Seven Less Flags

As expected, Six Flags has cast off seven of its 30 theme and water park properties but is keeping Los Angeles-area Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor.

"It became abundantly clear to us that this is going to be a great season," Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg told the Los Angeles Times. "This is not the time to sell Magic Mountain."

However, it was time to hive off some assets to repay debt, and the sale of the seven properties garnered a reported $312 million. Six Flags stock spiked 47 cents, or 8.66 percent, to $5.90.

PARC 7F-Operations Corp., based in Jacksonville, Fla., bought the properties and immediately flipped them to CNL Income Properties. CNL, in turn, will lease the parks back to PARC under 20-year contracts with an option to renew, according to the Times.

One of the sold properties is Six Flags Darien Lake in Buffalo, N.Y., which includes a 20,000-capacity performing arts center. Also gone are Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver; Frontier City and the White Water Bay parks in Oklahoma City; SplashTown in Houston; Waterworld USA in Concord, Calif.; and Wild Waves and Enchanted Village in Seattle.

Magic Mountain was rumored to be on the block and local officials feared it would be sold for real estate in the booming northern L.A. suburbs. But the park proved to be too popular to sell – and the city has decided to drop plans to change the name of its entryway, Magic Mountain Parkway. The proposition reportedly rankled the theme park owner.

"This is good news for the companies who are tied to the hospitality and tourism industry and for the many vendors who supply them with everything from soft drinks to uniforms and towels," Larry Makin, president and chief exec of the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce, told the Times. "It was the right thing to do."