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Six Flags

About 11 pages (3,258 words)

Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: SIX)
Founded
Headquarters	New York, New York
Key people	Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jeffrey Speed, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Industry	Amusement park operator
Revenue	USD$945.6 million (2006)^[1]
Operating income	USD$232.8 million (2006)
Net income	USD$305.6 million (2006)
Employees	2,500 full-time; 33,000 seasonal
Website	http://www.sixflags.com/

For the national flags of Texas, see Six flags over Texas.

Six Flags Theme Parks (commonly Six Flags) is the world's largest chain of amusement parks and theme parks, in terms of number of properties. The company maintains 19 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, water parks and family entertainment centers. The company's headquarters is located in New York City. The company took its name from its first property, Six Flags Over Texas, and the six flags that have flown over the state of Texas during its history, namely those of Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. In 2006, Six Flags properties hosted approximately 28.5 million guests, making it the second most popular theme park company in the world, behind only Disney Parks.^[2]

1 History
2 Marketing efforts
3 Other assets
4 Current properties
5 Former properties
6 Accidents
7 References
8 External links

History

Beginnings

6 Flags^[3]

The Six Flags chain began in 1961 with the creation of Six Flags Over Texas by Angus G. Wynne of Arlington, Texas, which initially featured a Native American village, a gondola ride, a railroad, some Wild West shows, a stagecoach ride, and "Skull Island", a pirate-themed adventure attraction. There was also an excursion aboard "French" boats through a wilderness full of animated puppets. Over time, all of those attractions, except for the railroad, would be replaced by others, such as roller coasters, swing rides, log flumes, and shoot-the-chute rides, as well as an observation tower.

Growth and acquisitions

The original park in Arlington was sold to Penn Central Corp. in 1966. Six Flags opened Six Flags Over Georgia in 1967 and Six Flags St. Louis in 1971, which would, along with Six Flags Over Texas, be the only three parks that would be constructed by the company. The company continued to grow by acquiring other independent parks. It purchased Astroworld in Houston, Texas in 1975, Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey in 1977 and Magic Mountain in Valencia, California in 1979 before Penn Central sold its assets to Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1982. In 1984, the Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois was acquired from the Marriott hotel chain. The company established a relationship with Time Warner in 1984 with the acquisition of the rights to Warner Bros. animated characters for use in their properties. Bally surrendered control of the chain to Wesray Capital Corporation in a leveraged buyout in 1987. Time Warner quickly began to gain more leverage in the company, gaining a 19.5% stake in Six Flags in 1990 and then 50% in 1991, with the remaining shares of the company being split by Blackstone Group and Wertheim Schroder & Company. Time Warner purchased the remaining stakes in the company in 1993, changing the company's name from Six Flags Corp. to Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. In 1996, Six Flags acquired the Fiesta Texas theme park in San Antonio, Texas.

Acquisition by Premier Parks

Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. was purchased in whole on April 1, 1998 from Time Warner by Oklahoma City-based Premier Parks for $1.86 billion. Premier then began to apply the Six Flags name to a number of smaller parks that the company had already owned, including Darien Lake, Elitch Gardens, Kentucky Kingdom and Adventure World. In 2000, Premier Parks assumed the Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. name and continued re-branding its parks, most notably the former Geauga Lake into Six Flags Ohio. Six Flags began vigorously expanding, attempting to branch out internationally, acquiring numerous properties across the country and overseas including the Walibi and Warner Bros. Movie World chains and historic Belgian park Bellewaerde in Europe, La Ronde in Canada, and Reino Aventura in Mexico. Three of those parks were re-branded as Six Flags parks--Walibi Flevo became Six Flags Holland, Walibi Belgium became Six Flags Belgium and Reino Aventura became Six Flags Mexico. In 2001, Six Flags acquired the former SeaWorld Ohio from Busch Entertainment Corporation, merged it with the adjacent Six Flags Ohio and re-branded the park again, this time into Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. The park was positioned to compete against northern Ohio's more famous amusement park, Cedar Point.

