|
Corporate Park News
---- THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS ----
(7/25/2024) What to Expect From the Six Flags Merger Going Forward
(7/13/2024) Disney May Be Preparing To Announce Several Large Theme Park Projects
(7/7/2024) The New Six Flags Really Should Retire The One Pass To Rule Them All Concept
(7/3/2024) SeaWorld Parks Are Bringing Back Ultimate Shark Experiences for a Limited Time
(7/3/2024) Coca-Cola and Merlin Entertainment Team Up For Exciting New Recycling Promotion
(7/2/2024) Corporate Changes Made at Palace Entertainment
(7/2/2024) Disney Makes Amusing Slip-Up With New Toy Packaging
 Cedar Fair - (6/29/2024) Just to reconfirm the status of things, the Cedar Fair and Six Flags merger will close on Monday, July 1st, 2024. All stock trading for the combined chain, which will be renamed as the Six Flags Entertainment Corporate, will begin on July 2nd under the former Cedar Fair stock symbol, “FUN”. It should come as no surprise that FUN’s stock price soared to $54.35 at the close of the market on Friday, reaching a 52-week high just prior to the merger. Six Flags old stock ticker, SIX, ended the week also at a 52-week high of $33.14 per share.
The chains have confirmed that they have successfully completed the review process with the Department of Justice ahead of the merger, and that there no major changes to be required of them in terms of merging the individual park properties. So in other words, there are no requirements that the combined chain must sell-off any individual park in order to keep the marketplace competitive. As I mentioned previously, there are very few places where the combined chain overlapped in a way that might cause a problem. To some, California was thought to be a possible problem spot, as the chain would then own both Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm in the Los Angeles area, as well as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and California’s Great America in the Bay Area. Between Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and Legoland all operating within Southern California as well, there was not felt to be an issue there. Fans also wondered how they would fare in Texas where the combined company would now put the state’s largest theme parks and water parks all under one owner, but this ended up not being an issue either.
I’m very curious to see how things move forward, as previously announced, the vast number of upper management that will oversee the company, including the President and CEO, will consist of Cedar Fair’s existing management team. This may also bode well for some interesting future growth opportunities for select Six Flags properties, as Cedar Fair has not shied away from having their own resort hotel properties in locations where it would serve them well. This has always been something that Six Flags has, for the most part, stayed away from.
(6/21/2024) An official notification from Six Flags and Cedar Fair note that the merger is expected to be finalized on July 1st, 2024. They also went on to announce the names of the combined leadership team that will be moving the mega-corp into the future. As previously announced Cedar Fair’s Richard Zimmerman will serve as President & CEO of the new Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Stock: FUN) and Six Flags’ Selim Bassoul will become the Executive Chairman of the combined Board of Directors.
The Leadership team will be made from the following combination:
Tim Fisher, Chief Operating Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Brian Witherow, Chief Financial Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Brian Nurse, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Christian Dieckmann, Chief Strategy Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Gary Mick, Chief Integration Officer (currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Six Flags)
(5/12/2024) Cedar Fair posted their Q1 2024 earnings report this week, along with future merger partner, Six Flags. Overall, Cedar Fair’s performance numbers do paint a better picture, claiming a 20% revenue increase ($102 million) compared to the same time period in 2023, which actually exceeded analyst predictions. Attendance was up 27% in Q1 2024, along with reported higher sales of season passes. The net loss figure was just slightly improved from the previous year’s sum at $133 million from $135 million, however guest per-cap spending also saw a 6% decrease. This was attributed to a strategic plan to reduce the price of some of the park’s season passes in order to increase pass sales that is hoped to result in higher visitation leading to increased guest spending later on in the year. Cedar Fair also reported a 21% increase in “Out-of-Park Revenues” from their resort hotel properties, which benefited from an extra week in the Q1 2024 reporting period and the completion of renovations at the Knott’s Hotel in California.
The market seems to take this report well ahead of the planned merger with Six Flags, as Cedar Fair’s stock price (FUN) has climbed from trading at just above $40 a unit at the start of that week to a current price of $45 per unit.
(4/10/2024) Cedar Fair has announced that they will released their Q1 2024 earning report on the morning of May 9, 2024. This will be followed by the usual earnings conference call where management presents the data and answers select questions from media outlets starting at 10am. You can listen in through the investor website, under the Events & Presentations / Upcoming Events tab.
(2/16/2024) Cedar Fair’s year-end earnings report confirmed that the theme park chain overall saw attendance and revenue decline in 2023, despite strong results reported throughout the second half of the year. Revenue dropped to $1.8 Billion from $1.82 billion from the year before, along with a small decline in attendance from 26.9 million in 2022 to 26.7 million in 2023.
Some additional operating costs were reported as the chain prepares to merge with Six Flags, a deal that they believe will be completed by the end of June 2024 as they work to report everything they need to with the DOJ in order to move forward.
(1/25/2024) While the “Knott’s Berry Farm” brand is a well known staple of California culture, for the rest of the nation it was likely a brand you may have seen more frequently in the grocery store aisles. Going way way back to 1995 the Knott’s family signed a deal with ConAgra foods to use the Knott’s Berry Farm brand name on various food items to be sold on store shelves. ConAgra later resold the rights to use the brand name to Smuckers in 2008.
However, if you happen to catch sight of any Knott’s Berry Farm cookies, jams or jellies at your local store, know that these are probably the last. Smuckers has announced that they are no longer producing any Knott’s Berry Farm branded items.
Digging a little deeper however, this does not mean full use of the brand reverts back to the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park, Cedar Fair or even the Knott family. According to the trademark database, Smuckers did just successfully renew their rights to keep using the Knott’s brand in December 2023 for another 10 years.
(1/19/2024) Cedar Fair will announced their Q4 2023 / Full Year 2023 results release and follow up earnings call to take place on Feb. 15, 2024. You can listen in on the official Cedar Fair corporate site link as usual.
This should be an interesting one as well, with the merger with Six Flags moving forward, this could be the last official Cedar Fair earnings call, but it is also sure to be full of questions and comments about the pending merger.
(12/30/2023) According to Seeking Alpha, Six Flags and Cedar Fair briefly pulled their merger documents on Wednesday with the government to refile them on Thursday under the HSR Act, which has extended the “waiting period” to Jan. 22, 2024.
According to the FTC, filing under the HSR Act (also known as the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976) has the companies file their premerger notifications with both the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department and “establishes waiting periods that must elapse before such acquisitions may be consummated and authorizes the enforcement agencies to stay those periods until the companies provide certain additional information about the likelihood that the proposed transaction would substantially lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.“
For those wonder, both Cedar Fair (FUN) and Six Flags (SIX) have seen their individual stock prices rise since the rumor that the two were planning a merger emerged at the start of November, and then confirmed on November 2nd. FUN has since seen their stock price rise from trading at $35.50 on October 31st to $39.80 currently, and SIX has jumped from $19.90 to $25.08 currently over the same time period.
(12/21/2023) While I doubt this will do anything to derail the merger between Six Flags and Cedar Fair, it seems one of Cedar Fair’s larger investors has now filed a complaint in protest. According to the post on Reuters, Neuberger Berman has filed a complaint that the merger deal was structured on purpose in such a way that Cedar Fair’s unitholders do not get to vote for or against the deal, while Six Flags’s stockholders do get to vote.
(12/13/2023) Some staffing changes have taken place within the Cedar Fair corporate office this week to prepare the company for the future merger with Six Flags. According to the official report from Cedar Fair:
Robert White was promoted from Senior VP of Business Intelligence to Chief Commercial Officer
Christian Dieckmann was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer
Meanwhile Kelley S. Ford will be transitioning out of her position as Exec. VP and Chief Marketing Officer. Ford will remain with the company in a non-executive role through to March 29, 2024.
(11/9/2023) Amid the fuss over the announced merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags, Cedar Fair did manage to release their Q3 2023 earnings report last week. The highlights mention attendance for the quarter was 12.4 million, which was a 1% increase compared to Q3 2022. In park PerCap spending was $61.65, down 2% from Q3 2022, but out-of-park revenue was up 2% to $99 million when compared to the same quarter the year prior. Net income was $215 million, down $118 million from Q3 2022, however it seems this is mostly to blame on a $155 million gain that happened in 2022 when Cedar Fair sold off the land for California’s Great America.
(11/7/2023) For all the details that we know about the Cedar Fair / Six Flags merger, please jump over to Blooloop to read my official report there. In addition to the facts, it includes some of my own analysis about the setup of the merger, and what it could mean for the parks in select markets.
(11/4/2023) The theme park industry was rocked to the core this past week when on November 1st it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that Six Flags and Cedar Fair were in talks to potentially merge into a behemoth theme park chain. By the following morning the two companies had confirmed that not only had they been in talks, but both of their groups had worked out all the terms of the deal and unanimously voted in favor of the merger. All that is left to make it official is to get regulatory approval as well as approval from the Six Flags stockholders. They did note that Six Flags biggest stockholder who holds over 13% of that chain had already submitted a letter confirming that they would vote in support of the merger.
So except for the crossing of the “t”s and the dotting of the “i”s, this is essentially a done deal at this point. The new company will work under the “Six Flags” brand name, however the stock will trade under Cedar Fair’s “FUN” stock ticker code. Combining Cedar Fair’s 15 park gates with Six Flags’ 27 park gates will give the new combined “Six Flags” company a grand total of 42 park gates, along with 9 resort properties located across the US, Canada and Mexico. (See the Property Map)
Sitting down and doing my own research on the reach of each company, I was surprised to see that there was actually very little conflict in the merger of the two’s various markets, with the worst being the super competitive Southern California market. In So Cal they will have the thrill ride capital Six Flags Magic Mountain and family favorite Knott’s Berry Farm located just 60 miles apart, but the two attractions also are popular with some very different demographics and feature very different attraction lineups.
