In the past, on a Saturday afternoon, a group of teens could get out of a car at Six Flags, get their tickets, and vanish onto the rides without anyone noticing where their parents were. That is essentially no longer the case, and the way things came to this point reveals something about the parks as well as the larger issue they are attempting to address.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has gradually increased the number of chaperones required at all of its North American locations over the last two years. Depending on the park, attendees under the age of 15, 16, or 17 must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21. For the duration of the visit, the adult must stay inside the park and have a valid government-issued photo ID with their date of birth, which can be obtained over the phone. In certain parks, a group of up to ten minors can be covered by a single chaperone; in other parks, this number may be lower. If someone is discovered inside the park without a certified chaperone, they are taken out. There are no returns or exceptions.
Following problems during the park’s inaugural weeks, Six Flags St. Louis reinstated its policy in May 2025, citing the necessity to maintain a safe atmosphere. A week after a shooting in its parking lot that left no one hurt, Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, which already had a history of visitor conduct problems, announced the policy in July 2025. Earlier in the year, updated requirements were also adopted by Six Flags Over Georgia, Over Texas, and Kings Dominion in Virginia. Six Flags Over Texas set a start date of March 2025. All of them follow the same pattern: incidents occur, the policy follows soon after, and it is worded in terms of zero tolerance and family-friendly settings.
The actual instances have varied greatly. Large fights that broke out in parking lots or close to park gates were frequently caught on camera and immediately went viral online. Others were more broadly characterized as “unruly behavior”—a term that encompasses a wide range of behaviors. Meetups driven by social media, sometimes referred to as “teen takeovers,” have been reported at several venues. In each instance, it’s unclear if the disturbances were as well-coordinated as the phrase suggests or if the term itself has exaggerated what was occurring. In any case, families complained to parks to such an extent that doing nothing seemed like an option.
There are other chains that have achieved this stage besides Six Flags. As early as September 2022, a chaperone policy was in effect at Cedar Fair’s Carowinds, which is located on the border between North and South Carolina. It’s important to note that Cedar Fair and Six Flags joined in 2024 to form the united corporation that currently operates under the Six Flags name, which is two years ahead of the majority of the Six Flags deployment. One plausible explanation for the policy’s growth is that the organization in charge of these parks grew larger and more steadfast in its enforcement of a single standard.
The public’s response has been conflicting in ways that seem really complex. Given that unsupervised groups of older teens are less likely to be wandering the park, several parents have stated that they feel more comfortable sending smaller kids. The regulation feels unjust to children who behave flawlessly, according to a number of teenagers interviewed at the St. Louis and Gurnee sites. In a strict sense, they are correct. The way blanket policies operate is that a 15-year-old who has been visiting the park responsibly for years is now subject to the same limitations as someone who made a problem. In the words of one St. Louis adolescent, “It should probably be about how someone acts, not just their age.”
The parks would probably agree with that premise and then point out that it is practically impossible to apply. A theme park cannot be staffed to determine each minor’s level of maturity at the gate. One option is to establish and uphold an age limit. It is a blunt instrument, most likely due to need.
