Potential for a New Theme Park Superpower with Six Flags and Knott’s Mega Merger

July 1 marked the official merger day between Six Flags and Cedar Fair into Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, a process set in motion after last year’s $8 billion deal. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that two theme park companies have officially combined operations, bringing together Six Flags locations with Cedar Fair’s portfolio, which includes Knott’s Berry Farm among other regional theme parks.

For diehard theme park enthusiasts and casual vacationers alike, this means a number of things moving forward. It’s possible that these parks, which are spread across the country mostly in major cities, could see some financial infusions to get them on a competing level with Universal Studios and Disney Parks—maybe even giving stateside travelers parks on the level of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. A long-standing frustration has been that these parks have experiences and coasters with IP that’s seemingly been haphazardly slapped on, like DC characters or Peanuts (shout out to Knott’s, at least, doing its best with cute, endearing Snoopy shows). The effort has somewhat improved at times with dark rides like Justice League: Battle for Metropolis—and that could get even better; as THR notes, “the companies plan to leverage their licensed intellectual property in their parks, with Six Flags holding a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for rights to characters from DC Comics and Looney Tunes, and Cedar Fair controlling rights to the Peanuts universe.”

There’s also last week’s major Halloween haunt announcement; with Six Flags Fright Fest now holding the rights to multiple Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Lionsgate, and Legendary movie and television horror properties, titles like Stranger Things, The Conjuring Universe, Stranger Things, Army of the Dead, Trick r’ Treat, Saw, and DC Comics’ DCeased, to name a few, will now have a presence across Six Flags parks. It was shocking news to say the least, as a number of those IP names had a presence at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in past years. It remains to be seen if these will also be incorporated into Knott’s Scary Farm’s iconic haunt event—but we’re hoping it and its sister parks keep the Halloween traditional lore vibe that’s made them such spooky giants, and that the effort we see at Knott’s elevates the IP-heavy slate coming to Six Flags. This merger could show that these parks can be competition for the big guys, while also being more price accessible. Halloween is proving to be the test run.

We’re really hoping that making these parks more immersive with studio IP will reinvigorate the demand for them and inspire more creative investment with dedicated entertainment expansions. If you’ve seen the level Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is operating on, you’ll know what we mean. The international parks boast cutting-edge attractions inspired by DC worlds like Gotham, Looney Tunes, and other fan-favorite properties that make Disney and Universal look like regional parks. They have full-on shows with DC heroes and villains, Looney Tunes meet and greets, and themed foodie fun that’s not hard to find or of the “seasonal only, blink and you’ll miss it” variety. With Netflix now in the mix along WB and Legendary, we’re hoping for more beyond just Halloween. Imagine a fully realized Gotham City, a Godzilla x Kong coaster with animatronics, a Stranger Things dark ride, or even a One Piece boat ride. If the parks shift into immersion, we’ll all be winners.

Keep up with more news from the Six Flags-Cedar Fair merger and Fright Fest here on io9.

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