The Six Flags name will once again fly above Darien Lake and Frontier City. Six Flags today announced that it had acquired “lease rights” to operate two former Six Flags theme parks and three additional water parks currently owned by EPR Properties and operated by Premier Parks.
Both Darien Lake and Frontier City were sold to PARC Management along with five other parks in April 2007. Darien Lake was then operated by Herschend Family Entertainment (Dollywood, Silver Dollar City) from 2011 until 2014, when Premier Parks took over Herschend’s lease and began operating the park. Frontier City has been operated by Premier Parks since 2011.
The acquisition of these five parks will bring the total count of North American Six Flags’ owned properties to 25.
“Today’s announcement represents another milestone in our strategic North-American growth initiative to seek out park acquisitions that expand our addressable market,” said Six Flags chairman, CEO and president Jim Reid-Anderson.
“These are all fantastic properties that complement our existing portfolio and provide tremendous added value and cross-visitation opportunities for our extensive Membership and Season Pass base.”
The parks joining the Six Flags family are:
Darien Lake near Buffalo, NY, a “beautiful resort property located on approximately 1,000 acres that includes a theme park, waterpark, campground, hotel, and a 21,000-seat amphitheater.”
Frontier City, “an iconic part of the Oklahoma City landscape, is steeped in tradition. The park features a western theme and offers an extensive lineup of exciting rides, attractions, and shows geared to every member of the family.”
Don’t miss our Frontier City edition of Small Park Showcase from April!
Wet n’ Wild Splashtown, “Houston’s largest waterpark, with more than 48 lush acres and a wide selection of thrilling waterslides and attractions, along with two children’s areas.”
Wet n’ Wild Phoenix, “the largest waterpark in Arizona (located in the Adobe Dam Recreation Area), featuring 35 acres of high-speed slides and two pools, and also offering a Wet n’ Wild Jr. section with kid-friendly versions of some of the park’s most thrilling attractions.”
Six Flags is the largest regional theme park operator in the world and upon closing of the transactions, will be the largest waterpark operator in North America.
With the addition of these five properties that entertained approximately two million guests in 2017, an additional 20 million guests will live within a 100-mile radius of a Six Flags park, significantly expanding the company’s national footprint.
“We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding properties and employees into our family of parks and look forward to sharing the thrill of Six Flags with guests of all ages in these key markets,” added Reid-Anderson.
Closing of the transactions contemplated by the agreement is expected to occur in June, 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
What do you think about these new additions to the Six Flags family? Are there other parks that you think are worthy of the Six Flags brand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Frontier City is not worthy of Six Flags. Six Flags is not worthy of Frontier City. Darien Lake, go right ahead Six Flags
@Harrison – lol I can agree with that.
Kinda cool to see the industry doing well enough for expansion like this. Even tho it’s more of a low risk partnership.
I am hoping that Darien Lake will transition to two (2) train operation on their roller coasters. Single train operation is not feasible for a six flags park. Darien Lake is my home park but I extremely dissatisfied with very low capacity on their coasters. Please address this Six Flags.
Coaster Enthusiast
M. Pettibone
With Darien Lake coming back in the Six Flags portfolio, that could have the rumor-mill fired up about their Predator wood coaster getting RMC I-Box conversion. Granted, it’d probably be a couple of years before that happens, depending on what management has planned. There’s been rumors and rumblings of a couple other Six Flags wood coasters being candidates for RMC conversions, like SFSL’s The Boss, La Ronde’s Le Monstre, and SFA’s Roar. 2019 and 2020 seasons are wait and see.