Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jul. 21, 2017
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Six Flags Entertainment Corp
Entity Central Index Key	0000701374
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		85,570,064