Six Flags Magic Mountain moves to 365-day schedule

Six Flags begins 365-day operation

Good news for coaster fans as Six Flags Magic Mountain moves to an operating schedule that includes every day in 2018!

Main entrance -Photo by Jeremy Thompson

"The expansion represents an attempt to transition from a niche regional theme park to a major destination resort like Southern California rivals Universal Studios Hollywood and the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

The change also means Six Flags Magic Mountain can better target tourists who visit from outside the region, including travelers from Asia, Mexico and Australia, said Bonnie Weber, president of Six Flags Magic Mountain.

“By operating 365 days a year, that is the entry point to go after the tour and travel trade,” Weber said.

The park, which runs more roller coasters — 19 — than any other U.S. theme park, now operates 250 days a year, primarily in the summer months, during school holiday breaks and on select weekends. The Disneyland Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park operate year-round.

Industry experts say the move is unusual for a regional theme park but makes sense for Six Flags Magic Mountain, which already has an extra-long season, after extending operations during the Christmas holiday in 2014. The park has long staged a hugely popular Halloween event that runs for several weeks, starting in September and running until the end of October.

“Any time you can add additional revenue to your fixed costs, you are adding profit,” said Martin Lewison, a theme park expert and business management professor at Farmingdale State College in New York. On the East Coast, many smaller theme parks shut down in the winter because of extreme weather, which is not a problem in sunny Southern California, he added." -latimes.com

(c)Jeremy Thompson

The demand for the park appears to be strong enough to justify the expansion. Attendance has surged at Six Flags Magic Mountain over the last few years.

Nice to see this, hopefully, they'll begin to put more money into the overall quality and maintaining the resort. I'm assuming if this works out this year, we'll begin to see the theme park turn into a resort, something that almost all Six Flags are missing are a hotel on site. However, for this to work, I do feel that the park needs to open a few more family rides that can be enjoyed by an older crowd.