Like the old ads used to say, “Go Big! Go Six Flags”!
So will they rename all the parks under the Six Flags banner or will we see many of Cedar Fair parks retain their individual brands, some of which are just as old and well known as the Six Flags brand. Then there is the Knott’s brand that could be considered an IP of its very own that could also be applied to perhaps rebrand a few select properties that may be getting lost in the shuffle. And what about those smaller underperforming parks? Could we see a few closures or sell-offs? In general… what could the future hold as these two giants merge and will there be bigger conflicts?
Probably a few, and I’ve got some big ideas about where some of the first bumps in the road may occur, but I’ll discuss that along with a full breakdown of the deal in my next update, coming very very soon.
Disney - (7/13/2024) Disney fans are preparing themselves for what may be a series of epic Disney theme park announcements to take place during a massive presentation at this year’s D23 event, with the presentation in particular set for the evening of August 10th. Lots of rumors are starting to leak about possible new land announcements and new attractions, and not just from the US parks, but things that may be in development for Disney parks across the globe.
So stay tuned… as typical with Disney fandom, the rumors are almost always wilder than what really gets announced, so don’t believe everything you hear online between now and then. But Disney has been known to occasionally keep some big surprises under wraps as well. The other thing to keep in mind is that anything announced here will likely not have a solid time-table attached to it. More often than not, when Disney has been making these kind of announcements for major projects, these are often things that may not see the light of day for 5 to 8 years. For example, you may recall how they announced Pandora: The World of Avatar was coming to Animal Kingdom only days after they signed the deal with James Cameron, and long before they had even begun any real design work. So sometimes these announcements are just sort of “Blue Sky” dreams… sort of like what we’ve seen so far about what they “could do” with Animal Kingdom’s current Dinoland USA area. Speaking of which though, I’m hoping they are ready to solidify those plans a little more, now that the work in Epcot seems to be done and they are ready to focus their efforts elsewhere in WDW.
(7/2/2024) It’s always interesting to see proof when a company has gotten so big that they start to make some crazy slip-ups when it comes to their products. Today we’re looking at a Disney goof, and no, this is not a story about those discussing the decline of the MCU nor anything happening in the theme park division.
Instead an amusing slip-up has taken place within the realm of Disney toy products. According to the post at WDWNT, a “Toy Story” inspired clothing pack for the “ily 4EVER” doll, has mistakenly featured Universal’s “Mel’s Drive-In” in the background of a promotional photo of the doll wearing the outfit featured on the backside of the package. While “Mel’s Drive-In” is a featured building at the Universal Studios theme parks in Florida and Hollywood, those itself are inspired by the Mel’s Drive-In location used in the filming of Universal’s 1973 film, American Graffiti, directed by none-other than George Lucas before Star Wars.
(5/11/2024) The Walt Disney Company posted their Q2 2024 / 6-Months earning report this week, for the time period ending March 30, 2024. Focusing on just the company's parks & experiences results, they reported a 10% increase in revenue for the latest quarter, compared to the same time period in 2023, with the biggest increase coming from the International parks division that saw a 29% increase in revenue compared to Domestic parks that only saw a 7% increase.
Higher results for the quarter domestically were attributed to increase guest spending at Walt Disney World due to higher ticket prices, as well as growth from the Disney Cruise Line, also due to “an increase in average ticket prices”. However, the Disneyland Resort saw less growth due to higher operational costs driven by inflation, and increases in guest spending (due to higher ticket costs once again) were also offset by hotels with “lower occupied room nights.”
On the international front, the company saw huge growth in guest spending from rising ticket, food, and merchandise pricing, as well as increased attendance at the parks, as well as high occupancy rates at the hotels, all of which was aided by the opening of the new World of Frozen land in November 2023.
So with all this in mind, the sudden launch of a discounted ticket offer at the Disneyland Resort parks now makes a lot more sense, though it’s clear that they have opted to keep the reservation system in place to help keep things in check somewhat.
(2/10/2024) With the deal now officially in the works between Disney and Epic Games that seems poised to create an online Disney Metaverse, the OC Register poses an interesting question of their own. With Disney moving into the world of Fortnite, how long until the characters, events and world of Fortnite begins to emerge into the Disney theme parks as well?
(2/9/2024) Disney shocked the world this week when they announced that they were spending $1.5 Billion to purchase an ‘equity stake’ in Epic Games, the creators of the smash hit video game world, Fortnite. While the final intentions of this deal were left a little vague, I think Polygon has put together rather nicely an example of what we will likely see unfold from the collaboration.
In short… a MetaVerse… which has become an awful buzz-word over the past year or two to the point where it has kind of lost any true meaning. In the hands of Epic Games and Disney together however, this could become something very real and very cool to witness, with unlimited possibilities of just what they could achieve. This could go beyond simple video game / multi-media cross promotion, and into the realm of creating a virtual multi-verse to play in, based on all of the Disney empire’s vast vault of IPs.
(2/8/2024) According to comments made by Disney CEO, Bob Iger, the company is now planning to invest $60 Billion into their experiences, theme parks and cruise line businesses over the next decade, with about 70% of that sum slated towards projects that will go towards growth and increased capacity options across all of their locations, as well as the already planned addition of three new ships to the Disney Cruise Line: Disney Treasure, Disney Adventure and the final Triton class vessel that has yet to be named.
(1/20/2024) While not quite theme park news, the Director of Disney’s new TRON 3 film confirmed on social media that filming has now started. For Disney theme park fans hoping for more Tron themed attractions to arrive, or at least bring a Tron Lightcycle/Run style coaster to California, this is a positive sign that Disney is still investing in the IP.
(12/2/2023) After countless extensions, as well as leaving and coming back, it may be hard to believe this date will hold, but Disney CEO, Bob Iger, has confirmed that he will retire once again at the end of 2026. According to an interview with the New York Times, Iger says he will definitely be leaving at the end of his current contract.
A major part of this, and one of the main reasons he returned in the first place in 2022, was to select a true successor to lead The Walt Disney Company in his wake. Of course, the last time this all went down was when Iger and the company selected Bob Chapek to lead the company, and that didn’t go well.
(12/1/2023) In an interesting session, CNBC reports that Disney’s Bob Iger “acknowledged his company has focused too much on movie messaging and not enough on quality storytelling” in their latest projects. I really hate to say it, but obviously this seems to be their answer to those who have criticized the company in the past few years for being “too woke”.
Now I’m not going to dig into that mosh-pit of a hole since these days, people on either side of the issue can’t seem to help but make snipe-comments at each other online, so we’re just not going to go there.
Sticking to the facts, Bob Iger apparently said that that he will no longer tolerate Disney partners and creative teams in prioritizing messaging over storytelling. According to Iger, “Creators lost sight of what their No. 1 objective needed to be” and that “We have to entertain frist. It’s not about messages.”
Iger has also put measures in place to cut back the number of productions in 2024 and beyond in order to focus more on the quality of the fewer projects that are moving forward. This does make sense as the performance of a number of Disney productions has been rather lackluster throughout 2023, other than the box office for Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Personally, I’m usually a Disney fan, but a bigger Star Wars and Marvel fan, and while those two lines have been ok in my opinion, I do think Disney’s animation production arm has been a bit bland as of late. The new animated film “Wish” is a perfect example, as a product that didn’t even inspire me to bother seeing it in the theaters. Instead I’ve been more likely to just wait it out and watch them on Disney+ instead, which is probably very telling of the issue.
(11/12/2023) The Walt Disney Company has released their Q4 2023 and Full Year results report. While the stock has been somewhat hammered by investors over the year, the company has confirmed that the Parks and Experiences division has achieved double-digit growth not only for Q4, but for the entire year. Regardless of how the rest of the company’s divisions are going, the theme park division saw income rise 31% in Q4 compared to the same time-frame last year, and up 23% for the entire year over the previous year’s performance.
While there are still ongoing issues with the performance of the company’s film, streaming and ESPN divisions, Iger announced that moving forward they are moving away from the cost savings focus they’ve had since the pandemic, and will be pushing more into a period of growth for the company. This will include a focus on “achieving significant and sustained profitability” to their streaming platforms, building up ESPN, improving both the quality and costs involved with their studio projects and “Turbocharging growth in our Experiences business”.
In terms of the company’s theme parks, we know the best way to grow is typically through the addition of significant capital expansion projects. Since Iger has returned to the helm at Disney, he has been teasing a plan to spend upwards of $60 BILLION (yes, with a B) on their Parks and Experiences division over the next decade. We already know that new ships are already in the works for the Disney Cruise Line that will launch over the next three years. Disney has already begun to heavily in the parks over the past several years. This has resulted in large-scale expansions to most of their parks, with more expected to open within the next year or so. This has included two Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, a Frozen themed land in Hong Kong with a second under construction in Paris, the Pandora themed world in Florida, Avengers Campus additions in California, Hong Kong and Paris, a Zootopia land opening soon in Shanghai along with major new stand-alone attractions such as Tron: Lightcycle/Run (WDW), two Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attractions (WDW & DL), Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (WDW), and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (WDW).
It should be interesting to see how an even bigger focus on growth at the theme parks would take form, and if this could possibly result in the long-anticipated addition of a 5th major theme park for Walt Disney World that could serve as the biggest way to grow attendance.
