MagicMountainMan
-
Posts
692 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by MagicMountainMan
-
-
The only reason Green Lantern was cycling today was because some executives from La Ronde were out looking at the ride as it's most likely going to be relocated there.
-
It probably has been, frankly - I think almost every park has made a trade off there except those that did something about it (shout out Adventureland Iowa and Herschend). Have they adequately analyzed that the loss of revenue is less than the cost of the staffing?
I cannot give a definitive answer to this, but I can give an anecdote: Fright Fest every year is staffed by temporary employees and the park has a very hard time retaining the "talent" for the entire run. The primary scheduler for the event, who also handles the cost centers, took a look into the financials of the run and concluded that it would be financially viable to pay the "talent" more a little money in order to retain their services for the entire run and not have to emergency hire more people towards the end of the run. HR was on board, Entertainment was on board, Ops was on board. The idea ran up to Finance, and it was quickly dismissed. Needless to say, the adverse effects of having a third of your employee base quit in the first few weeks of an event every year makes it very tough for a lot of people to do their jobs.
The assumption most make is "of course they have, these are professionals," but that was also the rationale used in shielding Schlitterbahn from blame when Verruckt ripped that kid's head off ("They're professionals, of course it's safe!"). Six Flags is a whole different company now than what it was in the 90s when it was run into the ground at the executive level, but the park management types are pretty much all still there and entrenched in their ways from those earlier eras. Again, it went bankrupt. You don't go Chapter 11 unless there's catastrophic f'ups at all levels, so you can't assume that analysis was or has ever been done.You have pretty much nailed it. When they went bankrupt management was absolutely gutted, which made sense at the time. The thing is, a decade later and management is still a skeleton crew. There are more full time employees in sales and marketing than there are in park operations...
It's unfortunate because a lot of the full time managers and supervisors are holdovers from the bankruptcy who were forced to absorb the workload of all of the management teams that were let go. A lot of the managers are unsurprisingly overworked and stretched very thin. As a result of these circumstances, the effect of a bad full time employee is amplified, and the effect of a good one is hamstrung. Ironically, even though 'middle management' gets a bad rep in a lot of companies, Six Flags has virtually no middle management and would distinctly benefit from more managers and not having the same few people making literally every decision.
All of this being said, I will reiterate that there are absolutely people that are there who genuinely care and are good at their jobs. The issue is that the systemic problems that persist will not change unless it would be glaringly obvious financially not to. But when everyone is stretched so thin and there's such a limited budget in the first place, stuff gets missed and things don't get done. The ultimate measure of success that counts for the Company is the stock price, which for the most part is doing fine. Six Flags is a business, and businesses aren't perfect. If they're doing well in the eyes of shareholders, the market validates a lot of their decisions and business practices... Until it doesn't.
-
The past two times I've been to Disneyland, my phone hasn't been able to display the correct time consistently. All day, it would bounce between Pacific Standard Time and 6-7 hours in the future. At first I thought it was just a glitch with my phone, but I noticed others on the Google Pixel Reddit forum saying they had the same issue at Disneyland and think it's a cell tower giving the wrong time.
Out of curiosity, has anyone else with a Google Pixel and/or Verizon had the same problem at Disneyland?
I have a Pixel and was at the parks almost every day for the past year and checked the app constantly and I never had an issue. I'm on T-Mobile though.
Disney just partnered with all of the cell carriers recently to install a lot more cell sites on property so it might be Verizon having some teething problems specifically with the radios in the Pixel and the new cell sites, but that's just me speculating.
Hopefully it's resolved next time you visit.
-
I am confused as to what the argument being made actually is now...
However I am confident that SFMM going year round has been positive for at least some of the employees that work there, with a catch*. There are hours for a lot of employees that work there all year since the place is perennially understaffed. Being understaffed hasn't changed, but the fact that a food service employee who is already available to work can now work a mystical 40 hours per week all year instead of just on operational days is a net benefit and will most likely help in retaining that employee.
*With that being said the work culture of Six Flags, the amount of stress put on kids who are working in places that are always understaffed (literally food services), and the pay certainly outweigh the gain of a hypothetical 'more work hours', because that's not quite how it works at Six Flags.
SFMM works on a tiered system; Tier 1-3. Tier 1 employees are the majority of the park employees, they get no benefits from Six Flags and are guaranteed no hours. Tier 2 employees (some leads, most supervisors, and a few front line employees who are always there) are guaranteed 30 hours per week, which is the bare minimum under ACA guidelines to qualify for employer insurance. Tier 3 employees are the full time salary employees.
Here's the catch though, SFMM does a very good job at making sure Tier 1 employees stay Tier 1 employees. When SFMM went to 365 ops last year, there was not much of a bump in Tier 2 promotions, instead they had hiring fairs and took on more Tier 1 employees to dilute the workforce and they aren't laying off as many 'seasonal' team members like they used to. Also, for the busy summer months they do still rely on an international workers program as well as hiring surges.
My long winded, overall point is that while it may seem like a great thing on paper that SFMM went full time operations, the benefits of that full time schedule only partially trickled down to the base employees. It's (arguably) unfortunate that they can 'get away' with paying minimum wage, not paying employees a holiday rate even for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and cultivate a pretty toxic work culture. However until the bottom line starts to be affected and it makes financial sense to change their business practices, they won't.
It is what it is.
-
If for whatever reason you find yourself at Six Flags today, be sure to treat the employees nice as the company has decided to not pay anyone holiday pay.
Merry Christmas!
-
So I wonder, now that fright fest is officially over, how fast do you think the decorations will disappear?
Most of the bigger scare zone props are taken down within the first two days. The rest takes a bit longer since the main focus is usually getting the big/obvious stuff out first. It's a bit harder now though since the park is open 365 and everything has to be done at night or very early in the morning. It was a true luxury getting to come into an empty park during the day to do all of the work...
-
The way the World Series is going, looks like Revolution is getting a Red Sox retheme in the near future.
Does that count as a new credit?...lol
Well thank the lord the Dodgers are 0-2 so far because anything with a Dodgers logo on it is trash to me.
I will GLADLY allow the BoSox to have their name on the Revolution coaster as such, because that way the only California Baseball team with the most current World Series title is the Anaheim Angels. With Studly Stud Man Mike Trout one can only hope they try to get him a ring before those low-lifes!
1) Aren't you forgetting the 3 titles that the Giants have won?
2) Why the vitrol towards the Dodgers? I understand liking and disliking sports teams, but that's some pretty strong feelings right there...
-
You happened upon Fright Fest on a good year. This is the first year the park has had real capital money for Fright Fest since 2014. Granted 2016 was supposed to be a big year with Aftermath 2, but the maze went wildly overbudget, wasn't completed, and flopped. Thankfully the Suicide Squad promotion via Warner Brothers was greenlit at the last minute.
I really enjoyed Aftermath 2 when it was launched. I just don't think Six Flags realized how much working with a creative firm actually costs (same company that did Dark Harbor). This year it very much was an afterthought.
This was not the first foray into using a vendor for mazes at the park though, Willoughby's, Red's Revenge, and Vault 666 were all contracted mazes in the past.
The main issue that kneecapped Aftermath 2 was the construction of the old Batman stunt show sets at the new site. The park had to file city permits (and had issues with misdocumentation) to level out the ground slope and pour the foundations for the set pieces. The combination of the permitting issues and pouring the concrete late cascaded into the project being very late and wildly over budget. Also, MyCoToo really dropped the ball and didn't deliver on scenic items either...
This year the maze was practically an afterthought as originally the entire new area for West Coast Racers was supposed to be closed and there were initial talks of not having Aftermath operate for the year. However due to the loss of Chupacabra it was decided that the park couldn't justify contracting the event further. Aftermath has also dealt with staffing issues as well ever since it opened and the maze needs A LOT of staffing, which the park has continuously struggled with.
Overall though I think the park and Entertainment team really did learn some lessons from Aftermath 2 and we're seeing that in the well done execution of the 2.5 new mazes this year.
-
^I agree. I went to Fright Fest for the first time on Sunday and was really impressed. The mazes were way higher quality than I was expecting and the crowds were much smaller than Knott's.
Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest operates on a tick tock capex cycle, pretty much mirroring their ride capital expansion plans. One year is a big investment year and the next year isn't.
You happened upon Fright Fest on a good year. This is the first year the park has had real capital money for Fright Fest since 2014. Granted 2016 was supposed to be a big year with Aftermath 2, but the maze went wildly overbudget, wasn't completed, and flopped. Thankfully the Suicide Squad promotion via Warner Brothers was greenlit at the last minute.
