KMOX reviewed federal trademark filings and identified a potential pattern suggesting Six Flags St. Louis and other properties may be facing a specific type of breakup: Could the giant be moving toward a "pure play" business model by shedding water park assets to focus on its theme park product?
While rumors of facility sell-offs circulated over the weekend in response to the patent office filings, a closer look reveals the new trademark applications often align only with the water park or resort sides of existing Six Flags properties, leaving the main roller coaster parks unmentioned.
For instance, in the Kansas City market, "Oceans of Fun" is listed in the filings, but the "Worlds of Fun" dry park is not. A similar split appears in New York, where the "Great Escape Lodge" indoor water park and hotel is listed, but the main "Great Escape" theme park isn't.
Michigan's Adventure also appears in the filings. While that park features coasters, its WildWater Adventure water park is widely considered the primary draw. This reinforces the theory that the potential buyer is specifically targeting water-heavy assets. A filing for "Enchanted Parks Galveston" reasonably refers to the Schlitterbahn water park in that city.
This scenario would present a logistical challenge for Six Flags St. Louis. Currently, Hurricane Harbor shares an entrance and admission with the main theme park. A potential sale would force a physical "divorce," requiring construction of a new gate and perimeter fencing.
Who is "Enchanted Parks"?
The filings are registered to an entity called "Enchanted Parks," whose website previously directed to Innovative Attraction Management (IAM), a company headquartered in Orlando.
IAM appears to be an upstart. Founded it says by former Walt Disney World employees, the company recently acquired "Water Safari," a water park in upstate New York. Their website states they are "actively seeking to acquire high-performing water and amusement parks" to expand their portfolio.
The new company's apparent parsing of brand names in these trademark filings raises the question: Is Six Flags signaling that water attractions are non-core to its primary mission?
Martin Lewison, a business management professor at New York's Farmingdale State College, known nationally as "Professor Roller Coaster," says the logic of a split sale is plausible.
"It's possible that Six Flags finds the dry park business profitable and the water park less so, and so they want to shed it," Lewison tells KMOX. "I and everyone else have been scratching our heads about... why the water parks and not [the dry parks]?"
"Smaller and More Nimble"
If Six Flags is indeed looking to streamline, it aligns with recent corporate messaging. In the November earnings call, Six Flags Executive VP and CFO Brian Witherow said the giant must become more "strategic in allocating investment dollars."
"Getting the portfolio smaller and more nimble is a priority," Witherow said. "We're going to look at the parks where our returns are the greatest and the other parks we'll look to monetize and use those proceeds to reduce debt."
The bottom 30% of Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks have been under review. Revenue from the sale of those locations would also allow Six Flags to invest in the parks it thinks could perform better with some upgrades.
Six Flags America in Maryland is already closed permanently and California's Great America could close by 2027.
Potential Alternatives: A Busch Homecoming?
If some kind of transaction with the "Enchanted" group doesn't happen, who else has the expertise and capital to run these major assets?
Lewison points specifically to Herschend Family Entertainment, the owners of Silver Dollar City in Branson and Dollywood in Tennessee. He notes that Herschend proves regional operators can scale up successfully.
"For a long time, they’ve only had two or three parks... and they’ve recently tripled in size," Lewison explained, referencing their acquisition of other parks like Kentucky Kingdom and Wild Adventures. "It's seen as a growth industry, and I can see certain investors saying, 'Hey, if there's an opportunity, let's take advantage of it.'"
Another intriguing prospect involves United Parks & Resorts, formerly SeaWorld Entertainment. Before that, it was Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Companies. United continues to own the Busch Gardens theme parks, keeping a family name alive that is inextricably linked to St. Louis history.
A hypothetical "Busch Gardens St. Louis" would mark a strategic pivot for United Parks, which typically targets high-traffic "destination" markets like Orlando and San Diego rather than regional hubs.
However, St. Louis offers unique synergies that could entice a nature-focused operator. With the renowned Saint Louis Zoo developing its massive new WildCare Park and institutions like the Missouri Botanical Garden, the region is burgeoning as a center for conservation and tourism. The St. Louis Cardinals already draw millions of fans from surrounding states.
Lewison notes that for smaller operators or upstart companies, like what "Enchanted"/IAM appears to be, acquiring the full Six Flags St. Louis park could be a game-changer.
"St. Louis might be the gem. It might be their new flagship park for their new chain, for all we know," Lewison said.
While he admits that losing the "Six Flags" name on one of the chain's original three parks would be a "sad sort of ending," he argues that a sale is far better than the alternative.
"The truth is, this is better news than hearing that someone is going to tear down the park... and they're going to build condominiums," Lewison said. "I guess it's better news that there's going to be a new owner rather than the park is going to be torn down."