Six Flags says ‘We want you back’ | 6 ways new CEO is planning the company’s future
Six Flags’ new CEO has ambitious plans for the company as he steps into his role surrounded by a huge portfolio of theme parks.
In December 2025, Six Flags installed SeaWorld alum John Reilly as its new CEO. Six Flags’ quarterly earnings call with investors on Feb. 19, 2026, was the first such event since Reilly began his tenure. As such, it was a prime opportunity for Reilly to lay out his goals for where he sees Six Flags going next.
“For our guests and fans, when you come to our parks, your entertainment experience each visit should meet or exceed your expectations,” Reilly said. “We want you back, so we plan to earn your trust to ensure that happens.”
His remarks amount to something of a manifesto for Reilly’s vision for Six Flags. Reilly laid out high-level principles he intends Six Flags to aim for, areas for improvement he’s seen, and a few things he hopes don’t change. Let’s get into it.
‘I’m not here to spend time on the past’
Since the 2024 merger of Six Flags with Cedar Fair, the combined company has experienced numerous hurdles, among them multiple changes in management org charts, a reduction of seasonal special events, and the permanent closure of a park, with the company saying as recently as November 2025 that divesting more parks in the future was a “priority.”
To be fair, during this same period, the merged company has continued to open and announce new attractions, including multiple record-breaking roller coasters.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags
All of that being said, Reilly made his position clear as he steps into his new role as Six Flags’ CEO: “I’m not here to spend time on the past.” Instead, Reilly said, “I’m here to build a disciplined operating culture that consistently delivers reliable fun and memorable guest experiences, as well as dependable financial outcomes and to earn credibility with our guests and investors quarter by quarter.”
Reilly stayed clear of mentioning his predecessor’s remarks about closing or selling additional parks. However, he did say the company continues to evaluate its expansive portfolio of park properties.
“We approach asset evaluation through a disciplined return framework. We have rigorous work underway on that front in terms of assessing,” Reilly said. We covered this topic of Six Flags evaluating its park portfolio at length in our separate coverage.
Drawing from theme park expertise
While keen to not dwell on the past, Reilly seems excited implement learnings from his own personal career history into Six Flags’ present challenges.
“Theme parks are in my blood,” Reilly said during the Feb. 19 call, “and I’m very proud of the work I’ve done at each career stop to deliver exceptional experiences for our guests, to provide a fun, dynamic work environment for our team members, and to drive higher profits for our owners.”
Reilly spent 21 years with United Parks & Resorts (formerly called SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment), including one year as interim CEO, before transitioning in 2019 to Parques Reunidos and its Palace Entertainment division, where he served in various executive roles, including CEO of Palace for one year. Palace owned and operated parks such as Kennywood and Lake Compounce until earlier this year when Herschend — owner of Dollywood and Silver Dollar City — acquired Palace’s U.S. properties from Parques Reunidos.
Photo courtesy of Herschend
“This role is personal for me,” Reilly continued. “Growing up in the theme park industry, I know what ‘great’ looks like.”
Turning to employees
Of stepping into a leadership role with big-picture challenges to address, Reilly said, “Having been through this process a number of times, I can assure you this: the best ideas and highest return innovations come from the people closest to the work.”
To that end, Reilly initiated an internal feedback channel where employees of any role or park can submit ideas. The channel has over 300 submissions so far, with employees “recommending projects that create efficiency and automate workflow,” Reilly said. “These submissions are currently under evaluation as we look to activate the ideas with the highest payback. We want to recognize great ideas, reward them, and scale what works across our entire park portfolio.”
Photos courtesy of Six Flags
Reilly also said he makes it a priority to interact with employees, which Six Flags calls “associates,” face to face in the field. During the Feb. 19 call, Reilly called out by name associates from the maintenance shop teams at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Kings Island, the executive chef at Carowinds, and the workforce director at Canada’s Wonderland as examples of positive conversations he recently had while visiting those respective parks.
“As I’ve traveled the parks and conducted leadership town halls,” Reilly said, “I’m encouraged that our park teams are not only embracing the challenge, but taking pride in driving efficiency. They are committed to do this work the right way, always protecting the guest experience.”
Localizing communication
Six Flags has a massive portfolio of over 50 parks in North America. One of Reilly’s first observations as CEO was how the company approached that vast ownership.
“We operate powerful regional brands, and we must deploy them with greater precision,” Reilly said. “Our guests are not identical market to market, and our marketing strategy should not be, either. Over the past year, we saw the same promotion produce very different outcomes across regions.”
Reilly may have been referring to the MVP “Most Valuable Pass” Sale from fall 2025, during which guests who purchased a Gold-tier 2026 season pass for one park received yearlong admission for all other Six Flags parks in North America for free.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags
“This is not a demand problem,” Reilly continued. “It’s an opportunity for us to better tailor our efforts to our local communities by applying tighter test-and-learn disciplines. Marketing then becomes a demand lever, not just a traffic driver.”
Setting clear standards for quality
Reilly didn’t mince words in describing his expectations for employees and the quality of experience he hopes guests will come to expect from a visit to any Six Flags-owned park. “Safety and ride reliability are non-negotiable,” Reilly said.
During another point in the call, Reilly remarked, “This business rewards operational excellence … and our guests should experience reliability everywhere: parks open on time, rides operating consistently, clean park environment, energized teams.”
Photo by Blake Taylor
Reilly named the “critical lever” in taking steps toward that reliability is “throughput,” which he defined as “how efficiently we move guests through every touchpoint.” He named entry gates, parking flow, food service, retail counters, and ride operations as areas he’s observed “friction” and room for improvement.
Balancing big-picture vision with short-term priorities
Many of Reilly’s comments during the Feb. 19 call spoke to a big-picture vision for what he sees as the future of Six Flags.
“Every investment must answer a simple question: Does it enhance the guest experience in a way that drives profitable demand, reduces costs, or strengthens free cash-flow? And does it do so at returns that justify the investment? That discipline applies to events, rides, and attractions at every level.”
Photo by Sean Teegarden / Six Flags
At the same time, Reilly was intentional about what needs fixing in the more immediate future in order for those high-level goals to be attainable, saying, “Our near-term priorities are clear: improving profitability, strengthening the balance sheet, concentrating our time and resources on the assets and initiatives that generate the highest return.”
During the same earnings call on Feb. 19, 2026, Reilly also fielded a question about the recent “Enchanted Parks” rumor and said Six Flags intends to “rethink” its 2026 holiday events strategy. See our separate coverage for more details on those topics.
Big-picture changes to Six Flags as a corporation are already in progress under Reilly’s leadership. Such changes include a complete restructure of the corporation’s season passes, a new policy for riders filming on roller coasters, and a revised structure for passholder rewards.
Stay connected with AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, Six Flags, and independent attractions around the world.
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
