The Six Fags and Cedar Fair merger is expected to finalize today July 1, 2024. The last major hurdle was passed last week with regulatory approval. The new combined company will be known Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, trade under the ticker symbol “FUN” on the NYSE starting July 2nd and be based out of Charlotte.
Continue readingUpdate September 2025: It appears Canada’s Marineland is selling most of its rides. Bill Ossim of Rides Plus, LLC is handling the sale with details like pricing managed through a formal inquiry process for qualified buyers. There have been some reports of pricing online with family rides going for $75,000 and thrill rides as high as $2.5 million.
Update March 2025: The Six Flags Diamond pass is essentially no more. It has been replaced with the Prestige pass which does NOT have the “all parks” access. You can still get many of the same “all parks” benefit by buying anything as low as the Gold Pass and then get the All Park Passport which could be $75 to $150 more depending on your park. It is more expensive than the old Diamond pass with all parks for sure, but it’s also a lot more parks including all the legacy Cedar Fair parks and not just the legacy Six Flags parks. The Prestige Pass would also be required to get you into the VIP Lounge. The new price of the Prestige Pass at SFOG is $149 in 2025 instead of $100 in 2024.
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There are a lot of coaster clones out there from the numerous iterations of “Batman” at the Six Flags parks to the Sky Rocket II rides across Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. However, the one that may be the most numerous is “Spinning Coaster” by Italian manufacturer SBF-Visa. This simple figure 8 spinning coaster seems to be everywhere from family entertainment centers to small amusement parks. By my count on Caosterpedia there are at least 66 installs of the several different variants of this ride all in just 10 years from its 2014 debut.
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In the south it feels like spring is here. Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are warming and trees are budding. This also means the return of most of our favorite theme parks! Some of the new rides and attractions may not be ready yet, but the parks will be open. The parks are open more days than ever (for example Dollywood is open 280 days this year, 23 more than last year), which means greater value for our season passes and more fun! Here is a partial list of opening days:
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A thought leader I follow named Gavin Adams recently wrote about what he calls “The Law of Diminishing Astonishment” which is a derivative of the “Law of Diminishing Returns”. The first line below, basically encapsulates the theory and, although Gavin’s target audience wasn’t theme parks (although he’d probably be a great speaker for them), he used one as an example:
Continue readingNo matter how great something is, over time, we stop seeing it as excellent.
I’ve taken our family to Universal Studios in Orlando nearly every fall for a decade. I don’t know that our first trip was our best trip, but it was undoubtedly the most exhilarating. We just got back a few weeks ago from our annual trek, and we all felt the same way. It was fun, but I’m not sure we should return next year.
Unless they have a new ride!
Why did we feel that?
Gavin Adams
Camping was a big part of my childhood. In retrospect a lot of it probably had to do with the fact that my parents liked to vacation, but we didn’t have a lot of extra money for hotels and restaurants. It was always a bonus when the campground had an arcade, mini golf course or swimming area, but I couldn’t fathom my excitement if we had ever camped by a theme park. In Fall of this year people will have just that opportunity with the opening of Safari Campground at Wild Adventures!
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It’s a new year and it’s fun to speculate what it might bring. In the beginning of 2023 we of course had some suspicion that Sand Serpent may be closing sooner than later (like we hear about Kumba today), but nothing was confirmed. We also had no clue there would be a second B&M invert coming in the form of Phoenix Rising to take its place. In checking building permits there doesn’t seem to be anything new for 2024 other than some modifications to the giraffe barn. It’s early though and it’ll probably be summer and after Phoenix Rising’s opening before speculation turns to what’s next. However, I believe something Big has to be announced in 2024 for 2025, probably something EPIC if you catch my drift…
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So there’s a cool new “Year in Review” in Log Ride, the app I use to track my credits and visits to parks. In addition to showing roller coasters, locations, tallest, fastest, etc., it also shows steps and miles. I was shocked to see that I had walked 174 miles in theme parks so far this year with over 300,000 steps!
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According to the Accela database it appears the Zagora Cafe is getting an overhaul. Of all the dining options in the park it was probably most in need of some refurbishments. The actual food service area looks quite dated and the dining area is essentially a covered patio. With the recent renovations the the Giraffe Bar, Springs Taproom and Coaster Coffee, it was probably next up in the rotation.
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BGT Safari 