Six Flags & Cedar Fair merger: 1 year later
Six Flags and Cedar Fair merged on July 1, 2024; one year later, how has the mega-corporation changed its theme parks?
Update, July 1, 2025, 12:25 p.m. ET: Just hours after we published this story, Six Flags New England announced the Quantum Accelerator straddle coaster is delayed until 2026. The ride was originally announced in 2024 to open in 2025.
Originally announced in November 2023, the entities formerly known as Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation merged to form a combined company going by the name of the latter, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The merger was completed on July 1, 2024.
The merged company wasted no time in making big changes — announcing the permanent closure of its D.C. park, removing park presidents from all of its properties, and destroying the world’s tallest roller coaster (without prior notice to fans) — all within the first year of the Six Flags / Cedar Fair merge.
To its credit, the company also continued announcing and opening new attractions, capping off its first year as a merged corporation by debuting Siren’s Curse — a “tilt coaster” at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio — on June 28, 2025.
Timeline of the first year of Six Flags & Cedar Fair’s merged company
Here’s a timeline of major events in the first year of the “new” Six Flags, along with links to our previous coverage to dive into each story in more detail.
July 2024: Six Flags and Cedar Fair merge. A new “all-park passport” season pass option grants entry to all 42 parks now in the Six Flags portfolio. (Note: 42 is on the conservative side. If you count water parks attached to amusement parks, there are 56 Six Flags parks.)
August 2024: Six Flags announces seven new roller coasters opening in 2025 across its various parks, including the Siren’s Curse tilt coaster at Cedar Point and the Rapterra winged coaster at Kings Dominion, among others.
August 2024: Six Flags announces Top Thrill 2 will remain closed until 2025. The roller coaster debuted in May 2024 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, before closing just one week later.
November 2024: Six Flags announces a “portfolio review” of its properties, stating it will internally assess the theme parks and water parks under the Six Flags / Cedar Fair domain and consider potentially selling parks.
Photo by Blake Taylor
November 2024: Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster, closes forever without notice at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, N.J. This trend continues; over the next few months, Six Flags announces six more coasters at various parks are permanently closed without giving prior notice to fans.
November 2024: Simultaneously with the Kingda Ka news, Six Flags announces an investment of $525 million for new attractions across nine parks for the 2026 season.
January 2025: Six Flags states its intention to acquire full ownership of Six Flags Over Georgia by 2027.
February 2025: The “portfolio review” is complete; the company does not announce any conclusions yet.
Spring 2025: New rides open at various Six Flags-owned parks.
- Georgia Gold Rusher at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta, Ga.
- Rapterra at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.
- Wrath of Rakshasa at Six Flags Great America near Chicago, Ill.
- Snoopy’s Racing Railway at Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C.
- RiverRacers at Kings Island SoakCity in Mason, Ohio
Photo by Gretchen Whittington
May 2025: The company announces Six Flags America near Washington, D.C., will permanently close at the end of the 2025 operating season, following the “portfolio review” of the company’s assets.
May 2025: Top Thrill 2 reopens at Cedar Point.
May 2025: During a quarterly earnings call, Six Flags announces a corporate restructuring, stating more than 10% of its full-time staff will be laid off for a savings of $16 million.
May 2025: During an event dubbed “Investor Day,” Six Flags shares its vision through 2028, including focuses on revamped food & beverage options and season pass retention. The company declares a “Great Reset” following the Six Flags / Cedar Fair merger.
May 2025: Less than a week after Investor Day, Six Flags announces it is removing park presidents at all of its locations, transitioning to regional management instead.
June 2025: Siren’s Curse opens at Cedar Point.
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