DonHelbig Posted Monday at 02:03 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:03 PM John Reilly has been named the new CEO for Six Flags. https://themeparksbydon.com/six-flags-names-john-reilly-ceo/ 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted Monday at 02:22 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:22 PM 41 minutes ago, DonHelbig said: John Reilly has been named the new CEO for Six Flags. https://themeparksbydon.com/six-flags-names-john-reilly-ceo/ Mr. Six is that you? 2 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Guy Posted Monday at 04:25 PM Share Posted Monday at 04:25 PM My goodness — someone from Parques Reunidos? That company's stint in US park ownership/operations was an unmitigated disaster. The new Six Flags needed either an amusement park outsider of someone who could heighten the experience and service like someone from Disney or Universal. They've instead brought in someone from old Six Flags' smaller and less successful cousin. Hopefully it works out though... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhimes90 Posted Monday at 05:29 PM Share Posted Monday at 05:29 PM 3 hours ago, DonHelbig said: John Reilly has been named the new CEO for Six Flags. https://themeparksbydon.com/six-flags-names-john-reilly-ceo/ Don, Will we get to hear your own thoughts/opinions in an upcoming Tower Topics?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted Monday at 06:03 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 06:03 PM 4 hours ago, nhimes90 said: Don, Will we get to hear your own thoughts/opinions in an upcoming Tower Topics?? I don’t know John Reilly, so before sharing my thoughts and opinions on Tower Topics I’ll need to talk to some people who do. I will have a piece published tomorrow on TPBD on what I’m looking for on the new CEO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted Monday at 06:34 PM Share Posted Monday at 06:34 PM 2 hours ago, KI Guy said: My goodness — someone from Parques Reunidos? That company's stint in US park ownership/operations was an unmitigated disaster. The new Six Flags needed either an amusement park outsider of someone who could heighten the experience and service like someone from Disney or Universal. They've instead brought in someone from old Six Flags' smaller and less successful cousin. Hopefully it works out though... Unmitigated disaster is an interesting take. While no CEO/ COO record is perfect, his leadership with Parques/ Palace did provide a positive trend for customer service- one opinion many have been clamoring for when it comes to SF prior to the CF merger. He also made shareholders happy at the same time. I'm encouraged the decision was not just a "money" person. Who do you believe would be better suited for the job? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondbackFan Posted Monday at 07:20 PM Share Posted Monday at 07:20 PM 2 hours ago, KI Guy said: My goodness — someone from Parques Reunidos? That company's stint in US park ownership/operations was an unmitigated disaster. The new Six Flags needed either an amusement park outsider of someone who could heighten the experience and service like someone from Disney or Universal. They've instead brought in someone from old Six Flags' smaller and less successful cousin. Hopefully it works out though... This is such a bad take. You might want to do some research on John Reilly and what he accomplished while he was at SeaWorld Parks and Resorts and Palace Entertainment/Parques Reunidos. 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted Monday at 09:37 PM Share Posted Monday at 09:37 PM Did I hear correctly that he was also SeaWorld Parks CEO after the release of the Blackfish documentary? If he does an awful job right out of the gate then at least the Board is still there and functioning. It's entirely possible that he was chosen in case the company is led into bankruptcy. A smaller name who could help bring the company up from the edge or guide it through Chapter 11 proceedings. I'm am personally convinced that his resemblance to Mr. Six also factored into his selection 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted Monday at 09:49 PM Share Posted Monday at 09:49 PM So, I do know John—I worked with him at SEA both when he was COO under Joel Manby and as acting CEO after Manby was forced out. He was not CEO when Blackfish came out (I believe he was still park president at San Diego when that occurred)—Jim Atchison & the remaining old guard at BEC were still in place when Blackfish dropped. Joel was brought in as CEO (from Herschend) to try to reverse the mistakes that had been made after Blackfish—if I recall correctly, he then promoted John to COO from the San Diego park. Personally, I like John—I thought he should have been named CEO after Joel and before they hired Gus from Carnival (who I was not a fan of). John started his career as a popcorn seller in college at BGW (he enjoyed telling that story ) so he grew up in park operations when SeaWorld/Busch were at their best. I’m a little biased probably, but I think this is a good choice. 14 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted Monday at 10:12 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 10:12 PM Some things I expect to see happen with John Reilly as CEO are ticket and season pass prices being raised, a stronger focus on customer service, and less regionalization with departments. It will eventually get back to the way it was and should be with more boots on the ground at the park level. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Tuesday at 12:49 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 12:49 AM 2 hours ago, DonHelbig said: Some things I expect to see happen with John Reilly as CEO are ticket and season pass prices being raised, a stronger focus on customer service, and less regionalization with departments. It will eventually get back to the way it was and should be with more boots on the ground at the park level. All that sounds great! I hope your are correct. