Six Flags sets growth targets for 2028 at investor conference

How FUN is going to have a park like Knott's Berry Farm operate and thrive without an on-site general manager is beyond me. Particularly when the guy sitting in that position now is directly responsible for the outsized growth and quality development Knott's has experienced over the past decade, is a Ouimet protégé and former VP of Disneyland Park.

What is happening with the legacy Cedar Fair parks under Bassoul/Zimmerman/Fisher and the hatchet they're taking to the guest experience, park quality and employee culture is really disheartening to witness. That trio is 68/64/65 years old - so they'll be out soon and it will be left to someone else to clean up the mess they've made of the parks and culture. They're gutting the company right now so who knows what the succession plan looks like.

But think of all the money and bonuses they can make before they exit. That should give every one a warm fuzzy feeling.

heads are rolling at SFMM and Knott's.

So as full-time staff are being terminated and pay/salaries have been cut throughout the company, keep in mind this obscene fact about the former CEO of SIX which was a failing business and to survive he forced this merger to happen:

Executive Chairman Compensation (Selim Bassoul): Total compensation in 2024 was $20,358,969. This included $1,550,000 in salary, $1,500,000 in bonus, $15,125,995 in stock awards, $0 in option awards, $2,157,600 in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $0 in pension and deferred compensation earnings, and $25,373 in all other compensation. This is a substantial increase of approximately 277% from his 2023 total compensation of $5,400,309.

Only in America do we reward failure at such ridiculous levels! For more details on executive compensation look here:

https://www.panabee.com/new...erger-year

CreditWh0re:

heads are rolling at SFMM and Knott's.

What you meant to say was that portfolios are being maximized and synergies are being enacted. It's what the people want!

TheMillenniumRider:

It’s hard to lump Disney or universal into that discussion though. They are media companies first, whereas cedar flags is a park company first.

It's not hard at all when we're talking about what competes for one's leisure dollars.

https://www.latimes.com/bus...cedar-fair

More layoffs at the California parks (and presumably across the chain).

The GM of Kings Island (Mike Koontz) was canned (or forced into retirement perhaps) as well. Hate to see guys like that go. Heard him speak a few times at Coasterstock events and it was clear he loved the park and took great pride in the park and the team there. Corporate life really is cruel sometimes. I've been fortunate to be spared, but I'm sure my time will come eventually.

Someone on Pointbuzz mentioned some layoffs happened today at Cedar Point. Don't know any details there.

I'm absolutely certain that letting go of these GM's will backfire. I've known a few over the years, and there's no question that they set the tone. They're creating self-inflicted harm like the current federal government.

They aren’t resetting anything. They are just trying to squeeze every dollar out before the downward spiral (that they are causing.)

Cutting talented employees and costs that directly affect the guest experience is not going to move the company forward.

The VP that was just chased out of Kings Dominion has that park in it’s best shape since the Taft days

They also keep chasing the same limited target market of thrill riders and children. Another strategy that will not increase attendance.

The elimination of the park VPs will backfire big time. But at least the execs are stuffing their pockets with bonuses in the meantime.

Nothing good ever comes out of a merger, except for the executives.

this is a bad investment.

Maybe executive salaries aren’t high enough yet. They clearly need to raise them so they can attract the best talent.

It’s hard to lump Disney or universal into that discussion though. They are media companies first, whereas cedar flags is a park company first.

You can look at this from two perspectives. That of the consumer and that of the parks. Consumers will tend to lump all forms of entertainment together. Wherever they find value is where they will spend. They really don't care whatever revenue streams a given entertainment company may have (often times people do not know other members of a given corporate family). No one should expect them to do that.

But if you are the parks, you have to take that into consideration. Selling tens/hundreds of millions of dollars of merchandise with a large portfolio of popular IP that regional parks do not have is a huge advantage. Being a destination park with many guests staying multiple days is also a huge advantage versus serving mainly day trippers. Or being all-year parks versus seasonal parks. Having other sources of revenues (cruise ships, movies, sports media, etc) also is a huge advantage which helps serve as a hedge against park revenue slowdowns. Management of regional parks can't ignore that reality (even if their customers can and do which ultimately, makes it that much tougher for regional park management).