(10/29/2023) According to a Disney Executive in charge of Disney’s live entertainment, parades and nighttime spectaculars, “Drones are the next thing” we should expect to see coming to the Disney park’s after dark shows. During a panel discussion about the new season of “Behind the Attractions” coming to Disney+ next week, Steven Davidson mentioned Drones, saying “They’re kind of a new thing. We’re doing a lot of work in that. So all I’m going to say is, ‘There’s more to come.’”
Thus far Disney has already produced a couple of night shows at the Disneyland Paris theme parks that features drones lighting up the night sky in 2022 and 2023. As far as the US parks show, I believe the only times drones have been used was during an early limited time holiday show put on in Florida at Disney Springs in 2016.
If I had to guess, I’d say we could probably expect to see them arrive at Disneyland first, where the locals who live around the park have been known to complain about the noise and debris leftover from that park’s fireworks shows, and adding Drones to the sky there would appease some of those complaints, especially at a time when the company is looking to win local approval to expand those park and parking infrastructure for the forseeable future. Florida’s more tricky and eletrical-prone weather issues might make Drone performances more of a seasonal thing.
(10/1/2023) It seems Disney filed for a few unique patents over the past week, some theme park related and some not, though in the midsts of this list, which included a a patent to program 2-legged walking animatronics to have stylized walking gaits, there was an interesting one for a new ride concept.
Or rather, a new feature that could be used with various ride concepts. The idea was to create a method of transferring a ride passenger compartment or vehicle between different ride tracks or systems through the use “robotic tool changers”. In the concept art one of these appears to be a large KUKA style robotic arm able to lift a pair of seats from one rotating platform and place it onto a track system.
The idea is interesting, though this is just for a patent and as such, we may never actually see it put to use anywhere. Still, the idea would be great for an attraction as a way to break riders away from the concept of thinking they know the path a ride will take, only to be grabbed and placed upon a new unknown path.
(9/20/2023) Disney has announced that they plan on spending about $60 billion on their theme parks and experiences over the next decade. According to a statement from Bob Iger (CEO), “We’re incredibly mindful of the financial underpinning of the company, the need to continue to grow in terms of bottom line, the need to invest wisely so that we’re increasing the returns on invested capital, and the need to maintain a balance sheet, for a variety of reasons.” “The company is able to absorb those costs and continue to grow the bottom line and look expansively at how we return value and capital to our shareholders.”
The impressive $60 billion figure is said to be about twice the amount that Disney spent over the previous decade. Keep in mind that this sum will be spread out amongst several different parks and resorts, across different continents. While we don’t know exactly how it will be allocated, a previous comment made by Iger back in May mentioned that they planned to spend about $17 billion alone on the Walt Disney World resort over the next decade.
Josh D’Amaro (Chairman of Disney’s Parks) also commented on that Disney had “a bold vision for the future of our parks” and that there were plans to add more characters and franchises to them, many of which have only just begun to be tapped, and some have not yet been explored in the parks at all. For current examples of bringing new franchises into the parks they made note of the new Frozen and Zootopia themed lands preparing to open. As for things yet to be explored, he made specific mention of animated film Coco and the Marvel themed world of Wakanda as seen in the Black Panthers films.
(8/10/2023) Disney released their latest quarterly report (Q3 2023) which is somewhat of a mixed bag. The bottom line is Disney is struggling a bit in various areas but despite it all, overall revenue saw 4% growth.
On the down side of thing is the studio division that lacked the number of huge hits they normally are known for this quarter. Streaming may still be trying to find a foothold, as Disney confirmed they are planning on increasing prices for Disney+ and Hulu very soon. Revenue for the traditional TV network biz also saw a 7% decline, which caused Iger to suggest that perhaps they might shed them in the future.
On the Theme Park Resorts and Cruises side of things, the company did show increased profits… a 13% increase all together, though they did confirm that attendance at Walt Disney World is down this year, but has been offset by attendance boosts in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The one really weird thing that was announced was that Disney has licensed out the ESPN brand to Penn Entertainment for $1.5 billion for Penn to rebrand an existing online sports betting service into “ESPN Bet”. To date, this would be Disney’s first venture into gambling of any kind, as even the Disney Cruise Line vessels do not feature a casino like other cruise ships do. Now, Disney isn’t going to own the online betting venture in any way, but they are willing to put one of their brands on the cover for the first time. This makes me wonder if ESPN itself may be something Disney could be willing to shed in the future, if the price offered was right, and perhaps why they are now willing to license out the brand right now.
(2/12/2023) Bob Iger made some interesting comments the other day about the future of the Disney theme parks. For starters, it sounds like Iger is good with the current idea of keeping the Disney parks at reduced capacity in exchange for increasing the overall park experience by preventing the overcrowding issues that would come with removing the reservation system. At the same time, Iger also mentioned not wanting to continue the previous strategy of ever increasing ticket prices as a method of trimming attendance levels.
So how will Disney increase theme park profits if they don’t open the gates wide to increase attendance and aren’t planning on major price increases at this time? Really the only way would be to increase the capacity limits of the parks themselves by expanding them with not only new attractions, but new lands. By increasing the physical footprint of the park for guests, they will be able to then increase attendance levels without causing the guest experience to suffer. The addition of the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios parks as well as the Pandora: The World of AVATAR land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park were sited as key examples. So it should be interesting to see just what grand plans Disney has in mind in order to expand their theme parks further. Of course, at some point, perhaps the idea of adding entirety new theme parks may also enter the conversation.
Five Star Parks & Attractions - (5/26/2023) Five Star Parks & Attractions is growing again. According to this update the company who is one of the nation’s leading operators of family entertainment centers has now purchased two “Fun Land” locations in Virginia (Fredericksburg & Fairfax) following the purchase of Scene75 Entertainment earlier this month. With the addition of the two Fun Land properties, Five Star Parks & Attractions portfolio has grown to feature 27 different attractions across 13 different states. Other highlight attractions from Five Star includes Malibu Jack’s, Celebration Station, LaserPort, SpeedZone, The Track, Xtreme Racing centers and more.
Herschend Family Entertainment - (12/18/2023) In an interesting development, the local news reports that Dolly Parton and her partners at Herschend Family Entertainment has purchased a piece of property in downtown Nashville, TN. Unfortunately all the details about what is planned for the site are being kept under wraps, though one article has confirmed that the property in question is actually an 11-story office tower, located at 211 Commerce Street, purchased for $75 million.
This isn’t an empty building either, as the office space is home to various tenants who have leased space in the building and is located half a block away from busy tourist destinations like Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, Jason Albean’s Kitchen and Kid Rock’s Rock & Roll Steakhouse. Given the eclectic nature of how this area of Nashville has been developed, there really is no telling if Dolly and company are planning to use the building as a future office for their own projects, or as some kind of attraction.
This also wouldn’t be the first time that Dolly and Herschend have tried to get an attraction in the Nashville area. Long time readers may remember when Dolly announced a plan to build a combo water and snow park attraction attached to the Gaylord Opryland Resort about ten years ago. That project fell apart when Gaylord agreed to sell off their hotel properties and management to Marriott International just months after the project with Dolly was announced, resulting in Dolly and her team pulling out. Dolly has always seemed to want to expand her presence into an attraction of some kind in the Nashville area, so perhaps the purchase of the office building is simply a way to get a firm foothold in the area ahead of some other kind of project endeavor.
Meow Wolf - (5/4/2024) According to the OC Register, Meow Wolf is now planning to open another permanent location, this time in Los Angeles. According to the article the new location is expected to open in 2026 and take over a space previously used as a movie theater.
(7/4/2023) The latest Meow Wolf location is set to open in Grapevine, Texas on July 14th. Each location has a unique name and theme, with the Grapevine location being called, “The Real Unreal”. Follow the link for some sneak preview photos of this latest location.
Merlin Entertainment - (7/3/2024) Coca-Cola and Merlin Entertainment have teamed up to create a unique and interesting incentive for guests to actively recycle within the parks. This is done through a sort of “reverse vending machine” you can find in select Merlin attractions in the UK. The limited time test promotion has set up 28 machines within the park where guests can recycle their plastic drink bottles, with the chance of winning a unique “VIP” experience for your efforts.
You can read more details about the program by following the link to the Blooloop article, but I really like this concept. No one likes walking around a theme park full of dirty trash because your fellow guests may be too lazy to dispose of their waste properly. But adding some kind of incentive to the idea of recycling within the park is a great idea that I think could find its way to other attractions around the world. Imagine if Walt Disney World were to add these to their parks and you had the chance to essentially win something that the parks could provide at no cost, like a Lightning Lane pass for example. I could certainly see something like that being very effective at promoting more recycling.
(3/29/2024) I’m really not a fan of the concept myself, but LEGOLAND California has announced that they pant to bring “surge pricing” to the park’s ticket sales in the near future. Surge Pricing, also known as Dynamic Pricing, is something you are likely familiar with when it comes to buying tickets for Airlines, or booking a hotel room for the night. The more crowded or popular a date has become, or based on how popular a date is expected to become, the price will go up. For example, if you are visiting Legoland on a weekend your tickets will likely cost you more than if you had visited on a weekday. Planning a visit on a busy holiday, or on a day where extra crowds are expected due to a special seasonal event taking place, then you can expect to pay an even higher premium for those theme park tickets.
