October 12, 2025, 4:07 PM ·
In case you missed it, last week Six Flags Entertainment Corporation published a press release announcing the departure of Chairman Selim Bassoul at the end of the year. The former CEO of the former Six Flags chain, Bassoul will step down from his role as Executive Chairman on December 31, 2025.But the press release also said that Bassoul would remain as a consultant for the company through the opening of the new Six Flags Qiddiya City park in Saudi Arabia, which the initial press release said would happen sometime in the first half of 2026.That was, perhaps, the bigger news in the press release. Following the announcement that CEO Richard Zimmerman would leave the company and reports that Bassoul had lined up a new gig as the chairman of a Canadian online grocer, many industry observers expected Bassoul to depart Six Flags sooner rather than later. Anything regarding the opening of Six Flags Qiddiya City goes immediately to the top of my coverage priorities. The park will be the home to the world’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster in Intamin’s new Falcons Flight. It also represents another major attempt by Saudi Arabia to appeal to global tourists, which makes this story cross over from the theme park beat into global politics, as well.So, yeah, I was going to run with the news of a 2026 opening for the park when I read the initial press release. A delay in the park’s debut fit with what I have been hearing from sources in the Middle East about Qiddiya City. The rides are testing, but landscaping is minimal, with the hotel and surrounding areas still very much a construction zone. Yet soon after publishing the news, media reps from Six Flags reached out to say that the company remained committed to a 2025 opening and that the press release was in error.If we know anything about construction in the Middle East, it’s that state-backed companies such as Qiddiya Investment Company can throw money at construction projects to make them happen very, very quickly. So if Six Flags says it can meet a year-end deadline, okay.But what about the initial press release? The innocent explanation for the opening date flip-flop might be that Bassoul is set to leave his consultancy role sometime in the first half of 2026, after the Saudi park has opened. Maybe in the telephone game that so often defines corporate writing, that timeframe got put down as the park’s opening season. I don’t know.That’s a bad goof, but one that any writer will forgive. None of us are perfect, and we all live in fear of making such mistakes. Get the correction out quickly and move forward.But Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe announced its opening date more than seven months in advance. We now are less than three months from the end of 2025. A not-insignificant number of Six Flags fans are feeling very apprehensive about the company at the moment. Not only is there uncertainty about who will lead the company beyond 2026, but Six Flags has delayed several projects in the U.S. and seen the departure of some of its most experienced park presidents. I don’t want to imagine how bad the buzz around the company would get if the Qiddiya City park misses its 2025 deadline, too. No reporter abides being told to replace a fact with a falsehood. If Six Flags now fails to open Six Flags Qiddiya City by the end of the year, the company will have burned a fair amount of credibility with the reporters who cover it, due to this press release incident.But the company would lose even more credibility with reviewers, fans, and investors if it opens an incomplete park. This is an outdoor theme park in Saudi Arabia. Many of its rides look great, but Six Flags Qiddiya City also will need soothing atmospheric design to provide the physical comfort that its visitors surely will demand. I know that some amazing designers have been working on this park, and their work deserves to be experienced in the best possible environment. Again, the park’s Saudi backers have the resources to make that environment happen, quickly. Let’s be clear. I am rooting for this project to happen on time and with all the design elements needed to impress even the most jaded theme park fan. If that happens, this flip-flop will be forgotten, along with so many other silly corporate communication flubs by countless businesses over the years. This is a big moment for Six Flags. A win with its Saudi partners would provide a much needed boost in revenue, reputation, and morale for the company. But any mis-step in Qiddiya City will amplify the frustration that some fans and observers are feeling about the company and its future right now.
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