This year saw a significant improvement in mazes which really elevates the event. Two new high budget mazes replaced Toyz of Terror (Condamned) and Dead End (Sewer of Souls). Vault 666 got a reskin for a movie tie in (Hell Fest) and they also added new scare zone in Metropolis for the second year in a row. It also saw the removal of Chupacabra (finally).
The issue remains however that next year will (most likely) have a limited budget so there will be nothing notably improved for the event until 2020. When you're operating on a biannual investment cycle and that big investment misfires (Aftermath) it leads to stagnation for a few years. Unfortunately in a market that has two of the biggest and most well known Halloween events in the U.S. and plenty of other well done scares, it's hard to stay relevant. I really hope the park finally considers making Fright Fest a separate ticketed event in the future to drive more revenue and actually justify a bigger budget, there's just so much potential...
-
Even worse, employees don't get any holiday pay at all.
This December 25th will be the first time the park has been open on Christmas day (that I know of) and quite a few supervisors and managers are already expecting there to be massive callouts. Should make for an interesting day...
Holiday pay isn't a thing? Maybe I'm wrong but I could swear I got time and a half when I worked on Thanksgiving. Then again it has been like 15 years since I worked at the park, so it's completely possible I'm wrong.
Nope! Maybe it was a while ago, but not anymore. It's the only theme park in the LA area that doesn't pay holiday pay.*
*The only hourly employees at Magic Mountain that holiday pay are the full time union maintenance workers. Even the non full time union workers don't get it.
-
Even worse, employees don't get any holiday pay at all.
This December 25th will be the first time the park has been open on Christmas day (that I know of) and quite a few supervisors and managers are already expecting there to be massive callouts. Should make for an interesting day...
-
Currently employees at Six Flags Magic Mountain get paid at least $13.25 (LA County minimum wage), which ironically is more than what base employees at Knott's make, and was more than what base Disney employees made (pre union CBA ratification).
I won't get into a debate on what necessitates higher than minimum wage/what a skilled vs unskilled job is, but I will say this: Magic Mountain has a huge employee culture problem. Clearly that problem does not affect the business model Six Flags is pursuing however, so until it does it will be business as usual.
It is what it is.
-
I had to check with some friends on this considering I don't work at the park anymore, but the only temp agency that Magic Mountain uses for Fright Fest is Event Staff Professionals. ESP is used as maze 'security'.
Magic Mountain staffs all maze and scare zone monsters in house. HR effectively treats them as temp employees as they don't get company ID cards or a uniform.
Also, Viper has been down for a control system upgrade. The PLC, sensors, brakes, and other systems have been upgraded. It's not completely done yet, but it will be coming back online soon.
-
I completely agree that this year's Horror Nights was surprisingly underwhelming. The black wall phenomenon is in full force. The "Universal scare" is also almost every single scare this year (loud noise, strobe, monster pops out), it's almost become a bad word. The end of pretty much every maze was a consortium of black walls and Universal scares. Even the big scenes in a lot of the mazes seemed unfinished this year, and that's usually something that Universal nails and nobody else competes with.
If you only have the time and/or money to do one big Halloween event this year I'd look away from HHN this time around. Between the crowds and the same stale offerings, HHN isn't as fun as it used to be in my opinion.
-
Oh yes, for sure, contractors need to know in advance.
When he said construction crew I assumed he meant "in house" six flags employees...
I can assure you that pretty much every department manager and most of the salaried employees are clued into what the addition is. They keep their cards close to the chest, but not "Neal is the only person who knows what's going on close".
Having recently departed from the company after four years, I can say that this year almost nothing has leaked out to the employees that usually get clued in before an official announcement is made. For the past few years (Justice League was an open secret from the moment they demoed the Batman Action Theater, CraZanity was also not a surprise) managers and other salaried employees actually did let other employees know aspects of what was going on. However this year it's been made clear by marketing that they don't want managers saying anything.
Naturally rumors do end up flying around anyway, especially when there are employees that are effected by construction and maintenance, but nothing concrete.
Personally, I have grown to really like and miss the element of surprise and I'm glad that there hasn't been a massive leak of what the project actually is. In today's media landscape where everyone knows what the next iPhone is months before it's announced and the internet seems to leak everything I honestly miss the surprise and awe that used to come with big announcements. Good job to the Six Flags Magic Mountain team for actually keeping this under wraps.
