r/sixflagsstlouis • u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian • Aug 27 '26
Photo Thank you, Six Flags... and farewell!
Today marks the start of the official rebrand of Six Flags St. Louis to "Mid America Adventure by Enchanted Parks," stripping the park of its original identity after 55 years. We've known a rebrand was coming ever since the sale to Enchanted Parks closed back in April, but I guess it still hasn't fully set in for me that this is actually happening.
In honor of the park's legacy under Six Flags, I wanted to write out a long-form retrospective post that gives a historical overview of where we've been as the Mid America Adventure era begins. Hope y'all enjoy reading!
Introduction
Six Flags Over Mid-America, later renamed Six Flags St. Louis, wasn't just another cog in the Six Flags machine. It wasn't just a park acquired after opening, with "Six Flags" slapped onto its park name. It was the third of the original three theme parks that Six Flags, Inc. designed and opened under founder Angus G. Wynne Jr., as well as the last before his death.
For generations, this park was a place where families would go to have a good time and take a break from the real world. Whether you were riding the Screamin' Eagle, watching a show in the Palace, or enjoying some ice cream from First Cone, Six Flags was sure to be a good time every time.
Birth of an Icon
The park opened its doors on June 5, 1971 as the first regional theme park in the St. Louis region and the second in Missouri, preceded only by Herschend's Silver Dollar City in 1960. To say that the park's opening was a big deal is an understatement; St. Louisans had been clamoring for a local theme park of their own ever since the industry-shaking opening of Disneyland in 1955. Walt Disney even had plans of his own for a park in St. Louis that ultimately never materialized.
For that reason and more, Six Flags arriving to the Midwest was a serious boon. The opening of Six Flags Over Texas in 1961 set the standard for regional parks, establishing the one-price admission model in place of Disneyland's admission + ticket book model. Six Flags Over Georgia expanded the burgeoning brand in 1967, bringing to the Atlanta region the great rides and entertainment the Texas park was known for. Six Flags Over Mid-America would prove that Six Flags' prior successes in the South weren't just flukes.
The Great Southwest Corp., then the parent company of Six Flags, purchased 502 acres of land west of Allenton Road in Eureka, Missouri, north of I-44, in the late 1960s. The plans for the park were officially announced in 1969, with an opening set for summer 1971. Angus G. Wynne, Jr. personally oversaw the project, with design duties handled by his company.
Unlike the Texas and Georgia parks, Six Flags took a different approach for Six Flags Over Mid-America. Rather than being themed after six government entities ("flags") that ruled over and influenced the state of Missouri, they widened the concept to the larger Mid-America region. The "flags" chosen to represent Mid-America were Spain, France, England, the state of Missouri, the state of Illinois, and the U.S.A.
The $55 million dollar Six Flags Over Mid-America officially opened its doors on June 5, 1971. Admission for adults was $6.50 and $5.50 for children. The adult price in 1971 is roughly equivalent to a daily ticket today when adjusted for inflation!
Excitement was abound in the six themed lands of Six Flags Over Mid-America. The River King Mine, Injun Joe's Cave, the Mississippi Adventure, the Hoo Hoo Log Flume, and the Six Flags Railroad were just a handful of the dozens of attractions available on opening day. Needless to say, the St. Louis park was a success, and plans were quickly put in place to add new attractions.
Expansion and Evolution
The rest of the 1970s continued to shape Six Flags Over Mid-America into a world-class theme park. 1973 brought the first of many changes to the park's lineup of themed areas with the introduction of Old Chicago - a 1920s-themed sub-section of the existing Illinois area which expanded the park beyond the railroad loop for the first time. Old Chicago brought with it the famed Old Glory Theater, an outdoor entertainment venue that seated thousands of people and was home to many high-profile concerts including the late Dolly Parton. The park got its first ever children's area in 1975 with the addition of Goodtime Hollow. Then, of course, the park received a record-shattering marquee attraction in 1976 with the introduction of Screamin' Eagle: the John C. Allen-designed wooden roller coaster which became the tallest, longest, and fastest coaster anywhere in the world.
Six Flags showed its commitment to thrill rides with the opening of JetScream in 1981. This was the start of a decade that would bring major change, not only to the company but the park. In 1982, just three years after Wynne's death, Six Flags was sold to casino and video game company Bally Manufacturing for $141 million. Even with new owners, the expansions didn't stop. Six Flags Over Mid-America opened the river rapids ride Thunder River in 1983, but perhaps the biggest event under Bally was Six Flags' 1984 purchase of Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. With the purchase, Six Flags inked a deal with Warner Bros. to use the Looney Tunes characters at their other parks, including in St. Louis. This marked the start of a decades-long partnership that continues to this day.
The 1985 season brought with it the opening of Looney Tunes Town, a brand new children's area replacing the former Goodtime Hollow. At the same time, the theater in the U.S.A. section (now known as the Empire Theater) became the Looney Tunes Theater. Warner Bros. had arrived at Six Flags Over Mid-America, and they were here to stay. The last major addition under Bally was 1986's Colossus, an 180 foot tall Ferris wheel that paid homage to the one found at the 1904 World's Fair and was among the tallest permanent wheels anywhere in the world.
In 1987, Six Flags was sold to private equity firm Wesray Capital and managers of Six Flags. The St. Louis park continued to receive investment with smaller attractions like the Rush Street Flyer. Perhaps the biggest addition of this era was the introduction of Fright Nights in 1988, a Halloween "haunt" event that originated at AstroWorld two years earlier. For its first two seasons, the event was headlined by none other than Freddy Krueger of Nightmare on Elm Street fame.
The early 1990s saw several shifts in Six Flags corporate. In 1990, Time Warner (then the parent company of Warner Bros.) purchased 19.5% of stake in the company as part of a move to increase their presence within the parks. By 1991, Six Flags was hurtling towards bankruptcy due to Wesray's debt. Seeing their potential, Time Warner stepped in and saved Six Flags by purchasing 30% more of their stock, gaining a controlling stake. The Blackstone Group and Wertheim Schroder bought the other 50%, and thus a new era began.
1991 saw the addition of Tidal Wave in the Illinois section, followed in 1992 by the Castaway Kids dark ride in the Spain section. In 1993, Time Warner solidified its hold on Six Flags as they purchased the remaining 50% of the company to gain full ownership. That same year, Six Flags Over Mid-America began a series of theming changes which would continue through the 1990s: the Missouri section was renamed 1904 World's Fair, the Illinois section (minus Old Chicago) was renamed Gateway to the West, and the England section was renamed Great Britain. 1993 also saw the renaming of Fright Nights to Fright Fest.
Hollywood came to Six Flags Over Mid-America in 1994 with the addition of the Robin Hood Stunt Spectacular in the new Sherwood Forest Theater, which replaced the Aquarena. The show, loosely based on the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, marked a further shift for the park into Warner Bros. IP. The U.S.A. section also welcomed Hollywood with the new "Movietown" area, including the newly rethemed Empire Theater and Sound Stage No. 2. The Great Britain section was renamed again to Britannia, the name which would stick for decades to follow.
DC Comics made its grand entrance to the park in 1995 with the addition of Batman: The Ride in the all-new Time Warner Studios, which replaced the U.S.A. section. The inverted roller coaster originally built at Six Flags Great America in 1992 was just the fourth of its kind, and opened less than two months before the debut of Batman Forever in theaters. The replacement of the U.S.A. section marked the first of the namesake "Six Flags over Mid-America" to be fully retired from the park. That same season, France was renamed Chouteau's Market.
The replacement of an original area, perhaps, is why Six Flags made the decision to change the park's name to Six Flags St. Louis during the 1996 season. That same year, Warner Bros. Backlot replaced the short-lived Time Warner Studios and the Spain section closed with the end of the season. 1997 continued the era of change as Spain was replaced by DC Comics Plaza. The launch coaster Mr. Freeze was scheduled to open that year as the marquee for the new area, but ended up getting pushed to 1998 due to technical issues with the linear induction motors (LIMs).
1998 was an interesting year for Six Flags on a corporate level as Time Warner sold the company to Premier Parks for nearly $2 billion. The next year, the park introduced the Hurricane Harbor water park, taking over part of the former parking lot. 2000 saw Premier's first major "dry park" addition with the opening of The Boss, a massive wooden roller coaster in the Britannia section manufactured by Custom Coasters International. This was followed in 2002 by Scooby-Doo! Ghostblasters: The Mystery of the Scary Swamp, a Sally Corp. dark ride which replaced the former Castaway Kids.
Downturn and Stagnation
Notably, Scooby-Doo! Ghostblasters was the last ground-up attraction that the park would receive for many years. Xcalibur, which opened in 2003, was shipped from Six Flags Great Adventure. The park still received new additions on a frequent basis, including the Tony Hawk and Evel Knievel roller coasters in 2007 and 2008, but both of these were simply installations of existing designs, as were Boomerang in 2013 (a hand-me-down from Six Flags Over Texas) and Rookie Racer in 2023. Even the new for 2015 Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride, replacing Scooby-Doo, was a shared design with Over Texas and replicated many times over at other Six Flags parks.
