Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merge

[DoomPlague]

11 hours ago, Shawn Meyer said:

I'm very skeptical about this merger. I don't want to see my favorite Park(Kings Island) have the Six flags name in front of it. I'm also worried that they'll mess up one of the Cedar Fair parks like they did with Geauga Lake. I doubt they'll mess up Kings Island because that's a crown jewel to Cedar Fair. One of their crown jewels anyway. 

I'm having trouble seeing any park treated like Geauga Lake. Knott is too profitable as it is. SFMM is too big (probably) and does well enough. CGA is already closing. Dorney is a different kind of park from SFGAdv and does well enough from what I hear. SFA is probably far enough away from KD.

Geauga Lake was a unique case in many ways. First SF stripped away its old identity and dumped too much money into the park, then depending who you ask CF either gave up trying to win back the local market or they never intended to in the first place. Consider who was running Cedar Fair at the time and his attitude regarding Cedar Point's place in the chain.

[TombRaiderFTW]

On 11/4/2023 at 5:11 PM, Tr0y said:

What has Bassoul done to ruin the Six Flags Brand? Other than trying to make it a more premium brand like Cedar Fair?

There's a slight difference between what I said and what you asked. I don't think he has ruined the brand--that's your word. I think Six Flags has a niche presence in the market and Bassoul has attempted to break out of it and redefine what Six Flags is extremely quickly, which (based on SIX's quarterly reports) has presumably done some damage to how Six Flags is perceived.

Whether or not doing that was a smart move is a matter of perspective. I'm purely going off of vibes here, but I do wonder if he was intentionally trying to position SF to seem more attractive to CF or other prospective buyers.

[disco2000]

31 minutes ago, DispatchMaster said:

I don't imagine a Cedar Fair executive would publicly admit that they lost significant revenue as a result of their pricing strategies, so I take those comments with a silo of salt. The fact of the matter is that they took a wildly popular product that was selling beyond capacity and reduced the selling price of that product. I simply do not subscribe to the Walmart-ization strategy.

Furthermore, the "also wrong about how many passes were sold" seems like outright, patronizing BS when CF has regularly trumpeted "record season pass sales" and/or "higher season pass mix" in annual/quarterly reports since the introduction of the Gold Pass.

 

This exactly.  I am reminded of a quote that Jason McClure has said and I have used it on the forum frequently as to why something may or may not be said from CF:  "It is important to remember that Cedar Fair is a publicly traded company and that affects the type and timing of our communication."  That simple statement says it all.  There are countless of real world, everyday examples demonstrating this same technique in other businesses and industries.

At the end of the day, they are not under any obligation to tell us the whole truth and thus they control the narrative and how it is presented (unless of course someone leaks it out earlier).  The fact of the matter is someone in the know will not officially come out and say something against the narrative the park is telling...unless they don't care about potentially losing their job LOL. 

[SonofBaconator]

I wonder what Koontz thinks of all of this.

[Tr0y]

Six Flags is currently running Black Friday sales. 55% off park add ons, including their all season, all park flash pass.

https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/store/black-friday-sale

[disco2000]

13 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

Six Flags is currently running Black Friday sales. 55% off park add ons, including their all season, all park flash pass.

https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/store/black-friday-sale

And people thought Cedar Fair gave away the gate.

I thought the SIX CEO said he was trying to improve the clientele by charging more.  

I guess that idea didn't last now that they are merging 

[DiamondbackFan]

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

And people thought Cedar Fair gave away the gate.

I thought the SIX CEO said he was trying to improve the clientele by charging more.  

I guess that idea didn't last now that they are merging 

That plan already failed and they reverted back to the old way earlier this year.

[disco2000]

18 minutes ago, DiamondbackFan said:

That plan already failed and they reverted back to the old way earlier this year.

Yeah cause he new the merger was in the works and needed to improve numbers 

[disco2000]

A little reorganization

https://ir.cedarfair.com/news/news-details/2023/Cedar-Fair-Announces-Strategic-Changes-to-Its-Corporate-Leadership-Team/

[BoddaH1994]

53 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

A little reorganization

https://ir.cedarfair.com/news/news-details/2023/Cedar-Fair-Announces-Strategic-Changes-to-Its-Corporate-Leadership-Team/

TL;DR Kelly Ford out as CMO. Will stick around until March in a non-executive role. No replacement or plans for the position disclosed.

With mergers, the cuts are deep. The first thing Six Flags is going to want to do is see how they can save money by centralizing positions. They may have a small PR team out of corporate rather than one at each park, same with social, strategic alliance and so on. If they bring in another CMO, they’ll want to bring in their own people. I’ll be surprised if Elizabeth, Selfie, Tony, or anyone that is marketing-adjacent comes out the other side of this still holding their employee badge. 

[Orion-XL200]

I could see them keeping Tony....despite some enthusiast opinions, he is actually good at his job....he's visible and actually communicates without copying other's work.

[BeeastFarmer]

Interesting that the end of the press release mentions a park in California that's being run under contract. I thought they ended the contract with Gilroy Gardens back in 2021? Is that now reactivated? Or is this a mistake on a press release that highlights marketing and communications?

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Interesting that the end of the press release mentions a park in California that's being run under contract. I thought they ended the contract with Gilroy Gardens back in 2021? Is that now reactivated? Or is this a mistake on a press release that highlights marketing and communications?

I think it’s related to CGA.

[disco2000]

24 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

I think it’s related to CGA.

CGA isn't under a management contract like Gilroy Gardens was.  CGA is leasing/renting the land for CGA and all the rides are property of CF; whereas Gilroy is owned by another entity (city) and CF was managing/staffing it but didn't own any structures.

Kinda like the contract KI had with Camp Cedar to manage/provide the staff.

[ThrillKingsFitzy]

Thought I would come up from under my rock to give my opinion on this news. I don't think this will be terrible. The fact that Cedar Fair has the most ownership and power in this merger is enough for me to be satisfied. I'm honestly just glad that Kings Island won't turn into Six Flags Kings Island.

[BoddaH1994]

CF investor objecting:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cedar-fair-investor-cries-foul-233059072.html

[Kenban]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:32 AM, BeeastFarmer said:

Interesting that the end of the press release mentions a park in California that's being run under contract. I thought they ended the contract with Gilroy Gardens back in 2021? Is that now reactivated? Or is this a mistake on a press release that highlights marketing and communications?

Gilroy Gardens still gives California’s Great America pass holders free admission.  It’s even listed as a perk on the 2024 CGA Gold Pass.  No idea what happens with a Cedar Fair pass from a park other than CGA.

There is some type of partnership still going on, I just have no idea what it involves.

[Orion-XL200]

“So what EXACTLY would you say is it you DO here?”

[Taylor.B03]

Something that just popped into my head, with the merge, will CF RMC tsa be implemented to all traditional RMC rides, will it go away at CP & KD, will it stay the same, or will it be implemented to any new RMC? This is something very interesting to think about!

[SonofBaconator]

3 hours ago, Taylor.B03 said:

Something that just popped into my head, with the merge, will CF RMC tsa be implemented to all traditional RMC rides, will it go away at CP & KD, will it stay the same, or will it be implemented to any new RMC? This is something very interesting to think about!

In all honesty, RMC is a good talking point. Since 2018, CF has not worked with RMC and with the chains combining you now have almost 15 of them. I wonder how Cedar Fair’s safety standards will affect the current Six Flags RMCs. I also wonder if the difference in trains will play a factor since all but two of the Six Flags parks that have hybrids utilize 1st gen RMC trains (both Texas parks have Gerstlauer) while the CF hybrids feature 2nd gen swing axel trains.

[DoomPlague]

Paramount Global is currently in talks to merge with Warner Bros Discovery.

There may be an alternate universe where park fans are currently sweating over Six Flags and Paramount Parks being combined.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

4 hours ago, DoomPlague said:

Paramount Global is currently in talks to merge with Warner Bros Discovery.

There may be an alternate universe where park fans are currently sweating over Six Flags and Paramount Parks being combined.

Well if that would mean we could get some Nickelodeon back in some form whether that be a retheme of a section of the current kids area that isn't getting the Camp Snoopy makeover or Nickelodeon events like a Slimefest or the old Nick Celebration Parade I would be one happy KI fan. 

[BoddaH1994]

Six Flags (NYSE:SIX) and Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN) pulled and refiled their premerger notification and report under the HSR Act. 

The amusement park chains withdrew their respective notifications on Wednesday and refiled them on Thursday, according to a proxy filing Friday. The waiting period has now been extended until Jan. 22

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4050284-six-flags-cedar-fair-pull-refile-merger-notification-with-antitrust-regulator
 

 

[BeeastFarmer]

And Selim to get a large bonus at merger close, with a percentage being given up front and a percentage after a period of time, as a retention bonus. If I remember the article correctly, it's in stock vs cash..

[KI Fan75]

Getting my mind ready.

[disco2000]

Just now, KI Fan75 said:

Getting things ready.

There are 7 flags in that logo 

But yeah if the merger happens, I could see some variation of that in the next 5 years.

[robintodd]

3 hours ago, disco2000 said:

There are 7 flags in that logo 

But yeah if the merger happens, I could see some variation of that in the next 5 years.

Actually 8 (theres one on the a six flags theme park)

 

[disco2000]

14 minutes ago, robintodd said:

Actually 8 (theres one on the a six flags theme park)

 

Let's go for Nine with the word Flags being counted 

[KI Fan75]

If you look at the normal six flags logo, the dot on the i in six is a flag along with the other six in the logo itself so they all have 7 flags. 

[BeeastFarmer]

 

The sheer scale of this merger would be off the charts. Think about it – combining Cedar Fair's regional dominance with Six Flags' national footprint could create an amusement park juggernaut. More parks, more visitors, and, hopefully, more rides.

Economies of scale, y'all! With a mega-merger, they could slash costs left and right. Bulk purchases, shared tech investments – it's like getting a season pass for your wallet. And you know what that means? More money for mind-blowing attractions that make your stomach do somersaults.

Now, picture this: Cedar Fair's cozy family parks meeting Six Flags' thrill-seekers haven. It's a match made in coaster heaven. Diverse parks would mean a diverse fan base, appealing to everyone from adrenaline junkies to families with little daredevils in training.

Could SeaWorld join the party? Imagine the New Six Flags Entertainment Corporation with marine life, rollercoasters, and killer shows. SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) blending into the mix? It's like the Avengers of the theme park world, right? 

However, let's not ignore the elephant in the room – antitrust concerns. The regulators might be eyeing this merger like a hawk. But hey, if it goes through, we could be witnessing the birth of a theme park empire.

So, buckle up! Arms down, head back! The Cedar Fair and Six Flags merger might just be the thrill ride that shapes the amusement park industry for years. And who knows, maybe SEAS will join the squad for the ultimate theme park crossover event!