What would Kings Island look like today if the Apollo deal had gone through?

[BoddaH1994]

In a current topic about cuts at Busch Gardens Wiliamsburg, Terpy brought up an interesting correlation between what is happening at Busch Gardens under their current ownership and what could have happened to Cedar Fair, LP, if the company had sold out to Apollo Global Management in 2009. Fortunately, Geoffrey Raynor's Q Management saved Cedar Fair from the greed, mismanagement, and lack of foresight of FUN's former leadership. However, this does bring up an interesting question: what would Kings Island look like if the sale had gone through? It has been a half-decade. Do you think that the park would be in a better or worse place if owned by a private equity company (whose intention was clearly to buy and flip)? Would they have poured more money into it to make it more attractive, or cut projects, labor, and services to minimize costs?

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

[The Interpreter]

The park would be branded Six Flags Kings Island. Six Flags and Cedar Fair would have merged, as Avenue Capital and Apollo planned.

Dick Kinzel would have about six times more money than he does now.

There would be no Diamondback, no Banshee, no Cirque Imagine. The park would be less clean, less safe and less fun.

And I can only imagine what Great Adventure and Magic Mountain would look like.

California's Great America would have been sold to the 49'rs. It would be a parking lot. Knott's Scary Farm would be far less so. There would be no massive investment planned at Carowinds next year. Discovery Kingdom and Valleyfair would have been sold by now.

Six Flags America would be condos. The Great Escape's Comet would have been moved to Gurnee, Illinois.

There would have been no accident on The New Texas Giant as there wouldn't be a New Texas Giant.

And the Chairman, CEO and President of Six Flags Cedar Entertainment LLC would be Bart Kinzel.

[BoddaH1994]

I wonder what Kings Island's attendance would be like.

[The Interpreter]

Lower than it is now, but higher profit per guest.

Did I mention Six Flags Cedar Point, with no Gatekeeper? No X-Flight at Chicago, either.

[BoddaH1994]

Do you think their plan was to actually rebrand the Cedar Fair parks to Six Flags or would they have just been under the same corporate team?

[The Interpreter]

Six Flags rebrands virtually every park. There is no way that name would not have been on every retained former Cedar Fair park.

[TTD-120-420]

Six Flags America would be condos.

So not all bad things.

[CharleyTheDinosaur]

There would be no Diamondback, no Banshee, no Cirque Imagine. The park would be less clean, less safe and less fun.

Sounds like no FUN to me.

[bkroz]

Six Flags rebrands virtually every park. There is no way that name would not have been on every retained former Cedar Fair park.

In 2010, Six Flags dumped partnerships left and right (Terminator, Thomas the Tank Engine, Tony Hawk, Evil Kineval, Wiggles, etc). Are we thinking that that was inevitable (and probably even necessary)?

It makes one wonder... if the two had merged, would Kings Island have cheap, half-done DC Heroes tie-ins? Looney Tunes? Coldstone Creamery? Stride gum wraps? M&M banners? More likely than not, Six Flags' partnerships would've outranked Cedar Fairs if Cedar Fair's parks took on the Six Flags brand, right? Snoopy would be out?

Kings Island: A Six Flags Park?

I don't know how that works at all. Definitely a much different place.

[KI Guy]

Deep-fried Twinkies would be available at every food stand.

EDIT: Apollo owns the new Hostess. I don't know if anyone got that.

[BoddaH1994]

Six Flags rebrands virtually every park. There is no way that name would not have been on every retained former Cedar Fair park.

But would the new conglomerate who owned the new Six Flags feel the same way?

[bkroz]

We can hope that whatever conglomerate that would be would have enough sense to recognize that "Six Flags" did not, in 2009, carry the same prestige it had years before.

There was a time when prefixing a parks name with Six Flags meant something positive.

I think we're getting back there?

[thedevariouseffect]

Felt this video was relevant..I give to you. Cedar Flags

[BoddaH1994]

We can hope that whatever conglomerate that would be would have enough sense to recognize that "Six Flags" did not, in 2009, carry the same prestige it had years before.

There was a time when prefixing a parks name with Six Flags meant something positive.

I think we're getting back there?

It's a horrible idea no matter how positive the name is. How many people thought the drop ride incident at SFKK happened on Drop Tower? Lots did. They always assume it's their local park. Locally people call the Six Flags parks just "Six Flags" not SFoG or whatever like we do. I have no doubt that the people in Los Angeles thought that the Texas Giant incident happened at SFMM simply because they heard, "someone died on a roller coaster at Six Flags."

On the other hand, if you just brand merchandise to "Six Flags" then it has more buying power and is slightly cheaper, then that might have been enough for them.

[JTW]

Cross threading and time travelling here but...

You're dead on about the assumption that people assume their local Six Flags is the only Six Flags. Once upon a time a co-worker and I were talking about rides and he was discussing a ride named Goliath. I asked "which one" and after his confusion I was able to finally figure out he was talking about SFMM.

[stashua123]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is what I would say if it was Cedar Flags!

[The Interpreter]

No one in Great Adventure's market area calls it Six Flags but corporate and tourists. It's Great Advencha. Unless you are Terp.

Then, it's New Jersey's Finest Theme Park.

Which it is.

Truly.

[westcoaster]

Just be thankful who has Kings Island for now: