Boomerang now sits atop a Mall in Indonesia

Six Flags Entertainment shedding seven parks to EPR Properties

Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) has sold seven parks to EPR Properties for $331M as part of the company’s efforts to optimize its portfolio and bolster its balance sheet.

Included in the transaction are Valley Fair in Minnesota, Worlds of Fun inKansas City, Michigan’s Adventure, the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Galveston, Texas, Six Flags St. Louis, Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury NY, and Six Flags La Ronde in Montreal. These parks all generate ~$260M in net revenue and ~$45M in adjusted EBITDA.

Read the rest at SeekingAlpha


Knott's News: It'll be nice if they can continue to trim their portfolio down and make significant investments in what remains. Right now the company is just too spread out with limited resources and with only a few parks carrying the whole company, wasting those resources on low performers with no growth potential just hurts the company as a whole. I'm hoping the scaling back allows the forgotten parks like Knott's to start receiving the attention it previously received.

Financially, this sale of 7 parks only nets them $331 million, which goes straight towards paying off that $5.18 billion debt. For prospective, when Paramount sold their 5 parks, Cedar Fair paid $1.24 billion and even now one of those parks (California's Great America) was sold off for $310 million.

New Supports & Footings for Montezooma's Revenge! | Knott's Berry Farm Vlog #58 | 3/3/26

Kings Island - Phantom Theater Curtain Call: Episode 4 - Setting the Stage

Kings Island - Phantom Theater Curtain Call: Episode 3 - Sculpting the Supernatural

Major Work at Montezooma's Revenge! | Knott's Berry Farm Vlog #57 | 1/21/26

Disneyland Handcrafted | Full Documentary

Knott's News: I can't believe this much high quality footage of Disneyland's construction exists. Check it out!

Kings Island - Phantom Theater Curtain Call: Episode 2 - Architects of the Afterlife

Eddie Sotto, designer of Wacky Soap Box Racers, has passed away

It is with great sorrow that I report that Eddie Sotto, former Imagineer and Knott's Theme Park designer, passed away on the 17th of this month. I never met him but I felt like I did by listening to him talk in many interviews. From a Knott's standpoint, his biggest contribution was the design of Wacky Soap Box Racers, but he designed much more than just that, many of which was too ambitious for Knott's to green light. At Disney he designed the Disneyland Paris Main Street to the rising standards Imagineering had at the time and the Tokyo Disneyland Pooh's Hunny Hunt attraction. As someone who dislikes the cheap Pooh rides state side, I was surprised to find that Hunny Hunt was the best ride in Tokyo Disneyland (not sarcasm, it's that good). I hope Disney Imagineering and Knott's design team return to the standards that Eddie held soo high.

Kings Island - Phantom Theater Curtain Call: Episode 1 - Why Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare?

Struggling Six Flags names new CEO. What does that mean for Knott’s and Magic Mountain?

Struggling with a plummeting stock price and a decline in revenues, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. named a new CEO Monday, weeks after company officials suggested they would sell more underperforming theme parks. 

Six Flags announced John Reilly, a veterantheme park operator, as its new president and CEO. He had served as an interim CEO and chief operating officer at SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in the past.  

Reilly is taking the reins of the struggling Charlotte, N.C.-based company that operates Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. 

 Read the rest at LATimes

IAAPA: Introducing your first look at Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare coming to Kings Island in 2026.

We are excited to welcome you all BACK to the Phantom Theater! 👻🎶

Introducing your first look at Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare coming to Kings Island in 2026. pic.twitter.com/DtNd5LHfnv

— Kings Island (@KingsIslandPR) November 18, 2025

SNEAK PEEK: Inside the void that will soon become the haunting stage for Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare!

SNEAK PEEK: Inside the void that will soon become the haunting stage for Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare! 👻 Demolition is complete, and electrical installation is officially underway.

🗓️ MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Keep an eye on our social media on 11/18 for a special surprise! pic.twitter.com/uH9l4Xx2Br

— Kings Island (@KingsIslandPR) November 11, 2025

When Joe Leonard Crashed a Flying Saucer into Kings Island

Leonard’s journey to the project began when he was the set designer for the park’s live shows in the days when Kings Productions was still the owner. After the Paramount takeover, Leonard was moved to Charlotte and put on the company’s Design and Entertainment team. When the opportunity came around to design a ride for his home park in 1994, Leonard jumped at the opportunity to make a pitch—although the initial ride had a much different theme.

