Tag: Amusement parks

Cedar Fair and Six Flags will merge to create a playtime powerhouse in North America

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Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging to create an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries.

The combined company, worth more than $3.5 billion, will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property including Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.

Amusement parks have seen an uptick in revenue but have struggled to raise attendance since the pandemic, even as other entertainment sectors have bounced back. A tie-up between two huge players is expected to at least lower costs.

Cedar Fair reported an attendance of 12.4 million guests in its third quarter, a 1% increase from a year earlier. Six Flags announced a 16% rise in its third-quarter attendance, which totaled 9.3 million guests.

But amusement parks, including Six Flags, has struggled to get people through the gates, said James Hardiman at Citi Investment Research.

“Whereas the theme park industry as a whole has been under significant pressure since the start of the pandemic, Six Flags has created additional pressure of its own, with a volatile new attendance and pricing strategy that has struggled to take root, alienating its core customers and leading to dramatic drops in visitation along the way,” Hardiman wrote.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which have little geographical overlap, anticipate $120 million in cost savings within two years of closing the deal.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair have talked about potential deals before, with Six Flags previously making an offer for Cedar Fair in 2019, but it was turned down. SeaWorld approached Cedar Fair with a bid last year, but that proposal was also rejected.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, Cedar Fair unitholders will receive one share of common stock in the combined company for each unit owned, while Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.5800 shares of stock in the combined company for each share owned.

Cedar Fair unitholders will own approximately 51.2% of the combined company, while Six Flags shareholders will own about 48.8%.

“Our merger with Six Flags will bring together two of North America’s iconic amusement park companies to establish a highly diversified footprint and a more robust operating model to enhance park offerings and performance,” Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman said in a prepared statement.

Zimmerman will be president and CEO of the combined company. Selim Bassoul, president and CEO of Six Flags, will become executive chairman.

The companies said that given their broader geographic footprint as a single company, seasonal volatility should moderate.

The company’s newly formed board will include six directors from Cedar Fair and six directors from Six Flags.

The company will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will keep significant finance and administrative operations in Sandusky, Ohio, where Cedar Fair is based.

Six Flags is now based in Arlington, Texas.

Once the deal closes, the combined company will operate under the name Six Flags and trade under the ticker symbol “FUN” on the New York Stock Exchange.

The transaction, which was approved by both companies’ boards, is targeted to close in the first half of next year. It still needs approval from Six Flags shareholders.

Shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and Cedar Fair LP were essentially flat before the opening bell Thursday, but both are up more than 9% this week after rumors of a deal began to spread.

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November 2, 2023
Heavily armed man with explosives found dead at amusement park over weekend

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Police say a heavily armed man killed himself rather than carry out an attack at a Colorado amusement park

ByThe Associated Press

October 30, 2023, 3:09 PM

DENVER — A heavily armed man killed himself rather than carry out an apparent plan to shoot up a mountaintop amusement park in Colorado, authorities said Monday.

The 20-year-old man was found dead at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on Saturday morning before it opened to the public, apparently breaking into the park while it was closed. He was armed with an AR-style rifle, a handgun and explosives and was wearing body armor and tactical clothing, authorities said.

Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said a message saying, “I am not a killer, I just want to get into the caves,” was written on a wall of a women’s bathroom where he was found. Vallario could not say for certain that the suspect left the message.

Multiple improvised explosive devices were also found in his vehicle, police had said. Authorities searched the rest of the park for other explosives but suggested no others were found.

“While this investigation is still ongoing and very active it is important to realize that given the amount of weaponry, ammunition, and explosive devices found, the suspect could have implemented an attack of devastating proportions upon our community and first responders,” said Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Walt Stowe.

The man, whose name has not been released, was from the area and had a semi-automatic rifle and semi-automatic handgun and multiple, loaded magazines for each weapon, he said. The man’s clothing had patches and emblems that gave the appearance of him being associated with law enforcement, Stowe said.

On Saturday, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent cited Stowe as saying that police were investigating the man’s death as a possible suicide.

The park is located on a mountain above the Colorado River in western Colorado. Its attractions include cave tours, an alpine coaster and a pendulum swing ride perched on the edge of a cliff that sends riders over the river canyon.

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October 30, 2023
South Koreans hold subdued Halloween celebrations a year after deadly party crush

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SEOUL, South Korea — Halloween celebrations in South Korea were subdued on the eve of the first anniversary of a harrowing crowd surge that killed about 160 people in a Seoul alleyway.

Many restaurants, bars, department stores and amusement parks avoided Halloween-themed events this year as a sign of respect for the victims. Few people clad in Halloween costumes were seen Saturday in Seoul’s popular Itaewon neighborhood, where revelers fell on each other like dominos as a large number of people crammed into the narrow, sloping alley.

