Six Flags purchases Sea World of Ohio for $110 million

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

In a move that has the Cleveland area buzzing, Six Flags, Inc., today announced the purchase of Sea World of Ohio, located adjacent to its own Six Flags Ohio. The announcement comes only a week after the park announced the construction of a Vekoma Flying Dutchman called X-Flight.

Read more about the details of the sale from PR Newswire.

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What Meesta punk would do:
Start a hypercoaster near the demolition grizzley area and make the turnaround near HH. Apollo style, I don't care which company, I just want a HYPER!!!

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"God gave me a wake up call," RelientK-"Wake Up Call"
Another Pointer in denial. LOL! Go SFO!
Well first of all, the reason that SF (PKS) is buying all the parks is simply because they want to become the biggest and the best in the world. If you think about it, in the last 3 to 4 years theyve probably bought atleast 7-10 properties (dont hold me to my word on that). I just hope that they do the same thing that Sea World TB did. Hopefully they will and will get a coaster.


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CP in 2002, get to the point
I am a member of SFO, yes i work there. As my whole family did before I. To me the news is not shocking. 5 years ago I knew that eventually they work move and buy Sea World. When Premier bought funtime inc. the transformation started. Then i also knew about the SF buy because of inside news. Finally now that they have completed the ring of Geuaga lake we must look at what they can accomplish. They can connect with the park in a horse shoe pattern on the right side of the park there is a privatley owned lake property with swings and slides. Unfortunatly unless they sell the parks can not become a full circle. But the land that is on the left of the parking lot is owned by SFO. The park could move the Parking and expand the park, adding a transit system such as Disney. The parking lot has been expanded adding transports for convience. the Sea World Transports will be converted most likely. More rides and attractions can be added. The sewer system will have to be rebuilt because of grease build up. Shamoo will be no more since it is property of Sea World and No MORE WHALES CAN BE CAPTURED. The park can still get bigger hopefully it will. I will keep in touch. THE MOLE
SFO will probally make an animal park. They will expand the water park. SFO has removed part of the grizzlyrun. Probally so they can add on to were some of the unused SW land is. SFO will never get a record breaker beacause there is a height restriction of 180 feet
And now, the bottom line....

Greg Leg... Prudential is a primary backer of this deal. Of course they upgrade them.

Jaxxon: Shares are Debt Financing. If they File for Bankruptcy protection, the shareholders are out in the cold or picking up the scraps after the sell off. Usually prior to declaration, the share drops to about a buck and a half. That's a 17 point loss for current shareholders. Just ask those who bought thousands of TWA stock a few months ago waiting for a sale. Now, they're out with nothing to show for it but a tax write off.

PKS: Your stock lost 5% of it's value in trading today with a crazy volume for an amusement company at 800K shares (this is bad people, unless your stock goes up in that trading). Greed is only good if your the only guy in the room with a box of jelly donuts and no one else is coming over to help eat them.

Sea World/Busch: I hope you have some valid reason for giving in on this. Ohio was the second Sea World Park and you just dumped on Cleveland who fought a long time to get the park in the first place.

Sea World/Busch: Don't even think about selling the park in San Diego. The land is on a lease and you'll no doubt be unable to get a new one. This place would make great beachfront property before it would become a Six Flags adventure in Monopolism.

PKS: It's one thing if you already exist like CP and expand. It's another if you try to build a resort, your only profitable option in this situation, in a park that doesn't provide year round revenues. Maybe a good move, definately the wrong park.

Finally, Jeff: We need a new thread on this. It takes to long to get to....

The bottom line...
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Oh my freekin' head!


*** This post was edited by Skyboss on 1/11/2001. *** *** This post was edited by Skyboss on 1/11/2001. ***
I'm a little confused after checking out Screamscape. According to them, Busch maintains the rights to the Sea World name and they are moving the whales, penguins, and something else(I forget what.) This means that SFO now owns a park less than half the size of the one they own now which has lost some of it's main attractions!

I don't see what is left to do except turn them into one park (at least for now). That is unless SFO is going to add something to Sea World before next year (which is unlikely). Also, just thinking about Six Flags, I'd be willing to bet money that Sea World will have rides installed soon. I think Sea World is pretty much no more. Not just the name, but the park. Too bad.
I think SFO should build an island type resort hotel on the lake and some restaurants like city walk at universal or treasure island at disney to connect the two parks. that would be very nice.

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Perfect lawyer material,
~Bring the FORCE!~
-Hendo
Hey Jackie, why not offer to build a riverboat casino on the lake. May as well get more money for the ferry ride. And how come you cannot buy prerecored videos of the Freemont St. Experience? You need to email this former Hilton employee turned park revenue guru....
I would just like to make my point quick. Sea World was an awsome park. Sure it didn't have any rides but the park was great anyway. They were nicely landscaped, themed, and their attractions were the best. Six Flags will destroy this all. I'am not agianst SFO but Sea World will be ruined. It's as simple as that.
And I would like to point out a few other things. SFO's height restriction is 180'. So don't think any higher than that is coming. And what are they talking about SFO isn't 500+ acres! It never was and Sea World was never 200+ acres! Next, as many of you have said before, what was really the purchase of all of this for? For competition from Cedar Point and PKI? For the money? For the happy face of children? So they can have animals/marine life? What? I am honestly confused. The bottom line is, Six Flags can use this very wisely or not wisely. For all I know or care SFO could have 20 coasters in 2004. But the fact remains that Sea World will always be better.

long live Shamu


Skyboss wrote
Greg Leg... Prudential is a primary backer of this deal. Of course they upgrade them.



Well, that explains that then ;)

I didn't say I AGREED with them, just pointing out that it happened...

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--Greg

http://www.pobox.com/~gregleg/
Well, whoever this Bubba characther is, he is Right. Sea World was the first place my steelworking father could afford that family season pass they started. My brothers dressed like that Mine who opened the Spooky Kooky Castle at the Sea Lion Stadium. I snagged a frisbee in the air when I was young before the show once. All gone.

I always put that park down on the NAPHA survey as the best themer. They had fried chicken, Momma Rosa's under the Ski Stadium. Who remembers running through the tackeling dummies in Cap'n'Kids world? The Crow's Nest bar where the parents would hide?

This deal should have been the opposite. Busch wanted that land would have built a great water park across the lake. Geauga Lake would not sell, and now look what has happened. There will be no more standing by the pearl divers village and watching the ducks and fish. You will all pay for everything, no more peacefulness. That is what made that 100acre acre park great.

And what about Busch? What the hell were they thinking? I bought these guys drinks in Atlanta. I honestly thought Augie Busch Jr. had more compassion for the theme park division. His dad bought the parks so they would not suffer after HBJ went through bankruptcy in the 80's.

I bet any money that this will come up at one very LOUD stockholder meeting this spring.
SFO is in Bainbridge, Bainbridge is the city that has the height restriction. However, Sea World is in Aurora. They are not as strict. Now that SFO is part of Sea World, they might be able to built a roller coaster possibly over 200 feet, or build a 180 foot coaster on the bainbridge side and make it have a 255-foot drop into an underground tunnel. The coaster could have one of the deepest tunnels in the world. Geauga Lake is in both Bainbridge and Aurora, build a ride on the lake 200+ feet high (maybe with an underwater tunnel!) on the Aurora side, and have it go out to the Bainbridge side and then back. That might be able to work.
SFO's gonna grow.

I do wonder about Sea World though...

Doesn't their parent corp own the trademarks on all animal's names? How will that work?

This is really to bad. I cant even count how many times i went to sea world as a child. If you ask me they need to just leave the park the way it is, and put some sort of ferry system on the lake or build a train around it with theming. As much as i love coasters, i really dont want to see Sea World get packed with them. The only big ride that would be nice there would be some S&S towers, or a kiddie land with a Vekoma Junior Coaster.
Since "Sea World" has lost all its main attractions I really don't think that SF will be able to get families into the park without them. What I predict to happen, (unless SF starts some major building and can pull some whales and penguins out of a hat) that "Sea World" might and I say might sit dormant for a year.
Wolf: the deal is Busch keeps the whales, penguins and dolphins and their "stage names". and the name Sea World. Six Flags get everything else even the pirate 4D adventure movie.
I saw on my local news that Six Flags is working on getting their own killer whale. They can do this easily since they own killer whales, and may or may not breed them (does anyone know if they do?).

Another option would be to buy one from AB since I know they breed their animals at their Tampa Bay park. I know that with as much power as SF has, they will get a whale somehow.

They can also easily get dolphins and penguins to fill that gap. The only thing missing will be the names, Shamu, Mamu, Sea World, etc.

I think with SF's experience in keeping animals from having two other parks with them, the animals will be taken care of properly.

I also wonder if this will effect SFO's closing time?! SWO would stay open later than SFO usually would so I wonder if the combining will change all that.

Also, it didn't say anything about Bermuda Triangle the new simulator they just put in for the 2000 season, whether they will keep it like the Pirate's 3-D movie, or will they take it out? I imagine it will stay.

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Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!

SFO Rules In 2001

X Marks The Spot In 2001(SFO)

A.K.A.-BKF Master
WOW..this proves just how important SFO is to the Six Flags chain. They truly want to create a megapark that can compete with the big boys, and with a circular layout around that lake, they can do just that. Just think, with all that room, maybe they can even create some consistent theming in which the different themes dont run into each other all over the place. I suppose that would take organization and planning on the part of Six Flags, so who knows if we'll ever see it or not! :)
First of all can't the park get some more animals from Marine World? I am sure that more can be bred to fill out both parks.

The idea of an island in the middle of the lake is not likely. Geauga Lake is very deep. A few years ago, it was not known how deep that lake is and to this day I don't know if they ever found out.

I don't know if they will combine the parks. I dreamed of that possibility years ago, but then I got thinking that they should be operated separately and offer package deals ala Disney. I don't think that I would like to the parks combined because Geauga Lake is not Lake Erie, but it is big and I would not want to have to walk 3/4 of the way around it at the end of the day. I would prefer that they were separate and offered a ferry ride that would carry back and forth for free to season pass holders and multi-day hopper like passes. It could charge a small fee for everyone else. The also should provide a shuttle or monorail like transportation system between the parks and possibly to their hotel/campground.

Can SF take care of animals? I ask you, how are the animals doing at SFMW? The animal trainers and carekeepers would more than likely stay at this park and take care of the animals that are brought in.

SFO is not 500 acres, and SWO is not 200 acres. SFO owns 500 acres, but the park itself was 273 acres in 1998. I don't know how it will change with the addition of X-Flight. SWO owned 200 acres, but the park itself was only 90 acres before Shark Encounter opened. I don't know how big it is now. If you add 273 and 90 then you come up with 363 which is one acre smaller than Cedar Point. A combined park would be huge and very long, longer than Cedar Point. If you thought the trip back the Mean Streak was long just wait until you walk from the Pearl Diving Exhibit to Hook's Lagoon.

The bottom line is that SWO can still be operated as a marine life park, and I don't see that combining the two parks would be very practical.

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