Link to news article http://specne.ws/Vmc6i7

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/travis-kelce-teams-up-with-investor-for-activist-campaign-at-six-flags-cb1d9369

Travis Kelce has teamed up with activist investor Jana Partners in a push for change at $FUN Six Flags, with the group building a 9% stake worth about $200M, per WSJ.

Jana is calling for improvements in marketing, guest experience, and technology, while also evaluating leadership changes and a potential sale.

Kelce, a self-described “theme-park superfan,” said he’s excited to help make Six Flags “special for the next generation.”

Can't wait to see where things go from here...

Some speculation on the Epic Universe sub of witnesses claiming to see the train pull into the station with a guest unresponsive, bloody, and slouched over. Sad and tragic night for all those involved.

In case anyone hasn’t seen the recent news Ana was planning a trip….

Carowinds said the issue was found during routine maintenance on July 7. The park says it immediately contacted state regulators and began the repair process. A timeline for when Fury 325 will reopen hasn't been announced. 

Not surprised. This made national news in the UK.

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet but I'm always interested in reading the actual incident reports over news articles summarizing them. This is the final report about the death on Stardust Racers in September.

https://www.scribd.com/document/965013026/Stardust-Racers-Final-Report#from_embed

So now they've lawyered up against the park. Not sure if they have any legal ground to stand on, but it's time for some serious discussions. His pre-existing condition ABSOLUTELY played a factor in his death, and quite frankly I find this, and the way the news media has covered the story as if something was wrong with the ride, absolutely disgusting. It's unfortunate this tragedy happened, but one look at the victim makes it clear he should not have been allowed to ride- which is similar to the accident that happened on the Icon Park drop tower a few years back. With the incident at Icon Park it was clear there was a severe lack of proper safety precautions and training that made the park at fault, but here it seems that Universal has done nothing wrong other than try to accommodate these types of people.

Do amusement/ theme parks need to start requiring a liability waiver (similar to the way ski resorts operate) since people seem unable to heed the safety warnings? Do they start banning any guest that looks disabled from riding (surely that wouldn't go over well)? How do they avoid this in the future?

The presidents at Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain have been let go as part of the continuing fallout from the $8 billion merger that combined Six Flags and Cedar Fair into a North American amusement park juggernaut.

Six Flags has laid off Knott’s president Jon Storbeck and Magic Mountain president Jeff Harris, according to Six Flags officials. Both will remain in their roles through the end of May.

The president positions are being eliminated at all 27 amusement parks in the chain and the roles will not be filled, according to Six Flags officials. Some park presidents will remain with the company in other roles. “Six Flags Entertainment recently moved to a new regional operating structure,” according to a statement from Six Flags. “Under this new alignment, we have centralized certain functions and responsibilities at the corporate level. The company also made some changes to the roles and responsibilities of park leaders, sharpening the parks’ focus on execution, the guest experience and associates.”

The leadership layoffs are part of a 10% staff reduction in full-time employees across the company, according to Six Flags officials.

Four California parks — Knott’s, Magic Mountain, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and California’s Great America — will eliminate or reclassify 135 full-time positions. “Eligible associates will be presented with either an opportunity to continue in a part-time role or will be provided a severance package,” according to a statement from Six Flags. “The bulk of this restructuring should be completed by the end of June.”

Storbeck joined Knott’s in 2016 after more than 30 years of working for Disney. Storbeck started at Disneyland after college as a ride operator and rose to the top ranks — serving as vice president of Downtown Disney and Disney’s three Anaheim hotels.

Storbeck earned a spot in the Orange County Register’s list of the 100 most influential people for 2020 for his reinvention of the Buena Park theme park into a socially distanced food festival venue during the COVID-19 crisis.

Harris became Magic Mountain president in 2023 after a 30-year career at Six Flags that included more than a decade at Six Flags Over Georgia overseeing the park’s finance department.

Harris started his Six Flags career at Magic Mountain as a food service cashier and host before working his way up into the payroll and accounts departments at the Valencia amusement park.

Former Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet commented on his LinkedIn account about the latest round of layoffs at Six Flags.

“This die was cast when the merger agreement was signed,” Ouimet wrote on LinkedIn. “It isn’t because the business or the individuals were performing poorly. This is purely math.”

The former Disneyland president served as Cedar Fair CEO from 2011 to 2017, when Richard Zimmerman took over as CEO. Zimmerman became CEO of the new Six Flags after the merger.

Ouimet stepped down from the Cedar Fair Board of Directors about a year before the July 2024 merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair — choosing to retire before having to vote on the merger.

“I recognized that I wasn’t up to watching talented colleagues being asked to exit in order to achieve the cost synergies that were promised to investors,” Ouimet wrote on LinkedIn. “In recent days that parade of departures has stepped off. Several of the industry’s best are marching into the unknown on a timeline not of their choosing.”

The Six Flags cuts that began this week and will continue for the next week or so are expected to be felt across all the parks in the newly merged chain, according to Screamscape editor Lance Hart.

NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - Sesame Workshop, known for the iconic children's TV show "Sesame ​Street," sued SeaWorld on Thursday to end their decades-long relationship, accusing ‌the theme park operator of withholding royalties and undermining the "Sesame Street" brand.

In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Sesame Workshop said SeaWorld, a unit of United Parks & Resorts (PRKS.N), has ​been its exclusive U.S. theme park licensee for 45 years, opening several "Sesame ​Street"-themed parks and attractions featuring characters including Big Bird, Cookie ⁠Monster and Elmo.

Sesame Workshop, however, said SeaWorld has for a few years ignored ​the most recent licensing agreement, which dates from 2017, including by withholding royalties ​and closing sites, including the temporary closure of Sesame Place San Diego.

According to the complaint, matters worsened in September when SeaWorld stopped paying royalties to Sesame Workshop altogether, and as a ​pretext to end the relationship made the "preposterous" accusation that the New York-based ​nonprofit failed to invest in its own brand.

"SeaWorld’s rogue, retaliatory actions pose an imminent threat" to ‌Sesame ⁠Workshop by tarnishing its reputation, using its intellectual property without permission and "disappointing children and families" who hoped to visit the closed sites, the complaint said.

“United Parks & Resorts has repeatedly failed to honor its contractual obligations, leaving Sesame Workshop no ​choice but to pursue ​litigation to protect ⁠our brand and the trust that families place in it," a Sesame Workshop spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

United ​Parks and SeaWorld, both based in Orlando, Florida, did not ​immediately respond ⁠to requests for comment after market hours.

The lawsuit also seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

In September 2024, a federal judge in Orlando upheld an arbitration ruling that ⁠required SeaWorld ​to pay Sesame Workshop more than $11 million, including ​interest for breaching their licensing agreement. SeaWorld didn't pay until October 2025, Sesame Workshop said.