Six Flags Leaving Oklahoma
"Having outgrown the boonies, theme parks operator Six Flags is heading for the big city.
In another move that smacks of greater ambition, Six Flags said Friday it would shutter its Oklahoma City head office and put its parks there on the block. The company says that it wants to streamline operations in New York and focus on major-market parks." From The Street.
CBS says to sell Paramount Parks theme park unit
"CBS Corporation on Thursday said it plans to sell its Paramount Parks theme parks unit." From Reuters.
Group of Mid-Southerners Vow to Save Libertyland
"For the past thirty years, Libertyland has been a favorite destination for many midsoutherners. But dwindling attendance has prompted the people who run it to shut the place down. Now a group of concerned citizens want to save the theme park. It's not hard to find a Mid-Southerner who hasn't been to Elvis' favorite amusement park. Sitting on 140 acres, Libertyland opened in 1976 and 2006 might be the year it closes. The mid-south fair leases the property from the city. The fair announced in October it would be closing park. 'That doesn't have to be the case. Our group save liberty land has identified a number of companies capable of taking over Libertyland,' said Steven Mulroy with Save Libertyland. Save Libertyland will have to come up with an offer the city can't refuse. That's because the city is already looking into numerous development ideas." from WREG-TV.
New York To Get Peek At Disney World Ride
"A new ride called Expedition Everest is opening at Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Orlando in April, but New Yorkers will get a peek at the excitement when Disney brings a preview to Times Square next month. Disney plans to transform the exteriors of the W Hotel and the adjacent Argent building at Broadway and 47th Street into a gigantic backdrop of Mount Everest. An aerial acrobatic troupe will perform there Feb. 15 and 16 on a stage 57 stories high, rappelling down the mountain and coming face to face with a Himalayan yeti - the legendary abominable snowman." From courant.com.
Six Flags Announces New Directors
"Six Flags, Inc. (NYSE: PKS) announced today that its board of directors has unanimously elected Charles Elliot (C.E.) Andrews, Mark Jennings and David Pauken to the board. Following the appointment of the new directors, Paul Biddleman, Michael Gellert and Francois Letaconnoux resigned from the board of directors." Press Release on BusinessWire.
Six Flags seeing renewed investor interest
"Six Flags Inc., which announced Wednesday that it is launching a New York-based entertainment and marketing division, continues to see its stock price gain ground now that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro are in control of the company. Among the latest developments: an upgrade by Bear-Stearns and the purchase of a $40 million stake by a J.P. Morgan controlled hedge fund." From Amusement Business.
Snoopy decamps from Mall of America
"At the Mall of America, Snoopy is out. The Bloomington [MN] mega-mall said today it will no longer be calling its seven-acre indoor amusement park Camp Snoopy. Effective Jan. 19, the indoor park will be known simply as The Park at MOA. This ends a relationship between the Mall and the characters created by St. Paul native Charles M. Schulz that goes back to the Mall's opening. The Mall said it is being forced to rename the park and remove all material with the Peanuts or Camp Snoopy logos after a breakdown in contract negotiations with Ohio-based Cedar Fair, the former park manager, and United Media, the exclusive licensor of the Peanuts and Camp Snoopy brands. Last spring, the Mall of America ended its agreement with Cedar Fair to manage the indoor amusement park, saying it wanted to streamline business operations." From The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Quassy seeks 2 more slides: Middlebury [CT] panel to review amusement park's request
"Lovers of Quassy Amusement Park's Saturation Station could be in for a treat Memorial Day: two new water slides. An owner of the family-friendly amusement park asked the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday to allow the park to add two new slides to Saturation Station, which would bring the attraction's number of slides to four. The commission took the application and site plan for review and will continue discussion on the application when it meets again Feb. 2." From the Waterbury Republican American.
Public Auction at AstroWorld
"Six Flags AstroWorld's public auction taking place January 6, 7 and 8, 2006. The auction will include machinery, tools, equipment, rides, memorabilia and other items from the park." Follow the above link for the auction website, astroworldauction.com.