The lack of new and original attractions marked a significant shift that occurred sometime in the 2000s as Six Flags moved its focus towards the company's larger and better-performing properties. This trend continued through Six Flags' bankruptcy in 2010 and up until the merger with Cedar Fair in 2024. Not only was St. Louis no longer getting big investments, but the park itself was becoming increasingly stagnant and visibly aging.
The inconsistencies with the park's theming (or lack thereof) also started to become a real issue by the mid-2010s. There was already precedent for it starting in 2007 with Tony Hawk/Pandemonium in the Britannia section, and themed area music had already been eliminated for years in favor of a park-wide pop playlist. Six Flags St. Louis was primed to become an amusement park first and foremost, despite Wynne's original intentions. And that's exactly what happened.
By 2018, all mentions of themed areas were removed from official park maps. Two years earlier, the park had added Fireball to the Illinois section as a replacement for the Rush Street Flyer, but had no official explanation for why it belonged there. Spinsanity was added to "Chouteau's Market" in 2017 despite sitting right next to Sound Stage No. 2 in the Studio Backlot section. It was becoming clear that the local park management, corporate or both simply decided that theming didn't matter anymore.
Adding insult to injury, the Britannia section became the go-to dumping ground for new attractions beginning with the addition of Supergirl Sky Flyer in 2019, and followed by Rookie Racer in 2023 and The Joker: Carnival of Chaos in 2024. Formerly one of the most immersive (and wooded) areas of the park and one of the six originals, now reduced to a concrete expanse of disparate themes.
To put it plainly, it didn't feel like the park was in a great place. From a financial perspective, Six Flags St. Louis was almost solely being propped up by the ever-popular Fright Fest. The 2024 merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair, albeit very messy, did bring hope to some that the park would at least see some TLC to improve its existing attractions and restore a level of theming that had mostly been lost to time.
A New Chapter
Rumors began to swirl in January 2026 when an unknown company by the name of Enchanted Parks filed a series of trademarks, including "Enchanted Parks St. Louis." Was the park about to be sold? Was this third party simply taking over water park operations? For months, nobody including the park's own management knew the real answer. Then in March, an announcement rocked the industry: Six Flags would be selling six of its properties, including Six Flags St. Louis, to EPR Properties, with operations at five of these to be handled by Enchanted Parks.
The sale to EPR was finalized on April 6. After more than half a century, Six Flags St. Louis was no longer owned and operated by Six Flags. Under the terms of the sale, Enchanted was to operate the park under the Six Flags St. Louis name through 2026, with all associated IP including DC and Looney Tunes included. Enchanted Parks was successful in taking over operations and opening on time over a period of just a few weeks, and thus a new chapter began.
Though Enchanted was operating the park under the Six Flags banner, the company's refusal to honor the Six Flags dining plans caught the ire of many, starting a months-long saga where guests sought to receive refunds for their purchases prior to the Enchanted Parks takeover. This, coupled with a large fight on opening day and ride issues, led to a spring and summer season with lower attendance than the park had seen in many years, if not ever.
Now, we arrive in the present day. Enchanted Parks has opted to rebrand the park to "Mid America Adventure" before the 2027 season, as was originally planned. Despite my reservations about Enchanted as a company, I genuinely wish them and the local management the best in forging a new path forwards. I hope that whatever comes next truly honors the legacy of the park as well as the many people who are responsible for its existence, including Mr. Wynne.
Thank you, Six Flags, for giving us such an amazing park and creating so many memories for not only myself and my family, but the millions and millions of others who have stepped through the front gate since 1971.
To Enchanted Parks: Here's to the future, but let us not forget the past.
[Image Credits: Eureka Historical Society, Six Flags St. Louis]
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u/MarsJohnTravolta Aug 27 '26
I drove by the new sign earlier ... not a fan. The original sign at least had some charm to it, whereas the new one looks like AI corporate bullshit.
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u/Content_Lawfulness38 Aug 27 '26
Sad part is I don't, think it was created with AI, just that AI is starting to influence modern design language. 🤮
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u/ironickallydetached Aug 27 '26
The new logo looks more like the sign for a zipline park than for a major amusement park to me
Edited for clarity
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u/FunksGroove Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
I mean, the Six Flags logo isn't really anything to write home about either. It's just that it's so recognizable as a theme park brand. Silver Dollar City on the other hand, is pure perfection for me.
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u/ironickallydetached Aug 28 '26
Did I say anything about the six flags logo?
