Six Flags is back in business.
On Friday, the Texas-based theme park operator announced plans to reopen all 26 venues for the 2021 season, including five venues that remained closed in 2020 due to continued coronavirus restrictions.
The company also confirmed its intention to hire “thousands of team members” for the next season exclusively through online hiring events.
“Our guests and staff members are ready for the return of the fun and excitement of Six Flags in 2021,” said senior vice president of park operations Bonnie Weber in a press release. “Last year, we set the standard for operating our parks safely and entertained millions of visitors in compliance with CDC government and health guidelines in 21 of our 26 parks.”
Weber added that the company is currently working to “set firm reopening dates” for its parks in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mexico City and Canada.
Six Flags warned that its reopening dates, although planned for 2021, were also subject to change depending on local, state or federal guidelines.
Six Flags had initially ended its theme park operations in mid-March 2020, only reopening its first location – Frontier City in Oklahoma – on June 5. Twenty of its other parks in a row until the end of the year, all with new cleaning, hygiene and a social detachment protocol in place.
Other policy changes included facial coverage and temperature checks for guests and staff; a new online booking system to be used by guests before booking a visit; limited capacity in all parks; and switching to credit card or mobile payments only, to minimize contact between guests and suppliers.
On its website, Six Flags still warns visitors to “assess their own risk” before deciding whether to go to the parks.
“People who have no symptoms can spread the Coronavirus if they are infected, any interaction with the general public presents a high risk of exposure to the Coronavirus,” says the website. “When you come to the park, you acknowledge and agree that you assume these inherent risks associated with the service.”
Six Flags CEO Mike Spanos, however, said the parks were ready to embrace a “new normal” after their Frontier City location reopened in June 2020.
“This ‘new normal’ will be very different, but we believe that these additional measures are appropriate in the current environment,” said Spanos.
Information on all future additions and announcements for Six Flags, including its hiring initiatives, can be found here.