Six Flags Will Consider Opening More Parks Year-Round
Photo Credit: The X2 roller coaster at California's Six Flags Magic Mountain, which just started operating 365 days a year, is pictured. Parent company Six Flags Entertainment may open more of its warm-weather parks for the full year. Flickr / Jeremy Thompson
Skift Take
Six Flags had a good year, but a look at the bottom line shows a benefit from tax reform and lower compensation expense. The company is focusing on improving its underlying business, and keeping profitable parks open year-round is likely to help.
After taking one of its parks to a 365-day schedule at the beginning of the year, Six Flags Entertainment may try more of the same.
The Texas-based regional theme park operator has 20 parks across North America, and most operate seasonally. Even those in warmer climates that are open during the winter are typically closed on weekdays.
But Six Flags Magic Mountain in California started opening daily on Jan. 1 in a bid to capture more of the competitive region's theme park visitors. So far, said CEO Jim Reid-Anderson, he has an "extremely positive" view of the decision.
"Our guests love it, our employees love it, and as a result, I'm very optimistic for this year," he said Tuesday during an earnings call with analysts.
"I would add that, just using the strategy, if you think about it bigger picture, it enables us to leverage our assets...and we don't add anything incremental in capital," Reid-Anderson said. "As we assess how Magic does and this initial optimism that we have,