-
I wouldn't be shocked if some hints leaked out soon, given they walled off a whole area of the park
Idk, 6 flags is pretty good about keeping secrets, even better than Apple
I get what you're trying to say, but Apple leaks literally everything...
This year SFMM marketing has been on people's* cases to not say anything and I honestly believe it's a bit more fun when an announcement happens that you don't expect.
*People as in department managers and certain full time employees who would otherwise pass along relevant information to other employees to start prepping for the addition.
-
Went to the park Tuesday and it was fairly hot and crowded so my friend and I stopped in to see the Kwerk show for the first time...
...it was INCREDIBLE!!! Great music, ridiculously fun choreography, and 4 insane “circus acts.” There was so much talent on stage and the production value faaaar exceeded our expectations. It was so good, we decided to go back later in the day and watch it a second time!
Just wanted to say, don’t miss this! Kwerk (although a cringeworthy title) is really really special, and I’m honestly shocked it exists at Magic Mountain.
I haven't seen this summer's iteration of Kwerk yet but that's a great endorsement. Looking forward to seeing it!
I passed along your comment to the stage manager as well as they always appreciate nice compliments.
-
I'm surprised that it didn't actually close today as that was the target date. We'll see what happens now, hopefully we'll get answers soon!
Revolution will almost certainly reopen before Green Lantern. There is supposedly some litigation going on with Green Lantern right now that hasn't finished. I'm assuming the park will reopen the ride at some point considering they have been very slowly working on it, but I have yet to hear any type of timetable for the ride.
...But let's be honest, does anyone really miss Green Lantern?
-
Revolution went down for an unplanned chain replacement and refabrication. Viper was actually supposed to already be down but they didn't want both down at the same time so Viper got pushed back.
Superman ran both sides all last summer. Usually they take a side down during non peak season to save on wear, operations, and cost, but they have been pretty good about running both sides in the summer these last few years.
Superman is tricky though because it's all first generation tech that Intamin apparently doesn't officially support anymore (or it's too expensive for the park to keep contracting them), so all of the LSMs have to get repaired by a 3rd party vendor or fabricated entirely from scratch. Apparently the park has had a tough time with repair vendors in the past and have just recently found a new fabricator. There is only a set budget for the fixing and replacing of the LSMs every year and they are dying at a faster rate then they are being replaced. So at any given moment on the track there are "dead zones" where LSMs have gone bad or are missing entirely. As it was right before Superman got some capital investment (new cars and repaint), the park has again taken the route of undervolting the LSMs to prolong their lifespan. It's unfortunate that the ride doesn't go as fast anymore, but it's ultimately a business decision that has sound logic behind it. We might disagree with the logic, but we aren't the ones operating the park and paying the bills.
-
Viper isn't going anywhere right now. They're going to bring it down to do an entire electrical/PLC system overhaul once Revolution is back up. So it's safe to say that Viper is safe in 2019. Beyond then, who knows. It wouldn't make much sense to do an expensive ride systems overhaul and then tear out that same ride two years later, but this is the same park that has departments fight each other and not communicate at all so... Weirder things have happened.
But for now Viper is safe.
-
Anyone else get the Name Survey sent Friday?
Yep. I've heard a lot of talk about the 2019 ride being car or racing themed and the survey pretty much confirmed it.
-
If I were a betting man, now that SpinZanity, scratch that, CraZanity is finally vertical, we're probably around a month away from opening (give or take). So we're finally in the home stretch...
Also, everyone get their last rides on Apocalypse tomorrow as the area back there is getting shut down on Monday to allow crews to work on project 2019. Originally it was slated for the 1st, but it was decided to keep the area open over the weekend.
Anyhow, it's an exciting time for the park as the 2019 coaster sounds like it's going to be huge.
-
Poor Toontown... It has its 25th birthday and nobody bats an eye.
Also, World of Color will not be opening with Pixar Pier. It's going to be a good few months before the show opens again.
It is currently on the entertainment schedule for June 23, the opening day of Pixar Pier.
Platform 2 broke the other day and they lost all power, dimmers, and half of the structure. Barring a true Disney miracle, it's not opening in three weeks.
-
Poor Toontown... It has its 25th birthday and nobody bats an eye.
Also, World of Color will not be opening with Pixar Pier. It's going to be a good few months before the show opens again.
The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
From Sue Carpenter: