BeeastFarmer

If this was 2019, I' d say that might be something they would consider in the long range planning. Now, if the park emerges from the dark time it's in, I could be something that would be feasible after 2030 or so, unless ki becomes part of another brand that is flush with capital. As far as the ride being on International Street or in kiddie land, I don't think it makes much practical difference to the average customer. Cohesion wise, it would be great if it could is the IP of kiddie world, currently Peanuts.

I'm not sure about C Wland or KD, but Kings Island 's Boo Blasters is actually part of International Street, I have been told.

Thanks for the correction. I also forgot a couple of others:

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!: Six Flags Entertainment Company to debut a worlds first record breaking family attraction at Kings Island: Bankruptcy: The Ride! This thrilling yet depressing attraction will spin in a downward spiral with record breaking speed! Yet there will be scene stops that pay homage to what got the famed entertainment corporation to this point: Messy Kitchen Corner, Trash Tunnel, Broken Promise Bridge, No Caring Closet, and Removed Rides Room. These scenes will rove and spread, overseen by Big DZ, Prince BW, and Greedy Sal. Construction is set to begin in July 2027 in the area formerly occupied by The Vortex roller coaster.

Evidently Great Adventure has lost holiday in the park as well. Hearing Oktoberfest is cancelled as well. I think they are now purposely making decisions that would indicate they want bankruptcy.

Really gonna boost up those attendance numbers in those southern parks.

Thanks for the clarification!

Are you discussing the 2025 pass ( which they are still selling) or the 2026 pass ( which is not being sold at KI yet)?

When Funpix was initially rolled out, people were sold on photographers roaming the park. We got closed ride stands with self service kiosks that are unreliable and front gate photographers for a few hours a day. Those folks were already there during those hours. Overpromise and under deliver.

Aren't they already doing the construction videos? CP had Sirens Chronical, Great America did Wrath updates, KD is Rapterra updates and Over Texas is pretty much beginning to tease their GiGa dice which will lead to those. Before the announcements, they get soooo much free attention/advertising by the enthusiast "influencer" culture. People will watch band record if a maintenance worker scratches themselves or if a tree is trimmed behind a fence. Whether they are influencers who suck up for media days, or i fluencers who want clicks and aren't afraid to offer unbiased opinion, it's out there for folks to see on YouTube, Instagram, Click Clack and X.

Taking a break from the park has been very refreshing. Unless they have a new season pass deal like no other, I will wait until they drop the '26 calendar, if I renew.

Canada's Wonderland now has '26 passes on sale. Gold now (at least from this park) gets you into all Six Flags parks. No passport required. All Six Flags park meal plan--$155 CD. Gold, All Park Meals, Drink+, Funpix is approximately $250 USD. Add ~ $73 USD for prestige. Add ~$730 for all park FL+.

Canada's Wonderland now has '26 passes on sale. Gold now (at least from this park) gets you into all Six Flags parks. No passport required. All Six Flags park meal plan--$155 CD. Gold, All Park Meals, Drink+, Funpix is approximately $250 USD. Add ~ $73 USD for prestige. Add ~$730 for all park FL+. EDIT: You now have to process your pass at your "home park", which is the park you bought your pass from. I understand why they are doing this, buying from Canada in the US has saved quite a bit of money and cut into pass sales at US parks. I wish people, myself included, had not blasted this out so much because I am sure this made corporate more aware of the "problem." This was my beef with legacy Six Flags vs Cedar Fair. I thought (and think) it was ridiculous to have to drive all the way to Atlanta to activate a pass vs the Cedar Fair way. For example, St. Louis is the closest LSF to me but their calendar didn't start until later in the season. So if I wanted go to Georgia early in the season, I would have to buy a Georgia pass. Next year, if I didnt go to Georgia early but wanted to use the same pass, I would be forced to go to Georgia first before St. Louis. Easy solution would be to buy a new St. Louis pass. But just annoying and making it harder to do business with LSF. LCF: I renew my Platinum pass in the fall online. Then I decide I want to go to Carowinds in March, or KBF in Febuary. I am not forced to go to KI to "process" the pass as it is already active and ready to go. Just another bone headed move by an out of touch corporate team who will spend a dollar to save a penny.

