Good-bye Magic Mountain? Six Flags puts six parks up for sale or closure Six Flags announced plans Thursday to sell or close six of its properties, including the chain's once-flagship park, Magic Mountain, in Valencia, Calif. In a press release issued after the U.S. stock market closed Thursday, Six Flags announced that it would sell the properties, to either a single buyer or multiple buyers, or that it might sell or redeploy the properties' attractions, to clear the land for real estate sale. Full article: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200606/139/ (via Digg)

I'd be confident that this news won't mark the end of SFMM. Articles have suggested its value at around $200 million. That's $800,000 per acre, which in this area are said to be worth $750,000-1 million on the market as residential properties. This leaves at most $50 million in profit for the developers, and that's not including development costs such as road, sewage, gas and electricity installations, or clearing the land to begin with. Attendance for the park is around 2.8 million as of last year. I'd expect it to have increased since as a result of Tatsu. Assuming a generous 25% operating margin and per capita in-park spending of $60, you're looking at an operating profit of about $42 million. Interest on a $200 million loan would be less than 5% p.a., so you're looking at a hugely profitable operation that could see itself paid off in as little as 10 years. Cedar Fair would be the park's best option. I really don't see this park as any kind of threat to Knott's because the two parks would (and are) very easily distinguishable and could continue to operate to each others' benefit very easily. If it's a good investment (as I believe it most definitely is), then the fact that they have just acquired Paramount's theme park operation would not be a deterrent.

I think SFMM is just too well known and Enjoyed to be disposed of, the place has potential and I dont think anyone would go to the effort of ripping up 17 coasters and all the other stuff there for housing. Some of the other Parks listed such as Elich Gardens, Water World and Splash Town which are in the middle of cities would be more likely to go since they arent really major.

I highly doubt SFMM would be closing... better not, I'm planning on going there with my friend Adam when we do our overseas trip next year (much to a certain Daniel's envy ).

^ You be quiet tony, it was bad enough you rubbing it in on Thursday!!! RAWR!

Its probably for the best, imagine the plane ride over.

Well, this was going to be a secret but Richard and I are going 50:50 on a private official r-c.com.au jet ... so the trip over won't be that bad.

Hmmmph, so wheres my invite tony!!?

Am waiting for an invite! Sorry to double post, but BOOOO THE PARK WAS THERE FIRST!

Well supposedly there are a few companies sniffing around that were interested in the paramount properties, which would seem to indicate that at least some potential buyers want to operate it as a park. As a side, Six Flags may bundle the parks together, or sell them separately, but I guess only time will tell.

They better not sell Magic mountain. That's definitely SF's best park, apart from SFGAdv.

The latest I heard about this was on the ThrillNetwork website. December 13th - Magic Mountain to Remain Open It says that the CEO wants to keep it as an amusement park but has not ruled out selling it to another operator. More information in the link. tom

The latest I heard about this was on the ThrillNetwork website. December 13th - Magic Mountain to Remain Open It says that the CEO wants to keep it as an amusement park but has not ruled out selling it to another operator. More information in the link. tom

thank god! I thought six flags magic mountain wouldn't be around when I go there in 2009!

This is what I read on a Dutch forum: "Six Flags has completed the deal to sell off seven parks while keeping Six Flags Magic Mountain and it’s connected Hurricane Harbor park. All seven parks were sold to PARC 7F-Operations Corporation (PARC) of Jacksonville, FL for $312 million, a corporation that appears to have been set up by an invesment group to run the “seven flags” parks. The list of seven properties includes: Six Flags Darien Lake, Six Flags Elitch Gardens, Enchanted Village, Six Flags Splashtown, Six Flags Waterworld (Concord), Frontier City and White Water Bay. Combined with the $77 million from the sale of the Astroworld site will bring a total of $353 million into Six Flags to pay off their huge debt levels. Six Flags Elitch Gardens and Darien Lake will both drop the Six Flags name, but season passes already purchased will be honored at the parks still as well as at all Six Flags properties in 2007. One odd twist here is that “PARC will simultaneously sell the parks to CNL Income Properties Inc. (CNL), a Florida-based real estate investment trust, and lease back the parks from CNL pursuant to long- term leases." So it seems they want to keep Magic Mountain...

Who wouldn't? Magic Mountain ROCKS. I loooooooooooooooove it. Best park I've ever been to.

y not go to a six flags park and yes i know it doesn't include magic mountain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Six_Flags_parks

y not go to a six flags park and yes i know it doesn't include magic mountain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Six_Flags_parks

What on earth are you trying to say? Sorry, but that's not even understandable in the slightest.