Sell-off of assets and shareholder revolt

The company lost money every year since 1998, amassing more than $2 billion in debt, which some analysts say is due to over-expansion and mismanagement. In 2004, Six Flags began to close and sell properties in an effort to help alleviate the company's growing debt. On March 10, Six Flags sold its European parks, with the exception of the Movie World park in Madrid, Spain, to Star Parks Group. The Madrid park was sold back to Time Warner and renamed "Parque Warner Madrid." In April of that year, Six Flags determined that the investment required to keep Worlds of Adventure competitive with Cedar Point would be too great, and thus the company sold the park to Cedar Fair, the owner of Cedar Point. These sales raised $345 million dollars in an effort to relieve Six Flags' massive debt.^[4] In 2005, Six Flags endured even more turmoil. Some of the company's largest investors, notably Bill Gates' Cascade Investments (which owns about 11% of Six Flags) and Daniel Snyder's Red Zone, LLC (which owns 12%), demanded change. Indeed, on August 17, 2005, Red Zone began a proxy battle to gain control of Six Flags' board of directors. Later that month, Six Flags New Orleans would be severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. On September 12, 2005, Six Flags Chief Executive Officer Kieran Burke announced that Six Flags Astroworld would be closed and demolished at the end of the 2005 season. The company cited issues such as the park's performance, and parking issues involving the Houston Texans football team, Reliant Stadium, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, leveraged with the estimated value of the property upon which the park was located. Company executives were expecting to receive upwards of $150 million for the real estate, but ended up receiving $77 million when the bare property (which cost $20 million to clear) was sold to a development corporation in 2006.^[5] On November 22, 2005, Red Zone announced it had gained control of the board. Kieran Burke was removed on December 14, 2005 and replaced by Mark Shapiro, former Executive Vice President of Programming at ESPN. Six Flags then named former Representative Jack Kemp, entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein, and the former president, Michael Kassan, of the Interpublic Group of Companies Incorporated, a global marketing and advertising agency, to their newly revamped board of directors. Even with the new management team, the sell-off would continue into 2006. On January 27, Six Flags announced the sale of the Frontier City theme park and White Water Bay water park, both located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the conclusion of the 2006 operating season. At the same time, Six Flags also announced its plan to close corporate offices in Oklahoma City, moving its headquarters to New York City. Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro said he expects the parks to continue operation after the sale, a lesson the company learned after its public relations debacle with the closure of Astroworld. In June of 2006, Six Flags announced it was considering closing or selling up to six of its parks, including Elitch Gardens, Darien Lake, WaterWorld in Concord, California, Wild Waves and Enchanted Village in Federal Way, Washington, Splashtown in Houston, Texas and, most notably, Six Flags Magic Mountain.^[6] In addition, Six Flags also announced the sale of Wyandot Lake in Powell, Ohio to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, which is located next to the park.^[7] Ultimately, Six Flags Magic Mountain was spared, with the remaining six parks sold on January 11, 2007 to PARC Management for $312 million, $275 million cash and a note for $37 million. PARC 7F, of Jacksonville, Florida, is expected to sell the parks to CNL Income Properties Inc., a real-estate trust based in Florida, and then lease them back.

Marketing efforts

Initially, Six Flags parks would prepare separate marketing campaigns for each park, sometimes with special themes (like the 25th anniversary of Six Flags Great America and the 35th anniversary of Six Flags Over Georgia in 2002). In 2004, Six Flags began a series of commercials linking all of the parks. The commercials were notable for a new mascot, "Mr. Six", an apparently feeble old man in a tuxedo and red bow tie. In many of the commercials, Mr. Six would slowly exit a multi-colored bus, only to start frenetically dancing to the Vengaboys' "We Like to Party." The commercials were an immediate hit and Mr. Six almost instantly became the official mascot, although he was retired after the 2005 season. Six Flags has licensed its name and its theme park creations to other companies, who have used these assets to create licensed products. One such example is the theme park simulation game Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, which featured recreations of Six Flags parks that could be expanded and operated at the user's discretion. In recent years, Six Flags has created strategic partnerships with other companies who would feature their products inside the parks. On March 30, 2006, Six Flags announced that it will sell no other pizza besides Papa John's at its parks. In turn, Six Flags will receive an annual sponsorship and promotional opportunities from Papa John's, though financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. Other recent partners have included Cold Stone Creamery and Nintendo, which added testing stations in several parks to show off its new Wii console.^[8]