Hearing that Kentucky Kingdom was out on lockdown for an "active aggressor" in the water park. It was then evacuated and will be closed for two hours in a cooling off period. This is all the information I have as it popped up in my feed, listening on the radio dispatch app. Update: now hearing that the park closed for the day. Also heard that the aggressor was at the expo center, not KK. Also, the found the magazine near one of the expo buildings. People are still in the 5d cinema, amphitheater and HR offices at KK. Update: LMPD says no shots fired at Kentucky Expo Center and Fairgrounds https://share.google/YCCKtBpTj5iQ0j5Ax

Ive been to both Wonderland and Knotts under Cedar Fair ownership, parking was included with platinum pass.

I also doubt that Soak City would be a candidate for this treatment. At the rate things are going, either it would be: 1. So poorly done ( champagne taste on a beer budget) that it would be a joke, or 2. WinterFest is cancelled in total. From what I've heard, WinterFest was very beloved at Kings Dominion and we know what happened there.

Q2 is in the books. It is the last of the quarters that involve attendance comparison from legacy parks. If combined attendance is up across the chain, will investors be happy? However, from anecdotal social media references, attendance seems to be down. I predict this will be attributed to: 1. Canadian wildfire smoke. 2. Storms. 3. Extreme heat. 4. Labor ( this is self inflicted). 5. Consumer unrest r/t tariffs and or political unrest. In the recent past, if the quarter has been successful, they put out press releases within days to tout good news. ( As an aside, interesting that they could report chain wide numbers within days, but they couldn't figure out how to make add ons work between different Cedar Fair parks). With the stock price performing as it is, I am sure they are looking for anything they can to try and bolster it.

I know the stock options are part of the total compensation package. However, the amount of calculated compensation would probably change day to day with the stock price, while the base salary is constant. Stocks are a long game, so you have to look at the average over time. But if I was CEO and owned x amount of shares at $50 on January 1 and then on December 31st, it was worth $30 and I was forced out, I've just lost 40% of what I had twelve months ago. Saleem seems to have it made. The only news that I have heard from him since the closing of the merger is that he secured the contract for SFEC to run quidiya. I'm sure he is doing some sort of work for his 20 million annual compensation.

