too. So that’s the benchmark for fans judging the value of the new Six Flags’ pricing going forward.
Southern California presents a unique opportunity for the new Six Flags. The only other media market with theme parks from both companies is the Bay Area, where California’s Great America is slated to close in the next few years anyway, following Cedar Fair’s sale of the land underneath the park.
I hope that the new Six Flags does not try to homogenize the experience at Magic Mountain and Knott’s as it integrates the two chains. Sure, I and many fans would like to see more great new attractions at each park, but they should be designed to accentuate a difference experience in each. Otherwise, both parks will suffer if fans decide there’s no good reason to visit the other.
One current difference between the parks is their licensed intellectual property. Six Flags has a license for former owner Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters that runs through 2053, while Cedar Fair’s license for the Peanuts characters continues through 2025. That might entice the new Six Flags to save some money by converting all its parks’ kiddie areas to Looney Tunes in two years.
While I love Snoopy, the Peanuts franchise does not seem to have much resonance with today’s children, so the company probably would make a good choice by opting for the Warner Bros. characters instead. But not at Knott’s, please. Let Magic Mountain be home to Looney Tunes, while Knott’s retains its original Camp Snoopy.
Attention to detail builds great theme parks. The new Six Flags will need to get these details right to be more successful than the old Six Flags and Cedar Fair.
