Herschend Family Entertainment is greatly expanding its footprint by acquiring more than 20 theme parks, water parks and other entertainment venues in the U.S. from the Spain-based Parques Reunidos. 

Herschend is absorbing the Spanish company’s U.S. subsidiary, Palace Entertainment, and its amusement parks and attractions such as Kennywood, Idlewild, and Dutch Wonderland in Pennsylvania, Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa, Castle Park in Riverside, California, and Connecticut’s Lake Compounce.

Those parks will join Herschend’s existing chain of parks, which includes Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, Kentucky Kingdom, and Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia. 

“This year, we’re celebrating 75 years of bringing families closer together—and looking ahead to the next 75,” Herschend CEO Andrew Wexler said in a statement. “Today’s announcement marks a natural expansion and continuation of that vision. By growing wisely and staying true to our purpose, we are building a future where we can continue creating memories worth repeating for generations to come.”

The exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Here are maps of the two chains’ current holdings. (Note that the Raging Waters park in Sydney, Australia is not part of the acquisition.)

Palace Entertainment properties in the U.S. before being acquired by Herschend (Palace Entertainment)

Herschend Family Entertainment properties as of March 2025 (Herschend)

Parque Reunidos’ European parks, including Parque Warner Madrid, are not a part of the deal. The companies’ press release mentions that the deal allows Parque Reundios “to reinforce its strategic focus on its core European market.”

The acquisition marks a major expansion of the privately-held Herschend, well beyond the scope of its last major theme park deal, which was the purchase of Kentucky Kingdom in 2021. It also represents another consolidation of the regional theme park market following the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair last year. 

Herschend said no immediate changes to operations are planned for its newly acquired properties.