Tiburon503

"Free Cashflow Positive" is a metric trumpeted to investors who have no idea what earnings are. It's B.S., because it's not linked to profitability. Truly, it's nothing more than a form of "arbitrage" (see "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room"). Mark Shapiro was ultimately fired by the new Board of Directors, because his initiatives failed to demonstrate real growth for the company. "Six Flags Media Networks", the department responsible for many of the corporate sponsorships and advertising barely registered a blip. In-park advertising equated ~1% of earnings IIRC, and the advertising market has been "soft" during the current recession. Guest acquisition came at the price of "giving away the gate", with the hopes of increased spending covering the steep discounts (as opposed to the huge ticket, concession, and parking increases implemented in 2006). Six Flags emerged from bankruptcy with a sizable $1.1B debt (roughly close to Cedar Fair's $1.76B figure), so I doubt they'll be going on any major spending sprees (especially without the investment clout the publicly traded Cedar Fair possesses). Mark's strategy of fast talking, hard walking was not going to cut it with bondholders. He destroyed their positions (and those of every single shareholder) in the former Six Flags Theme Parks. They swapped debt for equity as a last resort. Mark Shapiro almost sent Six Flags into an automatic "Chapter 7" liquidation, and bondholders took the debt for equity swap as it was the better deal in this soft real-estate market. In four years (financially), Mark did nothing to fix the bottom line, and his few attempts (divestures, in-park advertising) were dismal failures. Let's not forget the SIZEABLE loses Mark Shapiro was hiding that became public during the bankruptcy proceedings either. Mark Shapiro gets credit for cleaning up the parks, and motivating personnel. That's great and all, but that's like rewarding a parent for taking care of their kids. You're SUPPOSED to do that, especially when you're not doing much else! People deride Premier Parks for questionable theming (Scream being the prime and legit example), but refuse to give even the most minute praise for initiatives like "The Golden Kingdom", "Hurricane Harbor NJ", the "Looney Tunes Seaport(s)" at Great Adventure and Worlds of Adventure. Mark Shapiro also left many rides "standing but not operating", removed "family" rides without replacement, and cheaply themed (if it all) many attractions while spinning an experience on par with Disney. Laughable in my opinion. Ultimately, Mark Shapiro failed upward to the tune of $3M, his contractual package for successfully steering the company though bankruptcy. I should fail so greatly! I'd say one of Mark Shapiro's best moves was taking a more hands on role of park oversight as CEO. Kieren Burke delegated too much responsibility to park GMs after the departure of Gary Story. Park GMs were too busy building big coasters to pump up their numbers, while neglecting the small things that make a theme park memorable. In reality, big coasters at the majors didn't doom Premier Parks. It was the "flagging" of many smaller marks (and the huge debts brought on by that), as well as the post "9/11" downturn that did them in. It certainly wasn't "Kingda Ka" or "Tatsu".

It was actually Resilient Capital Management who alleged senior management made "sneaky deals" for the benefit of Red Zone. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court removed Daniel Snyder at the behest of junior bondholders. Dwight C. Schar, a Red Zone board appointee "voluntarily" declined re-election. http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/financial-markets-investing-securities/13915368-1.html All in all, Resilient provides an interesting viewpoint on how the company may have avoided bankruptcy.

It's a good thing Mark Shapiro has instituted his "No More Goliaths" edict. Lord knows that statistic proves B&M Coasters don't draw people to the parks. How is "The Dark Knight's" ridership holding up? It's a shame the bondholders didn't poach some BEC Management during the bankruptcy process. "Current Management" has proven disastrous during their reign.

Let me understand this. Which ownership group grew from a single theme park operator, to the 4th largest and almost snatched Six Flags over Texas out of Time Warner's hands? Which group in 4 years nearly destroyed one of their top properties by basically ripping it in the press, and putting it up for sale? Which one saw shareholder value completely dissipate on their watch, and has offered no solutions other than excuses? As it is, current management is relying on "previous management's" buyout clause with Time Warner for loan guarantees to line up credit (thanks mainly go to the Six Flags over Georgia Limited Partnership and their $400M win over TWX for this). Kentucky Kingdom may have never been worthy of a "Six Flags" park, but Ed Hart was the person responsible for most of this property's debt. I'd argue with the low acquisition cost and already established capital improvements (as well as included land), it was a decent gamble for the then cash rich Premier Parks. Hindsight being 20/20, it didn't work. Being that Chang and Twisted Twins were built prior to Premier's assumption of the lease, and that Six Flags requested permission to move Chang with the promise of a water park (which they clearly reneged on); I'd say the KSFB may have a legit claim on the former ride. We'll see what the courts decide, but the current bankruptcy proceeding will most likely NOT protect the re-emerged Six Flags from this suit.