Other assets

On June 19, 2007, Six Flags announced it has purchased 40% of Dick Clark Productions, which owns rights to American Bandstand and other shows and productions.^[9]

Current properties

These properties are listed in the order they joined the Six Flags family, either by construction or by acquisition.

Park	Location	Year Opened	Year Acquired	Notes
Six Flags Over Texas	Arlington, Texas	1961	N/A	The first Six Flags park. The park is owned by a limited partnership and is managed by Six Flags.
Six Flags Over Georgia	Austell, Georgia	1967	N/A	Like Six Flags Over Texas, the park is owned by a limited partnership and is managed by Six Flags.
Six Flags St. Louis	Eureka, Missouri	1971	N/A	Originally opened as Six Flags Over Mid-America (name changed in 1996). Includes, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park, which opened in 1999.
Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson, New Jersey	1974	1977	Includes Six Flags Wild Safari drive-thru animal park, which opened with the park.
Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, California	1971	1979	Separate admission, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park located next door.
Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, Illinois	1976	1984	Originally opened as Marriott's Great America. Includes Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park, which opened in 2005.
Six Flags America	Largo, Maryland	1982	1992	Originally opened as Wild World, park was later renamed Adventure World before it was purchased by Premier Parks in 1992. Park was re-branded in 1999. Includes Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park, which took on that name in 2005.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Valencia, California	1995	N/A	A separate-gate water park for Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Arlington, Texas	1983	1995	Originally opened as Wet 'N Wild; park re-named in 1996. This is the second-gate water park to Six Flags Over Texas.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas	San Antonio, Texas	1992	1996	Includes White Water Bay waterpark, which opened with the park.
The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom	Lake George, New York	1954	1996	Purchased by Premier Parks prior to its acquisition of Six Flags. Splashwater Kingdom was added in 1996. The company added a hotel, the Great Escape Lodge and White Water Bay, an indoor water park, in 2006.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Vallejo, California	1986	1997	Originally opened as Marine World Africa USA, this zoological park with rides was managed by Premier Parks prior to its acquisition of Six Flags. Initially re-branded as Six Flags Marine World, it received its current name in 2007.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom	Louisville, Kentucky	1987	1997	Initially built by local investors, the park was acquired by Premier Parks prior to its purchase of Six Flags and was re-branded during 1998. Park includes Six Flags Splashwater Kingdom water park, which opened in 1992. During the annual Kentucky State Fair, the park serves as the midway for the fair.
Six Flags New England	Agawam, Massachusetts	1840	1997	The park was purchased by Premier Parks prior to its acquisition of Six Flags, and was re-branded in 2000. Includes Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Water park, which was added in 1998.
American Adventures	Marietta, Georgia	Mid 1980s	1999	The park is located adjacent to Six Flags White Water, and is marketed to families with young children.
Six Flags White Water	Marietta, Georgia	1983	1999	Park is located across town from Six Flags Over Georgia. The same limited partnership owns all the properties in the Atlanta market.
Six Flags Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	1982	1999	Originally opened as Reino Aventura, the park was re-branded in 2000.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Jackson, New Jersey	2000	N/A	Located adjacent to the theme park and wild safari, requires separate admission.
La Ronde	Montreal, Quebec	1967	2001	Opened as the midway for Expo '67.
Six Flags New Orleans	New Orleans, Louisiana	2000	2002	Originally opened as Jazzland, the park was re-branded in 2003. Park is closed indefinitely due to severe damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Former properties

These properties are listed in alphabetical order by the final name of the park while under Six Flags control.

