July 1 marked the official day of the union between Six Flags and Cedar Fair into Six Flags Entertainment Corporationa process set in motion after last year’s $8 billion deal. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the two theme park companies have officially combined operations, merging Six Flags locations with Cedar Fair’s portfolio, which includes Knott’s Berry Farm among other regional theme parks.
For die-hard theme park enthusiasts and casual vacationers, this means a number of things moving forward. It’s possible that these parks, which are spread across the country, mostly in big cities, could see some financial infusions to put them on a competitive level with Universal Studios and Disney Parks — perhaps even becoming given to travelers in the state parks at the level of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. A long-standing frustration has been that these parks have experiences and haunts with IP that seems to have been slapped on at random, like DC characters or Peanuts (Shout out to Knott’s, at least, for doing their best with cute and adorable Snoopy appearances). The effort is somewhat improved at times with dark rides like Justice League: Battle for Metropolis– and this can be done even better; as THR notes, “the companies plan to use their licensed intellectual property in their parks, with Six Flags having a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery rights to characters from DC Comics and Looney Tunesand Cedar Fair controls the rights to Peanuts universe.”
There’s also last week’s major Halloween announcement; with Six Flags Fright Fest now holding multiple rights Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Lionsgate and legendary film and television horror propertiestitles like Stranger Things, The Conjuring Universe, Stranger Things, Army of the Dead, Trick r’ Treat, Saw, and DC Comics’ Dead, to name a few, will now have a presence across Six Flags parks. It was shocking news to say the least, as a number of those IP names had a presence at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in years past. It remains to be seen whether these will also be included in the iconic Knott’s Scary Farm event – but we hope that it and its sister parks retain the traditional atmosphere of Halloween lore that has made them such spooky giants, and that the effort that we see at Knott’s raises the heavy IP slate coming to Six Flags. This merger could indicate that these parks can be competition for the big boys, being even more accessible in price. Halloween is proving to be the test.
We truly hope that making these parks more inclusive with the studio’s IP will reignite demand for them and inspire more creative investment with dedicated entertainment expansions. If you have seen the level Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is operating, you’ll know what we mean. The international parks boast the latest attractions inspired by the worlds of DC such as Gotham, Looney Tunes, and other fan-favorite properties that make Disney and Universal look like regional parks. They have full displays of DC heroes and villains, Looney Tunes meet and greets, and food-themed entertainment that isn’t hard to find or of the “seasonal only, ignore and you’ll miss it” variety. With Netflix now in the mix along with WB and Legendary, we’re hoping for more beyond Halloween. Imagine a fully realized Gotham City, a Godzilla x Kong roller coaster with animatronics, a Foreign things dark journey, or even one A piece boating. If the parks go under the water, we’ll all be winners.
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