Of course, in theory, the practice could benefit some guests, by lowering ticket prices on days when the park is expecting to have very low attendance. But as i said… that’s part of the theory, much like booking a hotel room, pricing rarely goes below a certain minimum level, regardless of how dead the park is expected to be on any given day. For example, we’ve seen how often parks will simply just opt to close down entirely on days when bad weather is expected.
The switch over to surge pricing is something that is expected to come into play at various Merlin Entertainment attractions and theme parks around the world (SeaLife Aquariums, Madame Tussauds wax museums, LEGO Discovery Centers, Peppa Pig Theme Park, etc…), and not just at Legoland California.
(5/20/2023) Along with the opening of the new World of Jumanji themed land at Chessington in the UK and a pair of Jumanji attractions at Gardaland in Italy, Merlin Entertainment has reveals that they are working with Sony on plans to build more attractions, ride and lands based on Sony-owned IP. Apparently this is not just limited to Sony’s film vault, as they are also looking into ideas that could be based on Sony’s music, TV, anime and video-game franchises as well.
The opening of Universal’s Nintendo video game themed land and attractions in Japan and Hollywood is something of a wake-up call, along with PortAventura in Spain preparing to open a new dark/coaster attraction themed around the Sony Playstation’s popular Uncharted game series which spawned a film adaptation last year.
Of course this isn’t the first time Merlin and Sony have worked together, as you may recall that Heide Park in Germany opened an amazing looking Ghostbusters dark ride in 2017, and with the GhostBusters IP revived by the latest film, it would only be fitting if more attractions based on this IP were in development.
Palace Entertainment - (7/2/2024) A new change is coming at Palace Entertainment, as the theme park chain sent out a press release stating that the company has appointed John Reilly as CEO. John Reilly has been serving as the COO for Palace Entertainment since 2019 and is also a member of the Executive Committee of parent company, Paques Reunidos. John will continue to retain his role and duties as the COO in addition to serving as the new CEO. Prior to joining Palace Entertainment, he worked in various roles within the SeaWorld Entertainment chain of parks for 21 years.
Palace Entertainment has also announced two more promotions from within:
Anil Rao has been promoted to Senior VP of Business Development and Park Support
Mark Pauls has now become VP of Operations over properties in the US and Australia.
(7/9/2023) Shortly after Kennywood announced that the park would be closed on Tuesdays for the rest of the summer, we had heard this wasn’t just an issue with Kennywood, but an issue we would also soon see happen at other Palace Entertainment parks very soon. Looking at the posted operational schedules for other parks in the system, that time has now come.
Adventureland will begin closing on Tuesdays for the rest of the summer starting on July 18, and closed on all weekdays starting Aug. 21st.
Dutch Wonderland will be closed on Tuesdays for the rest of the summer starting July 11, with the exception of July 18, when the park will be closed on Wednesday, July 19th instead.
Idlewild & Soakzone will be closed on Wednesdays for the rest of the summer starting on July 12.
Lake Compounce will be closed one weekday a week for the rest of the summer starting this week, but the day will change from week to week. It will start with Wednesday July 12, then Tuesday July 18, then Monday July 24, go back to Tuesday Aug 1st, Wed. Aug 9th, then back to Tuesday Aug 15, before going to weekend only operations.
Sandcastle is now closed on Mondays for the rest of the Summer season.
Splish Splash is now closed on Tuesdays for the rest of July.
Storyland is now closed on Tuesdays for the rest of the Summer season.
Water Country is now closed on Mondays for the rest of the Summer season.
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe will be closed on Mondays for the rest of the season.
So far it looks like the California properties (Raging Waters & Castle Park) have been unaffected, but just to be sure, check your local attraction’s posted schedule before planning a trip to visit.
Puy du Fou - (6/1/2024) Triotech is celebrating the official launch of the Puy du Fou’s new “SAGA City of Light” attraction in Shanghai, China. The new immersive attraction officially opened on May 28th and takes guests back to experience what 1930’s Shanghai was like, within a 40,000 square-meter themed complex. The experience is said to take about 2-hours and offers 26 different possible routes that can be taken through the attraction, which can alter your experience each time you visit.
(1/16/2024) The trailer for Pud du Foy’s new “Saga City of Light” attraction experience can be found below, which will take guests back to 1930’s Shanghai. I’m not quite sure what to make of it based on the trailer, but it sure looks like something very unique.
(3/27/23) According to a Chinese news article, Hangzhouj (capital of China’s Zhejiang province) signed several contracts with various tourism projects. One of which was a 5 billion yuan investment contract with Puy du Fou that will include the construction of “a new riverside theme park in the city.” The government had been previously dropping hints about signing a deal to build a “world-class tourism park” and this was it.
Puy du Fou has already launched a teaser website for this latest park project.
(1/12/2023) Puy du Fou continues to expand their portfolio of unique attraction experiences. the theme parks. In addition to two theme park experiences in Europe (France and Spain) the group is also working on stand-alone concepts in China and America, and now they’re looking to bring their unique entertainment style to the rails of Europe with the creation of “Le Grand Tour”.
Puy du Fou’s “Le Grand Tour” experience will take travelers on a “6-day, 5-night Grand Tour journey across the railways of France starting in Summer 2023. From start to finish guests will travel about 4,000 km (2485.5 miles) in an authentic “Belle Epoque” train to experience a journey filled with history, wonder, legends and a few surprises along the way.
(5/17/22) I hadn’t seen this before, but a tweet from Blooloop shares a look at concept art for the the “407: Gateway to Adventure” project, otherwise known as the gateway exit to Pigeon Forge where Puy du Fou is supposed to build a new stand-alone immersive attraction that will feature an authentic Cherokee story of the First World War. The artwork shows off a large building on the right with a rocky facade out front along with a large statue of what we assume to be a Cherokee soldier holding the American flag. According to the description, this and the surrounding complex of buildings will represent just phase 1 of the project.
(5/7/22) According to a local news report the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has “inked a deal” with Puy du Fou to develop a “spectacular immersive show” to be installed as part of their 200-acre development project on I-40’s exit 407. This matches up with a previous report that Puy du Fou was looking at this location amongst others in Tennessee for a future project.
(This is also the same overall project area that will include the world’s largest Buc-ee’s location.)
According to the report the tribal council that approved $75 million to move forward with Phase 1 of the site development as they seek out other world-class attractions that will appeal to the anticipated crowds (6.7 million visitors in the first year after phase 1 is complete). While the timeline is still fluid, they are hoping that this will all be ready before the end of 2024.
The creative team at Puy du Fou has been able to create fascinating attractions and shows based on actual historic events and timelines and according to a statement from the Tribal Council, “We are excited to take the first steps towards developing this world-class attraction that will help support our nation economically while creating a new platform to share dimensions of Cherokee history many have never heard.”
The early description of the Tennessee site is not going to be as massive as the full Puy du Fou theme park in France, Instead Puy du Fou will create an “immersive walk-through show inspired by the journeys of Cherokee Indians who served in World War I” that should be a “patriotic and moving journey for the entire family.”
As North America is considered “the new world” in terms of the overall history of the planet, the location is also rich with a variety of historic events and cultures that would serve as an excellent landing point for the Puy du Fou team who is rumored to be looking to expand into new locations across the world.
 Six Flags - (7/25/2024) A few weeks into the new deal, I took a long look at just what we should expect now that the Six Flags and Cedar Fair merger is complete. This includes a look at where the two companies fall in line with each other, how different they have been in regards to various policies and procedures, the changes that are already taking effect and much more. This includes the immediate dropping of a very non guest friendly policy that many Six Flags visitors have been angered by this year. Follow the link over to Blooloop to read my latest assessment.
(7/7/2024) Robert Niles at Theme Park Insider posted a new article on July 6th saying that the newly combined Six Flags Entertainment Corporation should refrain from giving the fans the one big thing they are asking for. Beyond anything else, the fans are hoping for the new mega-chain to offer a single master pass that would be good for admission to every park in the chain next year… and to do it at a reasonable price.
I mean sure, as a theme park fan, this sounds great on the surface, but after some serious thought on the matter, I have to agree with Robert Niles… this would be a horrible idea. The concept of having “one pass to rule them all” stems from a long time Six Flags tradition that goes way back to the 1980s where the purchase of a “Season Pass” to your local Six Flags park also shockingly included admission to the other Six Flags theme parks.
It was a great marketing idea at the time and aided in boosting season pass sales in the 80’s and 90’s, but the fact to remember is that there were significantly less Six Flags parks back then. Beyond the original three Six Flags parks built by the founders (over Texas, over Georgia and over Mid-America, now known as SF St. Louis) the chain acquired their other parks one at a time, such as Astroworld in Houston in 1975, Great Adventure in 1977, Magic Mountain in 1979 and finally Great America in 1984. The next park (Fiesta Texas) wasn’t add until the late 90s, so prior to that, your benefit of visiting all the Six Flags parks with a season pass only consisted of 7 parks which were significantly spread out across the US. The only exception was Six Flags over Texas in the Dallas, Texas area and Astroworld sitting a four-hour drive away in Houston.
In essence… for the time it was created, the idea of offering free admission to all the Six Flags parks for free with a season pass was something of a sham… they didn’t expect hardly anyone to take advantage of it, so any losses would be minimal. You also have to remember during this same time period Six Flags was essentially giving away admission to their parks. It wasn’t hard to find coupons and discounts to get into your local Six Flags park in the ‘80s for as low as $13, and once you were inside, does anyone else remember the “Twicket” promotion? I know I remember seeing those Elmer Fudd posters when visiting Magic Mountain promoting “One Twicket Is Worth Two Twips”, and for just $2 bucks, I could get a free “Twicket” to come back to the park later that summer.
