Six Flags Down by Seven

As had been anticipated, Six Flags will be unloading some of its parks, including Six Flags Darien Lake near Buffalo, NY and Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO, the chain announced today. PARC 7F (sounds like a play on "Seven Flags Parks") based in Jacksonville, FL has agreed to purchase the seven properties for $312 million and plans to operate them as ongoing parks. The other five properties involved in the sale are Frontier City and the White Water Bay water park in Oklahoma City, OK; Enchanted Village and Wild Waves in Seattle, WA; SplashTown near Houston, TX; and Waterworld USA in Concord, CA. Conspicuously absent from the list are California's Magic Mountain and the adjoining Hurricane Harbor water park. To help tackle its $2 billion debt, Six Flags had previously identified the seven properties that are part of today's deal plus the two California properties as parks that it was considering selling. Magic Mountain is one of the chain's flagship parks, and many industry observers, myself included, had been scratching their heads over Six Flags' plans to put it into play. By retaining Magic Mountain, Six Flags maintains a presence in the Southern California market. Company spokesperson Wendy Goldberg says that the company "intends to operate Magic Mountain in 2007 and beyond." She adds that all 2007 season passes purchased at the parks will be honored by the new owners, and that 2007 season passes purchased at Darien Lake and Elitch Gardens will be accepted at all Six Flags branded parks this year.

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