The parent company of Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain is considering selling or closing a few of its 42 theme and water parks following the merger of the 2 largest regional amusement park chains in North America.

Six Flags raised the potential for selling some theme parks as a part of Project Accelerate in the course of the company's most up-to-date quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, November sixth.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair merged in July after a Justice Department review that allowed the newly combined company to maintain Magic Mountain and Knott's – which compete within the Southern California market.

In an investor presentation, Six Flags cited “portfolio optimization” as a key goal and promised a “comprehensive review of the portfolio to evaluate the potential divestiture of non-core assets to help reduce debt.”

“In layman’s terms, Six Flags will review its park list and may consider selling some of them,” it said Attractions Magazine.

The possible closure or sale of some Six Flags theme parks “is now on the table,” it says Theme Park Insider.

The combined portfolio of Cedar Fair and Six Flags includes 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks within the United States, Canada and Mexico, attracting 48 million visitors annually.

Six Flags owns seven of the 20 largest amusement parks in North America based on annual attendance, in response to the TEA/AECOM annual report.

The chain's largest parks include Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park (4.2 million visitors per 12 months), Cedar Point in Ohio (4 million), Kings Island in Ohio (3.5 million), Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia ( 3.4 million), Canada's Wonderland (3.2 million), According to the TEA/AECOM report, they were Six Flags Great America in Illinois (3 million) and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey (2.5 million).

Originally published: November 7, 2024 at 5:12 am PST

They gathered in a 100-year-old Gothic church-turned-recording studio a number of blocks from Nashville's Vanderbilt campus. Eighty-five musicians, with their brass, wind and percussion instruments, cycled through the sanctuary to contribute to a singular task: recording a song that matched the grandeur of the return of a faculty football video game.

Outside, a spring storm roared and a horde of cicadas chirped incessantly. Inside, the orchestra played “Campus Clash,” the theme song for EA Sports College Football 25, arguably essentially the most eagerly anticipated sports video game of the past decade.

Steve Schnur, Electronic Arts' worldwide general manager and president of music, felt the sport's revival deserved a song that was unique yet true to the game's traditional sound. He commissioned Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers to create an arrangement and assembled the orchestra to provide an original song that may stand out from the sport's extensive library of fight songs and riot songs.

A video game soundtrack can quickly turn out to be catchy as players sink hours into the sport. It must be not only bearable, but additionally enjoyable on repeat. That could be especially the case with College Football 25, which was released this week after an 11-year hiatus because the last NCAA football game.

“Campus Clash” includes a strong horn melody and a cool drumline beat with loads of oomph. It wouldn’t be misplaced as a hype-boosting theme for a prime-time game broadcast, but Schnur is adamant that nostalgia isn’t the one ingredient.

“It's not going to sound like the band you heard on the field of a marching band in 1985 or 2005,” he said.

More than 2,000 miles from Nashville, Bowers listened to the recording while working in his Los Angeles studio. Best known for composing scores for Green Book and The Color Purple, in addition to the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, Bowers can also be a video game veteran. He composed for 2 previous Madden versions and likewise wrote the principal themes for the upcoming Madden 25 and NHL 25 games.

Bowers, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in jazz performance from the Juilliard School, didn't get much exposure to the sounds of school sports as an undergraduate, since the distinguished performing arts school doesn't have sports teams. To write something that fit the game-day atmosphere, he studied the sound of school marching bands. Schnur sent him the sport's fight songs to “get a feel for little drumline phrases that might be interesting to adopt for the original composition,” Bowers said.

“It's definitely a mix of sounds, but the most important thing for us was that it has that balance between a classic football theme that we've heard before, but also a modern twist that's a little different from the things you've heard on TV for decades,” Bowers said.

To achieve this, Bowers drew on contemporary brass band pieces and focused on hip-hop songs with brass melodies. Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance, which paid homage to HBCUs, and Mystikal's “Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against The Wall)” were two big sources of inspiration.

Bowers begins his composition process by drawing out the emotion of the scene (or on this case, the sport). He wants the piece to present him that very same feeling. Composing for video games will be difficult, as there aren’t any narrative beats to guide a changing sound or accentuating note like there are in shows and flicks. For this release, it was all about creating something that may excite players.

The goal is for the problem to transcend the sport and turn out to be embedded in college football culture.

