#Six flags safari full#

Time Warner quickly began to gain more leverage in the company, gaining a 19.5% stake in Six Flags in 1990 and then 50% in 1991, with the remaining shares of the company being split by Blackstone Group and Wertheim Schroder & Company. Bally surrendered control of the chain to Wesray Capital Corporation in a 1987 leveraged buyout. Īlso in 1984, as a result of its acquisition of Great America, Six Flags acquired the rights to Time Warner/ Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated characters for use in Six Flags properties. In 1984, the Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois, was acquired from the Marriott hotel chain. These purchases were followed by Penn Central selling assets to Bally Manufacturing in 1982. Six Flags purchased AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, in 1975 Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, in 1977 and Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, in 1979. Six Flags continued to grow by acquiring independent parks. Six Flags opened Six Flags Over Georgia in 1967 and Six Flags Over Mid-America in 1971, which were the last two original parks constructed by the company.

With the new owners came a more abundant supply of capital for geographic expansion and park additions. The original Six Flags park, Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth), was sold in 1966 to a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was actively pursuing non-railroad investments in an effort to diversify its sources of income (in 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central Corp which was absorbed into Conrail in 1976). Over the years, all of those attractions, except the railroad, were replaced by others, such as roller coasters, swing rides, log flumes and shoot-the-chute rides, as well as an observation tower.

#Six flags safari full#

There was also an excursion, inspired by the historical La Salle Expeditions in the late 1600s, called 'LaSalle's River Adventure', aboard French riverboats through a wilderness full of animated puppets. The park initially featured a Native American village, a gondola ride, a railroad, some Wild West shows, a stagecoach ride and 'Skull Island', a pirate-themed adventure attraction. Construction of Six Flags Over Texas started in 1960 and the park opened the next year for a short (45-day) season. Six Flags Theme Parks originated in 1957 with the creation of The Great Southwest Corporation by Angus G. Six Flags parks are still divided into different themed sections, although many of the original areas from the first three parks have been replaced. The name 'Six Flags' originally referred to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. The Six Flags & Texas Railroad at Six Flags Over Texas (2007) On June 13, 2009, the corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to crippling debt, which it successfully exited after corporate restructuring on May 3, 2010. The company maintains a corporate office in Midtown Manhattan, while its headquarters are in Arlington, Texas. Six Flags was founded in the 1960s and derived its name from its first property, Six Flags Over Texas.

In 2019, Six Flags properties hosted 32.8 million guests. The company operates 27 properties throughout North America, including theme parks, amusement parks, water parks and a family entertainment center. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined for an amusement park company and has the seventh-highest attendance in the world. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, more commonly known as Six Flags or as Six Flags Theme Parks, is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas.