The Six Flags Entertainment Corporation traces its
roots back to the opening of Six Flags Over Texas
in 1961. The park had six areas based on the governments that ruled Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the
Confederate States, and The U.S.A. "Texas Under Six Flags" was going to the the park's name, but its
primary investor thought that Texas should not be under anything, so it opened under the
Six Flags Over Texas moniker. Two
other parks opened with a Six Flags name in the late 1960s an early 1970s, but the Six Flags chain
began to expand by aquiring four existing parks between 1975 and 1984. Premier Parks purchased Six
Flags in 1998 and changed the combined company's name to Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. in 2000. The
company struggled with a massive load of debt and started selling and closing parks in 2004, eventually
getting rid all of its European parks, several water parks, and variety of entertainment venues and wax museums. Overall,
the chain ended up offloading well over a dozen amusement parks in the process. Despite the massive
sell-off, the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2009. The company reorganized and tried to expand
after emerging from bankruptcy, but none of its planned parks in Dubai, China, and Saudi Arabia ever opened. As
of 2023, Six Flags, Inc. operates 27 properties.
The following parks are owned or operated by Six Flags, or were owned by Six Flags in the past: