Six Flags Magic Mountain expands to year-round schedule

SIGNAL FILE PHOTO: Six Flags Magic Mountain located in Valencia.
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Starting next Jan. 1, Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park will be open 365 days a year.

The park’s owner, Six Flags Entertainment Corp., said the move is meant to put the park on a par with other theme parks in Southern California, which are already open year-round.

“With the best collection of thrills in the world and the Six Flags brand expanding globally, this is the perfect time for one of our flagship properties to make the business transition to a 365-day operating schedule in order to maximize travel industry opportunities,” said Jim Reid-Anderson, the company’s president and CEO. “Six Flags will now provide a thrilling vacation option to both international and domestic visitors coming to enjoy Southern California.”

The Valencia theme park opened in 1971 as Magic Mountain, a development of the Newhall Land and Farming Company.

Six Flags added its name to the park when the company bought it in 1979. The Hurricane Harbor water park opened in 2005.Since then, both parks have operated limited schedules, with Magic Mountain running year round on weekends and holidays in the off season, and daily throughout the spring and summer months.

Six Flags Magic Mountain had 3.3 million visitors in 2016, ranking 17th among U.S. amusement parks, according to the Themed Entertainment Association’s Global Attractions Attendance Report. Attendance was up 7.3 percent from 2015.

Disneyland ranked second with 17.9 million visitors, while Disney’s California Adventure ranked 8th with 9.2 million visitors, Universal Studios Hollywood ranked 9th with 8 million, and Knott Berry Farm ranked 12th with 4 million.

Six Flags expects the expanded calendar to create new opportunities for school groups, high school seniors, convention business, extended stays, and business travel, to the benefit of the local economy.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has 19 coasters, and more than 100 rides, shows, and attractions, including the newly launched Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, which opened in July. New events are planned for the additional 100 days of the operating calendar, which is expected to generate new visitors from markets throughout California, the U.S., and around the world.

“This is great news for Los Angeles,” said 5th District Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “By opening the park all year round, Six Flags is significantly enhancing the tourism and travel industry, creating jobs and spurring economic growth for the entire region.”

“I can wholeheartedly say there’s never been a better time to discover Los Angeles as our endlessly entertaining destinations like Six Flags Magic Mountain continue to mesmerize 47 million annual visitors,” said Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world’s largest regional theme park company with $1.3 billion in revenue and 20 parks across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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