“Hopefully in the future we can record other bands playing their versions of it,” Bowers said. “Now that we have this version of it, while we want the melody and the main melodic aspect of the theme to remain, we want it to have a life of its own in terms of the way it's played and performed from now on. If people really embrace that, ideally we can celebrate other schools playing their versions.”

Required reading

What should Disney's next theme park in America be?

Fans are debating this query as Disney moves forward with plans to spend $60 billion on its parks and attractions over the following decade. Just last month, Disney struck a cope with Florida to spend as much as $17 billion on Walt Disney World over the following 15 years. That's nearly 10 times the minimum $1.9 billion Disney has promised to speculate in Disneyland over the following decade. The Florida deal includes approval for Disney to construct a fifth theme park at Walt Disney World, which has sparked wild speculation amongst fans.

Ultimately, I don't care what theme Walt Disney World chooses for its next park. It could possibly be villains, heroes, recent movies or old cartoons. All I do know is that if Disney ever builds a fifth theme park in Florida, it is going to should be completely indoors.

Having just returned from one other trip to the Sunstroke State, I have to report that too often the summer weather in Orlando feels incompatible with life today. The combination of maximum heat and humidity spoils the enjoyment that families have spent hundreds of dollars on visiting Disney. Afternoon thunderstorms used to supply a continuing every day relief, but lately I even have endured too many days where that relief never got here.

And if you would like to subject your guests to high winds, dangerous lightning, and heavy rain frequently, you continue to need to construct a weatherproof theme park. An indoor theme park would allow Disney's guests to enjoy their day in comfort, while also giving Disney's Imagineers the chance to create essentially the most immersive lands and attractions possible.

Start by sending a team of Imagineers and Disney executives on a benchmarking trip to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi stays the creative model for an indoor theme park, with the skyscape and lighting in each land perfectly tailored to its theme. It is an inspiration for what is feasible in immersive themed entertainment.

Admittedly, constructing indoor attractions can cost much, way more money than creating traditional outdoor rides. Without access to low cost oil like Middle Eastern countries have, Disney would want to construct more solar farms on its Florida property to generate the energy it needs, while also using creative technologies to shade and funky its park.

But with Disney talking about spending tens of billions of dollars in Florida, I’m wondering if Walt Disney World isn't already planning an indoor park. Let's hope so. An indoor park is Disney's best opportunity to create a brand new world of magic without the misery of Florida weather.

Have theme parks turn out to be subscription services?

It's been years since everyone who visits Disneyland or other parks simply bought their tickets at the doorway after they arrived. The parks have pushed their fans to purchase annual passes, and just about all of them now offer monthly payment plans.

The shift from day passes to passes has profound financial and operational implications for the industry, which got me wondering if we’d all be higher off if the parks eliminated annual passes and easily went back to day passes.

Given today's every day admission prices within the parks, that is unimaginable for a lot of fans. Disneyland charges nearly $200 for a day pass on peak days. But I believe that the dramatic increase in day pass and admission ticket prices, in addition to the event of paid skip-the-line services like Six Flags' Flash Pass and Disney Genie+, are direct consequences of the parks' success in selling annual passes.

Annual passes were originally an try to increase revenue per visitor by selling dearer passes. However, the result has been a decrease in revenue per visit as passholders visit more and so often displace day passholders. This results in parks attempting to increase their per capita revenue through higher day pass prices and better in-park surcharges.

The irony? These higher prices encourage more loyal visitors to purchase annual passes, perpetuating the vicious cycle. At the identical time, casual fans simply stop visiting Disneyland and other theme parks because they will now not afford them, and the parks are forced to depend on a limited variety of increasingly restless and dissatisfied passholders.

Imagine a “Dry 2025” – the industry equivalent of a “Dry January” – where as an alternative of giving up alcohol, parks gave up annual or season passes for a 12 months to see how much demand there really is for his or her parks at regular admission prices. I believe that parks would should quickly lower their every day pass prices to maintain their parks full. But their average revenue per visit would increase if annual passholders were now not in the combo.

More reasonably priced parks that make more cash for his or her owners? I'm in.

Unfortunately, I fear many parks won’t survive this modification. Without a base of annual passholders to sustain their attendance, too many parks lack the fresh attractions, efficient operations and well-supported customer support that day pass buyers would demand. Disney and Universal would do exactly fantastic, with their hotels and unique mental property that enables them to appeal to a worldwide audience. But everyone else?

