Six Flags Episodes

Six Flags found itself at the center of a chicken nugget fiasco this week, amidst a power struggle on its board.

Six Flags and Disney both had excellent earnings calls, but they seem to have opposite strategies.

Six Flags St. Louis updated and reinstated its chaperone policy following fights in the parking lot on opening day.

Six Flags is reinstating park president positions at 10 of its parks, less than a year after eliminating the role. This is the first major structural change under new CEO John Reilly, who, after his listening tour, described a chain that suffered from inconsistent standards and a lack of accountability after the 2024 Cedar Fair merger. When you lose a park president, you lose accountability and coherent differentiation planning. Corporate can drive real economies of scale, but corporate don't al...

Six Flags appointed Richard Haddrill as executive chairman of the board, replacing Marilyn Spiegel (who stays on as lead independent director). Haddrill comes from the gaming industry — he was CEO of Bally Technologies and executive vice chairman at Scientific Games. The move continues the board refresh that Jana Partners demanded, and it puts more pressure on CEO John Reilly to deliver results now that the "board is in the way" excuse is gone. Merlin Entertainments reported its 2025 annual resu...

Jana Partners sent a letter to the Six Flags board pushing the company to explore a sale and replace board chair Marilyn Spiegel — just one week after the Travis Kelce brand ambassador announcement. We break down what Jana actually wants, why the timeline doesn't add up, and what this means for CEO John Reilly's turnaround plan. Then: Sesame Workshop filed a federal lawsuit against United Parks to terminate their licensing agreement. United Parks stopped paying royalties in September 2025, took ...

Six Flags is selling seven of its parks to EPR Properties for $331 million in cash, but will they sell more? We think so.

Six Flags posted Q4 2025 results this week, and the results weren't good.

Six Flags is rolling out a simplified season pass structure and Disney has a new CEO.

Six Flags is expanding Grad Nite in 2026, adding Knott’s Berry Farm and Carowinds to a program the company has relied on for years; Meanwhile, Disney is poviting the story of Galaxy's Edge.

A new set of trademark filings has raised fresh questions about Six Flags’ long-term portfolio strategy.

Six Flags has announced a major debt refinancing, issuing $1.0 billion in senior notes due in 2032 at an 8.625% interest rate to retire bonds coming due in 2027.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has delayed its highly anticipated “first-of-its-kind” coaster to 2027, and will instead add a Looney Toons Area.

Six Flags has appointed John Reilly as its new CEO—a leader who spent 21 years at SeaWorld and later held top roles at Palace Entertainment, the parent company of regional parks like Kennywood and Lake Compounce.

Disney’s stock dipped 7% after its latest earnings show cable is collapsing faster than expected.

Six Flags is doubling down on its “smaller and more nimble” plan, prioritizing core parks and openly confirming that more closures or sales are on the way.

Kansas City Chiefs star—and Taylor Swift’s fiancé—Travis Kelce now owns a 9% stake in Six Flags alongside hedge fund Jana Partners, instantly making the struggling park chain a national headline. Former Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet, however, wasn’t impressed—publicly calling out the board for “cycling through CEOs, destroying value, and failing to show ownership” while urging the next chief executive to rebuild with leaders who actually understand entertainment. Philip and Scott unpack what Kelce’...

Six Flags is losing more of its board - what will happen next?

This week, we respond to your comments from last week's show regarding Six Flags. Scott recaps his visit to IAAPA Expo Europe; Lego invests £200 million in the acquisition of Lego Discovery Centers from Merlin; and a New immersive art venue, Atlas9, opens in Kansas City. Listen to weekly BONUS episodes on our Patreon .

Six Flags reported 298,000 more visits this summer, a 3% attendance bump compared to 2024. But guests spent 7% less on admission, pulling overall revenue down 2% even as food and merch ticked up.

Legacy Cedar Fair parks are moving to the Six Flags model this Halloween, requiring a new $10–$20 Haunted Attractions Pass for mazes—and an extra $15 for The Conjuring house.

Six Flags posted a nearly $100 million loss in Q2—down from a $55 million profit a year ago—on 1.4 million fewer visitors, a smaller base of season passholders, and what it calls “adverse weather.”

Six Flags just canceled its Christmas and Halloween events at multiple parks - will this save cost or cost more in lost visitors?

Herschend finalized its acquisition of Palace Entertainment’s 24 U.S. attractions with a $1.1 billion leveraged loan—and vows 2025 will be a “listening year.”