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Guy Posted Tuesday at 12:55 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 12:55 AM 5 hours ago, DiamondbackFan said: This is such a bad take. You might want to do some research on John Reilly and what he accomplished while he was at SeaWorld Parks and Resorts and Palace Entertainment/Parques Reunidos. Sorry, I should have looked into this more but was at work. I saw Parques Reunidos and jumped the gun. It looks like John Reily was only at Palace (Parques Reunidos) at the very end of their time in the USA so he can't really be blamed for how bad that group was. I went to Lake Compounce in its last year of Palace ownership and it was the worst operated park that I have seen. Kennywood fared a little better as their crown jewel, but they did not make a lot of positive changes during their ownership period (2007 to 2025). The turnpike was removed, Garfield's Nightmare went on way too long, and they added just two new coasters in 18 seasons of ownership – one with very low capacity and another very good, but highly unreliable. It's good to know that Reilly was not responsible for almost all of that. @Browntggrrin an ideal scenario... anyone who would operate Kings Island like a Busch Park. I see those parks as the spiritual successor of the original intent of Kings Island. Meaning that it was an elevated experience not quite at a Disney level but more special in its presentation, theming, and overall feel than a typical amusement park. Kings Island has done quite well on the coasters over the last 15 years, but the premium feel and aesthetics of the park from its early days has not come back. If Reilly can operate the parks like Busch at their peak, assuming they let him do it, then this could be a very good and effective hire. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted Tuesday at 01:51 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 01:51 PM FWIW—the posts I’m seeing from all my former colleagues at SeaWorld (and a few that had jumped to Palace at some point) on LinkedIn have all been overwhelming positive on the news. I think it’s always telling when people you used to work with say good things about you and congratulate your new place of employment for getting you . During my career I’ve had a mixed bag of executives I’ve worked for I’d say that about—but John would be one of the positive ones. Regardless, he’s going to have a tough road in front of him at SF—a perception of failing customer service and crushing debt would be a huge challenge for anyone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted Tuesday at 07:25 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 07:25 PM 17 hours ago, KI Guy said: @Browntggrrin an ideal scenario... anyone who would operate Kings Island like a Busch Park. I see those parks as the spiritual successor of the original intent of Kings Island. Meaning that it was an elevated experience not quite at a Disney level but more special in its presentation, theming, and overall feel than a typical amusement park. Kings Island has done quite well on the coasters over the last 15 years, but the premium feel and aesthetics of the park from its early days has not come back. If Reilly can operate the parks like Busch at their peak, assuming they let him do it, then this could be a very good and effective hire. I would also like to see KI operations go back to the pre-Paramount era. It's unfortunate many today did not experience KI in the 80's. It should be noted Reilly was president of Busch Gardens December 2007 (prior to Blackstone purchase) to November 2010. He had a direct influence in bringing the Busch Gardens Williamsburg name back from Busch Gardens Europe. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted Tuesday at 09:31 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 09:31 PM Just gotta ask a question here ... Cedar Fair operations, in general, at Kings Island, were typically top notch, until budget cuts reduced labor. ( Let's be honest, staffing issues didn't hold water after 2022, it was an excuse). I would pit CF KI ops again Taft ops any day. But, to be transparent, my lense is marred by the fact that I'm an adult now, and understand logistics better than when I was a child/teen and didn't. So they might have been better back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted Tuesday at 09:36 PM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 09:36 PM 3 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said: Just gotta ask a question here ... Cedar Fair operations, in general, at Kings Island, were typically top notch, until budget cuts reduced labor. ( Let's be honest, staffing issues didn't hold water after 2022, it was an excuse). I would pit CF KI ops again Taft ops any day. But, to be transparent, my lense is marred by the fact that I'm an adult now, and understand logistics better than when I was a child/teen and didn't. So they might have been better back then. The operations have always been among the best in the industry since Kings Island opened its gates in 1972, but it’s not as good as the Taft days. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ellis Posted Tuesday at 11:31 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 11:31 PM I agree with Don because since the new Six Flags CEO John Reilly has joined Six Flags today....As a matter of fact, yes there is a need to less regionalization and be more focused on local like Kings Island's and I do believe that John Reilly will do great things and be more successful.....moreover, it's obvious to me that some of the holiday events were cancelled at other Six Flags parks including Kings Dominion.... Fortunately, there are Holiday in The Park at Six Flags Over Texas and Fiesta Texas are still there so is Winterfest at Carowinds, Kings Island & Canada's Wonderland. It's sad that many people in Virginia were upset that Winterfest at Kings Dominion got taken away due to losing money....and some had to make tough choices to go with Busch Gardens Williamsburg or move to another state like Florida and Texas where it has more entertainment opportunities especially that where holiday events at theme parks are offered..... I could foresee Kings Island will keep Winterfest for years to come.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago It appears the stock was on an upward trajectory anyway, but I at least it didn't nose dive like recent announcements caused. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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