Over time Six Flags grew to add more parks through the purchase of the chain by Premeir Parks and other deals that followed, and the offer of free admission to the chain’s other parks remained in effect. Meanwhile on the other side of the board you had Cedar Fair and Paramount Parks growing up as separate chains. As I grew up in SoCal myself, I didn’t have as much first contact with those chains in my younger years, but I don’t believe that Cedar Fair offered a chain-wide pass under around the time that they purchased and merged with the Paramount chain of parks. For Cedar Fair however the parks always had individual park passes and the offer for a chain-wide pass was offered as a higher tier item, at a significantly increased price. For Six Flags, it was only in the past few years that we saw the chain drop the free benefit of admission to their other parks in order to offer it as part of a new higher priced season pass or membership plan benefit.
This brings me back to where we stand today, as the past few decades of purchases and mergers have brought us to the era of the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The mega theme park chain now consists of 42 parks spread out across the United States, Mexico and Canada, consisting of 26 major parks plus an assortment of 16 smaller waterpark properties. So speaking from a purely business standpoint and not as a roller coaster fan, we want to see this NEW version of Six Flags not only be successful, but thrive to the point that they can begin to fix up and improve the parks that may have been failing.
For this to happen, I think the idea of having “one season pass to rule them all” likely needs to be either retired, or re-formatted into something new. I mean, for those with disposable income and willing to pay any price, then sure, maybe there is room for an extremely priced premium pass, but for everyone else, I think the time will come to look into other ideas.
For example, maybe they can offer some special two, three or four park regional passes at an extra price. This would make sense in areas like Southern California where they would like to cross promote Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain together, or in the Bay Area to offer a pass good for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California’s Great America and/or Hurricane Harbor. Other possible groupings could cover the Texas parks, Ohio parks, maybe even try to pair-up smaller regional parks like Dorney Park and Six Flags America or Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis to see if they can co-benefit from having a shared season pass.
But for the health of the chain, I think the days of having one affordable pass needs to end. This would allow for the individual parks to better assess their local markets in order to perhaps offer more flexible pricing options based on the offering of each park, and in the end… it’s going to make each park responsible for being able to stand on their own two feet (financially). The end result would reveal if certain parks in the chain have reached the point of being unsustainable in their current form, and allow Six Flags to determine how best to fix the park, or if the property should be sold or retired completely.
Just something to think about…
(6/29/2024) Just to reconfirm the status of things, the Cedar Fair and Six Flags merger will close on Monday, July 1st, 2024. All stock trading for the combined chain, which will be renamed as the Six Flags Entertainment Corporate, will begin on July 2nd under the former Cedar Fair stock symbol, “FUN”. It should come as no surprise that FUN’s stock price soared to $54.35 at the close of the market on Friday, reaching a 52-week high just prior to the merger. Six Flags old stock ticker, SIX, ended the week also at a 52-week high of $33.14 per share.
The chains have confirmed that they have successfully completed the review process with the Department of Justice ahead of the merger, and that there no major changes to be required of them in terms of merging the individual park properties. So in other words, there are no requirements that the combined chain must sell-off any individual park in order to keep the marketplace competitive. As I mentioned previously, there are very few places where the combined chain overlapped in a way that might cause a problem. To some, California was thought to be a possible problem spot, as the chain would then own both Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm in the Los Angeles area, as well as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and California’s Great America in the Bay Area. Between Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and Legoland all operating within Southern California as well, there was not felt to be an issue there. Fans also wondered how they would fare in Texas where the combined company would now put the state’s largest theme parks and water parks all under one owner, but this ended up not being an issue either.
I’m very curious to see how things move forward, as previously announced, the vast number of upper management that will oversee the company, including the President and CEO, will consist of Cedar Fair’s existing management team. This may also bode well for some interesting future growth opportunities for select Six Flags properties, as Cedar Fair has not shied away from having their own resort hotel properties in locations where it would serve them well. This has always been something that Six Flags has, for the most part, stayed away from.
(6/27/2024) All the teaser and hints about the possiblity of Mr. Six returning to the corporate brand came true this week in a strange new reveal for Six Flags’ new Extreme version of Fright Fest. The announcement video starts off with the return of the Mr. Six character in classic form… and then, lets just say, things get dark… very dark….
The big change to Fright Fest this year is the adoption of several IP based themed for the haunts and scare zone experiences. The list includes Stranger Things, The Conjuring Universe characters (Conjuring, Annabelle, The Nun), SAW’s 20th Anniversary, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Army of the Dead and Trick ‘r Treat.
I’m not sure if the plan is to add all of these haunts to every park’s Fright Fest line up, or if they will be spread out amongst the parks, with some getting more than others, based on their performance and crowd levels.
As for Mr. Six… just make sure you watch all the way to the end…
(6/23/2024) After a brief lull, it looks like Six Flags is back to officially teasing something “Mr Six” related once again, as a great cinematic looking short clip was posted to social media on friday evening. While the message is simply “Coming Soon” the clip features a sort of creepy bit of music with subtle notes of the Venga Boys theme song, with a close up view of the classic bus door opening, full of fog, but with what sounds like coyotes howling.
In short… it has an almost Halloween style vibe to it… which given the age of the Mr. Six character, I do have to wonder if they may be returning him from “the dead” in some kind of Zombie form, perhaps as a host for Fright Fest? Given the pending merger that will become official in a week between Six Flags and Cedar Point, it might also be good for a laugh for a zombie Mr. Six to stumble out somewhere brand new… like Knott’s Berry Farm or Cedar Point in time for their Halloween Haunt events.
(6/21/2024) An official notification from Six Flags and Cedar Fair note that the merger is expected to be finalized on July 1st, 2024. They also went on to announce the names of the combined leadership team that will be moving the mega-corp into the future. As previously announced Cedar Fair’s Richard Zimmerman will serve as President & CEO of the new Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Stock: FUN) and Six Flags’ Selim Bassoul will become the Executive Chairman of the combined Board of Directors.
The Leadership team will be made from the following combination:
Tim Fisher, Chief Operating Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Brian Witherow, Chief Financial Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Brian Nurse, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Christian Dieckmann, Chief Strategy Officer (currently in same position at Cedar Fair)
Gary Mick, Chief Integration Officer (currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Six Flags)
(5/27/2024) There has been some fuss over the fact that starting in late June, Six Flags over Texas will close the entire park each week on Tuesdays for the entire Summer. This is a bit of a surprise to the local market, as this is also the original Six Flags theme park that started the chain. Naturally guests in other markers have been concerned about their own parks making similar changed to their operational schedules.
Going through the posted calendars for all the parks on the Six Flags website, I’ve only been able to find the following items of interest.
Six Flags Mexico is closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from now through to July 10, and following that the park is closed every Monday through to the last week of August when they appear to move to mainly weekend ops.
Frontier City (Oklahoma) will be closed on every Tuesday and Wednesday from now through to the end of July, with the exception of July 3rd. Unfortunately, the park also goes entirely to weekend only operations the first week of August, but that is likely due to the local school schedule.
Six Flags Darien Lake also has a limited schedule, opening only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays now through to the week of June 23rd, when the park will be closed Monday and Tuesday. The park will be open daily for the first week of July only and then be closed every Tuesday in July and August, except for July 30th for some reason.
Six Flags / The Great Escape will get off to the slow start to the summer with the park closed on most Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June, then move to a daily schedule starting June 19 for the remainder of the summer.
Beyond a few other parks getting a slightly slow start in June, it looks like the rest of the parks are planning to offer daily operations all summer, though several do scale back in August due to local school schedules putting a crunch on summer vacation plans, but that’s nothing new for those areas. What you may experience that will vary from market to market however are parks that will close earlier, and possibly open a little later than normal. The days of the Six Flags parks all staying open until 10pm, 11pm or even midnight seems to be long gone, and along with the concept of 10am openings across the board. So be sure to visit your local park’s current operational calendar on the website for planning your visit to see how things are shaping up this summer.
(5/21/2024) I’m not sure if this is some kind of pre-merger cost-cutting strategy, or a reflection of poor staffing levels, but the other day it was revealed that starting peak summer, Six Flags over Texas will be closed every Tuesday for the whole summer. Since then a number of other rumors have been sent my way about other cut-backs that may be put into effect at other Six Flags parks in the near future. While we have no way to knowing if these are true yet, the warnings are going out that we may see some other parks cut back the operational schedule. While not all my cut an entire day, it is starting to look like many Six Flags parks are at the very least cutting back their hours, with several now posting opening times delayed an hour from 10am to 11am) and with scheduled that have the parks closing as early as 6 or 7pm most days, and rarely staying open into the night.
On top of that, we’re also hearing that some parts may be opting to either not open some rides at all, or open others much later in the day. Then there are whispers that some parks, depending on their layout, could even opt to close off entire park sections, which is something we saw take place last summer at select properties.
I know the passholders are mad since this isn’t the kind of operational schedule they expected when they paid for their membership cards. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’m also hearing that virtually every Six Flags park now has extra fees and surcharges onto every financial transaction you make. For example, if you buy a drink for $5, they are now adding $1.30 onto that price for some kind of mystery surcharge. I suppose it could be some kind of debit/credit card processing fee, but after making all the parks switch over to cash-free operations, doesn’t that sort of put that kind of additional burden on them since paying with cash is no longer an option.
All said and done, this isn’t painting a very attractive or guest friendly picture for the Six Flags brand, which in turns makes you wonder how Cedar Fair is feeling about those pending nuptials right about now. Maybe… just maybe… the wrong brand name is being retired as part of this merger… because Cedar Fair is going to have their work cut out for them over the next year or two when it comes to improving the Six Flags brand image if this kind of thing continues.