I asked Google Gemini to assimilate information about executive compensation at Six Flags pre and post merger. This is public information. I thought it was interesting....but it is AI and they are not paid with 100% cash money, they get stock options.: "You're looking for a detailed comparison of executive compensation for the legacy Six Flags and legacy Cedar Fair in 2022 and 2023, and then how that compares to the new Six Flags post-merger (July 1, 2024). This requires carefully reviewing their respective DEF 14A proxy statements. It's important to note that "total compensation" as reported in the Summary Compensation Table (SCT) can include various components like base salary, bonus, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, and "all other compensation." The values for stock and option awards are typically based on accounting fair value at the grant date and may not reflect the ultimate value realized by the executive. Let's break down the data from the available DEF 14A filings. Key Executives and Their Compensation (Prior to Merger) I. Legacy Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Pre-Merger) We'll look at the CEO and other highly compensated executives from Six Flags' 2022 and 2023 DEF 14A filings. 1. Six Flags - 2023 DEF 14A (for Fiscal Year 2022 Compensation) * Selim A. Bassoul (President and Chief Executive Officer) * 2022 Total Compensation: $14,942,674 * Salary: $1,442,308 * Stock Awards: $9,999,985 * Option Awards: $2,499,998 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $980,185 * All Other Compensation: $20,200 * Gary L. Mick (Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer) * 2022 Total Compensation: $3,588,007 * Salary: $545,000 * Stock Awards: $2,250,000 * Option Awards: $562,499 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $228,883 * All Other Compensation: $1,625 * Bonnie K. Walker (Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary) * 2022 Total Compensation: $2,836,750 * Salary: $425,000 * Stock Awards: $1,850,000 * Option Awards: $462,499 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $98,125 * All Other Compensation: $1,126 2. Six Flags - 2022 DEF 14A (for Fiscal Year 2021 Compensation) * Selim A. Bassoul (Executive Chairman) * 2021 Total Compensation: $21,114,846 * Salary: $1,475,000 * Bonus: $1,500,000 (signing bonus upon appointment as Executive Chairman) * Stock Awards: $15,700,000 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $2,437,500 * All Other Compensation: $2,346 * Sandor G. Rice (Chief Financial Officer) - Note: Different CFO than 2022 * 2021 Total Compensation: $2,416,564 * Salary: $475,000 * Stock Awards: $1,600,000 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $338,818 * All Other Compensation: $2,746 II. Legacy Cedar Fair, L.P. (Pre-Merger) We'll look at the CEO and other highly compensated executives from Cedar Fair's 2023 and 2024 DEF 14A filings (reporting 2022 and 2023 compensation, respectively). 1. Cedar Fair - 2024 DEF 14A (for Fiscal Year 2023 Compensation) * Richard A. Zimmerman (President and Chief Executive Officer) * 2023 Total Compensation: $6,238,015 * Salary: $979,167 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $3,212,498 * Option Awards: $1,281,996 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $760,945 * All Other Compensation: $3,409 * Brian Witherow (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) * 2023 Total Compensation: $2,999,350 * Salary: $638,333 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $1,557,750 * Option Awards: $621,496 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $181,770 * All Other Compensation: $0 * Timothy T. Fisher (Chief Operating Officer) * 2023 Total Compensation: $2,580,211 * Salary: $620,000 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $1,215,746 * Option Awards: $485,357 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $259,108 * All Other Compensation: $0 2. Cedar Fair - 2023 DEF 14A (for Fiscal Year 2022 Compensation) * Richard A. Zimmerman (President and Chief Executive Officer) * 2022 Total Compensation: $7,112,654 * Salary: $979,167 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $3,500,000 * Option Awards: $1,400,000 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $1,228,078 * All Other Compensation: $5,409 * Brian Witherow (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) * 2022 Total Compensation: $2,729,884 * Salary: $625,000 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $1,400,000 * Option Awards: $560,000 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $143,622 * All Other Compensation: $1,262 * Timothy T. Fisher (Chief Operating Officer) * 2022 Total Compensation: $3,005,659 * Salary: $620,000 * Bonus: $0 * Stock Awards: $1,550,000 * Option Awards: $620,000 * Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation: $214,359 * All Other Compensation: $1,300 Comparison to "New" Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Post-Merger) The "new" Six Flags Entertainment Corporation was formed on July 1, 2024. The most recent compensation details for the "new" Six Flags executives reflect forward-looking annual compensation arrangements and were reported in a Form 8-K filing around October 2024, not a full DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table for a completed fiscal year. Here's the summary of the new compensation arrangements for the key executives in the combined company, as reported in late 2024 (reflecting their roles after the July 1, 2024 merger): * Richard Zimmerman (President and CEO, New Six Flags): * Base Salary: $1.1 million * Annual Equity Grants (Target Value): $8.5 million * Target Annual Bonus: 150% of base salary ($1.65 million) * Estimated Total Annual