Park	Location	Year Opened	Year Closed/Sold	Notes
Bellewaerde	Ieper, Belgium	1954	2004	Park was acquired in 1998. Property was sold and remains in operation under new management.
Frontier City	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1958	2007	Park was owned by Premier Parks when it purchased the Six Flags chain. Current company sold the property, which is expected to remain in operation under new management.
Movieland Wax Museum	Buena Park, California	1962	1985	Purchased in 1970, this wax museum sold all of it's holdings and moved many of the sets and wax figures to California, but sold the original clothing and props to the American Musical Academy of Arts Association. They eventually closed the museum in 2005.
Six Flags Astroworld	Houston, Texas	1968	2005	Astroworld was acquired in 1974. Park was sold and demolished for other development.
Six Flags Atlantis	Hollywood, Florida	1982	1989	Water park was acquired in 1984. Property was sold, but was eventually demolished in 1994.
Six Flags AutoWorld	Flint, Michigan	1984	1985	Indoor entertainment venue was eventually closed and facility demolished.
Six Flags Belgium	Brussels, Belgium	1975	2004	The Walibi properties were purchased in 1998. The park remains open today under new management.
Six Flags Darien Lake	Buffalo, New York	1981	2007	Park was owned by Premier Parks when it purchased the Six Flags chain. Current company sold the property, which is expected to remain in operation under new management.
Six Flags Elitch Gardens	Denver, Colorado	1995	2007	Park was owned by Premier Parks when it purchased the Six Flags chain. Current company sold the property, which is expected to remain in operation under new management.
Six Flags Holland	Dronten, The Netherlands	1971	2004	Like the other Walibi properties, the former Walibi Flevo was purchased in 1998. The park remains open today under new management.
Six Flags Power Plant	Baltimore, Maryland	1985	1989	Located in the Inner Harbor district of Baltimore, the site has been redeveloped.
Six Flags SplashTown	Houston, Texas	1980s	2007	Sold by Six Flags in January 2007, the park remains open under new management.
Six Flags Stars Hall of Fame	Orlando, Florida	1975	1984	This wax museum was located near SeaWorld Orlando. Like SeaWorld, it was acquired by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, but the wax museum was closed almost immediately after the sale.
Six Flags Waterworld (Concord)	Concord, California	1995	2007	The water park was acquired by Premier Parks prior to its purchase of Six Flags. The park remains open under new management.
Six Flags Waterworld	Houston, Texas	1983	2005	The water park was adjacent to Six Flags Astroworld. Park was sold and demolished for other development.
Six Flags Waterworld (Sacramento)	Sacramento, California	Unknown	2007	The water park was acquired by Premier Parks prior to its purchase of Six Flags. The park remains open under new management.
Six Flags Worlds of Adventure	Aurora, Ohio	1889	2004	The park was purchased by Premier Parks in 1995 prior to its purchase of Six Flags. After adding the former SeaWorld of Ohio in 2001, the entire property was sold to Cedar Fair, which will open only the water park in 2008.
Warner Bros. Movie World Germany	Bottrop, Germany	1967	2004	The park was purchased in 1998. It was sold, with most of the other European parks, in the same transaction in 2004.
Warner Bros. Park Madrid	Madrid, Spain	2002	2004	The park was built in a joint venture, to be managed by Six Flags. Sold back to Warner Bros. apart from the other European Six Flags parks.
Walibi Aquitaine	Bordeaux, France	1992	2004	The Walibi properties were purchased in 1998. The park remains open today under new management.
Walibi Lorraine	Metz, France	1989	2004	The Walibi properties were purchased in 1998. The park remains open today under new management.
Walibi Rhône-Alpes	Lyon, France	1979	2004	The Walibi properties were purchased in 1998. The park remains open today under new management.
White Water Bay	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1981	2007	The property was sold, but remains open under new management.
Wild Waves and Enchanted Village	Federal Way, Washington	1977	2007	This combination water park and amusement park was sold in 2007, and remains open to this day.
Wyandot Lake	Columbus, Ohio	Unknown	2006	The property was sold to the adjacent Columbus Zoo in 2006. The park is currently closed for reconstruction and will reopen under zoo management in 2008 as Zoombezi Bay.