My best experiences at recent parks outside of Disney and Universal have been at Silver Dollar City and Holiday World – parks which can be removed from major cities and have plentiful annual passholder populations. They have needed to make a living by selling every day tickets, which has resulted in a greater park experience.

Just as low cost streaming services have contributed to the decline in demand for movies and linear television, annual passes have given theme parks and their customers what’s now a nasty business.

Knott's Berry Farm is celebrating the ninetieth anniversary of Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant with a series of chicken feasts running from Memorial Day weekend through New Year's Day.

“We just stuck with what Cordelia Knott did because that's what makes us unique,” said Melissa Laviano, director of Knott's Marketplace. “We haven't changed the recipe. None of it has changed. It's all the same. It's the same recipe that we've kept the whole time.”

To make ends meet in the course of the Great Depression, Cordelia Knott served her now famous country fried chicken for the primary time on the family's roadside fruit and vegetable market on June 13, 1934.

Knott's Berry Place's market sold fruit and plants, together with a small tea room where Cordelia offered sandwiches and hot cross buns, in addition to homemade cakes and jams made out of the boysenberries typical of the family farm.

While the pies and jams proved popular, it was the 65-cent chicken dishes served on Cordelia's wedding dishes that put Knott's Berry Place on the map and caused Depression-era guests to flock to the farm.

Cordelia's first chicken dishes were served with salad, a side of rhubarb, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, and a slice of berry pie.

As the news spread, customers soon found themselves waiting in line for up to a few hours to get a plate.

Cordelia's Tea Room quickly grew from 20 to 40 after which to 70 seats before expanding right into a full-fledged restaurant with seating for 350.

But the queues didn't get any shorter. The crowds continued to stream in.

These long lines prompted Walter Knott to invent novelties and amusement parks to entertain the masses while they waited for his wife's chicken.

Walter built a rock garden with a waterfall after which a duplicate of George Washington's fireplace at Mount Vernon. Then he began pondering larger.

In 1940, construction began on what would later grow to be the ghost town of Calico, which still forms the guts of Knott's Berry Farm today.

Walter bought parts of old buildings from the Wild West and built a sheriff's office, a barber shop and a hotel. Actors were hired to populate the synthetic western town and entertain the guests.

Soon, people were coming for each Walter's Ghost Town and Cordelia's Chicken. A public address system was installed to call guests back to the restaurant when it was time for his or her reservation.

In the Fifties, the Calico Saloon, Ghost Town & Calico Railroad, and the Bird Cage Theater were added to entertain the growing restaurant crowds. In the Sixties, the primary true theme park attractions were introduced, the Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride.

In 1968, Knott's Berry Farm was fenced off and admission to the brand new theme park was charged at one dollar. What began as a roadside berry stand and chicken restaurant now attracts 3.9 million visitors annually to certainly one of the most important theme parks within the country with over 40 rides and shows.

In the approaching months, Knott's will grow to be a flagship park in a $8 billion merger that might mix Cedar Fair and Six Flags into one North American amusement park juggernaut.

And to think that it began with a 65-cent chicken dinner that Cordelia Knott got here up with to make ends meet in the course of the Great Depression.

Today, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant serves 2,500 fried chickens on a busy weekend and as much as 2 million kilos of chicken a 12 months. The eatery bills itself because the world's largest full-service chicken restaurant in a single location, with seating for nearly 900 people.

“We have customers who have been coming here for 40 or 50 years,” Laviano said during an interview on the restaurant. “I love it when they say, 'It tastes like it did when I came here with my great-grandmother or when my parents brought me here.' Now they're bringing the next generation of their family and they want the same taste. You may not remember what the place looked like, but you remember what the chicken tasted like or how it made you feel.”

Apparently chicken dishes don't cost 65 cents anymore.

Today, Mrs. Knott's chicken lunch is $20 for 2 pieces with mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and a side that also features a rhubarb option. Dinner consists of 4 pieces of chicken and a slice of pie and costs $26.50.

After 90 years, there's greater than just chicken on the menu. Mrs. Knott's also offers other burgers, pasta, fish, grilled pork and steaks – but 90% of shoppers still order chicken.