(5/19/2024) According to the latest news reports, the vote results from Six Flags stockholders is in and they have approved by a vast majority that the merger with Cedar Fair is approved. According to one report, the vote result was 67.36 million in favor of the merger, and only 195,471 against it.
At this point, I believe it’s all being thrown into the DOJ’s hands to determine if there are any antitrust issues that need to be addressed, or any required modifications or concessions needed to take place before they give their final sign-off on the deal to be finalized. For those wondering if all the parks will be combined or not, this is the part when the government could step forward and request that a few properties in select locations must be sold off. It doesn’t mean they must be sold before the merger either, they could give the chain permission to finalize with a future deadline in place to divest itself of select properties.
Nothing is rumored right now, but I know some have wondered about how smaller parks like Six Flags America may fit when surrounded by bigger parks. Or it could down to a potential region being monopolized by the combined giant, like how the combination of the Six Flags parks in Texas with Cedar Fair’s ownership of the Schlitterbahn waterparks may trigger a demand to sell off some of the solitary water parks like Schlitterbahn and Splashtown. For now it’s a waiting game to see what the government has to say.
(5/12/2024) Six Flags posted their Q1 2024 earning report this past week, which did not meet the goals analysts were hoping for. Revenue for the theme park chain was down 6% to $133 million when compared to the same time period from the previous year. Net Loss increased by 18% compared to the previous year, along with reported drops in EBITDA (down $26 million, compared to $17 million in Q1 2023), and data showing PerCap spending was down 8%. The main positive note was that attendance at the parks is up 6% in comparison to the same time period in 2023, which does bode well for the future if they can convert it into better financial performance once the merger with Cedar Fair is complete.
It also appears that investors are also taking this point of view, as the company’s stock price actually increased by about 2.7% (trading at $27.24 as of this writing) from where it was prior to the earnings report release.
(5/11/2024) According to an update posted by Blooloop, both Six Flags and Cedar Fair has confirmed that they expect to close the merger deal in the very near future. The current timeline shows that the deal is expected to be finalized before the end of the second quarter and recent refinancing arrangements made by both companies are successfully propelling them towards that goal.
(5/3/2024) Six Flags has confirmed that they are upgrading the chain’s mobile app to be smarter and more helpful through the use of AI. The hopes is that the upgrades will help improve the in-park guest experience on the surface, while aiding the park itself on the backside of things. Expect to see improvements made to how you can order food through the park, park entry, and even navigation through the park to the attractions you want to experience.
Oh, and that Missi Six character we discovered in the trademark database filing will be a digital AI assistant built into the app as well as a new version of the Six Flags website that will launch this year. According to what Six Flags is saying, new smart technology will be embedded throughout their theme parks allowing guests to get real-time updates about attraction line lengths, making it easy for you to find and purchase on-ride photos and more.
(4/21/2024) Six Flags has announced that they will announce their Q1 2024 earning report on May 9th, 2024. As usual, an investor call will follow afterwards at 8am Eastern that you can listen in to on the investor site or over the phone by calling 833-629-0614 in the US, or 1-412-317-9257 if you are outside the US.
This is very likely the last investor call to take place with the current management of Six Flags, as the merger with Cedar Fair is expected to take place sometime over the next few months where management of both companies will merge to form an all new version of Six Flags going forward, with key members of Cedar Fair expected to take over many of the power positions going forward.
(4/14/2024) In a fun little twist… a reader sent in this image today taken in the queue for Mr. Freeze at Six Flags over Texas this weekend. Any SFOT regulars out there able to confirm if this is new, old, or photoshop? Regardless, there seems to be a huge desire out there for the return of Mr. Six.
(4/10/2024) While I’m not entirely sure what this is for yet, Six Flags has filed for an interesting sounding new trademark to use the name “Quantum Accelerator” for future use. At this point, this could be for just about anything, at any given park. Pending the merger with Cedar Fair is finalized this summer, you can include the various Cedar Fair parks into that big list of potential locations as well.
Is it a potential new ride name? Sure sounds possible… the name Quantum Accelerator sounds like some kind of launched coaster or speedy spinning ride, doesn’t it? Of course, I could also see them using it as a name for one of those cut to the front of the line passes, like Disney’s Lightning Lane.
Six Flags also filed for another interesting trademark this week… “Missi Six”. This really sounds like a potential follow up companion to Mr. Six, doesn’t it? And we know Six Flags has been sort of teasing the possible return of Mr Six or perhaps just the return to some kind of similar marking campaign over the past few weeks. If you need more proof, there is a second filing for the name, “SIX FLAGS AND MISSI SIX”. In fact, Six Flags was nice enough to even include a picture of a blond female in a blue polo shirt wearing a Six Flags nametag with the name, “MISSI SIX” on it. So I think we’re on to something here…
(3/29/2024) A week later and Six Flags offers another small teaser featuring the Vengaboys “We like to Party”. This one is a bit more straight forward, with the text claiming that “The secret is out: we like to party” along with a video that seems more like a straight forward Six Flags style ad that end with that may be their summer of 2024 tagline, “Go All Out”.
So is this the end-game for the previous weeks teaser and they just successfully trolled the nation into thinking the “Mr Six” character was returning, or will there be more to come? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
(3/21/2024) Six Flags might just be about to make a lot of fans very happy based on their latest social media teaser.
The quiet silence of a Six Flags park, early in the morning is broken when a post-it note saying “Play Me” is discovered sitting upon a small boombox. The song that starts to play is no other than ‘We Like To Party” by the Vengaboys.
This along with the text that comes next confirming that “The Party Is Coming” should give you a pretty good idea as to what may be coming next.
It sure sounds like Six Flags has dropped a major teaser about the return of their famous icon, the dancing old guy… Mr. Six. Of course, keep in mind that April 1st is just around the corner, and this could all just be a huge April Fools Prank and well. Either way, the fan reaction is going to be interesting to see.
So are you ready for the return of Mr. Six, or were you not a fan? Of course for our younger readers... this may be their first introduction to this once popular and viral character.
(3/15/2024) While nothing has been finalized yet, the Six Flags stockholders did vote in an overwhelming majority to approve the corporate merger with Cedar Fair this week. According to the reports the vote was over 67.36 million in favor of the merger vs 195,471 votes opposed to it.
As a reminder, keep in mind that Cedar Fair unit holders to not get to hold a vote, so the next step in the process is to wait and see if the US Department of Justice will sign their own approval of the merger, based on if they have any major anti-trust concerns that need to be addressed. There could be a few kinks in the road here that were not previously expected, as the DOJ has already blocked several major deals over the past year, such as the high profile block stopping the merger of Jet Blue and Spirit airlines. Other blocks in discussion right now also include the merger of Kroger & Albertsons grocery stores, Capital One & Discover, and a merger of Hawaiian and Alaskan Airlines, so with this in mind it is still possible that Six Flags and Cedar Fair could find themselves in the DOJ’s cross-hairs.
More than likely however, most believe that the DOJ will either allow the theme park merger to either proceed without interference, or allow it to proceed as long as a few terms are agreed upon, which could possibly involve the sale of park or two, or the dropping of a few management contracts for properties that they do not own such as Darien Lake or Frontier City.
(3/10/2024) If you are a Six Flags season passholder, it sounds like the chain may be making the new Speedy Parking feature as an included benefit if your pass level also includes free parking. Previously I believe this was rolled out as a small upcharge for passholders, but now I’m being told that you should be able to register your vehicle online to receive the free Speedy Parking access at your designated Home Park. It should be worth looking into, as Speedy Parking seems to be in the process of being installed throughout the chain, and while the implementation is different in each location, based on what I’ve been hearing, in most cases there are more Speedy Parking lanes than staffed regular paid parking lanes, so this should in theory speed up your entry into the lot.
Unfortunately, in some locations, I’m hearing that the signage showing off which lane is for who isn’t clear, casing a lot of cars being forced to shift at the last second into different lanes, causing traffic backups, so your mileage may vary.
(2/8/2024) Six Flags has confirmed that they will release the chain’s Q4 and Full Year 2023 earnings report on Thursday, February 29, 2024. This will be followed by the traditional investor call, which you can listed in to via the corporate investor website or over the phone by calling 833-629-0614.
This should be an interesting one, as it will likely be the last investor call before the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair pushes through.
(1/24/2024) According to an update at Reuters, the Department of Justice has quested additional information to be sent in regarding the proposed merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair. From what I’ve heard, this is not an unusual request for a deal of this size, with the goal to be able to respond to all the DOJ injuries on or before a May 2nd due date, which would still allow for the merger deal to close in the first half of 2024.
For those who have read about how the proposed deal to merge Jet Blue and Spirit airlines together has just been blocked, this is not a step in that direction. The DOJ is simply seeking more information about the proposed merger from the two groups at this time and essentially doing their job to determine that nothing looks fishy at this time.
(1/21/2024) Six Flags has announced that they are at the center of “the largest digital alliance in theme park history”, by inking partnership deals with Google, Dell, Snowflake, HCL Tech, Fueled, and Pure Imagination Studios. The tech alliance will be focused on using technology to improve and enhance the guest experience throughout their visit, as well as provide new benefits to Six Flags team members.
Google Cloud will be used as the new primary Cloud as well as AI innovation partner, with Dell to also help with “generative AI” as well as providing the hardware needed to improve the guest experience. HCL will be behind “digital transformation initiatives”, Snowflake to bring in their Data Cloud, Fueled will design and develop mobile application software and Pure Imagination Studios “will offer an enhanced level of innovation in AR, VR and animation that will bring Six Flags into the metaverse and the future of experiential entertainment”.
(12/30/2023) According to Seeking Alpha, Six Flags and Cedar Fair briefly pulled their merger documents on Wednesday with the government to refile them on Thursday under the HSR Act, which has extended the “waiting period” to Jan. 22, 2024.
According to the FTC, filing under the HSR Act (also known as the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976) has the companies file their premerger notifications with both the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department and “establishes waiting periods that must elapse before such acquisitions may be consummated and authorizes the enforcement agencies to stay those periods until the companies provide certain additional information about the likelihood that the proposed transaction would substantially lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.“
For those wonder, both Cedar Fair (FUN) and Six Flags (SIX) have seen their individual stock prices rise since the rumor that the two were planning a merger emerged at the start of November, and then confirmed on November 2nd. FUN has since seen their stock price rise from trading at $35.50 on October 31st to $39.80 currently, and SIX has jumped from $19.90 to $25.08 currently over the same time period.
(12/1/2023) As far as waves go, this may be a small one, but a press release has gone out saying that a law firm is now investigating the proposed merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair. Their main goal isn’t to stop it, but rather to confirm if current Six Flags stockholders are being compensated enough, as they will only receive .58 shares of common stock in the new company for each one they currently own, compared to Cedar Fair unitholders who will get a 1-to-1 exchange.
I believe this was explained in the merger announcement as Cedar Fair’s price had been trading much higher than Six Flags stock at the time, but I don’t know all the details.
(11/13/2023) Six Flags released their Q3 2023 earning report last week, which I think many overlooked at the time, as we were still reeling from the news that Six Flags and Cedar Fair were going to merge into one giant company. So how did Six Flags do this past quarter?
Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, Total Revenue was up 8% to $547 million, however Net Income was down 3% to just $111 million. Attendance however was up a whopping 16% for Q3, serving 9.3 million guests compared to just 8 million in 2022. However, while attendance may have risen, guest spending PerCaps were down 8% to $56.37 per guests, compared to $60.96 last year, where the biggest loss seemed to come from admissions PerCaps which was down 12%. Of course, if you followed the constantly changing annual pass price offers that the company experimented with starting last year, this drop makes a little more sense.
In terms of the overall numbers for the first 9-months of 2023, Total Revnue was up 5%, Net income was down 33%, and attendance across the chain was up 9% to 17.9 million guests. While I didn’t see an exact figure, they did mention that year-to-date Season Pass Sales for 2023 was much higher than what they say during the same time period in 2022.
Unlike during previous quarter releases, Six Flag actually canceled their previously planned conference call, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair was announced later that same day.
(11/7/2023) For all the details that we know about the Cedar Fair / Six Flags merger, please jump over to Blooloop to read my official report there. In addition to the facts, it includes some of my own analysis about the setup of the merger, and what it could mean for the parks in select markets.
(11/4/2023) The theme park industry was rocked to the core this past week when on November 1st it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that Six Flags and Cedar Fair were in talks to potentially merge into a behemoth theme park chain. By the following morning the two companies had confirmed that not only had they been in talks, but both of their groups had worked out all the terms of the deal and unanimously voted in favor of the merger. All that is left to make it official is to get regulatory approval as well as approval from the Six Flags stockholders. They did note that Six Flags biggest stockholder who holds over 13% of that chain had already submitted a letter confirming that they would vote in support of the merger.
So except for the crossing of the “t”s and the dotting of the “i”s, this is essentially a done deal at this point. The new company will work under the “Six Flags” brand name, however the stock will trade under Cedar Fair’s “FUN” stock ticker code. Combining Cedar Fair’s 15 park gates with Six Flags’ 27 park gates will give the new combined “Six Flags” company a grand total of 42 park gates, along with 9 resort properties located across the US, Canada and Mexico. (See the Property Map)
Sitting down and doing my own research on the reach of each company, I was surprised to see that there was actually very little conflict in the merger of the two’s various markets, with the worst being the super competitive Southern California market. In So Cal they will have the thrill ride capital Six Flags Magic Mountain and family favorite Knott’s Berry Farm located just 60 miles apart, but the two attractions also are popular with some very different demographics and feature very different attraction lineups.
Like the old ads used to say, “Go Big! Go Six Flags”!
So will they rename all the parks under the Six Flags banner or will we see many of Cedar Fair parks retain their individual brands, some of which are just as old and well known as the Six Flags brand. Then there is the Knott’s brand that could be considered an IP of its very own that could also be applied to perhaps rebrand a few select properties that may be getting lost in the shuffle. And what about those smaller underperforming parks? Could we see a few closures or sell-offs? In general… what could the future hold as these two giants merge and will there be bigger conflicts?
Probably a few, and I’ve got some big ideas about where some of the first bumps in the road may occur, but I’ll discuss that along with a full breakdown of the deal in my next update, coming very very soon.
(10/1/2023) Some new information has come to light regarding the introduction of Six Flags’ new Speedy Parking feature. I don’t know what I was thinking of previously, but at the time I just assumed this was an attempt by Six Flags to become more efficient by eliminating the idea of long lines at the parking toll plaza.
Silly me for thinking that Six Flags would invest in this concept for just efficiency, because it seems that Six Flags is going to be charging you a little more to use this service. (Nevermind that the concept allows for human-free operation, thus saving them money by eliminating the need extra staff at the toll plaza…) Also in true Six Flags fashion, the price of Speedy Parking will vary depending on which Six Flags park you visit, just like general parking.
For example, according to the Six Flags over Georgia website, General Parking is $30, while Speedy Parking will cost you $35 and of course there is also Speedy Preferred Parking for $40.
Meanwhile Six Flags Magic Mountain and Discovery Kingdom is $40 for general parking, $45 for Speedy Parking, $50 for Speedy Preferred Parking. Oh, and SFMM also offers Speedy Front Gate Parking for $55 and Valet Parking for $65.
Right now it looks like many of the Six Flags parks have now launched Speedy Parking as an option: with the service now being offered at:
Six Flags America
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags New England
Six Flags over Georgia
Six Flags St. Louis
Six Flags over Texas
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
The Great Escape
Frontier City
Coming Soon to:
Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Darien Lake.
(8/12/2023) Six Flags has released their Q2 2023 earning report, which lists Revenue of $444 million (up 2%), Net Income of $21 million (down 55%), and adjusted EBITDA of $161 million (up 5%). Attendance for the quarter was listed as 7.1 million, up 6% from Q2 2022. Guest spending numbers however show that total guest spending PerCaps numbers have dropped 5%, with a 7% drop in admissions PerCaps. The drop in admissions spending however reflects the chain’s drop in pricing on season passes in the quarter, which was likely a reaction to guests pushback to the chain’s previous attempts at more expensive season pass pricing.
Comments from Six Flags CEO, Selim Bassoul, state that after a year of transition under the new business plan, “our strategy is taking hold” and “we are seeing a return to a solid growth trajectory in attendance, revenue and earnings.” Like Cedar Fair, the company did struggle with weather issues in many markets at the start of the quarter, but claim that the launch of several special events at the parks has been successful with guests, and they are looking forward to great results are we move into the later half of the year that will feature many more events such as Oktoberfest Food Festivals, Kids Boo Fest, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park.
For 2024, Six Flags states that they “will be investing heavily in new marketable attractions, to further elevate our position as a leader in thrills.” While these announcements have yet to be made, Screamscape has heard some early rumblings that this may indeed be true. According to Screamscape sources, it does sound like Six Flags has been opening their checkbook once again to make several new capital additions in various markets. Of course, this is just rumor so far, so we will have to wait and see what gets announced in the coming weeks.
(7/24/22) Unlike how most chains essentially own all their respective theme parks, Six Flags has evolved into a different kind of beast. For example, Six Flags began leasing a number of parks from their respective owners under various Management Deals, especially in the past 5 years or so with the additions of properties like Six Flags Darien Lake, Frontier City and various water parks. The status of each property is shown in the chain’s annual report, but it is the ownership situation around of the chain’s first two theme parks that will be coming into focus very quickly.
Six Flags over Texas is actually owned by a Texas Limited Partnership group, and Six Flags Entertainment itself currently owns 54% of that group, with the remainder said to be owned by Six Flags Over Texas Fund, Ltd (a private-equity and asset management firm). On the horizon Six Flags Entertainment Corporation will have a rare option to purchase the remaining 46% ownership stake for the Six Flags over Texas property when the current lease expires in 2028.
Six Flags over Georgia also currently exists in a similar relationship with a set of partners in Georgia for that particular property, and a window to purchase 100% ownership in that park will also open when that lease expires in 2027.
It is hard to think that corporate Six Flags would pass up this opportunity to finally take complete ownership of these two important properties, but they will also have to budget ahead a decent amount of cash to fund these particular transactions as well, which could very well affect the budgets of all things to come over the next several years.
On a related note, it is also mentioned that Six Flags Mexico has a “permit agreement” with the Federal District of Mexico City to operate that particular park which will expire in 2024. Given the success that Six Flags Mexico has seen compared to other parks in the nation, I would be surprised if this deal wasn’t extended when the time comes.
United Parks & Resorts (formerly SeaWorld Entertainment) - (7/3/2024) SeaWorld Orlando is bringing back, for a limited time, their ‘Ultimate Shark Experience’ upcharge experience. “This special ticket provides guests with an exclusive opportunity to fully immerse themselves in a day filled with exciting and educational shark-focused activities.”
