A new company is taking ownership of Kansas City’s most popular amusement park. On Thursday, it was announced that Six Flags is selling seven of its parks, including Worlds of Fun.
EPR Properties, a real estate company in Kansas City that invests in amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts and other entertainment properties across the United States, will be taking over Worlds of Fun. EPR purchased the seven parks for $342 million.
According to their portfolio, EPR Properties has $7 billion in total investments, has 333 locations, and has 59 operators in the U.S. and Canada. Worlds of Fun will now have its fourth different owner in its 52-year history in Kansas City.
Who founded Worlds of Fun?
The idea of bringing an amusement park to Kansas City came in the 1970s after Chiefs general manager Jack Steadman took a family trip to Disneyland. He brought the idea to Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. They decided that Clay County would be the home of the amusement park.
The duo’s company, Mid-America Enterprises, oversaw the construction of the $20.5 million development. Hunt’s goal was to turn KC into “the recreation center of the Midwest,” according to the Kansas City Public Library. The groundbreaking took place Nov. 8, 1971.
“Our idea is to create a fun and entertainment center with enough glamour and appeal to attract people from all over the United States to spend their vacation time and entertainment dollars in Kansas City,” said Hunt in a 1971 press release.
Worlds of Fun opened May 26, 1973, welcoming visitors with balloons, fireworks and marching bands.
Who else owned Worlds of Fun?
In 1995, Hunt sold Worlds of Fun to Cedar Fair, an amusement park company based in Ohio, for $40 million.
In 2024, Cedar Fair announced a merger with Six Flags, which led to the company operating under the Six Flags name. Cedar Fair operated 17 amusement parks across the country, including well-known destinations like Knott’s Berry Farm in California and the Schlitterbahn water parks in Texas.
JANA Partners, a New York-based investment hedge fund, announced in 2025 that it was partnering with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to invest in Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The group collectively owns economic interest of approximately 9%.
Six Flags operated 27 parks across North America, including two in Mexico and one in Canada. Six Flags St. Louis, which is also being sold to EPR, was the company’s only location in Missouri or Kansas before the 2024 merger.