Six Flags is upping the ante as amusement park operators seek to woo back millions of visitors hungry for fun as pandemic restrictions ease, planning more than $600 million in new attractions after adding VIP lounges, eateries and revamped technology at its 27 North American parks.
The revamp — its biggest investment in the past decade — is expected to span more than a dozen parks at Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and includes five rides developed with Warner Bros. Discovery Themed Entertainment and DC Comics' Super Heroes and Super Villains. It includes a 60-mph Ultra Surf coaster in Georgia, North America's first Super Boomerang coaster in New Jersey and a wooden coaster with aimed at delivering an ultra-comfortable ride at nearly 40 mph in New York.
Several theme park operators, including Disney, Six Flags, SeaWorld Entertainment and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, are planning multimillion-dollar investments in new developments with attendance rebounding, hoping they can capitalize on a full pandemic recovery across the industry that they see as a year or two away.
The effort also reflects a broader emphasis on consumer spending on experiences in the wake of coronavirus limitations. That changing focus has affected commercial real estate as spending patterns shift.
But the step by Six Flags is particularly noteworthy because it also marks an about-face from the company's previous strategy under President and CEO Selim Bassoul to focus on food, guest experiences and technology at the company's parks rather than new rides.
While Six Flags did not respond to a request from CoStar News seeking more details about its planned investment, a company executive told the Dallas Morning News that its financial commitment for new rides could run upward of $600 million through 2025.
Bassoul told investors during an earnings call on Aug. 10 that the company had "significantly increased" its capital expenditure budget in the coming years in anticipation of "multiple major ride introductions."
Planned Investments
By not previously focusing on adding new rides and upgrading existing coasters, important in the amusement park industry to lure visitors, Six Flags has been missing out on revenue, said Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, who has tracked the amusement park industry for decades.
Speigel, who has followed Six Flags as a company for 60 years, has told CoStar News that the company has been "at the bottom of the roller coaster" in terms of profitability compared to other operators in four of the past five years.
He chalked that up to Six Flags not adding new rides, putting them behind competitors who stayed in the ride manufacturing line to gain new offerings for visitors.
Speigel said no one goes to Six Flags for chicken nuggets or pizza, but they will go to ride the latest in amusement rides.
Six Flags, based in Arlington, Texas, is transforming the world's first log flume into the world's longest log flume next year with a new lift hill and two big drops, including a steep nosedive, at Six Flags Over Texas in its hometown. The ride is also being given a new name: El Rio Lento.
Other parks expected to see major ride and roller coaster upgrades include Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio; Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey; Six Flags St. Louis; Six Flags Great America in Chicago; Six Flags Over Georgia outside Atlanta; and Six Flags Great Escape in New York.