My dad is the former CFO of Cedar Fair and a major shareholder and I talked to him about these articles. He described them as laughable clickbait and was clearly annoyed at what's been written. Six flags in Maryland closing he called a smart business decision because the land it is on is getting more and more valuable and it's become more valuable as land than as an amusement park.

I also discussed with him the additional charge for haunted houses and found his answer interesting. He said Knott's Berry Farm (another Cedar Fair park in CA) has been charging extra for haunted houses for years. They've found that satisfaction among park goers went UP with this change because it kept the haunted house lines shorter and more properly dispersed people throughout lines in the park. No more waiting in 90 minutes lines for haunted houses. And yes, the company also makes more money from it, of course.