Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has surveyed some season passholders about potential new names for Cedar Point in Sandusky and Kings Island near Cincinnati, floating options that would slap the Six Flags brand onto two of Ohio's most storied amusement parks. Proposed names tested in the survey include “Six Flags of North Ohio,” “Cedar Point, A Six Flags Experience,” “Cedar Point by Six Flags,” “Six Flags Kings Island,” and “Six Flags Over Kings Island.”
The survey was first reported in a Cleveland.com report, and the story was further detailed by the Cincinnati Enquirer, which noted the piece was authored by Chad Murphy of the USA TODAY Network. A Six Flags spokesperson, Kristin Fitzgerald, said no final decisions have been made about the park names, according to that reporting.
Fitzgerald said the survey was designed to test naming concepts and understand what resonates with guests, and that Six Flags conducts regular research into what guests and passholders want from its parks. Guest and passholder feedback, she said, helps inform decisions about the future of Six Flags parks and the company, as well as ways to enhance the guest experience, per the same report.
A Promise Made At The Merger's Start
The idea of renaming either park marks a notable shift from assurances made when Cedar Fair and Six Flags finalized their $8 billion merger in July 2024. At that time, corporate officials announced that each park in the combined portfolio would retain its legacy branding, with no name changes planned or contemplated, according to FOX 7 Austin. The combined company adopted the Six Flags corporate name even though legacy Cedar Fair unitholders retained a 51.2% majority ownership stake.
Cedar Fair merged with Six Flags in 2024 to form Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, a deal that created a combined operator with a pro forma enterprise value of roughly $8 billion and total net debt exceeding $4 billion, per filings cited by SEC.gov. Cedar Fair unitholders received one share of the combined company per unit, while Six Flags shareholders received 0.58 shares. The combined company chose Charlotte, North Carolina, as its corporate headquarters while keeping significant administrative and finance operations in Sandusky, Ohio, where Cedar Fair had been based since 1983.
Why Ohio Fans Are Wary
Much of the local resistance traces back to the fate of Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio, which Six Flags rebranded before selling it to Cedar Fair, and which closed in 2007, according to Reader's Digest. PointBuzz site operator Jeff Putz characterized the naming survey as “tone deaf” given that history and how locals perceive the Six Flags brand, the outlet reported.
That history carries extra weight because of how old these parks actually are. Cedar Point opened in 1870 in Sandusky as a lakeside bathing beach and resort, and it's recognized as the second-oldest continually operating amusement park in the United States, behind Connecticut's Lake Compounce, according to Wikipedia. Kings Island opened in the Cincinnati area in April 1972, after Taft Broadcasting Company invested more than $300 million over the following decades to relocate and expand the flood-prone Coney Island amusement park.
Not The First Rebrand Kings Island Has Seen
Corporate name additions aren't unheard of at Kings Island. The park was officially branded “Paramount's Kings Island” from 1993 until Cedar Fair acquired Paramount Parks in 2006 and restored its standalone title, per Six Flags Wiki. That history shows naming prefixes have precedent in local memory, even if the current proposals have stirred far more public pushback.
Meanwhile, character branding at the parks isn't in question. In September 2025, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation extended its exclusive North American theme park licensing agreement with Peanuts Worldwide through December 31, 2030, keeping Snoopy and Charlie Brown at legacy Cedar Fair parks, as Hoodline reported in September. That partnership dates back to 1983, when Knott's Berry Farm opened the first Camp Snoopy.
A Company Still Consolidating
The naming survey also lands amid broader consolidation. Entering 2026, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation operated 34 regional amusement and water parks across North America after trimming its post-merger footprint to focus capital on higher-performing locations, according to Wikipedia. The company has also worked to integrate the passholder experience across its combined portfolio: following the merger, Kings Island and parent company Six Flags introduced the All Park Passport add-on for the 2025 season, granting passholders reciprocal access across 42 amusement and water parks in North America, as Hoodline reported in a prior passport rollout story.
For now, the fate of the Cedar Point and Kings Island names remains unresolved. Fitzgerald's comments to the USA TODAY Network indicate the survey was exploratory, with Six Flags collecting guest input before any decision is made about whether either park's name will ultimately change.
