Worlds of Fun merging with Six Flags theme parks. What it means for Kansas City visitors

Natalie Wallington
·2 min read

Amusement park lovers may see some changes in the coming months at the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks in Kansas City.

Cedar Fair, which operates both parks, announced Thursday that it is merging with theme park giant Six Flags. The new company will operate under the Six Flags name, according to a memo to its investors.

The merger won’t be finalized until the first half of next year, so guests won’t see any changes for the time being, said Lucas Pers, a spokesperson with the public relations firm Joele Frank hired by Cedar Fair.

And even when the deal is complete, he added that Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun visitors won’t see their favorite parks transformed into copies of Six Flags. Instead, the new company intends to let former Cedar Fair parks keep their own unique identities.

“The parks will maintain their current names,” Pers said. “The corporate name will be Six Flags, (but) that does not trickle down to the park level.”

He added that while the combined company anticipates offering more seasonal pass options, any changes to ticket pricing or specific rides won’t be decided until after the merger is complete.

However, guests can expect increased investment in their local parks to create “a more engaging and immersive guest experience,” the memo stated. The newly combined company will have a value of around $8 billion.

You may also notice childhood favorite characters like Batman or Bugs Bunny popping up at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun after the merger is complete. Cedar Fair has an agreement with Peanuts comics to use its themes and characters for their rides, while Six Flags has similar agreements with DC Comics and Looney Toons.

Combined, the two companies will be able to use these relationships in all of their parks across North America.

On its own, Cedar Fair operated 17 amusement parks across the country, including well-known destinations like Knott’s Berry Farm in California and the Schlitterbahn water parks in Texas.

Six Flags operated 27 parks across North America, including two in Mexico and one in Canada. Six Flags St. Louis was the company’s only location in Missouri or Kansas before Thursday’s merger.

Do you have more questions about things to do in and around Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.