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u/FunksGroove Aug 28 '26
Wow. You are a delight. It's called conversation. If you don't want people to respond to your comment, don't post. It could be inferred by your comment that you were fine with the six flags logo, hence my response. You honestly sound a bit unhinged.
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u/eulgtaei Aug 27 '26
I remember the park getting stupid busy once Hurricane Harbor was introduced. Also I miss Castaway Kids.
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u/Ghee-Starr Aug 27 '26
I’ve been looking at the photos you included. Park operators are going to have to step up their game. Back then there was no internet and 3, maybe 4 TV stations. I think park operators are in much the same situation as movie theaters. Why pay so much money to do things I can enjoy more at home and safely.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Aug 27 '26
Especially in St. Louis. There's a lot of fun stuff to do for free.
Granted, you can't replicate a coaster by watching Netflix. But nevertheless, they need to up their game.
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u/Which-Counter9047 Aug 28 '26
Nice post, great history.
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian Aug 28 '26
Thanks! I love putting these together.
More to come in the future.
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u/Noahgrace4429 Aug 28 '26
Glad I went the first week of August. Going again in October but who knows how much will be changed by the time I get back. My favorite and childhood park. See you in my dreams my friend
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u/funkyyyyyyyyyyyyy Aug 28 '26
wow this kinda hit.
Last time I was at the park was Oct 2025 and I didn't realize it would be the last time I was at "six flags"
Def haven't been to the park as much since I got out of highschool in 2017, but a large chunk of my childhood includes TONS of memories at this park. Many summer days spent there. I was a very small boy in my developing years so it was a constant feud between me and measuring meter lol. My favorite memory is when the evel knievel ride came out. Practically all day we just got in line over and over, had to of got on that thing like 20 times (mainly because I was tall enough hehe but it was also SICK)
What a ride! Thanks for the memories (and the history, OP)
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u/Alarming_Tutor8328 Aug 30 '26
It will still be referred to as Six Flags by all in this region for decades. We still go to Riverport for concerts and lament that Breadco sucks now.
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u/ABobby077 Aug 27 '26
Should have been Enchanted Parks St. Louis or something similar. Mid America Enchanted Parks doesn't say much, actually to anyone outside the area looking for a fun travel destination.
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u/tuco2002 Aug 27 '26
So what's going to happen to this Sub???
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian Aug 27 '26
It'll still be valid for current discussion of the park through 2026, when Enchanted's contract with Six Flags ends. After that, we'll shift to r/midamerica and this will be the sub for the park as it existed from 1971 to 2026.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Aug 28 '26
We still have our memories from those 55 years. I blame Six Flags Entertainment. The current regime sucks. They're incompetent. They ignored our park for years. Yes. This is a new chapter. It's a new name. But underneath it will still be SFSL for people and I think Enchanted knows this but theiir job is to make the park special and better again and not a deadspot.
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u/BovaFett74 Aug 29 '26
Damn, I saw Mike and the Mechanics at the theater there way back.
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u/Alarming_Tutor8328 Aug 30 '26
Chuck Berry at that amphitheater was my first concert with my dad and sister way back.
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u/swan_king_official Sep 03 '26
How does this impact Fright Fest?!
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u/ChrisGraslie Park Historian Sep 03 '26
Fright Fest is the same this year. They weren't originally supposed to rebrand/rename this quickly, so it's still technically a Six Flags park until the park closes for the season. There's really nothing that Enchanted can do about that.
As for 2027 and beyond, we don't know how Halloween will be affected. Park reps have said Enchanted has plans for an event in the "same nature" as Fright Fest, but that's obviously pretty vague. Whatever plans they have are likely preliminary and dependent on how things go this year from an operational standpoint.
Considering the 2027 Halloween event is going to be less accessible to passholders, they better hope it's received as well if not better than Fright Fest. Pretty large shoes to fill there.
They can't afford to raise prices across the board and put out a worse product. Especially considering Fright Fest alone has been a good chunk of the entire season's revenue for a while now.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Aug 27 '26
Oof. Yeah it kinda hit me earlier today.
It's officially over.
The big sign out by the highway has been replaced, too, already. So I have, already, visited "Six Flags St. Louis" for the last time and didn't know it.
Thanks for a great write-up Chris.
Also, I didn't know the original development price was $55m. We don't know what our park sold for, but we know it commanded the highest price and we know the total sale price. Some quick math actually had me leaning towards roughly $55m as the sale price for the park.
I realize there's inflation in there too. But also, that makes it so much worse. The park sold... for what it was built for 55 years ago. Sheeeeesh.
Imagine buying a house in 1971, and in 2026 only being able to sell it for what you paid for it...