SIX FLAGS CALIFORNIA TO BE SOLD; BUGS, BATMAN WILL STAY.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer The Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Valley's chief landmark - Magic Mountain - will be sold to one of the nation's largest theme park companies as part of a $1.86 billion deal announced Monday. Oklahoma City-based Premier Parks Inc. is buying the Six Flags For the national flags of Texas, see . Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) is the world's largest chain of amusement parks and theme parks and is headquartered in New York City. There are 20 such parks run by Six Flags. chain, including Six Flags California's Magic Mountain and neighboring Hurricane Harbor. The company also will acquire the rights to use Time Warner cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Batman and Superman at its theme parks. ``It's a positive development for Six Flags to become part of a larger company that's focused only on theme parks,'' said park spokeswoman Bonnie Rabjohn. ``I would think the fact that they're strictly in the theme park business would be a good thing,'' agreed Cheryl Adams, executive vice president of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. Chamber of Commerce and a former Magic Mountain employee. If the Santa Clarita Valley has a single identifier it has to be Magic Mountain with its twisting roller coasters While there have been hundreds of different roller coasters built, there have been just a few that were notable for specific reasons. Some reasons include:
n. pl. whim·sies also whim·seys 1. An odd or fanciful idea; a whim. 2. A quaint or fanciful quality: stories full of whimsy. on the horizon for residents miles around. ``As much as we push Santa Clarita for name recognition, I bet 99 percent of the time if someone says I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. where that is, we respond that it is near Magic Mountain,'' Adams said. ``Everyone knows where that is.'' Indeed, Magic Mountain has been a large part of the community since plans were laid in 1968 for an amusement park in the rolling hills west of the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. . ``Not only was it something to do in a place that didn't really have a lot of entertainment, it brought a lot of jobs,'' Adams said. Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor employ up to 6,500 full- and part-time workers in the summer season. Executives from Sea World in San Diego approached Los Angeles County planners in the mid-1960s with plans for a theme park in the area. The county contacted The Newhall Land and Farming Company The Newhall Land and Farming Company is a land management company based in Valencia, California, United States. The company is responsible for the master community planning of Valencia, as well as the management of farm land elsewhere in the state. , which agreed to provide 200 acres and act as silent partner. Newhall Land, however, became the big player when Sea World couldn't come up with the money. The local developer, just beginning to build Valencia's first tract homes and drawing plans for the local civic center, managed to float $35 million in bonds at 6 percent interest. Ground was broken in December 1969 and Magic Mountain opened Memorial Day weekend 1971. The opening proved disappointing - rides were prone to breaking down, landscaping hadn't taken hold magnifying the searing sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. summer heat, and public reaction was lukewarm at best. Newhall Land offered to buy out Sea World's 50 percent and the San Diego company accepted. The developer poured $11 million more into the park, traveled the world for new ideas and realized a turnaround in 1976 when the Great American Revolution roller coaster opened, the first ride to carry its riders upside down. Eventually, Newhall Land sold out to a theme park operator and the park has changed ownership a handful of times over the two decades. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion