How to Buy Six Flags Tickets
Theme parks are a great family outing to enjoy together, but they can get to be expensive. This is why we will teach you how to buy Six Flag tickets with ease and affordability in mind. If you are visiting a theme park in North America that is not branded by Universal or Disney, then there is a decent chance it will be a park owned and operated by the Six Flags company.
Six Flags runs – as of September 2021 – 27 different amusement and water parks in North America, and in 2019 they saw over 32 million guests through their gates.
Here is a look at out to make the most of your Six Flags adventure and buying Six Flags tickets.
Buy Six Flags Tickets: Day Pass vs. Season Pass
The first thing to know when you buy Six Flags Tickets is whether to pay for a day or season pass.
Using Six Flags over Texas as a home park, the options are plenty. When you buy Six Flags tickets, they break down like this:
- Day pass: does exactly as expected and lets you into the park for the day. These are found at anything from $35 to $75 depending on the day of the week and time of year you are looking to buy.
- Season pass: a season pass for all of 2022 costs just $80. There is an additional charge for a fright pass that will allow a guest to enjoy the haunted attractions around Halloween (this is also when the single tickets are most expensive).
- Memberships: these are ideal for those that love theme parks and want to get around the country and see them all.
From this $6.99 per month (with deposit) this includes admission to all outdoor parks in the country and several other benefits, including free parking.
For big time theme park lovers, there are upgrade options to the Diamond Elite status that include perks such as 50% off everything in the park and skip-the-line options for $18.49 per month.
Work out what you are likely to spend – how often you are likely to go – and base your ticket decision on that metric.
Group Rates
Six Flags is looking to get as many people through the gates as possible – especially as people spend as much money in the park as they do on tickets – so it is no surprise that their group rates are an excellent deal.
Groups of 10 to 99 – again using the Arlington, Texas theme park as a base – are cheaper, going for around $28 for a standard day and around $63 for the nights around Halloween.
There is also an option to buy tickets for groups larger than 100, with a special group rate that can be negotiated with the company through an online form or phone conversation.
Online or In Person
Buying Six Flags tickets online is the best for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the tickets are cheaper – even when fees are added – than they are at the park gates. Secondly (and maybe most importantly) online tickets allow you to skip the often-long lines at the gates and get into the park quickly. This is important with a family in tow.
Online tickets often offer other perks, such as discounts inside the park, so be sure to know what those perks are ahead of time to maximize your value on the day.
One thing to note is that discounted tickets for Six Flags are often available in the local area, especially during the low season for the park.
One way we have seen this is through advertising on the back of soda cans, with Six Flags partnering with a company to offer two-for-one tickets if the can is presented at the time of purchase.
Be sure to look for any special deals through forums and other internet searches around the time of your visit.
Extra Costs to Be Aware Of
Theme parks are confined areas, and when you are in them, it is often a long walk back to the car, especially in the middle of summer heat.
Most theme parks have stopped allowing coolers into the venue for security reasons, so there will be food and drink costs if you are planning on spending a full day enjoying everything a park has to offer.
Adding in parking (up to $25 at some parks) and a souvenir or two, the extra costs quickly outpace the initial ticket price.
Reselling and Refunds
The best way to resell Six Flags tickets here is on a local ticket marketplace site like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
The demand for resale tickets is not enough (usually) for brokers like VividSeats or TicketMaster to have dedicated theme park sections.
A forum such as Theme Park Insider might also be a viable resale venue, but your best bet is to make sure you are planning to go or seeing if your ticket can be exchanged for one on a different date if a life event causes a change in your plans.
Six Flags runs some of the best parks in America. Be aware of hidden costs for the day and really try to maximize the value of your purchase by considering season pass or membership options if you either live in the local area or are a theme park junkie.