You can get your chicken fried, roasted, with waffles or dumplings, as tenders, wings or on a slider, in a pot pie and whilst plant-based chik'n.

“You have to keep up with trends and fashions if you want to continue to have guests coming and coming back,” Laviano said.

The long queues of the past were replaced in 2016 by a reservation system with a virtual queue that will be as much as two hours long on busy weekends.

“Guests come in and ask, 'Where's the line?'” Laviano said. “I say, 'Well, now it's virtual.' We'll put you on our waitlist and contact you via text message.”

The restaurant's celebrity fans include Nicolas Cage, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Mel Gibson and Tiffany Haddish.

“No Doubt” singer Gwen Stefani has been visiting Mrs. Knott’s restaurant for years – and is now bringing her husband Blake Shelton to the feast.

In the Nineties, the park experimented with Mrs. Knott's Restaurant and Bakery locations in Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga and Moreno Valley – but they’re all now closed.

There was a couple of places throughout the theme park where you may fry chicken, but now you will have to go to CDR if you wish to satisfy that craving.

Through the top of 2024, the restaurant just outside the theme park gates will offer a Berry Family Breakfast in the course of the summer, a Midnight Breakfast Buffet during Knott's Scary Farm, Cordelia's Tea Party during Thanksgiving season, and Santa's Breakfast during Knott's Merry Farm.

From ticket deals to splash zones to vampire movies and retro wonders, California theme parks are offering a glittering welcome this summer, delighting vacationers and locals alike with eye-catching roller coasters, glitzy rides and special events large and small.

Here's what's recent at theme parks within the Golden State this yr – and within the years to return.

An enormous centenary

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will have fun the a centesimal anniversary of its historic wood roller coaster – the Giant Dipper – with a centennial fireworks display on May 18 and “Dipper Days,” during which ticket prices will increase to $1 on Wednesdays from May 29 to August 7 This summer, two recent rides await boardwalk fans: The Dream Wheel, a 65-foot Ferris wheel, sends families soaring into the sky aboard 15 rotating gondolas, while a Surge ride takes guests on a fast-paced, tilting ride takes a ride.

The boardwalk's popular “Free Movies on the Beach” returns June 14 with cult-favorite vampire film “The Lost Boys,” kicking off a Friday night series of family movies including “The Sandlot,” “Ferris Bueller's.” Day Off,” “Barbie” and “The Lost Boys.” “Wonka” until August ninth. Evenings on the Colonnade, which include food, music and entertainers, run from June 17 to August 9. 8. And a brand new Mornings within the Plaza series offers half-price arcade games, breakfast specials and an early morning dance party for revelers.

Details: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk season passes start at $90, every day ride wristbands start at $40; https://beachboardwalk.com.

Disney summer deals

The House of Mouse can be cheaper this summer as Disneyland drops prices for multi-day tickets to only $50 per day. Three-day, one-park-per-day admission tickets start at $149 for youngsters and $249 for adults and will be used from June 10 through September 26 for visits Monday through Thursday. That works out to slightly below $50 per day for youngsters and $83 per day for adults. (Ticket sales begin on May twenty ninth. and sales will be paused or stopped at any time, so don't hesitate.)

A weekend option – three-day park admission tickets valid Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – costs $199 for youngsters and $299 for adults. That's $67 per day for youngsters and $100 for adults.

The three-day passes don’t should be used on consecutive dates, but reservations are required for every visit. Disneyland warns that it might be difficult to get reservations because the ticket expiration date approaches. Ticket offerings include Pixar Fest (running through August 4th), nighttime spectacular “Fantasmic” (returning May twenty fourth) and Halloween Time (starting August twenty third).

Details: For details about Disneyland reservations, tickets and attractions, visit https://disneyland.disney.go.com. Summer ticket deals begin May twenty ninth.

Retro studio tours

Universal Studios Hollywood is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary with a nostalgic tour aboard red and white striped retro vehicles from now until August eleventh Glamor tramsno less – through six many years of Universal theme park history.

Attractions include: a 10-foot scale replica of the Hollywood Sign, an updated version of the Earthquake attraction, the return of the Runaway Train, a growling T-Rex, a large King Kong photo backdrop, Great White Shark and Doc Brown's tinkering with the DeLorean time machine at Courthouse Square. Expect retro-style food and drinks at Hollywood & Dine, Mel's Diner and Studio Scoops ice cream parlor.

