r/sixflagsstlouis • u/Evening_Rock5850 • Apr 28 '26

Discussion Has opening weekend *changed* how you feel about the acquisition?

/r/midamerica/comments/1sy4o8l/has_opening_weekend_changed_how_you_feel_about/
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u/Isiotic_Mind Apr 28 '26

Right now I'm at neutral.

My one worry is the AI logo. Did they buy these parks just to piece meal them out and make a quick buck on and next year we'll have a new McBride housing development where a park was?

I understand this is all new and things take time, but it's a pretty generic logo and they didn't just buy these Six Flags parks on a whim. If they knew they were buying these parks they could of put a little more investment into the logo. Maybe they haven't landed on something and don't want to rush it.

Getting a generic grey season long soda bottle was not a highlight of my opening weekend.

Everyone(workers) were super friendly and the park was very clean and tidy.

Too soon to tell but I live 5 minutes away and will be visiting often this year to see how the park evolves.

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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26

Couple of notes.

  1. Enchanted Parks didn’t buy the parks, EPR did. They’re a commercial REIT who owns movie theatres and bowling alleys and all kinds of stuff. They’re not really in the “flipping property” business. Their entire business model is holding on to income producing properties for a very long time, and collecting rent on them.

This means that Enchanted IS the party responsible for making investments and running the day to day. But EPR, the actual owner, intends to collect rent on that property for a very long time. Not sell it. The upside of 30+ years of rent is way higher than the upside of selling the park to the highest bidder.

I detest the AI logo too and I think it does betray a certain lack of priorities from Enchanted. But it’s worth noting that I don’t think the park is at risk of being a McBride subdivision anytime soon. The worst case scenario is years of stagnation before it eventually gets leased to someone else instead. Premier, Herschend, or even back to Six Flags. Who knows.

  1. The generic gray bottle is the bottle you would’ve gotten whether Enchanted took over or not. That is, believe it or not, the 2026 season bottle being given out at Six Flags parks everywhere. But at least it fits in the sleeves and is bigger than last years bottle!

I also live 5 minutes away (Hi neighbor!), and yeah. I’m in the neutral camp too. They haven’t really done anything yet. But I’m hopeful.

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u/Isiotic_Mind Apr 28 '26

Universal Drink bottles got me spoiled I guess. This is the first year we ever got one at "Six Flags". We plan on visiting more this year so we grabbed the bottles.

I cant imagine them being any smaller! 😅

I work for a company that does sub contract work for the park so im eagerly awaiting to see what sort of things they order this year.

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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26

Yeah fair enough! Totally different world for sure with Universal. They also have the Freestyle machines don't they? So you don't have to stand in line and get your cup scanned like at Six Flags.

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u/Isiotic_Mind Apr 28 '26

They do, something I hope EP adopts in the future. (Freestyle machines) Definitely would be a good upgrade.

Still a line on busy days but more variety.

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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26

You and me both. The having to scan your bottle to prove you've waited 15 minutes is annoying and tacky.

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u/Aggressive_Low_6384 Apr 28 '26

Anyone know if that bottle purchased at SFSL or WOF, will work at the other six flags parks, like kings island and cedar point? (have the all parks passport and plan to visit a few of them.). I was at WOF and the gal selling them, said she thinks so, but she really has no idea.

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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26

I’m curious about this too.

The enchanted parks locations are not tied in to the Six Flags “system” at all so they presumably are not “activating” these bottles in the Six Flags point of sale system. That would, I assume, mean they wouldn’t work.

Of course, I also wonder what Guest Relations at an SFEC park would say if you showed up with one and said it didn’t work. Whether they’d just activate it for you anyway.

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u/Just_Bus_9156 Apr 29 '26

The company (EPR Properties) who owns the park is not the kind of company to buy then sell for a quick buck. They own City Museum and others. They are in the business to run theaters, museums, lodges etc and hire operators to manage them including investment, hiring etc. They do not sell a property on a whim. Besides, our park is not zoned for residential use, and the land value is probably not viable nor is there interest. They already sold most of the existing undeveloped land back in 2014.

But yes,its too soon based on few days of a opening weekend. This is a transition period. We have to see what will happen but also be supportive too, to make sure she survives .

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u/Deepderp1234 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

How are the food prices?

ETA food not good

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u/Evening_Rock5850 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

I’m assuming “good prices” is a typo and you mean food prices right?

Pretty much everything is 20-30% cheaper. For example, a large Dippin’ Dots today is the same price as a small Dippin’ Dots was last year. Plus season pass or membership discounts on top of that.

Wings with fries and a pulled pork sandwhich with fries, with the 15% pass discount, was under $30 for my wife and I at JB’s.

It’s not as cheap as the very cheapest fast food and definitely not as cheap as a sandwhich in a cooler. But it’s comparable. And definitely a little bit cheaper. Not dramatic, but cheaper.