Six Flags to Celebrate 40th Anniversary Worldwide

Oklahoma City, OK -- Six Flags parks in seven countries will rock with excitement on August 5, as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary.

A worldwide birthday celebration kicks off with special events and ceremonies at Six Flags Over Texas. The first guest to walk through the gates in 1961, Teresa Poole-Bonneville, will do it again at 10 a.m. to open the park on its birthday and begin the worldwide festivities. As part of the celebration, 40-year-olds will be admitted free to all Six Flags parks on August 5 (Contact your local Six Flags park for details.)

Over the past four decades Six Flags has entertained over a billion people at its parks. In that time Six Flags emerged as the undisputed leader in the regional theme park business, spanning the globe with 39 parks serving over 50 million guests annually and 40 of the top 50 markets in the United States. Approximately 180 million people live within 150 miles of a Six Flags park in the United States.

"This celebration honors the past four decades and thousands of people who built Six Flags into the powerhouse brand it is today," said Gary Story, president, Six Flags, Inc. "We pay tribute to the visionary behind the creation of the Six Flags' experience, Angus G Wynne, Jr., who believed Americans wanted first-class theme parks complete with an abundance of entertainment including one-of-a-kind thrill rides close to home."

During the past 40 years Six Flags built its success on thrills. Six Flags' pioneering credits include ride innovations like the first log flume ride, the first tubular steel coaster, the first 360 degree looping coaster, the first vertical back-to-back looping coaster, the first linear induction coaster as well as the first man-made river rapids ride. Today, Six Flags boasts an unprecedented 157 coasters, which collectively travel 2.5 million miles in one year, the equivalent of a trip to the moon.

"We may be turning 40, but we're far from over the hill," said Story, who began his Six Flags career as a teenager at Six Flags Mid America, now Six Flags St. Louis. "We are honored to carry forward the Six Flags tradition of ingenuity, innovation and wholesome family entertainment started by Mr. Wynne. And, we remain committed to presenting the most innovative thrills on the planet for another 40 years."

The celebration will include a traditional cake featuring the official Six Flags 40th anniversary logo. The logo showcases a classic wooden coaster, a beloved symbol of the amusement park industry, as it twists and turns around a large tiered cake toward the company's traditional Six Flags shaped as colorful candles.

America's most beloved cartoon characters and superheroes will join guests around the world to celebrate Six Flags' birthday. The day's events will end with a dazzling fireworks spectacular at Six Flags Over Texas, the first ever to be launched off the park's 20-story oil-derrick landmark. Please visit www.sixflags.com for local park opening times and general information.