Details: Day passes for Universal Studios Hollywood start at $109; www.universalstudioshollywood.com.

Carousel makeover

California's Great America, Santa Clara amusement park, has reopened for the season. Weekend hours give method to every day operations after Memorial Day, and South Bay Shores Water Park can be open May 25 through September 2. You will find each Carousel Columbia and Celebration Swings have been fully restored and other areas of the park have been modernized. Live Nineteen Fifties-style musical performances were added on the Gazebo Stage.

The New Orleans-inspired Carnivale at Orleans Place runs July 12-August. 4 with live music, Cajun food, a Spectacle of Color Parade and fireworks. Tricks and Treats returns to the stage from September twentieth to October twenty sixth, and WinterFest can be back from November twenty ninth to December twenty ninth – with snow. 31.

Details: Single day passes start at $40, season passes start at $90; www.cagreatamerica.com.

Gilroy water feature

Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is getting splashy this summer with the opening of a brand new Lakeside Splash water play area for Memorial Day weekend, expanding on the water fun that Water Oasis already offers. The recent lakefront area features water slides, a water maze, sprayers, spinners and other fun. Also nearby: parent-friendly, reservable cabanas with lounge chairs and 32-inch TVs, plus a newly remodeled restaurant serving grills, cocktails, and beer for individuals who prefer less frolicking… wet.

Details: Cabana rentals at Lakeside Splash start at $250. Theme park tickets are $80 (or $65 online); www.gilroygardens.org.

Michelin Mickey

The recent $25 million Paseo at Downtown Disney encompasses a trio of Mexican cuisine concepts – Paseo Restaurant, Centrico Courtyard Bar and a Tiendita concession stand – from celebrity chef Carlos Gaytan. The recent restaurants have fun Mexican taste and heritage, offering small plates, seafood, tacos, ceviches and tequila-based cocktails.

The menu is inspired by Gaytan's Chicago restaurant Mexique, which received its first Michelin star in 2013. Mexican dishes that make a reappearance here include mejillones ($26), Prince Edward Island mussels with saffron beurre blanc, pulpo enamorado ($24), and carne asada ($54), a 12-ounce New York -Steak with oven-roasted tomatoes and fingerling potatoes.

Dinner reservations begin June 1 for Paseo and Centrico. Centrico can be open for lunch, with every day lunch and weekend brunch service coming soon to Paseo.

Details: Paseo is open every day from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 1580 Disneyland Drive in Downtown Disney, Anaheim. www.paseoanaheim.com.

Still ahead…Zydeco Disney

A musical group of beavers, opossums, raccoons, bobcats and other audio-animatronic bayou creatures will perform songs from the 2009 animated film “Princess and the Frog” when Disneyland's Splash Mountain transforms into Tiana's Bayou Adventure in the autumn or winter is accomplished by 2024.

And… Hollywood Drift

The recent “Fast & Furious” roller coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood will feature 360-degree rotating roller coaster vehicles that seem like drifting race cars from the film series, which has grossed $7 billion at the worldwide box office. This can be the theme park's first high-speed outdoor coaster – 2004's “Revenge of the Mummy” is an indoor coaster and 2016's “Flight of the Hippogriff” is a children's coaster.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift riders enter the park through a red brick auto repair shop before boarding a roller coaster vehicle modeled after an authentic Fast & Furious movie automotive. The roller coaster will debut on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood in 2026.

And far, far ahead…

We don't speak about Bruno, no, no, no – or fairly, yes, we do. That's because 10 recent themed lands – including Encanto-inspired expanses in addition to Avatar, Frozen, Tangled, Black Panther, Coco, Zootopia and more – could possibly be relocated to Disney theme parks in Anaheim as a part of an ambitious four-decade plan called DisneylandForward.

The Anaheim City Council unanimously gave tentative approval to the proposal in mid-April, final approval is anticipated in May, and there have been major announcements — maybe even, what is going to Disneyland construct first? – expected in August in the course of the D23 fan event on the Anaheim Convention Center. Disneyland has committed to spending $1.9 billion over the following decade as a part of DisneylandForward and hopes to bring much of the $60 billion Disney has earmarked for theme park investments to Anaheim.