Business Segments - Information by Geographic Region (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 04, 2021 USD ($) item	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Jul. 04, 2021 USD ($) segment item	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Business segment information by geographical areas
Number of reportable segments | segment			1
Number of parks owned or operated | item	27		27
Long-lived assets	$ 2,436,562	$ 2,488,599	$ 2,436,562	$ 2,488,599	$ 2,451,814
Revenues	459,787	19,143	541,811	121,646
Income (loss) before income taxes	$ 120,660	(171,911)	$ (7,049)	(278,506)
Mexico
Business segment information by geographical areas
Number of parks owned or operated | item	2		2
Canada
Business segment information by geographical areas
Number of parks owned or operated | item	1		1
Domestic
Business segment information by geographical areas
Long-lived assets	$ 2,304,446	2,363,884	$ 2,304,446	2,363,884	2,317,009
Revenues			521,346	108,601
Income (loss) before income taxes			(1,753)	(266,914)
Foreign
Business segment information by geographical areas
Long-lived assets	$ 132,116	$ 124,715	132,116	124,715	$ 134,805
Revenues			20,465	13,045
Income (loss) before income taxes			$ (5,296)	$ (11,592)