Target Compensation: $1.1M (salary) + $1.65M (bonus) + $8.5M (equity) = $11.25 million * Brian Witherow (CFO, New Six Flags): * Base Salary: $670,000 * Annual Equity Grants (Target Value): $2.75 million * Target Annual Bonus: 100% of base salary ($670,000) * Estimated Total Annual Target Compensation: $0.67M (salary) + $0.67M (bonus) + $2.75M (equity) = $4.09 million * Timothy Fisher (COO, New Six Flags): * Base Salary: $750,000 * Annual Equity Grants (Target Value): $3.4 million * Target Annual Bonus: 125% of base salary ($937,500) * Estimated Total Annual Target Compensation: $0.75M (salary) + $0.9375M (bonus) + $3.4M (equity) = $5.0875 million * Selim Bassoul (Executive Chairman, New Six Flags): * His compensation arrangements are complex due to his prior role as CEO of legacy Six Flags and the merger. His role changed to Executive Chairman. As noted previously, he had an estimated total compensation of ~$20.36 million in 2024, which is likely heavily influenced by merger-related payments. His ongoing compensation as Executive Chairman (beyond any one-time merger payments) is not as clearly delineated for a direct apples-to-apples comparison to his prior CEO role. Percentage Increase/Decrease (Legacy vs. New Entity) This comparison focuses on the executives who transitioned into leadership roles in the "new" Six Flags. We'll use their 2023 Total Compensation from their respective legacy companies as the baseline for comparison with their Estimated Total Annual Target Compensation at the "new" Six Flags. 1. Richard Zimmerman (CEO: Legacy Cedar Fair to New Six Flags) * Legacy Cedar Fair (2023 Total Comp): $6,238,015 * New Six Flags (Estimated Annual Target Comp): $11,250,000 * Dollar Increase: $11,250,000 - $6,238,015 = $5,011,985 * Percentage Increase: (\$5,011,985 / \$6,238,015) \times 100\% = \mathbf{80.35\%} increase 2. Brian Witherow (CFO: Legacy Cedar Fair to New Six Flags) * Legacy Cedar Fair (2023 Total Comp): $2,999,350 * New Six Flags (Estimated Annual Target Comp): $4,090,000 * Dollar Increase: $4,090,000 - $2,999,350 = $1,090,650 * Percentage Increase: (\$1,090,650 / \$2,999,350) \times 100\% = \mathbf{36.36\%} increase 3. Timothy Fisher (COO: Legacy Cedar Fair to New Six Flags) * Legacy Cedar Fair (2023 Total Comp): $2,580,211 * New Six Flags (Estimated Annual Target Comp): $5,087,500 * Dollar Increase: $5,087,500 - $2,580,211 = $2,507,289 * Percentage Increase: (\$2,507,289 / \$2,580,211) \times 100\% = \mathbf{97.17\%} increase Summary of Increases for Key Transferred Executives (from Legacy Cedar Fair): * Richard Zimmerman (CEO): ~80.35% increase * Brian Witherow (CFO): ~36.36% increase * Timothy Fisher (COO): ~97.17% increase Consideration for Legacy Six Flags Executives: For executives from the legacy Six Flags, the situation is different as their roles or tenure changed significantly with the merger. Selim Bassoul moved from CEO to Executive Chairman. Other legacy Six Flags executives may have left the company or taken different roles. A direct "percentage increase" is not easily calculable for them without knowing their specific new roles and compensation arrangements post-merger, or if they remained with the company. The reported 2024 figure for Selim Bassoul ($20.36M) likely represents his total compensation for the year including any merger-related payments, and thus isn't a clean "annual run rate" for his new role as Executive Chairman for comparison. Key Takeaways: * Significant Increases for Cedar Fair Leadership: The executives transitioning from Cedar Fair to lead the "new" Six Flags have seen substantial increases in their target annual compensation. This reflects the larger scale and increased responsibilities of running the combined enterprise, which is now the largest regional theme park operator in North America. * Merger Impact: The merger created an opportunity to reset compensation packages, aligning them with the larger strategic vision and operational demands of the combined company. * Focus on Performance and Equity: The "new" Six Flags compensation structure continues to heavily emphasize performance-based incentives and equity awards, consistent with modern executive compensation practices aimed at aligning management interests with shareholder returns."

Yes.

I know, I know! I sound like a Debbie downer. If the past is any indication, it will "sell out" quickly and most of the meals will be redeemed via the meal plans.

I remember someone who used to be active here, Kingdingdong, discussed bringing in a collapsible cup that fit in his pocket. He used that and filled up at the water fountain. While this is not the best solution, it is one. It is a shame that the people who steal have caused this. It surprised me in the comments on Facebook where people stated that it's just a Coke no big deal. It's theft.

^ I didn't mean to conflate Disney 's share price with their customer experience. I work with a few people who are there a few times yearly and they bemoan that the experience is lacking. Plus reading in forums/ social media, the accounts don't sound overly positive. However, I take my coworker's words better, even though it's a smaller sample size.

$58.70--July 8, 2024. $32.15- July 3, 2025. If I were an institutional investor right now, I would not be at all pleased with the direction of this company. And it looks like attendance will not be the best for Q2. Q3 has waning of daily operations and the closure of a park. Busiest days of the year with Halloween events. At least one WinterFest has bit the dust. One of the new board members has quite a bit of experience with Disney, so maybe he can provide perspective. But Disney sounds like they have their own problems with customer experience.