Six Flags Selling 7 Parks in $331 Million Deal as Company Refocuses Strategy

Six Flags is selling seven of its theme parks in a $331 million deal that signals a major shift in the company’s long term strategy. The parks will be sold to EPR Properties as Six Flags moves to concentrate its resources on locations with the strongest potential for growth.

Six Flags, the parent company of major parks including Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Carowinds, says the move is part of a broader effort to strengthen the company’s financial position while focusing investment on its highest performing properties.

The parks included in the sale are:

• Valleyfair (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
• Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Michigan’s Adventure (Muskegon, Michigan)
• Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston (Galveston, Texas)
• Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, Missouri)
• Six Flags Great Escape (Queensbury, New York)
• Six Flags La Ronde (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Combined, the parks welcomed about 4.5 million guests during the 2025 season and generated roughly $260 million in revenue with about $45 million in adjusted EBITDA. Six Flags says proceeds from the sale will primarily be used to reduce company debt and strengthen its financial position.

Why Six Flags Is Making the Move

Company leadership says the move is part of a broader effort to focus investment on parks that offer the strongest long term upside. Instead of spreading investments across every property, the company plans to concentrate resources on parks that drive the largest attendance, stronger in park spending, and support major new attractions.

Six Flags President and CEO John Reilly said the company believes it has not yet reached its full earning potential. He said the sale will simplify the company’s portfolio and allow Six Flags to focus on parks with the greatest growth opportunities.

“By focusing our resources on the parks that we believe have the highest growth potential, we expect to drive operating leverage, expand margins and accelerate our cash flow generation,” Reilly said.

Many of the parks included in this sale have historically served more local and regional audiences rather than acting as major vacation destinations. In recent years they have also seen fewer large scale capital investments compared to some of the company’s flagship properties. The move suggests Six Flags may be shifting its focus toward parks that attract broader travel markets and can support larger future attractions and long term attendance growth.

Across the theme park industry, the shift reflects a broader trend. Growth is increasingly being driven by efficiency, stronger margins, and targeted investment in key parks rather than simply operating the largest number of properties.

Six Flags also shared that the transition will allow the company to concentrate on a more focused collection of its remaining 34 parks across North America while strengthening its financial position and continuing to invest in future improvements for those parks.

Six Flags stated that their key priorities moving forward include:

• Investing in new rides and attractions
• Upgrading park infrastructure and technology
• Enhancing the guest experience with more immersive entertainment
• Introducing innovations designed to make visits even more memorable

The company says its overall purpose remains the same: delivering thrills, creating memories, and providing the kind of fun that has defined Six Flags parks for generations.

What Happens to the Parks Being Sold

The parks involved in the transaction are not closing. Guests visiting the parks should notice little immediate change.

EPR Properties will take ownership and partner with Enchanted Parks to operate the six parks located in the United States. Six Flags La Ronde in Montreal will be operated by La Ronde Operations, Inc., a company led by industry veteran Kieran Burke.

All Season passes will continue to be honored through 2026, including multi park access at other Six Flags locations.

EPR will license the Six Flags brand through the end of 2026. Which means you will continue to see the same names, signage, and experiences during this transition period. The focus during the transition will be maintaining normal operations while the new operators evaluate long term plans for each property.

In many cases, regional parks under new ownership can benefit from renewed attention and fresh ideas. Smaller operators often place a stronger emphasis on local identity, guest experience, and targeted improvements rather than focusing primarily on large scale headline attractions. That approach can also open the door for more partnerships with local businesses, local food vendors, and community driven events instead of relying heavily on national branding campaigns. Over time, those connections can help strengthen ties between the parks and the surrounding communities while supporting local mom and pop businesses.

Following the transaction, Six Flags says it will continue operating its 34 parks across 23 locations in North America for the 2026 season with a stronger focus on major destination parks and high performing regional properties.

EPR Properties is a real estate investment firm that owns entertainment venues across the country, including movie theaters and amusement parks. The company financed the transaction and will ultimately own the parks. They have partnered with Enchanted Parks who will operate the parks.

Enchanted Parks is a newly formed company created by Innovative Attraction Management (IAM), an Orlando-based firm that provides management, consulting, and operational support for attractions and entertainment venues. Enchanted Parks was established as a spinoff of IAM to focus on park ownership and operations. The company was formed in December 2025 in Delaware (operating from Orlando) and is led by CEO James Harhi, an entrepreneurial leader with more than two decades of experience driving operational excellence, business transformation, and large-scale growth across the attractions, hospitality, and technology sectors. Enchanted Parks brings together experienced leaders from across the entertainment and hospitality industries.

Post Six Flags transaction, destinations operated by Enchanted Parks will include:

• Worlds of Fun – Amusement & Water park, Campground – Kansas City, MO
• Valleyfair – Amusement & Water park – Minneapolis, MN
• Six Flags St. Louis – Amusement & Water park – St. Louis, MO
• Schlitterbahn Water park Galveston – Water park – Galveston, TX
• Michigan’s Adventure – Amusement & Water park – Muskegon, MI
• Six Flags Great Escape – Amusement & Water park, Hotel – Queensbury, NY
• Water Safari Resort – Amusement & Water park, Hotel, Campground – Old Forge, NY
• Diggerland USA – Amusement & Water park – West Berlin, NJ

The deal is expected to close by late first quarter or early second quarter pending regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.

This announcement follows Six Flags’ earlier decision to close Six Flags America in Maryland following the 2025 season, another move that reflects the company’s broader effort to reshape its park portfolio and focus on higher performing properties.

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