Discount tickets helped boost attendance and drive down revenue at Six Flags parks this summer as the newly merged company attempts to rebound from recent financial woes and dig out of a mountain of debt.
Six Flags provided a mid-quarter update on attendance and revenue trends for the summer on Friday, Sept. 12 in hopes of highlighting some “positive momentum” after a disastrous second quarter earnings report in August.
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Six Flags reported a 298,000-visitor increase in attendance during the nine-week period ending on Labor Day Weekend — the traditional end of the summer season.
Attendance was up 2% over the summer with 17.8 million visitors passing through the turnstiles at Six Flags’ 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks.
“We are very encouraged by the strong rebound in attendance and heightened demand for our parks as the summer progressed,” Six Flags CEO Richard Zimmerman said in a statement. “This improving demand is more consistent with our expectations entering 2025.”
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Season pass sales for 2026 were “robust” with the average pass price up 3% and sales “well ahead” of last year’s pace.
“Our 2026 season pass program is off to a strong start,” Zimmerman said in a statement.
The parent company of Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain is counting on the “strong momentum” to carry through into the popular Halloween and Christmas seasons.
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But the summertime news wasn’t all good.
Revenue was down 2% and in-park spending declined 4% for the nine-week period ending on Labor Day Weekend.
The spending decline was “entirely due” to a lower ticket prices as a result of discounts and promotions designed to drive attendance. Increased visitor spending on food and merchandise helped offset the losses.
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The mid-quarter update offered a glimmer of hope after Six Flags’ disastrous second quarter earnings report in August.
Six Flags reported a 9% attendance decline, 8% drop in season pass sales and a net loss of $100 million in the second quarter, which ran through the end of June.
Six Flags blamed “weather-related challenges” for the poor second quarter results.
Zimmerman announced plans to step down as CEO by the end of 2025 following the release of the quarterly earnings.
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The merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair in 2024 brought with it a $5.2 billion mountain of debt that remains the “elephant in the room,” according to International Theme Park Services CEO Dennis Speigel.
“Six Flags stands at one of the most difficult crossroads it has encountered in its history,” Speigel wrote on the ITPS website.
Reducing Six Flags’ debt “remains the company’s top priority,” according to Zimmerman.
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Six Flags plans to close or sell under-performing parks to pay down the debt under a plan management calls “portfolio optimization,” according to Speigel.
The company plans to shutter Six Flags America near Washington D.C. after the 2025 season and sell the land to developers.
Six Flags has also announced plans to shut California’s Great America in Santa Clara without revealing an exact closing date.