“Originally the design was slated to be a Star Trek experience,” says Leonard. “I had a whole presentation of that attraction being a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine experience. The idea was Quark [the character who owns the bar] is running something called ‘Quark Adventures,’ so people go out and can see the ship and then take a ride through the wormhole when it was stable. But when the wormhole wasn’t stable, there was no telling what would happen. So right as you were getting launched, alarms start going off and the gates would open, and they’d launch out into space.”

Read the rest at CincinnatiMagaizine

Knott's News: Gotta be honest, Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek series, so this concept sounds amazing to me. What eventually made it is pretty darn cool too. I really just miss the ambition of Paramount Parks.

Six Flags Entertainment and Peanuts Worldwide Extend Licensing Agreement to 2030

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN), North America’s largest regional amusement-resort operator, today announced it has extended its licensing agreement with Peanuts Worldwide for another five years. The new agreement extends Six Flags’ position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America. The agreement also includes in-park entertainment and sports, food and beverage, retail operations, and exclusive Peanuts merchandise to December 31, 2030, ensuring that millions of park guests at Knott’s Berry Farm, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Canada’s Wonderland, Great America, Michigan Adventure, Valley Fair, and Worlds of Fun will continue to experience and connect with the iconic Peanuts characters.

Read the rest at BusinessWire

(Kings Island) Behind the scenes with some familiar faces...

Behind the scenes with some familiar faces... 👻#KIPhantomTheaterOpeningNightmare pic.twitter.com/8CCrnazOjN

— Kings Island (@KingsIslandPR) September 3, 2025

The curtain is set to rise on Kings Island's all-new Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, coming in 2026

Along the way, the enchanted opera boxes travel through fully built dimensional scenes, including backstage areas, haunted hallways, dressing rooms and a fiery boiler room as they meet other performers who are ready to take the stage. From animatronic forms of Houdelini and The Great Garbanzo to Hilda Bovine and Lionel Burymore, the Phantom Theater’s beloved crew returns, getting caught in the chaos while guests simultaneously search for the ghost notes. New surprises await guests around every corner, including the introduction of Arpeggio, Maestro’s furry feline friend.

In total, 26 interactive scenes feature added multi-sensory effects like wind and sound, hidden Easter eggs throughout and a grand on-stage musical finale with all cast members. Manufactured by Sally Dark Rides, the leader in indoor family dark ride experiences, Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare is a true nod to the original that made its home at Kings Island from 1992 – 2002. 

 Read the rest at KingsIsland

Knott's News: Seriously guys. This was one of my home parks growing up and I've always wanted this to return. Full sets and animatronics to go with the interactive elements. It's what Knott's Bear-y Tales Return to the Fair should've been, not screens. I'm happy for King's Island.

Six Flags Entertainment CEO to step down

Six Flags Entertainment said that Richard A. Zimmerman, president and CEO and member of the Six Flags Board of Directors will step down as the company’s president and CEO by the end of 2025.

To ensure leadership continuity and a smooth transition, Zimmerman will continue to serve as president and CEO until the Board has appointed a successor.

The Board of Directors has initiated a process to identify the company’s next CEO.

Source SeekingAlpha

Knott's News: I hate to say it but good. Things have been going down hill since Matt left. I'm hoping they seriously consider Jeffery Siebert. I feel he has what it takes to turn the parks around from a quality standpoint - even if not financially at first in the current market.

Camp Snoopy reopened but still needs work!

Yesterday Camp Snoopy was technically re-opened to the public but most of it was in an unfinished state, with construction walls everywhere. They didn't even have an entrance sign...not even the restrooms were open...wtf? 

What they opened - Tenderpaw Twister and Off-Road Rally - look cool but they both suffer from horrible ride capacity, a problem since both attractions occupy the space of two former attractions each. The coaster is also overly constrictive with size limitations - making it difficult for parents to ride with their children - the whole advertised point of this revamp. The coaster space removed a lot of mature trees, resulting in a concrete desert of a queue that looks bad and must be terrible to wait in (especially if you get turned down for size and your child can't ride alone). 

Camp Snoopy is now down three attractions - Camp Bus, Huff n Puff and Woodstock's Airmail. Add to that two unfinished attractions - Camp Swing and Beagle Express - and you're down five attractions with two new attractions featuring horrible capacity. I wouldn't recommend anybody waste their time at Camp Snoopy right now with the state its in.

Let's hope that 2025 features a Phase 2 for Campy Snoopy in addition to the Fiesta Village Phase 2. Would be nice to finish what they started and get rid of that temporary looking area that replaced the theatre. It not only looks worse than the play area they demolished but its downright embarrassing.

Tough Day At The Office For Camp Snoopy Reopen!