“We are thrilled to announce the return of the Ultimate Shark Experience in celebration of SeaWorld's 60th anniversary. This unique opportunity allows our guests to interact
with these magnificent creatures while also supporting conservation efforts,” said Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of United Parks & Resorts. “Sharks are vital to our ocean ecosystem, and through this unique experience, guests can deepen their understanding
of these vital predators and join us in safeguarding their future.”
The Ultimate Shark Experience includes a variety of experiences, depending on if you are visiting SeaWorld San Diego, Orlando or San Antonio, so check with the official website for each park to see what is included and the price.
(6/13/2024) Coca-Cola will toast SeaWorld’s 60th Anniversary with a partnership to host “Celebration Sundays” at the park, featuring free beverage sampling for all guests plus a collection of limited-edition exclusive co-branded merchandise and giveaways for passholders. The first Celebration Sunday will take place on June 16th and continue every third Sunday of each month through to the end of the year. Each month will feature a new exclusive giveaway item, starting with a 20oz. Bottle Holder in June.
(3/2/2024) United Parks & Resorts, formerly known at SeaWorld Entertainment, has posted their Q4 2023 and 2023 Year End performance results. Over the entire year the chain reported a small decrease in attendance of 1.5%, hosting 21.6 million guests at all of the parks combined. Total revenue generated dropped by $4.7 million to $1.726.6 billion. Similar decreases in attendance and revenue were also reflected in the chain’s Q4 2023 performance numbers when compared to the same time period in 2022. CEO, Marc Swanson, attributed the Q4 and year-end declines as being due to a number of poor weather issues throughout their markets. He also confirmed that attendance levels in 2023 are still below the chain’s pre-pandemic levels from 2019, which they say is also impacted by the overall decline in international tourism that they are still seeing, though the situation is improving.
With several major new attractions set to open in 2024, all anticipated to open before the peak-summer season, they are anticipating improved performance for the 2024 calendar.
(2/5/2024) Despite the fact that the chain is now set to change their name from SeaWorld Entertainment to the generic sounding, “United Parks & Resorts Inc.”, the three SeaWorld parks will launch into a planned 60th anniversary celebration event called “So Much More to Sea!” starting on March 21st… the same day that the very first SeaWorld park opened in San Diego back in 1964.
“SeaWorld is inviting guests to dive deeper and explore more than ever before, including sharing history and milestones in park and through digital channels. The party officially gets started across the parks on Thursday, March 21 – 60 years to the day that SeaWorld opened its gates for the first time in 1964. The anniversary kick-off party will be in full swing into the weekend, continuing through Sunday, March 24, and anniversary celebrations will continue with more special events and experiences coming this summer. Guests are invited to share their favorite SeaWorld memories over the past six decades and throughout the anniversary celebrations using #SeaWorld60.”
Across the chain look for new rides to open like Catapult Falls in the Texas park and Peguin Trek in Orlando, all new shows at each park, new character parades, along with special 60th Anniversary special food & beverage offers, themed merchandise and exclusive collectibles.
(2/1/2024) In a rather strange bit of news, SeaWorld Entertainment has announced that the theme park chain will be changing their corporate name to “United Parks & Resorts Inc.” effective Feb. 12, 2024. The stock ticker will also change from SEAS to PRKS as of Feb. 13, 2024.
They were quick to note that none of the individual parks themselves will be changing their names, and keep all their traditional branding as SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, etc. So the question is… why is this happening? Obviously the “SeaWorld” brand has become a very well known IP brand across the planet, so why change gears so drastically to a name that may be considered a bit generic sounding?
According to the statement from the company, “Our new company name, United Parks & Resorts Inc., better reflects that we have been, and will continue to be, a diverse collection of park brands and experiences. Each of our iconic parks, including the four SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego and Abu Dhabi, will continue to operate under the same names our guests know and love. What also remains unchanged is our deep commitment to creating experiences that matter for our guests and inspiring them to help protect animals and the wild wonders of the world,” said Marc Swanson, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
So beyond this… what is really going on? For one, this seems a bit rushed, as they didn’t even have a new logo for the new company name to present in the press release, or online at the official corporate website. Meanwhile there has been speculation for quite some time now that the chain felt that their “SeaWorld” brand name had become irreversibly damaged by the Blackfish film and propaganda.
While they stood by the brand for all these years, and seemingly have worked hard to get the company back on track once again, suddenly changing their tactics and brand identity to “United Parks & Resorts” indicates to me that there may be other reasons. These may not become clear right now, as this may be more of a “long game” endeavor. This could possibly be an effort to have a more clean-slate if they were to possibly try to sell or merge the company with someone else down the line. Either way, SEAS will soon be no more as United becomes the new face of the company.
Universal Studios - (4/26/2024) NBCUniverse has posted their Q1 2024 earnings report this week, which showcases the company’s performance for the first three months of the year. According to the data posted, the theme park division reported a 1.5% increase in revenue for the quarter, which climbed to $1.979 billion. However, the adjusted EBITDA figures show a small drop by comparison due to higher operating costs as well as “negative impact of foreign currency”.
Again, this was just the Q1 2024 results, and with new summer offerings and the DreamWorks Land set to open this summer in Florida, and a new Donkey Kong expansion coming to Super Nintendo World in Japan later this year, I can only imagine that we’ll see those earnings numbers rise more significantly. Universal does expect to be working uphill against the flow of things in 2024 however, as there is no new attraction to open in Hollywood this year and many may hold off on visiting Orlando in 2024 to wait for their brand new Epic Universe theme park to open in 2025 instead.
(1/27/2024) In the latest financial performance report, Comcast has reported that their Universal Studios theme park division has generated a whotting $2.3 billion in revenue for the company during the 4th Quarter of 2023. This represents an increase of 12.2% compared to the previous quarter, with a spotlight on the new Super Nintendo World at the Hollywood park being a key revenue driver.
It was interesting to note that there was a small drop in revenue at the Universal Orlando resort. On a personal note, I’d expect to see the trend of reduced numbers from the Orlando resort continue over the next 12-15 months due to the combination of:
1) No new attractions planned to open during 2024 and
2) Potential guests planning a trip to Universal Orlando may wait until 2025 for the opening of the new Epic Universe theme park.
(1/14/2024) A few articles are floating around out there questioning the fate of The Simpsons attractions and characters in Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando. The gist is that they’re claiming that Universal may be preparing to wind-down their support and ongoing operations of these attractions, meanwhile claiming that Disney may be planning to introduce the IP in costume character form somewhere in the near future.
Screamscape discussed this in mid-2022 when the rumor first surfaced that Universal was said to be willing to let the IP go at the end of the current contract extension. The first Simpsons ride opened in 2008, and assuming they used typical 10-year terms, the current extension would likely be coming to an end sometime between late 2027 and 2028.
In the time since the ride first opened, both theme parks have built out highly profitable food and beverage options based on the IP to fill-out the area around each attraction, so as mentioned before, if the profits are high enough, Universal could opt to renew for another term if they so wish. With Universal focused on opening their new Epic Universe park in 2025, 2024 would seem to be a good time to make a solid decision as to what direction they are going to take when the time comes, which would also involve working on ideas on what IP they could replace the attraction with if they do opt to drop out.
This doesn’t mean the Simpsons rides will close anytime soon… especially in Orlando where the area also has gift shops, several restaurants and even the secondary Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl ride nearby. It should go without saying that a lot of planning is going to have to take place to replace or re-theme all this into something new. However they may be some tell-tale signs that a change is coming, such as decline in overall care and maintenance to the area. Please note that I’m not talking at all about the safety of the rides themselves, but about the theming and look of things in the area, such as fading paint, burnt out effects, or a decline in IP specific merchandise stock in favor of more generic items.
Perhaps the biggest clue may actually come from Disney if they do introduce Simpsons characters somewhere before Universal drops them. It won’t happen in either of the US theme park resorts, but that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t introduce them into an international park or on the Disney Cruise Line.
(10/28/2023) As I previously wondered… is Wall Street growing weary of theme park stocks? As all the major chains in North America prepared to present their latest quarterly earnings report, I noted that the stock prices seem to have been falling for everyone, with the exception of Comcast, parent company of Universal Studios. Strangely enough, following the release a mostly exceptional quarterly report on Thursday, CNBC reports that Comcast stock has now fallen about 8% in value.
All this with the news that the studio’s Oppenheimer had become the highest-grossing biopic of all time, earning $900 million in box-office and that the Peacock streaming service adding 4 million subscribers and earned $830 million in revenue (up 64%) on top of the stellar performance figures from the Universal branded theme parks that saw “the highest quarterly profit on record for the division”. Looking things over, the only down-side to Comcast’s report I noticed were losses in subscribers to Comcast’s high-speed broadband and cable-TV services.
(10/21/2023) Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights continues to expand into new worlds… and I’m not just talking about the upcoming year-round location coming to Las Vegas. It has now been confirmed that an official “Halloween Horror Nights VR Haunted Experience” themed to Scarecrow: The Reaping has come to the Meta Horizon Worlds platform. The new VR experience just dropped into existence on Friday the 13th. Last night a second Universal themed title has also been added to Meta Horizon Worlds called Universal Monsters Arena.
Oh, and if you happen to find yourself in the Orlando International Airport, seek out an official Halloween Horror Nights “scare zone” currently set up inside Terminal B, disguised as a HHN gift shop. Or is it the other way around? You tell me…
|
|