Depends on how you define failure - when's the last time the company was profitable? I'd say they have completed a goal of making the parks profitable, now they just need to be able to bring in enough to knock the debt down. Will this continue once they get out of bankruptcy protection? Will they be able to handle the debt load? Surely cheaper season passes will boost attendance, but will it boost spending inside the park enough? Factor out the "flagging", and PKS would have been profitable in the 1998 and 1999 seasons IIRC. The post 9/11 economic downturn severely impacted the company's ability to manage debt, generate revenue, and ruined subsequent profitability. 9/11 hurt the entire industry. Premier Parks did have a profitable quarter in 2005. I'm not sure if that was EBITDA or actual profits. It makes me laugh when Mark Shapiro bashes "previous management", when it was that same previous management (namely the Six Flags over Georgia Limited Partnership) that procured the loan concession from Time Warner. Lord knows, it's keeping Six Flags on life support and helping them get credit from banks. PKS had these parks for 7 years. SIX has been in control for 4 years and will emerge from bankruptcy. Will they finally demonstrate the ability to *grow* this company outside of cost cutting and divestures (the same initiatives implemented by NBC's Jeff Zucker that are forcing the Comcast sale)? Mark Shapiro worked at the very profitable ESPN. He never successfully turned around a company. For all the Kieran Burke bashing, he took Tierco/Premier into one of the largest theme park operators in the world in less than 6 years. That's before you factor in the Six Flags deal. Factor out EBITDA, and Shapiro hasn't made a nickel for this company. His initiatives are purely the undertaking of cost cutting (not necessarily a bad thing).

If only sending emails made you a competent CEO, Six Flags's problems would be solved. When SIX emerges from bankruptcy, and if they face the same financial woes; will they still blame Kieren Burke? Will Snyder and Shapiro take responsibility or maintain their myopic view that everything wrong with this company is a result of "previous management", and not of their own making? Certainly the debt is not their fault, but they have failed to remotely "right the ship" financially in these past 4 years.

Epcot depresses me. Perhaps I'm jaded because I got to visit in the park's golden years (IMO 1985-1991) as a child. EPCOT Center was my favorite. I just feel the soul of Future World left with the destructions of Horizons, World of Motion, and Journey Into Imagination (Dreamfinder Edition). I'm sure members can take me to task, but I'm just citing my opinion. For me, Magic Kingdom is the only "must experience" WDW park. If Disney could borrow Universal's Delorean; I'd go back to 1991 when EPCOT rocked my world.

Heh, "Rico Suave". I'm embarrassed to admit remembering that tripe.

At least Magic Mountain had fireworks until Summer 2008. Mark Shapiro killed that at Great Adventure back in mid-2006 (save July 4).

Perhaps Mark Shapiro putting the park up for sale, virtually abandoning it for a year, and allowing a "park is closing" mentality to foster can be attributed to the attendance decline? Mark's own mouth dropped the 2006 attendance when he announced the park was unwanted and for sale that June. Smart companies DENY DENY DENY the sale of assets until the buyer's ink dries on the paper. Jay Thomas may be a godsend, but marketing has failed to address the "park is closing" mentality. They need to restore the "building a better mountain" campaign with the quickness. A full court press of print and TV buys is needed. It might be wise to restore the old Magic Mountain logo and de-emphasize the damaged Six Flags branding in So.Cal.

I disagree with the idea of ACE taking a PR, hit based on the auction comment by their former president. Had she not have spoken up, the story about Cedar Fair offering Geauga Lake's Big Dipper for free, would have gone to press. How many journalists would have questioned the auctioneer, who is representing Cedar Fair by proxy? Who's to say if Cedar Fair, when asked directly regarding the alleged "free" offer, would have been truthful? The fact the former president spoke up ensured the statement made by the auctioneer is disputed, and perhaps erroneous. Certainly, ACE could have wrote the paper after the fact. By then however, it's too late and a rebuttal would be very unlikely to be featured in a prominent section. Having ACE "legal" contact Cedar Fair or the press would be a laughable waste of time and money, which would result in nothing. I have no idea how ACE operates (I'm not a member). Many people dislike the organization, and I'm sure they have legitimate reasons. I just go to themeparks for a good time and leave the credit whoring for those with deeper pockets than myself. I think the response by Norton painted Cedar Fair, and not ACE in a bad light. Just my humble opinion. Great PTR BTW!

I wonder why Cedar Fair didn't relocate the ride? Dorney Park would seem like a prime location for it. Heck, for $30K, it's a steal even with the associated tear-down and reassembly costs, because of its steel superstructure. GCI might have even sold the buyer MF rolling-stock provided they won the re-tracking contract. I'm sure Six Flags could have re-acquired and rebuilt The Villain for much less than one $7.5 TDK (GP boondoggle). Had CF kept the animals in Aurora or built the water park on the rides side of the lake; I think GL might have stood a chance as a scaled down park. The park's fate was sealed the day CF acquired Kings Island.

Cedar Point should NOT eject line jumpers on Mean Streak. They should force them to re-ride MULTIPLE times. Let the punishment fit the crime.

The Fox News reporter is Anne Craig from the O&O Fox affiliate WNYW-TV/DT in NYC. She's a roving reporter featured on Good Day New York, in the "Anne About Town" segments.

Sounds like GM's policy. It helped Toyota and Honda greatly.

For an extra $20, maybe Six Flags will let you choose an already filled seat and kick the rider off. I'd bet a lot of people will upgrade for that plan.

I guess it all boils down to how you treat your customers. If you can get away with it, why not do it? As for me, Six Flags's policies will send me elsewhere. My business is of no obvious value to them.

AWESOME new policy at Six Flags Fiesta Texas foreshadows future policies for all SF parks? Now that's sound business strategy. (sic) Via Screamscape: Park News - (4/24/08 - UPDATE) The issue about Flash Pass guests all getting front row seats is true it seems and verified in a letter from the park from a Guest Service Coordinator who writes, “The new attraction will be seating Flash Pass users in the front row; however, other riders will be able to ride in the front row if there are empty seats/no Flash Pass holders. The loading for the ride will begin with the last row and guests will be seated from back to front. I apologize if this has caused any inconvenience.” We’ve gotten word of a horrible new policy at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. From what our reader tell us the park is now pretty much reserving all front row seats on the new Goliath for Flash Pass users. It seems that the only way a regular guest can take a ride in the front row is if they get lucky and there are no Flash Pass users waiting in line when they get to the station. Our source has complained to the park, but apparently they are clueless and don’t understand that what they are doing is wrong by essentially turning the front row of the coaster into an Upcharge attraction. They should be handling this the way virtually ever other queue system does by either mixing the Flash Pass guests with regular guests at a “merge point” somewhere near the end of the queue or have the ride ops blend them in randomly where they can. Can anyone else confirm this?

2006 also saw huge price increases at Great Adventure. Factor this in with decreased show options as the season progressed, and ride closure/removals. You're now paying even MORE for LESS to do. Shapiro promised more "balance" at Six Flags; yet this park has become devoid of shows and non-coaster related attractions under his watch. I'm certain people tried the "new" Six Flags and simply decided it's a depreciated entertainment value. Last year I bought 4 passes. This year I only bought 2 because of the "Crazy Eddie INNNNSANNNEEE!!!" December 1 day sale. I plan to visit the park less and utilize the freebies. There's simply nothing to do if you're not into coasters or, a toddler. The lack of shows made my dad's season pass a waste. After the first visit, he simply had no desire to return. My dad has been a patron since 1978, and no longer likes the loops or big ones (save Nitro). It was funny hearing him recall "The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats" PACK the Showcase Theater, the fireworks, or even the Batman Show. RIP Super Teepee. I'll miss you.

Yes, Shockwave's loops entered on the left. The loop entrance was reconfigured for SFGAdv. to reduce forces as the train entered the MCBR. Shockwave was intended for SFGAdv., but went to Chicago instead. SFGAdv. was in serious danger of closing in the late 80's. The park faced lawsuits stemming from 2 fatal accidents. and almost lost its food license. That would have been the death knell. I believe Ray Williams managed to convince Six Flags to give him GASM while they worked hard to fix the park. That coaster brought back the crowds. I heard from a few people GASM was intended for Texas, but they were various park personnel (circa 1988) and who knows if that was true. They also pegged GASM with a lakefront locale initially.

The thought of bringing a previous year's souvenir cup back to the park never crossed my mind! This new policy doesn't really bother me. If you're crazy enough to pay $10+ for $0.06 worth of cola (the plastic cup at WORST costs ~$3); you can afford buying a new cup each season. I wish Six Flags charged a fair price (not NFL or movie pricing!) for concessions. Alas, I will continue to bag my lunch and save my complaints falling on deaf ears. If the $10 cup gave me unlimited free refills for the first day, and $0.99 refills throughout the season, I would probably go for it despite the markup. Since soda pours out of the fountain cold anyway, I never get ice. I thought the cup was only good for 1 season anyway.