Post-it notes with condolence messages such as “We won’t forget you forever” or “Sorry. Please, rest in peace” plastered the walls of the site. A mourning station established in central Seoul received many visitors, who laid white flowers and burned incense in front of photos of the victims.

“I think this kind of incident must never happen again. Our hearts are aching too much,” Choi Seul Gi, a 30-year-old office worker, said in Itaewon.

Bereaved families are to hold a formal memorial service on Sunday.

In Seoul’s Hongdae area, another entertainment zone, there were only a small number of people wearing Halloween outfits. There were no reports of any safety-related incidents across South Korea by early Sunday.

Authorities have deployed thousands of police, emergency and other officials since Friday for crowd control and safety of pedestrians in Itaewon and 15 other major nightlife districts in Seoul. About 200 police officers were separately mobilized to monitor narcotics use and violent crime, according to Seoul police.

In January, a police special investigation team concluded that police and municipal officials failed to work out effective crowd control steps despite correctly anticipating a huge number of people in Itaewon. Investigators also concluded that police had ignored hotline calls by pedestrians who warned of swelling crowds before the surge turned deadly.

The Itaewon crush caused a nationwide outpouring of grief as the dead were mostly in their 20s and 30s. There was also anger that the government again ignored safety and regulatory issues despite the lessons learned since the 2014 sinking of the ferry Sewol, which killed 304 people — mostly teenagers on a school trip.

“I offer a deep apology again by bearing the sorrow and heavy responsibility for the disaster in my heart,” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a statement Friday. “The way to overcome the pains and sorrow of the disaster is preventing this kind of incident from happening again.”

Officials have tried to overhaul the country’s safety systems and response protocols since the Itaewon tragedy. But safety-related incidents have continuously occurred.

“First of all, the problem is that there have been only stopgap measures whenever some incidents happened,” said Park Sangin, a professor at Seoul National University. “Also, the bigger problem is that there has been no clear accountability for them.”

When police in January announced the results of the probe into the Itaewon crush, they said they were pursuing criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter and negligence, against 23 officials. But no top-level official was included. Most of the 23 officials are still on trial.

In February, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach the safety minister, Lee Sang-min, over the Itaewon disaster. But the Constitutional Court in July overturned Lee’s impeachment.

Families of the victims and their supporters have demanded President Yoon Suk Yeol offer a more sincere apology and accept a through, independent investigation.

“The attitude by the government and the ruling party is inflicting deeper and more painful scars on (us),” the families said in a joint statement. “We just want to know the fundamental reasons why on Oct. 29, 2022, thousands of people fell, 159 of them died and thousands of others were injured or ended up living with trauma.”

The families said they invited Yoon to attend Sunday’s memorial. Local media reported Yoon decided not to go due to concerns the event could be politically used by his rivals.

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Associated Press video journalist Yong Jun Chang contributed to this report.

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October 28, 2023
DeSantis allies ask Florida judge to throw out Disney’s counterclaims in lawsuit

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Appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the board of Walt Disney World’s governing district are asking a state judge to dismiss Disney’s counterclaims in a lawsuit

ByThe Associated Press

October 20, 2023, 2:04 PM

FILE – Crowds fill Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2021. Facing backlash, Walt Disney World’s governing district will pay a stipend to employees whose free passes and discounts to the theme park resort were eliminated under a policy made by a new district administrator and board members who are allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Agreements that Disney made with the governing district for Walt Disney World before it was taken over by appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis weren’t legally valid, and the company’s counterclaims against the district should be dismissed, the governing body said in court papers filed this week.

The governing district now controlled by supporters of the Republican governor said in court papers Wednesday that a state court judge should dismiss Disney’s counterclaims. The counterclaims seek a court declaration that the agreements are valid and that the district’s board of DeSantis allies violated the company’s contracts, free speech and due process rights.

The agreements shifted control over design and construction at Disney World from the district to the company and prohibited the district from using the likeness of Disney characters or other intellectual property without Disney’s permission. The agreements were signed in February before the district takeover by the DeSantis appointees, who claim the contracts neutered their powers for the district that provides municipal services for Disney World.

The takeover of the district, which was previously controlled by Disney allies, came after the company publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

The contracts weren’t properly publicized and the Disney supporters on the district’s board at the time didn’t have the legal authority to sign the agreements, the district now-controlled by DeSantis supporters said in this week’s court papers.

“Disney has failed to allege any facts that demonstrate the existence of damages,” said the district, called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District since the takeover after being called the Reedy Creek Improvement District for the previous 55 years.

Disney and DeSantis and his allies also are battling in federal court, where the company has sued DeSantis, claiming the governor violated its free speech rights by punishing it for expressing opposition to the law. DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District have asked a federal judge to throw out Disney’s First Amendment lawsuit, calling it meritless.

