Six Flags Gets Seriously Digital with 'Largest' Tech Alliance in Theme Park Industry

Arlington-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp.—the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of water parks in North America—has launched what it calls “the largest digital alliance in the theme park industry.” And it’s partnering with some of the nation’s biggest tech companies to do it.

Six Flags said its alliance partners include Google, HCL Tech, Dell, Snowflake, Fueled, and Pure Imagination Studios. The digital alliance—”a first of its kind in the theme park industry,” Six Flags says—will offer “cutting-edge technologies from best-in-class companies to benefit both guests and team members.”

The aim is to redefine the guest experience across multiple touchpoints, Six Flags said. That includes streamlining “pre-visit planning” through intelligent recommendation systems; elevating “real-time engagement” during visits with personalized, AI-driven notifications and virtual assistant support; and enriching post-visit interactions via “insightful analytics” that can tailor future recommendations and offers.

Accelerating innovation and ‘revolutionizing’ the theme park industry

Selim Bassoul

“Our guests are at the center of everything we do, and we want to give them the best possible experience when they visit our parks,” Selim Bassoul, CEO of Six Flags, said in a statement. “By partnering with the best-in-class companies, we are using data and technology to accelerate innovation and revolutionize the theme park industry.”

Omar Jacques Omran, Six Flags’ chief digital officer, said his company “is leading the way on technology, harnessing the power of an alliance to accelerate innovation and seamlessly blend brands into the guest experience through multiple touchpoints in the park.”

“Our guests will benefit from the latest technology to make their visit more personalized, enjoyable, and memorable,” Omran added in a statement.

The Joker Free-Fly Coaster at Six Flags Over Texas opened in 2017. [Photo: Business Wire]

Introducing ‘unparalleled’ immersive and interactive elements

Six Flags said new technologies will “revolutionize” the guest experience by introducing immersive and interactive elements that are “unparalleled” in the theme park industry.

The company’s digital alliance partners weighed in with their own comments on the initiative’s potential.

“As Six Flags’ primary cloud provider and AI innovation partner, Google Cloud is ready to make AI and cloud technologies more accessible to more people across the theme park industry,” Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said in a statement. “Through this alliance, the industry can take advantage of our innovations in data, technical infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI to create memorable and tailored guest experiences.”

Hari Sadarahalli, corporate VP for engineering and R&D services at HCLTech, said that as Six Flags’ digital engineering and system integration partner, his company “will leverage our expertise across AI, Analytics, Cloud and Digital Engineering to integrate varied and complex systems, enabling Six Flags to provide a connected and cohesive experience across all its parks.”

Bringing Six Flags’ theme parks ‘into the metaverse’

Bringing Six Flags’ theme parks “into the metaverse” is a goal of the digital alliance, as well.

“Pure Imagination Studios is delivering an elevated level of innovation in AR, VR and animation that will bring Six Flags into the metaverse and the future of experiential entertainment,” said Joshua Wexler, CEO of Pure Imagination Studios. “Through exceptional storytelling and expanded interactivity and game play in both the physical and digital worlds, we’ll transport guests of all ages to places that aren’t bound by traditional physical rides, visuals, or reactions. We will ignite their wildest imaginations.”