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Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merge


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In other news this week HFE completes acquisition Palace Entertainment “This is a landmark moment—not just for Herschend, but for every host, guest, and community we serve,” said Andrew Wexler, CEO of Herschend. “To us, this is so much bigger than adding attractions to our portfolio of family brands—growth is about people. It’s about creating a great place to work so our hosts love what they do and can create memories worth repeating for our guests for generations to come.”

 

Quite a different strategy coming out of an acquistion (or merger) isn't it?

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On 5/29/2025 at 3:34 PM, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Are lanyards a terribly huge expense for events like Coasterstock? That feels like something that could have been factored into the ticket price. 

They are not. Someone who’s never attended an event in the industry thought they were unnecessary. 

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2 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

They are not. Someone who’s never attended an event in the industry thought they were unnecessary. 

Let's be real, Don—if you were still at the park and forced to cut lanyards from the budget, you'd be telling us all how it's the greatest move ever seen in the history of enthusiast events. 

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1 hour ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Let's be real, Don—if you were still at the park and forced to cut lanyards from the budget, you'd be telling us all how it's the greatest move ever seen in the history of enthusiast events. 

You’re wrong about that, Ronny. They would not have been cut from the event if I was still at the park. It’s a collectible for many attendees. And nobody forced them to be cut. That’s being real, Ronny. 

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Wristbands with a QR code would have been a fine enough replacement, but I would hate to have to pull out my phone every time I wanted to see what was coming next in my day. All of the events I've been to where the decision was made to use either phones or lanyards, I enjoyed the lanyards 100% more than I did my phone. 

Some decisions Six Flags has made make me wonder who up top has set foot inside most of these parks, even just in either legacy chain. The number who have spent meaningful time in all of the parks is probably much less than that. 

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22 hours ago, chad_1138 said:

As someone who wears a lanyard every visit (thank you Universal :) ), I was very happy with the wristbands for Coasterstock.

I still got mine from 2021...Universal loves their lanyards! There's not a gift shop or little pop-up store that doesn't have one!

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On 6/3/2025 at 11:19 AM, BeeastFarmer said:

I wonder how much of the Q2 missed targets will be blamed on the Canadian wildfire smoke?

That and “unruly behavior” will definitely be mentioned. Haha

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Would they mention it using the words "unruly behavior", or would they use something even less biting? I think it's been said that the shareholders saw right through the Investor Day euphemisms so I wouldn't expect them to be fooled by this. 

Serious question: If a majority of shareholders don't like something about the direction of the company, is there anything they can do? Anything short of selling their shares, that is.

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Double posting...

SFW-25-0031 Pride Celebration Logo_alt_SFOG (1)

Something fun to see is that Six Flags Over Georgia is directly hosting a Pride Month Celebration from 6/1-6/30, complete with Pride merchandise and proceeds donations to a local organization in Atlanta. The event is also highlighted as a big part of their Summerbration lineup. Magic Mountain is the only other Six Flags park that I've seen advertising a Pride event (in August) with their Out on the Mountain event, held in the park by a third-party organization. I know there has also been a Pride Night at Kings Island in September, but that event is not put on by or advertised by the park. Especially not like SFOG's event is. I haven't checked too many other Six Flags park websites, but this is the only event like this that I've seen anywhere across Six Flags this year.

It's really nice to see this event happening and being readily shown on their website! This year has been quite scary for LGBTQ+ folks (for obvious reasons) and a Pride celebration would have been super easy for corporate to put their foot down on and cut out of the lineup. SFOG and Six Flags America will also be holding a Juneteenth Celebration event on 6/19 (aka Juneteenth). 

Happy Pride!

Event Website: https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/events/six-flags-pride-celebration

 

 

Another thought while I'm here: A number of the Legacy Six Flags parks have begun to use a different logo than the one seen pre-merger. The words are more balanced and similarly sized (still using the Neue Kabel typeface) and there is no roller coaster outline in the background. The exclamation point holding the six flags is also sometimes missing (see the event logo above). Off the top of my head, I've seen Over Texas, Over Georgia, Magic Mountain, and Great Adventure use this new variation. The usage does depend on what you're looking at, but this is a new change.

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Something bigger to consider with this merger. Ohio businesses like ScenicSolutions that were contracted for things like Kings Island's 50th celebration items and Cedar Points 150th parade and stage, most likely won't be enlisted now as 1) They are no longer an Ohio-based company and 2) they will be doing less of these things like a major 50th anniversary event. 

https://scenicsolutions.com/pf/kings-island-golden-celebration/

https://scenicsolutions.com/pf/cedar-points-150th-anniversary-the-parade/

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47 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Something bigger to consider with this merger. Ohio businesses like ScenicSolutions that were contracted for things like Kings Island's 50th celebration items and Cedar Points 150th parade and stage, most likely won't be enlisted now as 1) They are no longer an Ohio-based company and 2) they will be doing less of these things like a major 50th anniversary event. 

https://scenicsolutions.com/pf/kings-island-golden-celebration/

https://scenicsolutions.com/pf/cedar-points-150th-anniversary-the-parade/

Or, alternatively, as the guest experience at parks erodes, you may see more things get contracted out.  They can show investors that they have reduced headcount and categorize subcontractor work under different budget items. 

I believe they have subbed out national advertising for years ...let's hope they choose better proposals than the "Funsultant" series.  That is more painful than the Fun and Only series. 

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2 hours ago, WoodVengeance said:

Correction: What separates a private family-owned company from a public shareholder-owned company.

True that. It will be very interesting to see how the next few years shape up with Herschend and their new growth. Hopefully the "Dolly DNA" mixed with their own core values will keep them on the path they have been on these past few years. 

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