DeSantis currently is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

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Follow Mike Schneider on X, formerly known as Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP.

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October 20, 2023
Disney attorneys want to question former administrator in lawsuit with DeSantis appointees

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Disney attorneys want to question a previous administrator of the Walt Disney World governing district as part of its defense against a lawsuit brought by a board made up of appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

ByMIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

October 17, 2023, 12:10 PM

FILE – Crowds fill Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2021. Facing backlash, Walt Disney World’s governing district will pay a stipend to employees whose free passes and discounts to the theme park resort were eliminated under a policy made by a new district administrator and board members who are allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney attorneys want to question a previous administrator of the governing district that provides municipal services to Walt Disney World as part of its defense against a state lawsuit brought by a board made up of appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Disney attorneys said in court papers Monday that they have subpoenaed John Classe, the former administrator of what was previously called the Reedy Creek Improvement District for 55 years until it was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District earlier this year during a takeover by DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. The takeover of the district, which was previously controlled by Disney allies, came after the company publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

Following the takeover, Classe was replaced by DeSantis ally, Glen Gilzean.

Classe was in charge of the district when the governing body signed agreements with Disney which shifted control over design and construction at Disney World to the company and prohibited the district from using the likeness of Disney characters or other intellectual property without Disney’s permission. The agreements were signed in February before the district takeover by the DeSantis appointees, who claim the contracts neutered their powers. The appointees are now suing Disney in state court in an attempt to void the deals.

Among the records the Disney attorneys are seeking from Classe are documents used to adopt the contracts, documents that support the district’s authority to enter the contracts and information about how the agreements were publicized, according to the court documents filed Monday. One of the arguments the DeSantis appointees make about why the agreements should be voided is that they weren’t properly publicized.

Disney has filed counterclaims in the state lawsuit which include asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable. Disney has sent a notice to DeSantis’ office demanding internal communications, including text messages and emails, and documents. DeSantis currently is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Disney and DeSantis and his allies also are battling in federal court, where the company has sued DeSantis, claiming the governor violated its free speech rights by punishing it for expressing opposition to the law. DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District have asked a federal judge to throw out Disney’s First Amendment lawsuit, calling it meritless.

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Follow Mike Schneider on X, formerly known as Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP.

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October 17, 2023
Someone Created A Ride In Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 That Will Outlast Our Actual Universe

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Image: Marcel Vos / Atari / Emojipedia / Kotaku

Have you ever waited for a few hours to ride a popular roller coaster? Perhaps. But I can guarantee you that nobody has ever waited the entire life of the known universe. Well, unless you are the unlucky digital folks stuck on a new wild and complicated Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 creation from YouTuber Marcel Vos.

Released in 2002, Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 is a popular PC theme park builder that is still actively played and modded by players in 2023. But there are also purists who don’t play the game using fancy mods or open-source ports. And Marcel Vos, a popular RCT2 YouTuber, is one of these players who enjoys experimenting with the original 20-year-old version of the game. A few years back he made a coaster that takes 12 years to complete. But now his newest creation—impressively created without mods—is a working roller coaster that will take over 3 quinvigintillion years in real life to complete. Bring some snacks.

Marcel Vos / Atari

To pull off this amazing and hard-to-comprehend task, Marcel Vos first built a really, really, really long roller coaster that had almost no hills or dips. This means the coaster’s train moves very slowly around the entire thing. Then, when it reaches the end, it reverses due to specific ride options. That return trip takes even longer. And it has to take this very long journey seven times before the ride is considered finished. All in all, that ride takes over two years. That’s long, but not the universe-spanning ride the headline of this article promised.

That is achieved via 253 smaller roller coasters that are synced—using in-game options in RCT2—with the larger, very slow coaster. So once that big roller coaster finishes one ride—which remember takes two years—one of the smaller coasters will start its ride and that coaster is synced to a coaster that will then complete a ride, and so on and so on. What this all means is that by the time you reach the final roller coaster in this nightmare chain, it will take much longer than just two years to complete. In fact, the actual number is so large I can’t even write it all out.

Here’s a picture of it:

Screenshot: Marcel Vos / Kotaku

G/O Media may get a commission

Marcel Vos does a good job in the video demonstrating just how impossibly large this number is, pointing out that if you were to count a single atom every year of everything that exists in the known universe, you’d be done right around the time Vos’ “Universe Coaster’’ would finally be ending its hard-to-comprehend journey. Yeah, you definitely want to pack a lot of snacks before hopping on this ride.

If you want to see this bonkers Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 ride yourself, Marcel Vos has graciously released a file you can download and play on your own PC. Just be warned: You won’t be around to actually see the final ride finish its eternal journey through theme park hell.

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Zack Zwiezen

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March 10, 2023