This is one of theold loops removed from GASM. Shortly after opening, they put new loops in, to add bracing to the supports. -Dainan "GASM Trivia" Rafferty They retrofitted GASM with the reinforced loops in 1993.

I'm glad I'm not alone in noticing the attitude. Mark Shapiro was exactly that way at ESPN too (a couple of friends interned in Bristol). Did Robb mention the "Tilt-A-Whirl" more in the raw cut, to make Mark keep harping on it? He really seemed (at times), really annoyed at its mention.

Mark Shapiro must have attended the Steve Jobs School of PR. I haven't seen an RDF that powerful since Macworld. One point I'd like to make is Kieren Burke & Co. most certainly did NOT plop coasters down every place they see concrete. The Golden Kingdom, as well as Plaza De Carnival at SFGAdv., are some of the best themed sections found anywhere outside of Disney and Universal in North America. I think Looney Toons sections and the Hurricane Harbors installed during the Premier Parks era were great too. Even the surrounding area of Superman Ride of Steel at SFNE is decent. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the new management's lone standout. The constant blame everything wrong chain-wide on older management strategy is becoming tired too. Shapiro has gone from stating "no more Goliaths" (a promise he's mostly kept true thus far), to returning to multiple coaster installs when his initial park strategies failed (stunt shows and in-park entertainment). In fact, most parks lack any shows and are removing "family" rides left and right without replacement. Where's the theming Shapiro spoke of? Where's the great family attractions (an enclosed spinning mouse does NOT fit that bill IMO)? Why aren't we seeing attractions like a "Buzz Lightyear" or "Reese's Cup Challenge" anywhere on the Six Flags radar (largely because Shapiro realized Burke's strategy of "plopping down coasters" did more for spiking attendance at cheaper costs). RedZone has also continued, "giving away the gate", and in some cases, damn near leaving it wide open with $15 admissions to the parks (cutting discounts and slashing overall pricing would be better overall with proper execution). These moves are being driven desperately to prop up attendance figures and hopefully spike in-park spending. Shapiro has also adopted the same strategy of excuses I believe he initially denounced, like blaming bad weather for SIX's disappointing earnings. For all the problems current management had with Six Flags New Orleans; Burke & Story had to contend with the post 9/11 economic downturn. RedZone has clearly been given a free pass on these two things Premier was chastised for. Burke might have moved too fast acquiring parks and letting customer service slide (a move he expressed regret for and acknowledged needed to change), but Shapiro has done little to improve the overall image of Six Flags (although he has done well with improving seasonal employment levels while lowering personnel costs). I'd also say Six Flags's post "Mr. Six" campaign has been a miserable failure. Shapiro provided no guidance on how Six Flags plans to dispel the "Magic Mountain is closing" mindset. I'm not sure if TPR asked him this, but nowhere have I've seen Mark state how Six Flags can turn this around. Putting this park up for sale did more to hurt the property than a disenfranchised Del Holland and Premier Parks lack of TLC ever could. Hell, take full-page ads out in the L.A. Times proclaiming, "Magic Mountain is open to thrill today and forever! The only thing we're selling is family fun!" might help. I don't recall any special attention given to Magic Mountain during either 2006 (Tatsu yes, but that was Burke's initiative) or 2007. If $15M is enough to start sending a park in the right direction as Shapiro must feel (I'd say Jay Thomas's appointment was the best move Mark could have made here); why would you even bother trying to sell the property in the first place? $15M is chicken feed when comparing the DCP purchase, and is still $25M cheaper. (Can someone please tell me what property DCP has is compelling? "So You Think You Can Dance" is hardly the ratings juggernaut "American Idol" is Mark. It's not even worthy of "Dancing With The Stars". Does anyone care about the AMA's?) I did find the back and forth exchanges about the "Tilt-A-Whirl" removal funny and yet strange. At times, it felt comical. Then I think Mark almost seemed annoyed that the ride's removal was even questioned. While "Tilt-A-Whirl" may be found everywhere, how many people run to theme parks to ride a wild mouse? I can buy a ticket to Disneyland and ride DCA's for free (So. Cal 2fers). I'd argue flats like the "Tilt-A-Whirl" make Magic Mountain stronger. Those rides are mild enough for everyone to enjoy and add balance to the park. There are people that won't ride coasters no matter what, but still love "the swings" (be it a Zierer Wave Swinger or Zamperla copy). Shapiro may have 5-year plans, but those are easily tossed aside by unforeseen factors. I'd rather try to do as much as possible now, than not be able to do anything later on.

I understand your point, but I do think asking him about ride removals is a fair question. It's something that's going on chain-wide as well as at Magic Mountain.